# Overcoming status anxiety with Alain de Botton and RaQuel Hopkins

An episode of [ReThinking](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1554567118), 30 Dec 2025, 35 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/675858676d1777b3683ec351/e/6941d17758c537ceb694cd37/media.mp3

Alain de Botton is a philosopher, bestselling author, and cofounder of The School of Life, known for his fearless engagement with the complexity of human existence. In this special episode, Adam co-hosts alongside former guest RaQuel Hopkins, a therapist, social media star, and fan of Alain’s work. They discuss the roots of and remedies for status anxiety. They also discuss the loneliness and dissatisfaction that many people experience in the quest for happiness and examine how we’ve lost the plot on therapy. Host & Guest Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: https://adamgrant.net/) Alain de Botton (Website: https://www.alaindebotton.com/) RaQuel Hopkins (Instagram: @raquel_the_capacity_expert) Link Follow The School of Life (Instagram: @theschooloflifelondon | Youtube: @theschooloflifetv | Website: https://www.theschooloflife.com/) Follow TED! X: https://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks Podcasts: https://www.ted.com/podcasts ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith. For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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