Brené with Bono on Songs of Surrender and Carrying the Weight of Our Contradictions, Part 2 of 2
Episode
40 min
Read time
2 min
Topics
Productivity, Relationships, Philosophy & Wisdom
AI-Generated Summary
Key Takeaways
- ✓Radical center activism: Build coalitions across ideological divides by finding one critical shared goal—the Jubilee 2000 debt relief campaign united punk rockers, the Pope, and politicians by focusing solely on canceling unpayable debts of poorest countries.
- ✓Surrender as daily practice: Surrender means giving over control rather than giving up—requires consciously putting down defensive postures with partners, bandmates, and maker each day, especially difficult for naturally combative personalities who default to fighting imaginary foes.
- ✓Climbing versus falling in love: Long marriages succeed by viewing love as an upward climb requiring intentional effort rather than passive falling—40 years later, still actively working toward deeper connection through sustained commitment and mutual growth.
- ✓Action requires observation: Once you truly observe a problem, you become morally obligated to respond—be selective about what issues you call out because genuine awareness demands engagement, not just description or commentary from safe distance.
What It Covers
Bono discusses his memoir Surrender with Brené Brown, exploring how Mount Temple Comprehensive School shaped his worldview, his 40-year marriage to Ali, activism through finding common ground, and wrestling with faith contradictions.
Key Questions Answered
- •Radical center activism: Build coalitions across ideological divides by finding one critical shared goal—the Jubilee 2000 debt relief campaign united punk rockers, the Pope, and politicians by focusing solely on canceling unpayable debts of poorest countries.
- •Surrender as daily practice: Surrender means giving over control rather than giving up—requires consciously putting down defensive postures with partners, bandmates, and maker each day, especially difficult for naturally combative personalities who default to fighting imaginary foes.
- •Climbing versus falling in love: Long marriages succeed by viewing love as an upward climb requiring intentional effort rather than passive falling—40 years later, still actively working toward deeper connection through sustained commitment and mutual growth.
- •Action requires observation: Once you truly observe a problem, you become morally obligated to respond—be selective about what issues you call out because genuine awareness demands engagement, not just description or commentary from safe distance.
Notable Moment
Bono reveals his teenage son John requested being dropped around the corner from school to avoid association with his father's fame, highlighting the personal cost of celebrity on family members who never chose public life.
Episode Transcript
Hey, everyone. I'm Brene Brown, and this is unlocking us. We're here with part two of my conversation with Bono. I won't even keep you waiting. It's just that good. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin, or what that clunking sound from your dryer is? With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the app. Download today. At Criminal, we've made it a tradition every December to dedicate an episode entirely to animals who are really going for it. It. And Tony, what happened when you pulled over? Nothing out of the ordinary until I saw the cat on the back of the roof behind the luggage carrier. Listen to our fifth annual Animals episode on Criminal wherever you get your podcasts. Alright. Before we get started, let me just say that this was a live event in front of 1,200 of our closest friends at the Paramount Theater, the historic, beautiful, amazing Paramount Theater in Downtown Austin. The event was presented by Austin City Limits Festival's bonus tracks, ACL Fest bonus tracks for short. And we talked about Bono's new memoir, Surrender, 40 songs, one story. His new book, I just have to say, the memoir Surrender, it's a love story. It's a love story to Ali, his wife, to his family, to all of us who found all kinds of peace and challenges in the music and the lyrics. Let's jump into the conversation. Okay. I gotta do this, this phrase. Holy shit. Paradox again, but okay. How casually our destiny arrives. You're attending Mount Temple Comprehensive School. Mhmm. The story I make up about this school is it is a place that absolutely engages the middle of the paradox. Like Right. This is not a place where you have to have a lot of certainty. In 1976, you meet Larry Adam, the edge, and the love of your life, Ali Stewart Mhmm. In the same week. Mhmm. Yeah. Great week. Great, great, great week. Okay. Hold on. Let me find this passage. You really have read the book. Wow. It's a lot of book. So you're at Larry's house, and the sign up at school says, drummer seeks musicians to form band. That's it. Is that how it works? That's how it worked. And I'm very grateful, to, I think, the 14 year old, Larry Mullen, for posting that. And yeah. The school Mount Temple comprehensive was very hard to explain. It's because you have to try and imagine this is, you know, the seventies in Ireland. We really are something on the brink of civil war. And here's this school where people are allowed to be themselves. I mean, you might say that the sort of nondenominational aspect is unique. …
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SurrenderBy guestby Bono
“Bono discusses his memoir Surrender with Brené Brown, exploring how Mount Temple Comprehensive School shaped his worldview, his 40-year marriage to Ali, activism through finding common ground, and wrestling with faith contradictions.”
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