Longpath: Becoming the Great Ancestors Our Future Needs – An Antidote for Short-Termism

Written by Ari Wallach

Narrated by Ari Wallach

""An antidote to nearsightedness. Ari Wallach won’t just leave you planning months or years ahead—he challenges you to look generations ahead. Get ready to think and think again."" — Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

A paradigm-shifting manifesto for transforming our thinking from reactionary short-termism to the long-term, widening our scope beyond today, tomorrow, and to even five hundred years from now to reclaim meaning in our lives.

Many of the problems we face today, from climate change to work anxiety, are the result of short-term thinking. We are constantly bombarded by notifications and “Breaking News” that are overwhelming our central nervous systems, forcing us to react in the moment and ultimately disconnecting us from what truly matters. But there is a solution.

Futurist Ari Wallach offers a radical new way forward called “longpath,” a mantra and mindset to help us focus on the long view. Drawing on history, theology, neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and social technologies, Longpath teaches readers to strengthen their ability to look ahead, relieve reactions to stressful events, increase capacity for cooperation, and even boost creativity. Wallach challenges readers to ask themselves, “to what end?”—what is my ultimate goal and how does my choice align with my values? And even more provocatively, Wallach challenges readers to ask “to what end?” for civilization at large.

Whether it’s work, marriage, parenting, or simply trying to be a good human on the planet, framing decisions from a much larger scale creates a more fulfilling and sustainable life now and for future generations. 

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Aug 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9780063068766

Ari Wallach

ARI WALLACH is a futurist and the founder and Executive Director of Longpath Labs, as well as the host of the PBS series A Brief History of the Future. As adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, he lectured on innovation, AI, and the futures of public policy. Wallach’s TED talk on Longpath has been viewed 2.5 million times and translated into 21 languages. He has written for outlets like the BBC and Wired, ran Fast Company magazine’s “FactCo Futures with Ari Wallach,” and has been featured in The New Times, Yahoo Finance, CNBC, CNN, Vox, and more.