What Happens When We Stop Playing?

18.8.23
What Happens Next?
What Happens When We Stop Playing? | 81

New this season: Subscribe to Monash’s YouTube channel to watch the video version of each full episode.

The season eight premiere of Monash University’s podcast, “What Happens Next?”, kicks off with a fun topic – fun itself.

In today’s episode, host Dr Susan Carland and expert guests in music, mindfulness and more discuss the consequences of growing up and losing touch with the innate creativity we had as children.

The discussion ranges from the roots of our musicality – which begins in the womb – to the repercussions of discounting leisure time in adulthood. Along the way, experts weigh in on why — and when – we begin to deprioritise play, and how technology may be robbing us of great fun and creative exploration.

In part one of this two-part series, Susan is joined by Professor Margaret S Barrett, head of Monash’s Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, whose work offers fascinating insights into the foundations of creativity. Gaming expert Dr Xavier Ho discusses how play can help us understand ourselves and the world around us.

Rob Walker, the author of “The Art of Noticing” and its popular associated newsletter, weighs in on why, even though actively engaging our minds generally leaves us happier, we’re so tempted by digital distractions. Finally, you’ll hear from Dr Mike Rucker, author of “The Fun Habit”, on why today’s adults are in a unique position that makes finding the time to take a break and have some fun so much more challenging.

If you’re feeling burnt out and tired, it may be time to challenge your notion of play as a relic of childhood. Discover why it’s an integral part of our lives – and what will happen if we continue to take ourselves too seriously.

A full transcript of this episode is available on Monash Lens.

Learn more:

• Episode 40: “Are We Hustling Ourselves to Death?”
• Episode 41: “Does Hustle Culture Drive Creativity?”
• The Art of Noticing newsletter
• The Fun Habit

“What Happens Next?” will be back next week with part two of this series, ‘How Do We Balance Work and Play?’.

If you’re enjoying the show, don’t forget to subscribe, or rate or review “What Happens Next?”  to help listeners like yourself discover it.

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