The School of Life

Six rich & varied things we learned at Emotional Intelligence from the Dark Side during Sydney’s Vivid Ideas

We consider philosophers, world leaders, writers, artists, musicians and comedians as good sources of wisdom. But we don’t rate pirates, hackers and gang members quite so highly. Author Kyra Maya Phillips disagrees and thinks we should look to social misfits as sources of inspiration as she describes in her book, The Misfit Economy. The Venezuelan writer…

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Amanda Palmer and Missy Higgins to join The School of Life Melbourne for one-off event in January

On January 15th, singer-songwriters Amanda Palmer and Missy Higgins will speak on motherhood, music, and artistry at a one-off event for the Melbourne branch of Alain de Botton‘s School of Life. Both Palmer and Higgins have built their musical careers on going against the grain, boasting creative streaks that, Palmer at least, worried might be…

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What makes a good friendship? Robert Forster and Zan Rowe aim to find out this September in Sydney

September will see Robert Forster, of iconic Australian band The Go-Betweens, in conversation with Triple J’s Zan Rowe as part of a special in-conversation event for The School of Life Sydney; the topic of discussion? Friendship. On September 7th, Forster and Rowe will be attempting to get to the bottom of what makes a good…

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The School of Life makes a permanent home in Sydney

Following a successful pop-up season earlier in the year, the Sydney branch of The School of Life will open permanently from the end of the month. Philosopher Alain De Botton first founded the School of Life in 2008 in London, but since then it’s branched out overseas, with Melbourne becoming the first permanent branch outside…

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