The Quest for Significance Podcast / Arie Kruglanski & Dan Raviv
The Quest for Significance Podcast / Arie Kruglanski & Dan Raviv
Podcast Description
Inspired by their book, "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round," Professor Arie Kruglanski -- a top expert on human motivation -- and best selling author and journalist Dan Raviv interview guests whose careers and experiences have been touched by the universal need for Significance: to make their lives matter, and see the needs of people around them for dignity and respect. They emphasize that denying or robbing a person of their Significance is highly dangerous.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast emphasizes the universal human need for significance and explores themes such as dignity, respect, and self-worth. Episodes feature discussions on various topics such as the psychology of guilt with Professor June Tangney, the impact of fairy tales with Dr. Sophia Moskalenko, and the importance of asking the right questions in democracy with Dan Rothstein.
Inspired by their book, “The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round,” Professor Arie Kruglanski — a top expert on human motivation — and best selling author and journalist Dan Raviv interview guests whose careers and experiences have been touched by the universal need for Significance: to make their lives matter, and see the needs of people around them for dignity and respect. They emphasize that denying or robbing a person of their Significance is highly dangerous.
If you think about it, 1.5 billion people who live on the continent of Africa do not get the attention, the respect, and the sense that their lives matter that they surely deserve. They are not being accorded Significance, and like all human beings they crave it and strive to create it themselves.
Victor Mark-Onyegbu says the United States is particularly frustrating, because most Americans know pitifully little about Africa — and when asked to name three countries there, they invariably include the Marvel-fictional Wakanda (in the ”Black Panther” movies).
On a serious and hopeful note, Onyegbu — who is a leader of an organization called Africa No Filter — lays out his plan for earning more dignity for Africans in the global media and international relations: ”to tell stories better by adopting nuanced, ethical, and balanced story-telling about Africa.”
In conversation with the authors of THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE, Professor Arie Kruglanski and Dan Raviv, Onyegbu — in Lagos, Nigeria — emphasizes that ”Africa” is not one huge monolith. Each of the countries has its own strengths, weaknesses, and fascinating cultural heritage.
This is a half-hour Americans rarely hear.
On YouTube and Spotify, find our video podcasts. And there are half a dozen audio podcasts at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-quest-for-significance-podcast-arie-kruglanski/id1807928190 .
Our book, published by Routledge, is available here: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj .
This podcast series is based on a book by Dr. Arie Kruglanski and Dan Raviv, The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round, published in 2025 by Routledge.
Arie Kruglanski is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland and author of countless books, articles, and studies that have made him one of the world's leading experts on human motivation. He has been honored by the American Psychological Association for distinguished scientific contributions, and received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Association for Psychological Science. One of his most recent books is Uncertain: How to Turn Your Biggest Fear Into Your Greatest Power.
Dan Raviv was a CBS News correspondent, covering big stories worldwide for more than 40 years. He co-authored a national best selling book, Every Spy a Prince: The Complete History of Israel's Intelligence Community. His most recent book about Israeli security and espionage, also co-authored with Yossi Melman, is Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars. He is based in Washington, DC. You can hear his weekly podcast, THE MOSSAD FILES.
On YouTube and other platforms featuring video podcasts, you can find video versions of THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST. Please do.
To purchase our book, we suggest: www.amazon.com/Quest-Significance-Harnessing-Makes-World/dp/103253169X.
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