Episodes

Author and entrepreneur Luke Burgis joins us to explore the invisible architecture of human desire — and how understanding it can radically change our choices, ambitions, and sense of self. Drawing on his book *Wanting* and t...

Laura Owens, broadcaster and domestic violence survivor, shares her journey from an abusive relationship to reclaiming her voice and sense of self. Growing up in a family dedicated to broadcasting and storytelling, she learne...

Kristin Neff, pioneering researcher and author of *Self-Compassion*, shares a groundbreaking case for why treating ourselves with kindness isn’t indulgent — it’s essential. Drawing on decades of academic research and personal...

Kate Peterson, artist and author, shares her journey from chasing Instagram validation to defining success on her own terms. After spending 10 months in Greece, she realized that achievement itself was hollow—what mattered wa...

Kamal Ravikant, author of "Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It," breaks down the neuroscience and daily practice of self-love as a transformative mental discipline. Drawing from his own journey through depression, Kama...

Justin Connor, filmmaker and musician behind The Golden Age, shares how his saxophonist father and jazz-loving parents never encouraged music yet inadvertently programmed workaholism into his DNA—a double-edged sword that bec...

Jim Kwik, brain performance expert and author of Limitless, reveals how a childhood brain injury transformed him from the kid with the broken brain into one of the world leading authorities on accelerated learning and memory....

Vanessa Van Edwards, behavioral researcher and author, traces her expertise in human behavior back to being a highly neurotic student council nerd with few friends in high school. That discomfort zone became her comfort zone—...

Tiago Forte, creator of the Second Brain methodology, shares how attending five different schools in five consecutive years obliterated his social circles and forced him to become a chameleon—crossing between student governme...

Susan Magsamen, author of Your Brain on Art, explores creativity through neuroscience rather than philosophy or technique. Born to working-class parents who never attended college—her father worked his way up from nurseries t...

Robin Dellabough, writer and editor, shares her unconventional journey from growing up in a bohemian Greenwich Village household to spending decades supporting other people's creativity. Raised by beatnik parents who gave her...

Rob Bloom, creative director for Universal theme parks, shares his journey living with a stutter that shaped his entire life and career. He reveals how hiding his stutter for 30 years meant ordering food he didn't want, watch...

Rich Karlgaard, author of Late Bloomers, dismantles the toxic narrative that success must come early. Drawing from his father's reinvention in his 30s and his own struggles after college, he explains why our obsession with ea...

Rebecca Beltran shares her unconventional journey from polyamory to becoming a courtesan, challenging cultural stigma around sex work and intimacy. She reveals that her work is primarily about connection and being truly seen—...

Jenny Blake, author of "Free Time," reveals how her father—an architect who gives ruthless editorial feedback with his "WKIYB" abbreviation (we know it’s your book)—taught her to eliminate unnecessary qualifiers and strengthe...

Marc Elliott shares his controversial perspective on NXIVM, arguing that media narratives have distorted the truth about Keith Raniere and the organization. Living with severe Tourette syndrome for 20 years, Elliott found rel...

Luvvie Ajayi Jones challenges the cultural expectation that harmony is more important than justice. As a professional troublemaker, she argues that speaking up in rooms where bad ideas or unjust systems persist is not just ne...

Peter Krask, creator of Myth Merchant and former Hollywood producer, shares his journey from quitting grad school to producing reality TV to building a business around storytelling and mythology. After realizing a PhD wasn't ...

Oliver Burkeman, author of "The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking," dismantles the self-help industry's obsession with optimism and goal-setting. Raised as a Quaker with pro-social parents, Burk...

In this powerful conversation, former CBS news anchor and positive psychology researcher Michelle Gielan unpacks how we can rewire our communication habits to shape more resilient, empowered, and optimistic lives — both perso...

Michelle Florendo shares her journey from following the immigrant dream of Stanford, an MBA, and a "good job" to discovering she was miserable and needed to chart her own path. As a decision engineering expert, she reveals th...

Justin McRoberts, musician, pastor, and author of "It's What You Make of It," shares how confronting death early in life shaped his approach to creativity and faith. Having attended over 20 funerals by age 25, McRoberts expla...

Jeff Wald, author of The End of Jobs and CEO of WorkMarket, examines how robots and AI are creating the fourth industrial revolution—a massive power shift from workers to companies that mirrors past technological upheavals. D...

Jeff Spencer, former Olympic cyclist and performance coach to Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, and Olympic gold medalists, breaks down the precise architecture of champion-level achievement. From losing his father at age 10 to c...