The Problem With… isn’t here to give easy answers - it’s here to ask the uncomfortable questions behind today’s biggest trends and taboos.
Each week, host James Smith digs into what’s really going on - from AI to wellness culture - through unfiltered chats with experts and insiders to uncover the truth behind the noise.
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The Truth About GLP-1s, Menopause, And Female Founders (Rebecca Oliver-Mooney)
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 • Duration 01:27:01
Rebecca Oliver-Mooney joins James Smith for a conversation that starts with a left-handed can and ends up somewhere far more uncomfortable. Founder of the Raising The Glass network and a drinks industry buyer who has sat on the other side of the table from hundreds of challenger brands, Rebecca explains why most founders put half their message where the shelf will hide it, why GLP-1s are about to reshape what food and drink gets made, and why menopause is the category nobody has been willing to build for yet.
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Rebecca Oliver-Mooney On LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-oliver-mooney-65730614/
She explains:
◼️ Why retailers cover the bottom half of your packaging, and what belongs up top
◼️ What GLP-1s actually do to appetite, and why the shame is the bigger problem
◼️ Why menopause is the next outcome-led category in food and drink
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:26 The Left-Handed Can
03:07 Why Retailers Hide Half Your Packaging
03:42 Ingredients vs Benefits On Pack
04:43 The Conversation About Hiding The Eye
06:19 What Raising The Glass Actually Is
07:55 Was I Being Hypersensitive?
08:44 The Free Mentoring Platform
10:16 Do Men Really Interrupt More?
11:53 Two Women Founders Getting On Shelf
14:18 Toy Trucks And Gendered Play
17:29 Changing Your Political Stance
18:16 Algorithms And Echo Chambers
19:50 Women Coming Into Neutonic
21:26 Electrolytes And The Salt Brands
23:50 GLP-1s: The Real Conversation
24:38 Do You Still Eat On GLP-1s?
28:07 The Shame Around The Medication
30:36 Never Being Hungry Again
32:13 Two Extreme Views On Telling People
36:08 GLP-1s Compared To Insulin
39:20 When Only One Of You Can Afford It
40:53 Wealth, Connections And Starting Again
46:25 Are Men More Driven To Seek Status?
47:59 The Iceberg Model
48:48 Imposter Syndrome
51:11 Raising Investment
53:33 This Candidate Is Probably Going To Be A Man
55:58 Equality vs Equity
58:25 The Employee Who Was Caring For His Mum
59:08 HRT And Dr Louise Newson
01:01:30 Menopause Behind Closed Doors
01:03:32 Anabolic Steroids And Crashed Estrogen
01:04:43 Nothing Is Explained At School
01:06:21 Menopause As The Next Category
01:10:20 Calm, Energy And What Sells
01:15:08 How Buyers Actually Pick Products
01:18:18 The Category Diamond
01:19:06 Smoke And Mirrors For Challenger Brands
01:21:29 Find Your Tribe
01:23:01 You Deserve To Be In The Room
01:25:13 Fake It Till You Make It: The Power Pose
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The Truth About Balding, Booze, And Being A Dad At 50 (Jason Fox)
Thursday, September 17, 2026 • Duration 01:29:48
Jason 'Foxy' Fox joins James Smith, on his wife's birthday no less, for an unfiltered and very funny conversation that swaps the usual topics for a proper sit-down with the boys. A former UK Special Forces operator and the longest-serving member of the SAS: Who Dares Wins directing staff, Foxy opens up about becoming a dad again at 50 after seven years of IVF, missing his son's birth over a WhatsApp video call, and why newborn sleep deprivation hits harder than anything the military threw at him.
👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith
🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith
📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business
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Jason Fox On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jason_carl_fox/
Jason Fox On X - https://x.com/jason_carl_fox
Ultra 4 Charity - https://ultra4charity.com
He explains:
◼️ Why newborn sleep deprivation is worse than military exercises
◼️ What it's really like to be away working when your child is born
◼️ How Ultra 4 Charity makes ultra marathons accessible for everyone
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:30 Baldness, Hair Transplants and Finasteride
07:05 How Fatherhood Feels Different Second Time Around
08:08 James's Son Blocked From Entering the UK
09:22 Missing His Son's Birth Over WhatsApp
12:22 Older Parents and Seven Years of IVF
14:59 James's Adoption and the Stolen Cheque
17:22 Ibiza Chaos and Writing a Will
19:31 The Pregnancy Complication That Forced an Early Birth
21:37 James's Emergency C-Section Story
24:20 Special Forces vs Newborn Sleep Deprivation
25:10 The Sleep Coach That Actually Worked
28:11 Being Away Filming SAS: Who Dares Wins
30:10 Sam Burgess: Headlocks and Falling Off the Wagon
35:44 Is London Still Worth It?
39:08 Ultra 4 Charity: Running for Veterans
41:42 How Jiu-Jitsu Gives Veterans Purpose
42:27 Foxy's Muay Thai and BJJ Journey
45:08 Snapping His Leg on a 300ft Tower
48:25 Getting Caught by a 'White Belt'
50:14 Rolling With a GB Judo Black Belt
53:57 Why Strikers Scare James
55:43 The Shoplifter Who Sang for the Queen
58:00 Teaching Young Leaders About Mental Health
59:10 James Nearly Joined the Army
01:00:29 Has Britain's Attitude to the Military Changed?
01:02:15 Veteran Support and Military Respect
01:03:07 The ThruDark Story
01:07:37 The Blocked Urethra That Led to Sepsis
01:13:36 In Praise of NHS Emergency Care
01:14:54 A Bali Moped Crash and NHS Hallways
01:18:11 Foxy's Only Real Goal in Life
01:20:41 Adult Circumcision and Other Injuries Down There
01:22:11 The Schoolyard Punch and Gaps in Body Armour
01:23:57 MrBallen's Grenade Story
01:26:41 From an IED Blast to a UK High Street in 16 Hours
01:28:45 Calm in Chaos, Chaos in the Calm
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What Actually Happens To Your Taxes? : Frank Greeff
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 • Duration 01:17:28
Frank Greeff joins James Smith fresh off a $180 million exit for a raw conversation about tax, talent and why the game never really ends. Frank breaks down the $6.2M tax bill from selling his last business, the proposed Australian capital gains changes that would have doubled it, and why, hand on heart, he isn't sure he'd have started his last company if those rules had existed first.
Check out Kinso on YouTube : @KinsoAI
Follow Frank Greeff on intagram : https://www.instagram.com/frankgreeff_/
Try Kinso: https://www.kinso.ai/
👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith
🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith
📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business
🏋🏼♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com
Chapters:
00:00 The $6.2M Tax Bill
03:05 Australia's Proposed Capital Gains Changes
04:19 How Indexation Doubles the Tax to $12M
05:31 "Show Me the Incentive, I'll Show You the Outcome"
06:53 Capital Gains Isn't Income Tax
07:39 The Trickle-Down Effect of Building Businesses
08:55 Gaming the System & the "Nurses and Teachers" Trap
11:13 Killing the Entrepreneurial Spirit
12:44 Why the Rich Leave: Dubai & $1.5M a Year
14:46 The UK £100k Tax Trap
15:50 Becoming a Reddit Hit Piece
16:43 Three of His Network Have Already Left
18:51 New Zealand: No Capital Gains Tax
20:05 Why Australia Is an Entrepreneur's Dream
20:56 Hostels, Sleepwalking Lies & the Woolworths Confession
22:44 How Hard It Is for Brits to Stay in Australia
24:31 Locked Out in the Pandemic
25:50 The "Plane That Couldn't Land"
28:38 Dinner With Tony Abbott & Chris Williamson
31:06 Payroll Tax: The "Temporary" 1950s Tax
31:57 Daniel Priestley & the Lifestyle Business
32:44 The Dinner Bill Analogy: When the Rich Leave
34:31 What Kinso Actually Does
36:29 Filtering Spam & Rebuilding Context
38:39 Fundraising Stories: The Dubai Deck
40:05 Why WhatsApp Is King
41:05 Inside Kinso's Beta & Manual Onboarding
42:53 The Netflix Content Strategy (11.9M Views)
44:48 Thinking Like a Media Company
45:53 The Character Arbitrage
47:56 15 Reels a Day & Trial Reels
49:41 Instagram Edits & the Sauna Guy
50:36 The Nicotine Pouch Trick Shot Ad
51:59 Trying Neutonic on Camera
53:56 TikTok Shop: 45,000 UK Sales
55:56 The Fake "Caught Cheating" Reels Model
57:24 Retail Blows His Mind
58:12 Rate of Sale & the Language of Retail
01:00:43 Business as a Coping Mechanism
01:02:16 Money as a Byproduct of the Game
01:03:35 Relief, Not Happiness, When You Hit Goals
01:04:44 The Pregnancy Analogy & a Live Negotiation
01:07:30 Do You Ever Get Bored?
01:08:20 The Post-Sale Support Group Dinner
01:10:49 Buying the RS6 & Feeling Nothing
01:11:49 What Necker Island Was Really Like
01:13:22 Losing the Ability to Enjoy Things
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Traitors Star Andrew Jenkins: The Problem With Mental Health
Thursday, July 30, 2026 • Duration 01:16:15
Andrew Jenkins, the Traitors star, joins James Smith for a raw conversation about resilience, identity, and rebuilding a life after everything is taken away. At 21, Andrew was pronounced dead at the scene of a catastrophic car accident, lost half his skull and over half his blood, and was told he'd never walk, talk, or recognise anyone again. He walked out of that hospital and then spent 15 years suffering in silence behind a good body, a nice house, and a successful banking career.
👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith
🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith
📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business
🏋🏼♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com
Andrew Jenkins On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/andrewjenkinsofficial/
Andrew Jenkins On YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@andrewjenkinsofficial
Andrew Jenkins's Website – https://www.andrew-jenkins.co.uk/
He explains:
◼️ Why failure is how you learn and why cotton-wool parenting is failing kids
◼️ How he attached his identity and his father's love to a rugby ball
◼️ Why the people with the biggest smiles are often struggling the most
◼️ How to get to the root cause instead of papering over the cracks
◼️ Why talking doesn't make you weak it makes you stronger
Chapters:
00:00 The Hidden Cost of Success
01:13 First Impressions from The Traitors
01:50 The Real Problem With Resilience
02:37 Why Business Owners Are Terrified to Fail
03:22 No More First, Second or Third at School
04:29 The Coach Who Told Him the Brutal Truth
06:43 The Dream of Playing Rugby for Wales
06:54 Attaching His Dad's Love to Rugby
08:08 James's Rugby Days and Welsh "Supplements"
09:14 The Catastrophic Car Accident
11:02 Told He'd Never Walk Again
11:56 "I Guarantee I'll Walk Out of Here"
12:40 Brain Injury, CTE and Rugby
13:37 The Other Four People in the Car
14:38 Living With the Trauma
15:52 Great on the Outside, Hating Himself Inside
16:25 Losing His Identity and His Dad
18:39 How One Concussion Can Change a Person
19:30 His Son's Concussions and a Parent's Fear
20:45 Finding Another Outlet for Competition
23:12 Sport, Business and Meritocracy
24:11 Climbing the Wrong Ladder
25:36 Does More Money Make It Worse?
28:01 Why One Bad Day Can Wreck the Privileged
29:26 Growing Up in the Graveyard of Ambition
30:43 James Being Locked Out of Australia
32:35 Happiness Is an Internal Job
35:57 Happiness vs Pleasure and the Hedonic Treadmill
37:31 Why Every Goal Feels Empty
38:59 Talking Yourself Through Your Emotions
40:08 Root Cause Analysis for Mental Health
42:02 The Chimp Paradox and Self-Awareness
42:58 Environment vs Brain Chemistry
43:54 Menopause, Women and Suicide
44:26 TRT, Testosterone and Low T
47:24 Crashing Your Estrogen — The Male Menopause
48:38 James's Own Low Testosterone Story
49:58 Talking to His Son About Drugs
52:36 The Four Ways He Measured Masculinity
53:35 Telling His Parents the Truth
55:08 Being the Responsible One
55:55 Why We Should Educate Kids Honestly About Drugs
57:39 The Truth About Ketamine
58:26 Alcohol vs Everything Else
1:01:54 Psychedelics as Mental Health Treatment
1:03:23 Amsterdam After His Mother Passed
1:04:52 LSD in the Park and a Friend's Breakthrough
1:05:42 Acid at a Wedding
1:07:35 Closing Advice: Believe in Yourself
1:09:03 Creating a Second Path
1:10:14 Surround Yourself With the Right People
1:11:00 Breaking Stigmas — Talking Makes You Stronger
1:12:36 Meeting the Man Who Saved His Life
1:13:07 Where to Find Andrew
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Why The Aussie Economy is F*cked
Tuesday, June 30, 2026 • Duration 01:33:20
Tom Hawley joins James Smith to expose the deliberate machinery behind a cost-of-living crisis most people don't even know is happening to them. The co-founder of Azura Financial, one of Australia's top 10 brokerages and a three-time Residential Broker of the Year, Hawley argues that inflation isn't a natural force but a policy choice, a quiet tax on your purchasing power that hits lower and middle-income earners hardest precisely because they can't see it.
👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith
🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith
📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business
🏋🏼♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com
Tom Hawley on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/tom_hawley_/
Azura Financial – https://www.azurafinancial.com.au
Chapters:
00:00 The Hidden Tax Nobody Voted For
01:13 What Is Inflation Really?
04:11 Why Governments Want Your Money to Lose Value
06:44 Capital Gains: How the Goalposts Just Moved
08:01 Why High-Growth Investment Gets Punished Most
09:08 James's Plan to Dodge the Tax Man
10:30 Is the Stock Market Even Worth the Risk Now?
13:35 Are Australia's Politicians Thick or Deceptive?
15:35 Did Labor Politicians Just Commit Insider Trading?
16:50 Pulling the Ladder Up on Negative Gearing
19:42 Australia Is in Economic Trouble
22:43 The Immigration Trap: Six Years Locked Out
27:59 The 457 Visa That Vanished Overnight
31:18 What GDP Growth Actually Hides
32:37 The Festival Trick That Explains the Economy
35:24 Printing Money Is Just Diluting You
38:03 Government Waste and the $70,000 Plaque
41:14 Three Tiers: Government, Employment, Self-Employed
45:09 The Curse of Never Switching Off
47:59 Chasing a Billion-Dollar Exit for Neutonic
50:02 Why the Journey Beats the Payday
53:03 A Petrolhead's Defence of Buying the Car
57:31 Why Ripping It for Ten Kids Is Worth It
01:00:00 Smiles Per Mile vs Saving It All
01:02:25 The Revolver Logic of Retirement
01:04:20 Should You Buy a House or a GT3?
01:08:02 Why Buy When the Market Feels Worst
01:11:48 The Leverage Play Explained
01:13:18 Will Gen Z Just Inherit It All Anyway?
01:15:00 Are We Heading For a Death Tax?
01:17:08 The Welfare Trap: Better Off Not Working
01:21:33 You Get Less of What You Tax
01:23:49 Will Australia Lose Its Entrepreneurs?
01:24:54 Tall Poppy Syndrome vs the American Way
01:27:38 Closing Advice for the Everyday Punter
01:28:51 What the Government Must Do to Save the Australian Dream
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The Problem With Running A Small Business: Diren Kartal
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 • Duration 01:15:35
Diren Kartal joins James Smith for an honest, often hilarious conversation about what running a small business actually does to you once the money is coming in but the freedom isn't. Diren is a personal trainer and Turkey's number one fitness coach with over 1.2 million followers, and despite bringing in hundreds of thousands a year he can't shake the feeling that none of it sticks. Together they unpick the tax trap that's bleeding British high-earners dry, the brutal "valley of death" stage of scaling, his secret ADHD diagnosis, and why the two of them keep eyeing the exits to Australia, Dubai and Turkey.
👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith
🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith
📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business
🏋🏼♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com
Diren Kartal's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/DirenKartal
Diren Kartal On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/diren.kartal/
He explains:
◼️ Why he can earn hundreds of thousands a year and still not feel a penny of it
◼️ The HENRY trap, and why earning over 100k in the UK can quietly leave you worse off
◼️ The secret ADHD diagnosis and meds that finally turned the noise off and let him focus
◼️ Why the rich borrow against their assets instead of selling, and never pay the tax
◼️ Why short-form scrolling left him "depressed and disgusted" and long form is the real comeback
Chapters:
00:00 The Problem With Running A Small Business
01:25 Bringing In Hundreds Of Thousands And Feeling Nothing
01:52 HENRY: High Earner, Not Rich Yet
03:21 The Cost Of Living In London Right Now
04:07 Every Tax Under The Sun
05:25 Why The Shops Keep Shutting Down
06:27 Business Rates Are The Real Killer
07:39 Going All-In And How Tough It's Been
07:56 Is AI A Disruptor Or A Distraction?
09:00 Why AI Still Can't Replace The Human Bit
10:27 The Real Reason People Stopped Posting
11:58 Living It vs Looking Like You're Living
12:51 The Steven Bartlett Problem
14:19 Being Unapologetically Yourself
15:10 Short Form Is Dying, Long Form Is Back
17:00 The Will Kennedy Trust Lesson
18:03 The Diren Kartal Experience
20:27 Thinking Fast And Slow: Give Him An A-Task
22:00 Why Men Talk Shoulder To Shoulder
23:54 The Front End Is Easy, The Back End Breaks You
25:36 Long-Term Memory, Terrible Short-Term Memory
26:23 The Pressure Nobody Warns You About
27:45 You Don't Want Your Son To See You Fail
28:28 Council Estate Vibes And The Fear Of Going Back
29:25 Getting The Psych Test
30:25 Six Months On ADHD Meds
32:20 Manufacturing Stress To Motivate Yourself
34:30 Is There A Real Return On The Meds?
35:35 Escaping The Desk Job To Build Another One
36:53 The 150 Grand Website Regret
37:50 Australia Is Bad, The UK Is Worse
40:04 289,000 Businesses Set To Fail This Year
41:20 Boomers Hate To Hear How Good They Had It
43:50 Why Earning More Can Leave You With Less
45:12 Your Favourite Part Of Britain Is Leaving It
46:23 Do The Elites Just Find The Loopholes?
47:04 Stop Making The Top Earners Feel Like Villains
49:05 Why Hating Landlords Makes No Sense
51:32 How Politicians Punish The Young To "Help" Them
53:16 Will He Stay In Australia?
53:43 How The Rich Borrow Against Assets And Pay No Tax
55:01 The Stuff They Never Teach You In School
56:17 The Money Chat That Changed Everything
57:43 The Valley Of Death: 12 To 30 Employees Is Hell
58:38 If He Did It Again He'd Stay Small
59:06 We're Both Hypocrites About Debt
01:00:17 Tripling The Money As An Investor
01:02:20 The Adapt Story And Building A Brand With Mates
01:04:26 What's Missing From Jiu Jitsu
01:07:28 Just Wanting To Look Good On The Mats
01:08:35 Taking The Piss Out Of Jiu Jitsu Culture
01:09:06 Becoming The Joe Wicks Of Turkey
01:10:47 Should You Get Assessed For ADHD?
01:11:33 Meds, Music And Feeling Like You're On Psychedelics
01:12:36 Raising A Son Without The Noise
01:13:23 Wrapping Up
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The Problem With Splitting The Difference: Chris Voss
Tuesday, June 16, 2026 • Duration 57:37
👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith
🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith
📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business
🏋🏼♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com
Chris Voss's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/ @NegotiationMastery
Chris Voss On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thefbinegotiator/
Chris Voss joins James Smith for a masterclass on the psychology of negotiation, trust, and getting what you want without ever splitting the difference. A former FBI hostage negotiator and the bestselling author of Never Split the Difference, Voss breaks down why most people negotiate badly, how loss aversion quietly runs the room, and why the goal is never to win the moment but to build something that lasts.
He explains:
◼️ Why splitting the difference leaves everyone feeling cheated
◼️ How to catch a liar off guard and then get them to tell the truth
◼️ Why predictability, not charm, is what actually builds trust
◼️ The grocery store move that turns a stranger into an ally
◼️ Why walking away only works when you genuinely mean it
Chapters:
00:00 The Problem With Splitting the Difference
02:23 Why We Overreact to Loss
03:26 The Emotions You're Born With
03:59 Loss Aversion, Jiu Jitsu and the Submission
05:20 Catching Liars in Their Own Web
06:14 How a Polygraph Really Works
08:01 Shu Ha Ri and the Art of Mastery
10:34 Sending Students Into the Wild to Practice
11:15 The Three Commodities in Every Negotiation
12:36 The Broccoli Sprouts Masterclass
13:30 Priming and the Power of Pattern Interrupt
15:10 Why Using Someone's Name Defuses Violence
18:33 The Hardest Part Isn't Catching the Lie
20:25 Short Term Loss vs The Loss That Kills You
22:32 Why Entrepreneurs Make Weak Negotiators
23:18 How to Actually Ask Your Boss for a Raise
26:03 The Hidden Power of Deference
27:21 The Sales Tricks That Have Been Weaponised
29:49 Why Honest Sellers Win More Deals
31:33 Predictability Is Trust in Disguise
33:15 Inside the Black Swan Community
35:47 Buying a Car With Empathy Instead of Ego
37:19 Is Walking Away a Skill or a Bluff?
40:29 Relationships Are Ongoing Negotiations
42:17 Never Be So Sure You'd Miss Something Better
44:50 Cadence, Silence and Sounding Important
46:08 Using Humour to Disarm a Cold Room
48:25 Deactivating Fear Instead of Fighting It
50:10 Negotiation, Dating and the Renewals Process
52:11 Should You Ever Touch During a Negotiation?
53:13 Where to Start If You Want to Get Good
55:35 The 48 Hour Challenge That Will Change Your Day
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The Problem With Training After 30: Sonny Webster
Wednesday, June 10, 2026 • Duration 01:03:41
Sonny Webster joins James Smith for an honest conversation about what training, money and ambition actually look like once you hit your 30s. A British Olympic weightlifter who competed at Rio 2016, Sonny is now a fitness entrepreneur building global training platforms, and he doesn't hold back on the realities of optimisation culture, the TRT debate.
👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith
🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith
📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business
🏋🏼♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com
Sonny Webster's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@sonnywebsterGB
Sonny Webster On Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sonnywebstergb/
He explains:
◼️ Why training after 30 becomes a completely different ball game
◼️ How peptides and GLP-1s are quietly reshaping the fitness industry
◼️ What moving to Dubai really costs (and why money evaporates faster)
◼️ Why handing over money is the thing that actually makes people change
◼️ Where testosterone sits for the everyday athlete who'll never compete
Chapters:
00:00 The Testosterone Debate and Sonny's WADA Ban
00:57 Why Training After 30 Hits Like a Brick Wall
02:10 Olympic Lifting for Longevity, Not Platforms
04:15 Going Sober and the Death of the Wild Weekend
05:07 Peptides, TRT and the World of Optimisation
06:26 Why GLP-1s Make You Hate Alcohol
07:50 Grabbing the Low-Hanging Fruit First
08:32 Becoming a Slave to Your Wearables
12:24 How Dubai Changed Sonny's Physique
16:22 Tax-Free Living and the Money That Evaporates
18:45 Going Back to the UK and Embracing London
20:54 Why Your Friendship Circle Shrinks in Your 30s
23:31 Sonny's Goals: Minimal Effective Dose
26:27 Body, Business, Relationships, You Can't Have All Three
28:05 The Power of a Business Coach and Cutting the Noise
30:16 Why Paying for Something Makes You Actually Do It
31:00 Why Free Codes Create the Worst Clients
32:32 No Transformation Without the Pain
34:48 As Close to 50 as I Am to 23
35:34 Testosterone, the Enhanced Games and Masters Lifting
38:28 The Track Car Logic of TRT
40:34 The Double Standards of Optimisation
41:31 Are We the Peak Optimisation Generation?
43:34 Relationships, Freedom and Finding Hannah
44:56 Having Kids and Knowing When You've Got "Enough"
49:30 The Fair Points Podcast and Missed Opportunities
51:52 Taboo Topics and Creating a Safe Space
52:36 Building a Legacy in Dubai
56:14 Speed Cameras, Statham and Going Bald Gracefully
59:14 The Russian Banya Near-Death Experience
01:01:45 Scaling The Lifting Zone and the Clothing Brand
01:03:09 Wrapping Up
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The Problem With Work-Life Balance: Paul Mort
Tuesday, June 2, 2026 • Duration 01:17:47
Paul Mort joins James Smith for a no-holds-barred conversation on work-life balance, building a business you don't want to escape, and why most people are chasing a version of freedom they haven't earned yet. A two-time Master Coach of the Year, bestselling author, and podcast host, Paul Mort makes the case that work-life balance isn't a time problem or a workload problem; it's a clarity problem, and you can't hit a target you can't see.
👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith
🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith
📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business
🏋🏼♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com
Paul Mort's YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@paulmortofficial
Paul Mort on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/paulmort/
He explains:
◼️ How boundaries — not balance — are what actually protect your life
◼️ Why a great hire is an investment, not a cost
◼️ What a "shitty job" teaches you that Gen Z has been sold out of
◼️ Why you should buy back time before you buy the Ferrari
Chapters:
00:00 The Real Problem With Work-Life Balance
03:10 You Haven't Earned Chapter 20 Freedom Yet
04:45 Boundaries Are How You Protect What Matters
06:26 Hire People Who Manage You, Not the Other Way Round
08:55 Bringing Other Humans Into the Business
09:45 Death By a Thousand Requests
12:27 A Ferrari or a Member of Staff?
13:45 Why a Great Hire Is an Investment, Not a Cost
14:30 Has Gen Z Been Sold a Pipe Dream?
15:07 Why James Only Hires People Who've Had a Shitty Job
16:50 The Hires That Went Wrong
17:32 Your Biggest Haters Are Former Fans
20:25 Chasing Clout and Why It's Never About You
21:13 When the Comments Feel Like the Whole World
22:39 Defending Your Friends but Not Yourself
25:49 Practising Gratitude as Success Gets Complicated
27:01 Your Values Shift — and That Becomes a Boundary
29:14 Lying to Yourself About Being Happy "Later"
30:09 Could You Actually Retire? And Would You?
32:38 The Curse of the Creator-Led Business
34:06 The Fear of Losing Relevancy
35:02 Paul's 18-Month Disappearance and Comeback
35:54 Doing Less of the Stuff You Hate
36:51 The 2014 Ad That Turned James Into a Marketer
38:17 Why the Old Marketing Still Works
39:35 What Gen Z Doesn't See About the Grind
41:56 Eating Shit: Empty Seminars and Worse
42:08 The Boot Camp Disaster Story
42:47 The Hidden Work-Life Balance of a 9-to-5
45:11 A Shrinking Runway With the Kids
45:31 Jealous of People Sinking Beers at the Airport
47:34 Shedding Your Old Skin
47:42 Four Years Booze-Free and Training at Lunchtime
49:14 The Eight Sleep Obsession
53:57 Japanese Toilets and Things You Don't Value Till You Try
55:25 Why a Nice Car Is Integral to How You Feel
58:54 Being Sensible With Money to Buy Back Freedom
58:43 Swapping Time for Money, Money for Time, Money for Money
59:14 The Retirement Gamble Nobody Talks About
01:00:41 Diminishing Returns and Setting Up Your Kids
01:02:56 Getting Kicked Out of School and the Job Centre Story
01:04:48 Raising Kids to Know What Hard Work Feels Like
01:06:02 How Do You Feel About Tax?
01:08:00 Is the UK a Good Place to Build a Business?
01:09:02 Strong Opinions From People Who've Never Done It
01:10:18 Brown Belt Humility and Getting Touched Up by Pros
01:11:33 Getting Outclassed by Your Own 15-Year-Old Son
01:12:34 Seasons of Training — and the Hypocrisy of It
01:13:11 Why "Work a Bit Less" Is Too Vague to Work
01:14:08 How Do You Grow a Business in 3.5 Days a Week?
01:15:03 Ask Better Questions, Set Clearer Goals
01:15:44 What Paul's Working On: The 90-Day Transformation Returns
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The Problem With Not Understanding The Economy: Tom Bilyeu
Tuesday, May 26, 2026 • Duration 01:03:59
Tom Bilyeu joins James Smith to discuss how broken the modern economy really is. The host of Impact Theory and co-founder of Quest Nutrition argues that inflation is theft, that you cannot save your way to success anymore, and that elites are quietly funneling wealth from the working class.
He explains:
◼️ Why a balanced budget changes every policy argument
◼️ How property markets get fixed by deregulation, not taxes
◼️ Why men should be encouraged to go hard in the paint
◼️ How AI is shrinking headcount while multiplying output
◼️ Why paying down debt can quietly beat the stock market
👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith
🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith
📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business
🏋🏼♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com
Tom Bilyeu's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@TomBilyeu
Tom Bilyeu On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tombilyeu/
Chapters:
00:00 The Problem With Not Understanding The Economy
02:30 Inflation Theft and The Hidden Wealth Transfer
03:10 Australia's Capital Gains Tax Bombshell
05:03 The Negative Gearing Property Trap
08:01 Why The Stock Market Is Basically Gambling
11:19 Tom's Advice For An Ambitious 22-Year-Old
13:11 Why Society Now Hates Male Ambition
15:39 Women, The Patriarchy and Sexual Selection
17:48 Why People Demonise Billionaires
21:41 The American Buying Mentality vs The UK
23:14 What Actually Made America Great
26:42 Generational Amnesia and Forgotten Hardship
30:43 Living in Los Angeles and California
33:01 Can The Whole World Live The American Dream?
35:46 Japan, Assimilation and Shared Values
38:38 American Political Corruption as Entertainment
42:01 Human Nature, Greed and AI Government
45:00 Why AI Is The New Internet Moment
45:59 How AI Is Transforming Tom's Business
49:09 Video Games, VR and Escaping Reality
54:04 Addictive Personalities and Gaming
55:34 The Simple Financial Playbook
58:06 The Truth About Paying Down Your Debt
1:01:46 Should You Be Buying Bitcoin?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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