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‘Everybody wants to be somebody. But remember: be somebody that’s nice.’
In the 1980s, Larry Woods was extraordinarily rich, unapologetically extravagant and intractably self-involved – or as he now puts it, ‘a real asshole’. Following an epiphany after a small yet eye-opening interaction with a kindly fruit-shop owner, Woods transformed himself into a man of modest means, but rich in compassion and cheer. Going by the moniker ‘Mister Sunshine’, Woods is a beloved figure on the streets of Auckland in New Zealand, where he shines shoes and lives by a creed to do good and spread kindness at every turn.
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Life stages
At 14, Asal is excited about her engagement. Her relatives all have their own opinions
33 minutes
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Metaphysics
Bertrand Russell wanted to kill off causation. Can contemporary philosophy rescue it?
8 minutes
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The future
What’s the healthiest way to handle a creeping feeling that the world is ending?
15 minutes
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Ethics
How many monkeys is it worth sacrificing to save a human life?
6 minutes
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Psychiatry and psychotherapy
Pondering the peculiar one-sided intimacy of the client-therapist relationship
3 minutes
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Human rights and justice
Thirty years after one teenager shot another, is it time to forgive?
28 minutes
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Family life
Fifty years ago, a train collided with Jack and Betty’s car. Here’s how they remember it
9 minutes
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Chemistry
A square inch in a Petri dish becomes a grand stage for chemical transformations
4 minutes
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Medicine
What is it like to be a paramedic, navigating human emergency?
17 minutes