Finding the Magic in Everyday Life with Thoreau and Eric Weiner

As we move through our busy lives, it’s easy to stop noticing the tiny, beautiful things all around us. But rediscovering the sense of wonder we had as children might not only bring us more joy — it could also help us better navigate life’s hardest moments.

Dr. Laurie explores that idea with traveling philosopher and former NPR correspondent Eric Weiner, author of The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers. Eric shares what he’s learned from walking in the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau, including how the 19th-century philosopher can help us live better in the modern day and see beauty in the things we usually overlook.

Experts Mentioned:

• Eric Weiner, journalist, author, and philosophical traveler 
• Henry David Thoreau, 19th-century American philosopher, poet, environmental scientist, and political activist 
• Socrates, ancient Greek philosopher 
• Epicurus, ancient Greek philosopher
• Arthur Schopenhauer, 19th-century German philosopher
• Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th-century essayist, poet, and philosopher
• Confucius, ancient Chinese philosopher
• Nathaniel Hawthorne, 19th-century American novelist and short-story writer
• Leslie Perrin Wilson, author and former curator of the Special Collections at the Concord Free Public Library
• Henry Miller, American novelist, short-story writer, and essayist

Resources Mentioned:

• The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers, by Eric Weiner (2020)
• Walden, by Henry David Thoreau (1854)
• “Walking,” by Henry David Thoreau (1862)
• Bhagavad Gita (second or first century BCE)
• The Journal of Henry David Thoreau
• “The playful mediator, moderator, or outcome? An integrative review of the roles of play and playfulness in adult-centered psychological interventions for mental health,” by Xiangyou Shen and Leland Masek (The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2024)

Related Episodes:

• “Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Confucius”
• “The Science of Attention and Distraction”
• “The Power of Awe… and Where to Find it”
• “Sight and Sound: How to Joyfully Awaken Your Senses”

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