James Clear, Atomic Habits and Kim Kardashian at Harvard Artwork

That's Faux Deep

Join two sisters as they pop on their anti-capitalist reading glasses and sift through the Self-Help Industrial Complex. They’ll blend research and their opinions to try and make sense of the claims made in the books those spirituality influencers keep recommending. Features million-dollar scams, self-anointed gurus and questions the girls should definitely be discussing with their therapists instead of each other.

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That's Faux Deep

James Clear, Atomic Habits and Kim Kardashian at Harvard

January 31, 2023 • sisters mathany and ma'any ahmed • Season 1 • Episode 2

Ma'any reads Atomic Habits. The girls discuss Americans' obsessions with work and try and unpack the stigma of laziness.

Sources:
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino
Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price
Radically Content by Jamie Varon

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Our title song is "Starchild" by Ghost Quartet, written by Dave Malloy.

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Here are some loose timestamps if you feel like jumpin' around:

3:20 Mathany's relationship with work

8:50 Ma’any outlines the episode

9:50 Ma’any’s relationship with work

12:00 Ma’any talks about Zuko and Avatar the Last Airbender

17:40 James Clear's personal history

20:00 James Clear’s current business

21:30 Types of people who recommend Atomic Habits

22ish What is the 1% rule?

24:30 Habits are like compound interest

32:15 The laziness lie

36:41 What Ma'any likes about Atomic Habits

41:50 What Ma'any doesn’t like about Atomic Habits

45:10 Language of self-help

47 Weight and fatphobia

54 Using shame and anger as motivation

59 Discussion on "Radically Content"