Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
***DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND BECOME A PART OF THE ALIVE FAMILY***
Why are we so easily persuaded by charisma? Why aren’t facts more persuasive? When does inspiration slide into manipulation? In this episode, historian and writer Molly Worthen talks about the strange, magnetic force we call charisma and why it’s having such a moment right now.
This isn’t about charm or “rizz.” It’s about storytelling, certainty, and the deep human need to feel part of something bigger.
***Hey! If you dig this episode, you might dig:
Happiness - with Gretchen Rubin: youtu.be/onhtAqXVcHA
Not Giving a Sh*t - Jamie Lee Curtis: youtu.be/WRy-7ENcvoU
Why We God - with Leela Prasaad: youtu.be/yjpdXsOmqRs
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Head to MarleySpoon.com/ALIVE for up to 25 FREE meals!
Go to quince.com/alive for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.
Go to this exclusive web address right now to try ZipRecruiter FOR FREE: ziprecruiter.com/alive.
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Alive with Steve Burns - Season One Episode 16 | Molly Worthen
Instagram: @alivewithsteveburns
TikTok: @alivewithsteveburns
————————————————
There are a thousand podcasts you can listen to. This one listens back.
Alive with Steve Burns continues the conversation you began all those years ago. Back then it was letters and numbers and graham crackers. Now it’s all the big, messy questions of being alive. Why does money stress us out? Is the American dream gone? What’s the future of truth?
Each week, a new guest drops by Steve’s window for a genuine and respectful dialogue between two people just trying to figure it out, together.
Funny, tender, and just a little weird, this show invites you to sit down and think with Steve once again and wonder… what it really means to be Alive.
Keywords: Steve Burns, Molly Worthen, charisma, influence, charisma explained, what is charisma, influence and persuasion, authenticity vs charisma, power and personality, cultural history, ideas podcast, long form interview, intellectual podcast, rizz, the power of rizz.
#steveburns
#adulting
#podcast
#mollyworthen
#charisma
#rizz
***DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND BECOME A PART OF THE ALIVE FAMILY***
Why are we so easily persuaded by charisma? Why aren’t facts more persuasive? When does inspiration slide into manipulation? In this episode, historian and writer Molly Worthen talks about the strange, magnetic force we call charisma and why it’s having such a moment right now.
This isn’t about charm or “rizz.” It’s about storytelling, certainty, and the deep human need to feel part of something bigger.
***Hey! If you dig this episode, you might dig:
Happiness - with Gretchen Rubin: youtu.be/onhtAqXVcHA
Not Giving a Sh*t - Jamie Lee Curtis: youtu.be/WRy-7ENcvoU
Why We God - with Leela Prasaad: youtu.be/yjpdXsOmqRs
--------------------------------------------------------------------
**Exclusive Deals for our listeners**
Head to MarleySpoon.com/ALIVE for up to 25 FREE meals!
Go to quince.com/alive for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.
Go to this exclusive web address right now to try ZipRecruiter FOR FREE: ziprecruiter.com/alive.
————————————————
Alive with Steve Burns - Season One Episode 16 | Molly Worthen
Instagram: @alivewithsteveburns
TikTok: @alivewithsteveburns
————————————————
There are a thousand podcasts you can listen to. This one listens back.
Alive with Steve Burns continues the conversation you began all those years ago. Back then it was letters and numbers and graham crackers. Now it’s all the big, messy questions of being alive. Why does money stress us out? Is the American dream gone? What’s the future of truth?
Each week, a new guest drops by Steve’s window for a genuine and respectful dialogue between two people just trying to figure it out, together.
Funny, tender, and just a little weird, this show invites you to sit down and think with Steve once again and wonder… what it really means to be Alive.
Keywords: Steve Burns, Molly Worthen, charisma, influence, charisma explained, what is charisma, influence and persuasion, authenticity vs charisma, power and personality, cultural history, ideas podcast, long form interview, intellectual podcast, rizz, the power of rizz.
#steveburns
#adulting
#podcast
#mollyworthen
#charisma
#rizz
