Exploring bell hooks' transformative vision of love as an active choice rather than just a feeling, and how this perspective can heal both personal relationships and broader social divides.

Creado por exalumnos de la Universidad de Columbia en San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
Creado por exalumnos de la Universidad de Columbia en San Francisco

Jackson: Hey Eli, I've been thinking a lot about love lately—not just romantic love, but love as this... force in our lives. And I keep hearing people talk about bell hooks' book "All About Love." Have you read it?
Eli: I have, and it's fascinating how that book has had such a resurgence in recent years. What's really striking is how bell hooks approaches love not as this fluffy, sentimental thing, but as something radical and transformative.
Jackson: Right, and that's what caught my attention. She defines love in a way I hadn't really considered before—as "the will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth." That's pretty different from how we typically talk about love, isn't it?
Eli: Exactly. And what's powerful about her approach is that she challenges this idea that love is just a feeling that happens to us. Instead, she frames it as an action, a choice—something we do rather than something we fall into.
Jackson: You know, that reminds me of something I read in the book where she says, "The word 'love' is most often defined as a noun, yet we would all love better if we used it as a verb." That really stuck with me.
Eli: It's such a simple but profound shift in thinking. And what makes her work so compelling is how she connects personal love to broader social issues. She argues that our inability to love well in our personal lives is connected to larger systems of oppression and injustice.
Jackson: That's what I find most intriguing—this idea that learning to love isn't just about improving our relationships, but about transforming society. Let's explore how hooks breaks down the different dimensions of love and why she believes it's so essential for healing our divided world.