Episode
The Mattering Instinct (with Rebecca Newberger Goldstein)
EconTalk · Jan 12, 2026 · 1 h 05 min
Philosopher and author Rebecca Newberger Goldstein discusses her new book, The Mattering Instinct, which argues that our lives are a quest to validate our inherent self-centeredness. Tracing this essential longing from physics and biology through to ethics and politics, she explains to EconTalk's Russ Roberts why material success alone can never satisfy our deep-seated need to matter. She…