Are fantasies helpful or harmful? How is daydreaming like a drug? And what did Angela fantasize about during ninth-grade English class?

• SOURCES:
  • Patrick Bet-David, YouTuber and founding C.E.O. of PHP Agency Inc.
  • Barbara Corcoran, "Shark" and executive producer on ABC’s Shark Tank and founder of The Corcoran Group.
  • Peter Gollwitzer, professor of psychology at New York University.
  • Danny Kahneman, professor emeritus of psychology at Princeton University.
  • Robert Nozick, philosopher.
  • Gabriele Oettingen, professor of psychology at New York University.
  • Kim Scott, co-founder of Radical Candor and prominent C.E.O. coach in Silicon Valley.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Dreamscrolling," by Empower (The Currency, 2024).
  • "Most Americans Can’t Afford a $1,000 Emergency: Survey," by Travis Schlepp (The Hill, 2024).
  • "Positive Fantasies and Negative Emotions in Soccer Fans," by A. Timur Sevincer, Greta Wagner, and Gabriele Oettingen (Cognition and Emotion, 2019).
  • Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, by Kim Scott (2017).
  • "Pleasure Now, Pain Later: Positive Fantasies About the Future Predict Symptoms of Depression," by Gabriele Oettingen, Doris Mayer, and Sam Portnow (Psychological Science, 2016).
  • "Positive Fantasies About Idealized Futures Sap Energy," by Heather Barry Kappes and Gabriele Oettingen (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2011).
  • "Self-Regulation of Goal Setting: Turning Free Fantasies About the Future Into Binding Goals," by Gabriele Oettingen, Hyeon-ju Pak, and Karoline Schnetter (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2001).
  • "Intuitive Prediction: Biases and Corrective Procedures," by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (DARPA Technical Report, 1977).
  • Anarchy, State, and Utopia, by Robert Nozick (1974).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Can You Really 'Manifest' Success Through Positive Visualization?" by No Stupid Questions (2024).

Can you ever really know how another person feels? What’s the best way to support a grieving person? And why doesn’t Hallmark sell empathy cards?

• SOURCES:
  • Daniel Batson, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Kansas.
  • Paul Bloom, professor of psychology at University of Toronto.
  • Paul Polman, businessman, author, and former C.E.O. of Unilever.

• RESOURCES:
  • “Empathy, Sympathy, and Emotion Regulation: A Meta-Analytic Review,” by H. Melis Yavuz, Tyler Colasante, Emma Galarneau, and Tina Malti (Psychological Bulletin, 2024).
  • “Have Some Sympathy,” by Pamela Paul (The New York Times, 2023).
  • “What is Club 33? Inside Disney’s Most Exclusive Club,” by Evelyn Long (Walt Disney World Magazine, 2022).
  • “The Case Against Empathy,” by Sean Illing (Vox, 2019).
  • Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion, by Paul Bloom (2016).
  • “Beautiful friendship: Social sharing of emotions improves subjective feelings and activates the neural reward circuitry,” by Ullrich Wagner, Lisa Galli, Björn H. Schott, Andrew Wold, Job van der Schalk, Antony S. R. Manstead, Klaus Scherer, and Henrik Walter (Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2015).
  • Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil, by Paul Bloom (2013).
  • The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery (2006).
  • “Immorality from Empathy-Induced Altruism: When Compassion and Justice Conflict,” by Daniel Batson, Tricia Klein, Lori Highberger, and Laura Shaw (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1995).
  • “The Four Horsemen: Contempt,” by Ellie Lisitsa (The Gottman Institute).

• EXTRAS:
  • “Is Empathy in Fact Immoral?” by No Stupid Questions (2021).
  • Parasite, film (2019).
  • King James Bible, Job 2:1-13.
  • The Book of Mormon, Mosiah 18:9.

Why do so many book clubs fall apart? Do the best parties have rules? And does Angela’s husband want to date you?

• SOURCES:
  • Fredrik Backman, author.
  • David Chavis, senior fellow at Community Science.
  • Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard University.
  • Sebastian Junger, journalist and author.
  • David McMillan, clinical and community psychologist.
  • Priya Parker, strategic advisor and author.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Do Conversations End When People Want Them to?" by Adam M. Mastroianni, Daniel Gilbert, Gus Cooney, and Timothy D. Wilson (PNAS, 2021).
  • "3 Steps to Turn Everyday Get-Togethers Into Transformative Gatherings," by Priya Parker (TED Talk, 2019).
  • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, by Priya Parker (2018).
  • Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, by Sebastian Junger (2016).
  • Beartown, by Fredrik Backman (2016).
  • “The 36 Questions That Lead to Love,” by Daniel Jones (The New York Times, 2015).
  • A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman (2012).
  • "Sense of Community: A Definition and Theory," by David McMillan and David Chavis (Journal of Community Psychology, 1986).

• EXTRAS:
  • "How Can You Get Closer to the People You Care About?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
  • "How Do You Connect With Someone You Just Met?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
  • A Man Called Otto, film (2022).