Lisa Weiss

May 29, 2025

What is Moral Ambition?

Plus: Summer Reads, Movies and Shows

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I'm not a fan of virtue signaling.

Consider this example I witnessed recently while out on a walk:

My daughter: Can I pet your dog? He's so cute.

Dog person: Thank you. We adopted him from the shelter.

My daughter: Can I pet him?

Dog person: We really believe in rescuing, not buying.

My daughter: So... can I pet your dog?

My daughter just wanted to know if the dog was friendly. She wasn't taking a moral inventory.

After all, we adopted a "shelter dog." He's awesome. We also have a fancy ragdoll cat I bought from a breeder.

I don't want to judge anyone else for their choices.

But, there's a difference between virtue signaling, which is performing your values for an audience, and actually living those values to create meaningful change.

This month I'm exploring Rutger Bregman's new book Moral Ambition where he argues that anyone can dedicate their abilities – and their time – to finding the best solutions to the world's biggest problems.

Which raises a question: When am I actually helping, and when am I just performing helpfulness?
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Warmly,

In this issue: ​

Spotlight Moral ambition Practice Writing Prompts to Fuel Your Creativity Ideas Summer reads, movies and shows Don't Miss! Luminary LIVE: Chicago

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Spotlight

Rutger Bregman

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David Marchese's take on Bregman's book in this NYT interview:
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"Rutger Bregman Wants to Save Elites From Their Wasted Lives."

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yikes.

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"The world is full of highly intelligent, impressively accomplished and status-aware people whose greatest ambitions seem to start and stop with themselves. For Rutger Bregman, those people represent an irresistible opportunity."

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If you'd prefer to listen to the Bregman interview, it's available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music or the New York Times Audio app.

Practice

Writing Prompts to Fuel Your Creativity

Prompt 1: The Small Stuff Think of something you do quietly that you never post about or mention to others. What made you start doing it? Why do you keep it private? ​ Prompt 2: The Gap Describe a moment when you caught yourself talking about something you care about but realized you weren't actually doing anything about it. What happened next? ​ Prompt 3: The Credit Write about a time someone else got recognition for something good, but you knew the real story of who actually did the work behind the scenes. (were you on either side of this story?) ​ Prompt 4: The Easy Out What's one cause or issue where you take the easiest possible action (signing a petition, sharing a post, buying the right brand) and tell yourself that's enough? What would the harder action look like? ​

Ideas

Summer reads, movies and shows

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NOW:

Podcast: What We Spend: "Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. On What We Spend, people from across the country and across the financial spectrum are opening their wallets—and their lives—to tell you everything: what they make, what they want, and—for one week—what they spend."

Show: Duster: "From J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan, this 1970s drama follows a getaway driver and a young FBI agent as they take on a notorious crime syndicate."
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COMING SOON:

Movie: Mountainhead: new feature-length satire-comedy-drama about four billionaire tech bros from Succession creator Jesse Armstrong. According to the BBC: "Succession showrunner Jesse Armstrong's dystopian feature film debut, premiering on HBO, has 'timely resonance; in this 'high-tech moment'" (May 31)

Book - fiction: Flashlight by Susan Choi. A Most Anticipated Book of the Year: Time, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Vulture, USA Today, Forbes, and Literary Hub. A novel tracing a father’s disappearance across time, nations, and memory, from the author of Trust Exercise. (June 3)
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Book - nonfiction/memoir: Black Genius: Essays on an American Legacy by Tre Johnson. From the publisher: "Black genius sits at the heart of the American story. In his probing essay collection, Black Genius, cultural critic Tre Johnson examines how Black American culture has, against all odds, been the lifeblood of American ingenuity. At times using his own personal and professional stories, Johnson surveys Black cities, communities, and schools with an ever-watchful eye of what transpires around Black mobility." (July 29)
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Book - nonfiction: Hark: How Women Listen by Alice Vincent. From the publisher: "As our attention spans shrink and our sense of disconnection grows, Alice wants to find out if sound – seeking it, trying to hold on to it, making space for it in her life – can reconnect her not only to lost parts of herself but to a life more consciously lived. Hark is a book for women who feel unheard and a means of listening more deeply in a world that has grown too loud." (August 5)

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Have you heard?

Listen to Object Diaries: Stan's Toys

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Click here to leave a review for Object Diaries on Apple Podcasts. Scroll down and fill in the stars. No lengthy write-up needed. I'm applying for grants to fund the future of this project and your five-star rating means a lot.

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Thank You!

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