Uncollared (Genesis in Seven Blows) 1. The Naming They praised Pete. The quick study. Good boy. Peter came later, burning the name tag. Sovereign. Feral. 2. The Survival Years Pete asked for permission, bent for approval. He learned to shrink into sharp-cornered systems, smiling on cue. Fed him scraps and
An Open Letter to My Colleagues: Expanding Our Definition of Scholarship Dear Colleagues, I have been invited to participate in the plenary session, “Making Consumer Research Accessible,” at the Society for Consumer Psychology conference. This invitation prompted me to reflect on how scholarship—particularly business research—can extend beyond academia and engage
Dear Students, In previous letters, I asked you to read, write, never surrender, and create more. In this one, I ask: Are you the hero in your life’s story? Few stories have captured the imagination of readers across generations quite like James Thurber’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Published
An open letter to my colleagues: How will AI change our work? Dear Colleagues, I have been writing (open) letters to my students about topics such as reading, writing , and fortitude . My hope is to encourage them to vigorously embrace the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. With
A tribute to Daniel Kahneman: Three things I learned from Danny. I met Danny in the summer of 1999. He was Daniel Kahneman to me then. I was a PhD student at Ohio State University working with Barbara Mellers. She had known Danny from their time at UC Berkeley. At
An open letter to my students: Create more. Consume less. Dear Students, In my last letter, I urged you to “never surrender” your hopes, dreams, and desires. This letter continues our (one-way) conversation about the perniciousness of your (damn) phones—and presents a path to a more remarkable life. Never have humans
Dear Students, I am concerned about (some of) you. This letter was prompted by a potential worrisome trend occurring within your generation: doom spending. I get why youthful optimism has waned within your generation. You watched your government botch the pandemic response, robbing many of you of important adolescent experiences.
Dear Students, In my previous letter, I expressed my concern about your phone habits and urged you to put down your (damn) phone and pick up a book and read – a lot. This letter asks you to do something even more difficult: put down your damn phone and pick
What happens when two charismatic creatives—and close friends—sit down with Peter McGraw to talk about friendship, love, and the Solo movement? This intimate, funny,
Welcome to the final episode of I’M NOT JOKING. Comedian JD Lopez returns from Episode 1 to debrief and reflect on Peter’s experience building
