Episode
Has Therapy Gone Too Far? & The Hidden Genius of Birds
- Podcast
- Something You Should Know
- Published
- Jul 13, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3056
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Summary
Need a favor? The way you ask may matter as much as what you're asking for. Researchers have found that a few simple changes in how you make a request can dramatically increase the chances someone will say yes—and most people overlook them completely. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/francis-flynn-if-you-want-something-ask-it Going to therapy has become more common—and more socially accepted—than ever before. For many people, it has been life-changing. At the same time, anxiety, depression, and loneliness continue to rise, prompting an important question: Are we asking therapy to solve problems it was never designed to solve? Should everyone have a therapist, even if nothing is seriously wrong? Where is the line between normal struggles and issues that truly require professional treatment? In this thoughtful conversation, therapist Jonathan Alpert explores who benefits most from therapy, where it can fall short, and why resilience, personal responsibility, and strong relationships still play an essential role in emotional wellbeing. Jonathan has spent more than two decades treating patients and is author of Therapy Nation: How America Got Hooked on Therapy and Why It's Left Us More Anxious and Divided (https://amzn.to/4xMXS2I). Birds are so common that it's easy to stop noticing them. Yet they are among the most extraordinary creatures on Earth. Every feather is a masterpiece of engineering. Their bones are optimized for flight. Some navigate across continents with astonishing accuracy, others build intricate nests without blueprints, and many possess abilities that scientists are still trying to understand. Even more remarkable, every bird alive today is a living descendant of the dinosaurs. Lorna Gibson, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT and…