Can a game help us explore life's answers? Or teach us about our own existence? Poker, neither a game of chance nor of mathematical precision, may hold clues. In her book "The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself and Win," the psychologist and best-selling author Maria Konnikova enters the world of high-stakes poker as a novice and transforms into an expert. Along the way, she investigates the role that luck plays in our lives and why we can't control everything. In this episode of the podcast “The Next Chapter” by American Express Business Class, Konnikova and host Cardiff Garcia discuss what poker can teach us about better decision making.

The Next Chapter by American Express Business Class is back for a second season. In each episode, Cardiff Garcia will speak to a best-selling author from the world of business. Our guests this season will be Maria Konnikova, Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano, David Epstein, Susan Cain, Julie Zhuo and James Clear.

In the final episode of the season, Cardiff Garcia is joined by Malcolm Gladwell to discuss his work as co-founder and president of the audio production company Pushkin Industries, and host of “Revisionist History,” the successful podcast in which he reconsiders overlooked or misunderstood events of the past. The conversation took place in Pushkin’s recording studio in Hudson, N.Y., with topics spanning from what it means to challenge conventional wisdom to the delicate science of “hiring nihilism.”

How can the principles of conflict resolution apply to your next gathering? Priya Parker, a facilitator, strategic adviser and best-selling author of the book “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters,” makes the case that coming together involves more than the proper etiquette – it’s the connection between the people. In this episode, Parker instructs listeners on how to plan more meaningful gatherings, from the birthday party to the boardroom meeting.

Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist, best-selling author and the top-rated professor at one of the world’s most prestigious business schools for seven years running. Grant’s influential book “Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World” makes the case for an outsider approach to problem solving, drawn from years of his own academic research, the groundwork of others and interviews with famous freethinkers. In this episode, Cardiff Garcia sits down with Grant to examine how organizations can encourage a culture of originality, and how his thoughts have shifted since the book’s publication in 2016.