Explore every episode of the podcast The Tim Ferriss Show

For episode #888, I couldn’t resist going down a rabbit hole about the number eight and what it can tell us about luck, language, money, and fate. Join me for a nerdy tour of China, Japan, and Korea, including a million-dollar license plate, disappearing hotel floors, a casino room designed around one gambler’s birthday, and the lucky number hiding in Toyota’s name. This is my excuse to dust off some of my East Asian Studies background and indulge a few wonderfully weird interests. Please enjoy!

This episode is brought to you by:

• AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim

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Timestamps:

00:00 Episode 888: How do you design luck?

01:44 Why eight is lucky in Chinese culture.

04:48 Expensive phone numbers, license plates, and Olympic dates.

07:04 Lucky skyscrapers and apartment prices.

08:00 Four, death, and disappearing hotel floors.

09:31 Casinos, feng shui, and designing for good fortune.

12:12 A gaming room designed around one gambler’s birthday.

13:47 Uncle Sam’s lucky-money products.

14:20 Japan: Tim’s exchange-student experience.

14:36 How Japanese writing works: kanji, hiragana, and katakana.

16:53 Hachi, suehirogari, and the shape of growing prosperity.

18:33 From Toyoda to Toyota: eight lucky strokes.

19:25 The Shikoku pilgrimage, 88 temples, and Craig Mod.

19:57 Sponsor: AG1.

21:32 Korea: saju palja, eight characters, and the language of fate.

23:43 666 and the number of the beast.

24:20 Heavy metal, the evil eye, and Ronnie James Dio’s grandmother.

26:21 Why six and 666 can mean good fortune in China.

27:24 88, 886, and a numerological goodbye.

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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

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This episode explores what The 4-Hour Workweek looks like in the age of AI, rebuilding momentum when you’re stuck, navigating friendships, making room for serendipity, and much, much more.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Incogni, which removes your personal data from the web, helping shield you from fraud, scams, and identity theft: Incogni.com/Tim (use code TIM at checkout and get 60% off an annual plan)
• Our Place’s Titanium Always Pan® Pro using nonstick technology that’s coating-free and made without PFAS, otherwise known as “forever chemicals”: FromOurPlace.com/Tim
• Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: https://LiveMomentous.com/Tim
• AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim

Timestamps

• [00:00:00] Introduction.
• [00:01:23] The 4-Hour Workweek in the age of AI.
• [00:06:29] Revisiting old advice as your life changes.
• [00:09:10] Rebuilding momentum with small daily actions.
• [00:12:58] The one question Tim would ask every guest.
• [00:18:06] Staying close when friends drift apart.
• [00:22:19] Knowing when to persist and when to quit.
• [00:27:15] Oryx and age-related vision changes.
• [00:31:51] Investing 10 times more in health and relationships.
• [00:37:35] Making room for serendipity.
• [00:42:37] What Tim gets from live Q&As.
• [00:43:54] Climbing and building finger strength.
• [00:44:49] Tim's experience with accelerated TMS.
• [00:48:01] Bioelectric medicine and vagus nerve research.
• [00:49:22] State, story, strategy: answering questions well.
• [00:53:39] The movies and music behind Tim's writing routine.
• [00:55:09] Ten-minute meditation sessions, twice a day.
• [00:57:45] John Sarno, back pain, and the limits of one explanation.
• [01:04:26] Back Mechanic and the Egoscue exercises Tim still uses.
• [01:05:03] The 4-Hour Body after 40: Slow-Carb, fasting, and supplements.
• [01:09:01] A book recommendation for grieving.
• [01:09:55] What Tim would prioritize as a new parent.
• [01:12:20] The Happy Body and gymnastic strength training.

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this edition of The Random Show, Tim and Kevin reunite in L.A. to talk AI super assistants that run your life over text message, agentic shopping, beta-alanine for climbing endurance, walnuts and sperm quality, dream engineering and anesthesia dreams, boner pills, man makeup, The Dark Wizard, Tim's upcoming book, a Jean-Claude Van Damme splits bet, and much more. Please enjoy!

This episode is brought to you by:

• Timeline Mitopure, a highly pure form of Urolithin A that supports mitochondrial health and cellular renewal: Timeline.com/Tim (30% off for a limited time)
• Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/Tim
• Fin powerful AI Agent for all your customer service: Fin.Ai/Tim
• Gusto simple and easy payroll, HR, and benefits platform used by 400,000+ businesses: Gusto.com/Tim

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Start

00:00:52 AI super assistants: Instinct, Muse, Grok Bot, and ChatGPT dots

00:09:04 How AI agents could reshape shopping and video editing

00:19:43 Beta-alanine for climbing endurance

00:26:23 Psyllium, contaminants, and creatine without stomach trouble

00:30:34 Walnuts, sperm quality, and micronutrients

00:40:15 A2 protein shakes and practical training nutrition

00:46:20 Dream engineering, lucid dreaming, and brain stimulation

00:53:06 Anesthesia dreams and trauma recovery

00:59:19 DORA sleep medications and Alzheimer’s research

01:01:25 Plum Flower Curing Pills and Airofit breathing training

01:05:36 Brain-stimulating contact lenses and the mysteries of anesthesia

01:10:06 Boner pills, back pain, and the lure of enhancement

01:12:55 AI writing tools and the value of lived experience

01:16:51 “Personal Renewal”: John Gardner and the story of Cervantes

01:18:44 Man makeup, rosacea, and Kevin’s skincare routine

01:22:17 The Dark Wizard and the extraordinary life of Dean Potter

01:24:48 Studs Terkel’s Hard Times, Working, and the art of oral history

01:27:34 Exploring romantasy: Fourth Wing and A Court of Thorns and Roses

01:30:40 What Fifty Shades of Grey teaches about clear positioning

01:34:43 Tim’s next book: saying no in a world of noise

01:37:23 Authors Equity, publishing timelines, and the case for print

01:43:10 “Please Use AI,” Kurt Vonnegut, and preserving human connection

01:44:53 Will AI create more leisure—or just more work?

01:47:34 The $500 Jean-Claude Van Damme splits bet

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DISCLAIMER FROM TIM FERRISS: I am not an investment adviser or a medical professional. Nor is Kevin Rose. All opinions are mine alone. Or his. Nothing here is investment or medical advice; it is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Please talk to your doctor before trying any drug, supplement, or protocol we mention.

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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Follow Tim:

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Many of us feel like we’re drowning in invisible complexity. So I wanted to hit pause and ask a simple question: What are 1–3 decisions that could dramatically simplify my life?

In this episode:

• Chip Conley shares how a near-death experience on stage changed his life.
• Greg McKeown reveals what a stormtrooper costume has to do with all the goddamn clutter in our lives.
• David Allen explains why the to-do list living in your head costs you more than you think.
• Elizabeth Gilbert explains why she treats her inbox like her home and what she does when uninvited guests show up.
• And Oliver Burkeman explains why so much simplicity advice backfires and what has actually worked for him.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Eight Sleep Pod 6 which cools or heats each side of the bed, with custom elevation and snoring reduction, and wearable-free sleep tracking: EightSleep.com/tim
• AG1 Pro all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim

Timestamps:

Chip Conley: 00:01:36

Greg McKeown: 00:13:00:22

David Allen: 00:20:18:27

Elizabeth Gilbert: 00:28:35:17

Oliver Burkeman: 00:36:37:01

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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

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Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 

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Kevin Ryan is one of the leading entrepreneurs and investors in New York. Often called the “Godfather of NYC tech,” he is the founder and CEO of AlleyCorp, a New York based venture capital firm that incubates and invests across healthcare, AI and software, consumer tech, deep tech, and more. Kevin is also the co-founder of several notable companies including MongoDB, Business Insider, Zola, Gilt Groupe, and Transcend Therapeutics. Earlier in his career, Kevin was the CEO of DoubleClick, which he helped grow from a 20-person startup to a publicly-traded company with more than 1,500 employees.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Eight Sleep Pod 6 which cools or heats each side of the bed, with custom elevation and snoring reduction, and wearable-free sleep tracking: EightSleep.com/tim
• Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/Tim
• Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: LiveMomentous.com/Tim
• AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro from Tim

00:01:25 Kevin Ryan’s entrepreneurial track record

00:03:40 Spotting long-term trends and turning them into businesses

00:06:33 Designing gatherings and trips for great conversations

00:11:42 Second-order thinking and the missed YouTube opportunity

00:17:47 Gilt’s rise, shrinking moat, and knowing when to sell

00:22:06 From Dilbert to DoubleClick: early lessons and fast decisions

00:27:52 AlleyCorp’s model: start narrow, then scale

00:32:26 Recruiting founders and building Business Insider

00:38:28 Recognizing a business crush and choosing what to build

00:41:44 Investing in nuclear energy

00:43:26 Taking money off the table and keeping funds small

00:47:15 Ping-pong and the value of coaching

00:49:05 Making time for family, fitness, and vacation

00:51:52 Psychedelics and the origins of Transcend Therapeutics

00:54:20 Methylone, PTSD trials, and navigating the FDA

00:59:57 Transcend’s public-benefit mission and giving back

01:05:46 Deep tech, robotics, and the next wave of opportunities

01:11:35 Failed startups, MongoDB, and knowing when to persist

01:15:06 A more caring society: inequality, taxes, and opportunity

01:17:26 Immigration and attracting the world’s best talent

01:20:04 Why Kevin is bullish on New York

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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

My guest today is Tania de Jong, co-founder of Mind Medicine Australia. Tania and her husband, Peter, helped lead the push that, in 2023, made Australia the first country in the world to allow MDMA and psilocybin to be prescribed for psychiatric conditions. I wanted to understand how the hell they helped make that happen and what the rest of the world can learn from it.

This episode is brought to you by:

• ProLon science-backed Fasting Mimicking Diet that helps activate cellular renewal through fasting, while still eating nourishing meals: https://prolonlife.com/Tim
• Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: https://LiveMomentous.com/Tim
• AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim

Timestamps

[00:00:00] Intro from Tim.

[00:02:46] The article that changed Tania’s life.

[00:04:39] A first psychedelic experience—and the year it took to integrate it.

[00:10:17] Rick Doblin’s encouragement and the birth of Mind Medicine Australia.

[00:13:15] Turning regulatory rejection into a stronger application.

[00:20:48] Building a grassroots movement and training clinicians.

[00:23:23] Cold emails, scientific allies, and singing your way into the room.

[00:31:11] A week with Ram Dass: silence, singing, and an extraordinary LSD story.

[00:37:54] Bringing David Nutt—and a family’s devastating story—to the regulators.

[00:42:42] Dancing in the kitchen: Australia’s rescheduling breakthrough.

[00:43:40] From changing the rules to treating patients.

[00:48:18] Why Tim thinks MDMA is still underestimated.

[00:50:23] Integration beyond the session: therapy, nutrition, and exercise.

[00:52:29] Scaling access and collecting real-world evidence.

[00:58:13] Getting insurers, government agencies, and philanthropists on board.

[01:00:44] Syrian rue, psilocybin, and learning to let go of control.

[01:09:06] Dosing, expectations, and the pressure to take more.

[01:11:07] The promise of group therapy and shared integration.

[01:13:27] Hiring mistakes, personal attacks, and the resilience advocacy requires.

[01:22:43] Turning a window of change into lasting habits.

[01:24:56] Getting through to regulators and pushing for end-of-life access.

[01:27:32] The bureaucratic barriers that remain.

[01:30:43] What treatment costs—and why therapist time drives the bill.

[01:34:12] Could shorter-acting compounds make treatment more affordable?

[01:37:51] Ketamine, kratom, and the limits of “all natural.”

[01:42:19] The unexpected payoff from Tim’s ketamine experiment.

[01:46:51] What might come next for psychedelic access worldwide?

[01:48:10] Persistence versus pushiness—and knowing when to try another door.

[01:53:27] Supporting patients and training the next wave of clinicians.

[01:56:56] “Be curious”: exploring your inner world and walking each other home.

[02:00:40] The ripple effects of sharing your curiosity—and simply asking for help.

Timeline:

• February 2, 2015: Michael Pollan publishes “The Trip Treatment” in The New Yorker, which is the article Tania credits with setting her journey in motion.
• March 21, 2015: Tim releases his James Fadiman interview, “The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide” (#66). Its show notes link to “The Trip Treatment.”
• January 15, 2016: In 5-Bullet Friday, Tim announces support for Johns Hopkins’ psilocybin research and a personal commitment of at least $100,000 toward psychedelic research that year.
• 2016: Tania and Peter travel to the Netherlands for their first guided psilocybin experience. (Source)
• 2017–2019: UCSF conducts the psilocybin-assisted group-therapy study involving long-term AIDS survivors that Tim helped support. (Source)
• May 6, 2018: Michael Pollan joins Tim for “Exploring the New Science of Psychedelics” (#313), discussing his forthcoming book (How to Change Your Mind).
• May 15, 2018: Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind is published.
• February 13, 2019: Tania and Peter publicly launch Mind Medicine Australia. (Source)
• 2020–2022: MMA applies to reschedule MDMA and psilocybin, faces rejection, and submits new applications in March 2022. (Source)
• November 21, 2022: David Nutt presents to Australia’s medicines regulator, the TGA, supporting the case for therapeutic access. (Source)
• February 3, 2023: The TGA announces restricted prescribing access to MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, effective July 1, 2023. (Source)
• January 2024: Patients begin receiving treatment under the new prescribing program. (Source)

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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is a bit different. It's a live, unscripted working session with a founder, and I've only done one other earlier this year.

Niels Hoven (@NielsHoven) is the founder and CEO of Mentava, a company building software to support fast learners. Eager kids are dramatically underserved by today's education system, and Niels created Mentava to allow students to achieve their potential. Prior to Mentava, Niels worked at Cloudflare, ClassDojo, and Pocket Gems, where he ran the highest-grossing mobile game in the world in 2011. He has a graduate degree in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Fin powerful AI Agent for all your customer service: Fin.Ai/Tim
• Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/Tim
• Wealthfront high-yield cash account: Wealthfront.com/Tim

New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional 0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest. Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Start.

[00:01:32] What Mentava is—and the toddlers reading before age three.

[00:08:31] Game design, slot-machine motivation, and lowering the hoop.

[00:11:54] Tim's red pen: rewriting the bio and positioning.

[00:16:59] The real problem: wasted early years, high-school pressure.

[00:23:55] Learning at your own pace—and "what if you did nothing?"

[00:29:32] Dog-fish, fish-dog: readiness, failed trials, and follow-ups.

[00:35:06] The $500 price, school pilots, and videos-for-tuition scholarships.

[00:41:39] Teach a kid to fish: selling relief, not nagging.

[00:47:49] Viral posts, the culture-war trap, and why exaggeration is death.

[00:55:05] Put the ask on top: investor updates and what actually converts.

[00:59:35] The thirty-year phonics war—and it's not with teachers.

[01:01:10] A $1,000 coupon, zero takers: why the referral bribe flopped.

[01:08:04] Lead with the love letters: testimonials, homepage, and who's buying.

[01:20:03] "No scam charges $500 a month": pricing and who you're not for.

[01:34:16] Uncrowded channels and workshopping like a standup.

[01:42:08] Don't let Amazon be your debutante ball: testing what sells.

[01:46:42] Alpha School, the competitive map, and the eager investor.

[01:48:39] Reaching the already-converted: be the painkiller, TiE, surround sound.

[02:08:18] Niels's charge: advocate for your child, unapologetically.

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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is a special episode about overcoming mistakes and failure. What do you do when your work is rejected, when the big bet fails, or when the path ahead suddenly disappears? As you’ll hear in this episode, setbacks can often present opportunities, if you know how to look for them.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Helix Sleep premium mattresses: HelixSleep.com/Tim (20% off any purchase)
• Gusto simple and easy payroll, HR, and benefits platform used by 400,000+ businesses: Gusto.com/Tim
• Incogni, which removes your personal data from the web, helping shield you from fraud, scams, and identity theft: Incogni.com/Tim (use code TIM at checkout and get 60% off an annual plan)

In this episode: 

• BJ Miller, a triple amputee, on his years-long quest to ride a motorcycle.
• Terry Crews on missing a season-ending shot—and the mindset shift that stayed with him for life.
• Tim McGraw on his debut album flopping and betting his career on next steps.
• Jessica Lahey on being told her first book was “unpublishable” and turning brutal feedback into a New York Times bestseller.
• Dax Shepard on the collapse of an identity and career he thought he wanted—and the unexpected much better life it made possible.
• Cathy Lanier on becoming a teenage single mother, passing her GED by a single point, and beginning an unlikely climb.
• Janna Levin on the liberating realization that life is not a smooth path interrupted by obstacles—life is the obstacles.
• Boyd Varty on using the mindset of a lion tracker to move through uncertainty and the paralysis of not knowing what comes next.

Dr. BJ Miller is a triple amputee, longtime palliative-care physician, cofounder of virtual palliative-care service Mettle Health, and coauthor of A Beginner’s Guide to the End.

Terry Crews is an actor, artist, author, television host, and former NFL player best known as Terry Jeffords on the Emmy-nominated TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and as the longtime host of America’s Got Talent.

Tim McGraw is a three-time Grammy-winning country-music superstar, an actor, and a 2026 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.

Jessica Lahey is an educator and the New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Failure and The Addiction Inoculation.

Dax Shepard is an actor, writer, and director and the co-creator and host of the hit podcast Armchair Expert.

Cathy Lanier is the NFL’s chief security officer and the first woman—and longest serving chief—to lead Washington, DC’s Metropolitan Police Department.

Janna Levin is a theoretical cosmologist, the Claire Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College, a Guggenheim Fellow, a PEN-winning author, and the founding director of sciences at Pioneer Works.

Boyd Varty is a lion tracker, wildlife activist, TED speaker, and author of The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life.

Timestamps:

00:00 — Introduction from Tim

01:23 — BJ Miller: Making an Impossible Motorcycle Dream Real

05:35 — Terry Crews: Why You Have to Take the Shot

16:28 — Tim McGraw: Failing on Your Own Terms

27:31 — Jessica Lahey: From “Unpublishable” to Bestseller

31:48 — Dax Shepard: When Failure Saves You From What You Want

38:11 — Cathy Lanier: Rebuilding a Life

47:33 — Janna Levin: Life Is the Obstacles

54:36 — Boyd Varty: Finding the Next Track When You’re Stuck

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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

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Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is devoted to one deceptively simple question: How do you stay close to your partner over time through the inevitable exhaustion, misunderstanding, conflict, disappointment, and change?

This episode is brought to you by:

• Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 with dual-zone temperature control, so each partner sleeps at their perfect temperature

In this episode: 

• Esther Perel begins with the basics: appreciation, affection, and replacing chronic complaints with clear requests.
• Brené Brown explains why marriage is never 50/50 and how she and her husband create what Brené calls a “plan of kindness.” 
• Brad Feld describes the monthly “life dinners” that have helped him and his wife review the previous 30 days, talk honestly about the future, and prevent resentments from building up
• Jim Dethmer offers a practical way to distinguish observable facts from the stories we make up about our partners.
• Sheila Heen explains how humor and genuine curiosity can serve as an interrupt on an argument that is heating up 
• The late Dr. Sue Johnson then walks us through a “Hold Me Tight” conversation—a way of moving beneath anger and defensiveness to the fear, vulnerability, and need for connection underneath.
• Terry Real then offers a strikingly simple model for repair and introduces the term “normal marital hatred” - as he put it, nobody ever goes up to him and says “What do you mean by that?!”
• Finally, Diana Chapman describes what it means to let an outdated version of a marriage end so that two people can consciously choose what comes next for their relationship.

Timestamps:

Intro from Tim: 00:00:00

Esther Perel: 00:01:58

Brené Brown: 00:08:21

Brad Feld: 00:12:02

Jim Dethmer: 00:16:51

Shelia Heen: 00:23:04

Dr. Sue Johnson: 00:29:26

Terry Real: 00:40:14

Diana Chapman: 00:46:19

Short bios:

• Esther Perel is an internationally renowned psychotherapist, the New York Times bestselling author of Mating in Captivity and The State of Affairs, and the host of the award-winning podcast Where Should We Begin?
• Brené Brown is the author of six number-one New York Times bestsellers exploring courage, vulnerability, shame, and resilience; a research professor at the University of Houston; and a professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin.
• Brad Feld is an early-stage investor and entrepreneur and a co-founder of Foundry Group, Mobius Venture Capital, and Techstars. He writes on entrepreneurship, leadership, mental health, and sustaining a life beyond work.
• Jim Dethmer is a co-founder of the Conscious Leadership Group and co-author of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, an influential framework for building candid, responsible, high-trust relationships.
• Sheila Heen is the deputy director of the Harvard Negotiation Project, founder of Triad Consulting Group, and co-author of the New York Times bestsellers Difficult Conversations and Thanks for the Feedback.
• Dr. Sue Johnson was the pioneering clinical psychologist who created Emotionally Focused Therapy. She was named Psychologist of the Year by the American Psychological Association and appointed to the Order of Canada for her global impact on psychotherapy.
• Terry Real is an internationally recognized family therapist, a bestselling author, and the creator of Relational Life Therapy. He has spent more than four decades helping couples restore intimacy and connection.
• Diana Chapman is co-author of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, a cofounder of the Conscious Leadership Group, and founder of the Signal Institute, working with leaders on radical honesty, somatic intelligence, and transformation.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

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This is a special compilation devoted to reinvention: how to shed an identity that no longer fits, decide on a new chapter, navigate uncertainty, and commit to what’s next.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business
• Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support

In this episode: 

• Matthew McConaughey explains why he stopped making romantic comedies, turned down $15 million, and waited nearly two years for Hollywood to see him differently.
• Steve Young talks about losing the identity that had defined him and the advice another legendary quarterback gave him.
• Lori Gottlieb explains how listening to a quiet inner voice led her from Hollywood to medicine, then to journalism, and finally to psychotherapy.
• Suleika Jaouad describes rebuilding her life after cancer when going back to her old life was no longer possible.
• Samin Nosrat on walking away from a wildly successful food business that was making her miserable, and making room for the writing career that ultimately became Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.
• Martine Rothblatt tells the remarkable story of teaching herself biology and starting a pharmaceutical company to save her daughter’s life.
• Finally, Debbie Millman gives you a simple exercise for imagining—and creating—the life you truly want.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro from Tim

01:43 Matthew McConaughey

14:35 Steve Young

17:16 Lori Gottlieb

24:38 Suleika Jaouad

36:47 Samin Nosrat

45:04 Martine Rothblatt

56:51 Debbie Millman

Short bios:

Matthew McConaughey is an Academy Award-winning actor—whose career spans 40+ feature films—a cofounder of the Just Keep Livin’ foundation, and the bestselling author of Greenlights.

Steve Young is a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, Super Bowl MVP, and co-founder and chairman of private-equity firm HGGC.

Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist, the New York Times “Ask the Therapist” advice columnist, and the bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.

Suleika Jaouad is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, artist, and bestselling author of Between Two Kingdoms and The Book of Alchemy.

Samin Nosrat is the James Beard Award–winning author of the New York Times bestseller Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat—also the title of her acclaimed Netflix series.

Dr. Martine Rothblatt is the founder, chairperson, and CEO of United Therapeutics—a biotechnology company she started to save the life of one of her daughters—and a pioneer of satellite radio.

Debbie Millman is one of the most influential designers working today, according to Graphic Design USA, an author, an educator, and the host of the pioneering podcast Design Matters, now celebrating its 21st year.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

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This is a special compilation devoted to a subject very close to my heart and currently consuming a large percentage of my waking hours: writing. Over the years, I’ve asked some of the writers I admire most questions like: How do you choose a project and stay with it? How do you begin when inspiration refuses to show up? How do you build a practice that reliably produces pages? And how do you keep going when you fear your pages are terrible? Listen in to some of my favorite authors answer these and other questions. Please enjoy this special compilation on the craft of writing.

This episode is brought to you by:

• ProLon science-backed Fasting Mimicking Diet that helps activate cellular renewal through fasting, while still eating nourishing meals
• AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement

Timestamps:

00:00 — Introduction

01:52 — Elizabeth Gilbert: Choosing and committing to a project

06:25 — Anne Lamott: Shitty first drafts and taking it bird by bird

13:04 — Joyce Carol Oates: Don’t wait for inspiration

15:47 — Jerry Seinfeld: Building a writing system

26:27 — Mary Karr: Revision and throwing out 1,200 pages

35:08 — Brandon Sanderson: Consistency, word counts, and output

45:04 — Seth Godin: Fear of bad writing

Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of Eat, Pray, Love; Big Magic; and City of Girls. Her ten books have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.

Anne Lamott is the author of 20 books, including Bird by Bird, Operating Instructions, and Help, Thanks, Wow, and co-author—with her husband Neal Allen—of Good Writing.

Joyce Carol Oates has written more than 70 books, including Blonde and We Were the Mulvaneys, and won the National Book Award for her novel them.

Jerry Seinfeld co-created and starred in the sitcom Seinfeld—which ran nine seasons and won 10 Emmys—and later created Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and wrote Is This Anything? 

Mary Karr wrote the bestselling memoirs The Liars’ Club, Cherry, and Lit and her book on writing, The Art of Memoir. 

Brandon Sanderson created the Mistborn and Stormlight Archive series, completed Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, and raised more than $41 million on Kickstarter for four secret novels. 

Seth Godin has written 21 bestsellers published in 40 languages—including Purple Cow, Linchpin, and The Practice—and a daily blog of more than 10,000 posts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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In this wide-ranging Q&A, Tim explores reinvention, enduring skills for the age of AI, friendship, mental health, fitness, language learning, privacy, cognitive longevity, and more.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Gusto simple and easy payroll, HR, and benefits platform used by 400,000+ businesses: Gusto.com/Tim
• Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: LiveMomentous.com/Tim
• Helix Sleep premium mattresses: HelixSleep.com/Tim
• Wealthfront high-yield cash account: Wealthfront.com/Tim

New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional 0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest. Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Start.

[00:00:24] How to go from hyper-optimized to grounded.

[00:03:45] Reinvention in your late 40s: there are more than two options.

[00:07:45] Five meta-skills for the age of AI.

[00:16:06] Post-sabbatical rules that re-focused this podcast.

[00:21:05] Why male friendship is built shoulder-to-shoulder, not face-to-face.

[00:25:04] Love for women authors.

[00:25:24] SAINT, TMS, and Ampa’s one-day brain reset.

[00:27:32] How to build a fanbase by being your authentically weird self.

[00:28:50] My “something is better than nothing” workout routine.

[00:30:33] Staying fit in mind and soul via the past-year review.

[00:31:12] The 4-Hour Body workout routines I still follow.

[00:35:46] Spotting the future titan hiding in an average teen.

[00:37:01] Vacation, burnout, or an outgrown life? Take a mini-retirement.

[00:41:18] Guiding kids through our digital dystopia.

[00:43:45] Does AI kill language learning? What does a new language really give you?

[00:53:36] Muted movies as late-night writing company.

[00:54:13] Best sub-$100 buy: seven seasons of wholesome Pawnee.

[00:55:34] Why two hours of walking fixes almost everything.

[00:57:21] Sleep, unsexily solved: less water, more sun, more exhaustion.

[00:59:16] Privacy as the new luxury in the age of shrinking fame.

[01:02:35] Luxuries worth overspending on: massage, easy travel, and health.

[01:07:24] The best defense against cognitive decline: exercise, exercise, exercise.

[01:11:11] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

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Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the Departments of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he runs the Huberman Lab. He is the author of Protocols: An Operating Manual for the Human Body.

This episode is brought to you by:

• ProLon science-backed Fasting Mimicking Diet that helps activate cellular renewal through fasting, while still eating nourishing meals
• Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating
• Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support
• Helix Sleep premium mattresses

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Who is Dr. Andrew Huberman?

00:02:03 — Dean Potter, The Dark Wizard, and the physics of raw energy.

00:04:11 — Why competition destroys performance.

00:05:45 — Laird Hamilton, tow-in surfing, and the lure of big waves.

00:06:27 — Training with Dorian Yates.

00:18:29 — The full weekly split that keeps building strength at 50.

00:21:00 — Neck training.

00:25:56 — AssaultBike vs. Airdyne.

00:31:12 — Revisiting MDMA and psychedelics.

00:48:06 — Inducing plasticity is only half the job.

00:53:17 — The one-day protocol that cut my anxiety by 90%.

01:00:27 — Cortisol as the master key.

01:03:26 — Peptides demystified: GLP-1s, growth hormone, and BPC-157.

01:14:44 — The Enhanced Games, the Deca burrito, and the honesty problem.

01:17:56 — Pinealon, epitalon, and the hunt for more REM sleep.

01:25:02 — Why women, not gym bros, are the real peptide market.

01:35:52 — Why "no reported side effects" is a trap.

01:43:48 — Stem cells, cartilage regrowth, and mining the body for medicine.

01:46:37 — AI, wearables, and the race to write to the nervous system.

01:54:12 — The MIT mask that puts you to sleep in six minutes.

01:56:09 — Inside Andrew's new operating manual, Protocols.

02:03:30 — Navigating grief and remapping loss.

02:04:40 — Shut up, suit up, show up.

02:08:03 — Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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In this edition of The Random Show, Tim Ferriss and Kevin Rose reunite over tequila to talk Zen retreats, learning to rock climb at (almost) 50, mortality and grief, why you should stop saying "one day," AI predictions , and much more. Please enjoy!

This episode is brought to you by:

• Incogni, which removes your personal data from the web, helping shield you from fraud, scams, and identity theft: Incogni.com/Tim (use code TIM at checkout and get 60% off an annual plan)
• Wealthfront high-yield cash account: Wealthfront.com/Tim 

New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional  0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest.  Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

Timestamps

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:00:24] A tequila toast, and getting "taxed" by alcohol as you age.
• [00:02:18] Toaster at 15: a late-night health scare.
• [00:06:01] Losing Om Malik, and finding out on retreat.
• [00:08:03] Matt Mullenweg, Antarctica, and gratitude.
• [00:09:34] Coming to terms with our limited time on Earth.
• [00:14:37] Five days of silence and the koan "Mu."
• [00:15:20] Kevin's micro-insight and a plug for The Way.
• [00:27:25] Rock climbing after 40, and a Yosemite goal.
• [00:29:18] Michael Eckert and finger-strength training.
• [00:30:40] The Nug, Abrahangs, and a travel training kit.
• [00:32:57] Free Solo and climbing with a fear of heights.
• [00:37:53] The Blade Itself, and a friend lost in a plane crash.
• [00:39:19] A2 protein and Pioneer Pastures.
• [00:40:34] Maui Nui venison and the nitrate question.
• [00:43:48] deltaG ketones: what they are and the catch.
• [00:45:42] Ketones, dementia, and verbal fluidity.
• [00:46:29] Pre-grieving a parent's decline.
• [00:48:33] Training not to die: the one bike I can stand and the Norwegian 4×4.
• [00:51:10] Something beats nothing: saunas, treadmills, and Duolingo chess.
• [00:53:04] The MM120 anxiety study — and a small-world surprise.
• [00:56:17] Psilocybin, LSD, and dementia case reports.
• [01:01:28] Neutonic toothpicks and Kevin's AI-powered home.
• [01:06:12] Spooky AI personalization and investment autopsies.
• [01:17:38] Values cards, contractual bonds, and dark information.
• [01:23:25] 360 reviews and child-rearing.
• [01:24:54] Wispr Flow, Shokz, and my recording rig.
• [01:29:32] The "big three" and where AI goes next.
• [01:44:40] Let your winners run; buy the company, not the product.
• [01:51:08] Digg's relaunch, 5-Bullet Friday, and parting thoughts.

*

DISCLAIMER FROM TIM FERRISS: I am not an investment adviser. Nor is Kevin Rose. All opinions are mine alone. Or his. There are risks involved in placing any investment in securities or in Bitcoin or in cryptocurrencies or in anything. None of the information presented herein is intended to form the basis of any offer or recommendation or have any regard to the investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of any specific person, and that includes you, my dear listener or reader. Everything you’re going to hear is for informational entertainment purposes only.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Follow Tim:

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guy Oseary (@guyoseary) has been spotting talent before anyone else could see it for nearly four decades. Under his leadership at Maverick Records, Maverick sold more than 100 million albums. Guy has managed some of the biggest names in music, including Madonna, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and U2, and was named Variety's Music Mogul of the Year in 2022. He executive produced Twilight, which became one of the most successful franchises in movie history, generating more than $3.5B.  Guy was also an early investor in Vita Coco and co-founded A-Grade Investments and then Sound Ventures, now with nearly $2 billion under management. At A-Grade, his hits included Airbnb, Uber, and Spotify. Sound Ventures launched with less than $100M and has since had 86 exits and 26 IPOs.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: https://livemomentous.com/Tim
• AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim

Timestamps

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:01] How a West Hollywood balcony became a backstage pass.
• [00:03:51] A knife on Pico Boulevard and the snap decision to switch schools.
• [00:05:54] Faking a Beverly Hills address to get inside another world.
• [00:08:10] Wise Guy Records: a 15-year-old builds a portfolio out of nothing.
• [00:10:09] Guy's alternative terms when Bernie Brillstein offered $25,000.
• [00:11:34] The one moment that confirmed Guy was on the right path.
• [00:12:29] Freddy DeMann enters the picture and Guy proves himself with Ice-T's crew.
• [00:15:07] A desk at Maverick Records in exchange for no salary.
• [00:17:08] Chasing Hole and Rage Against the Machine — and losing both.
• [00:23:34] Candlebox in five minutes: seeing thousands in a room of 30.
• [00:24:11] Why "magic" beats everything else.
• [00:26:37] Signing Alanis off a single song, and stopping Muse mid-audition.
• [00:31:59] The real Alanis story: "Perfect," Joni Mitchell, and a 30-million-selling debut.
• [00:35:24] What Madonna taught Guy about thinking without walls.
• [00:38:50] From bands to Twilight: the power of a blank canvas.
• [00:45:30] How Guy got into investing, and the IdeaLab bet that wiped him out before the crash.
• [00:54:31] Why Guy is known as a great curator of people.
• [00:58:32] The three-month window that caught OpenAI and Anthropic.
• [01:06:07] AI music and the battle to ensure human musicians get paid.
• [01:09:30] How Spotify solved the problems Napster couldn't overcome.
• [01:14:50] SpaceX and Bitcoin: the ones that got away.
• [01:17:32] The rewards, rigors, and responsibilities of back-to-back touring.
• [01:21:44] Why Guy never stops to celebrate.
• [01:24:45] Splitting with Ashton Kutcher after 20 years.
• [01:27:30] Final thoughts on Guy's first podcast.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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For more than 40 years, David Allen has worked with individuals and organizations around the world to help them stay clear, focused, and productive—without burning out. He is the author of the mega-bestseller Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. Subscribe to David's Substack at davidallen.substack.com.

This episode was originally published in September 2019. Show notes: https://tim.blog/2019/09/03/david-allen-getting-things-done/

This episode is brought to you by:

• Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/tim
• Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim
• AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim
• 5-Bullet Friday, my very own free email newsletter: https://tim.blog/friday

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:03:12] As David once told Chase Jarvis: "Your mind is made for having ideas, not for holding ideas." What did he mean by this?
• [00:06:06] What are the first questions and exercises David presents when he begins coaching high-functioning but overwhelmed people?
• [00:08:28] What are the consequences of breaking an agreement with yourself, why are you most likely to break such an agreement, and what are your options for recovering from a broken agreement?
• [00:11:35] David's best tips for renegotiating an agreement when the need arises.
• [00:17:01] Where does David keep his backlog?
• [00:18:25] What are the pros and cons of keeping track of information in digital versus analog format?
• [00:20:00] As a teenager, what did David want to be when he grew up?
• [00:24:08] What did David's college and career path look like, and how did it steer him toward understanding models for navigating life's complexities?
• [00:25:48] What David can piece together from Berkeley, 1968 and the long list of careers that followed — leading to the formation of the principles detailed in GTD.
• [00:30:32] What mentors does David credit as being instrumental in his creation of GTD?
• [00:33:09] What are next action decisions, and how do they differ from what people generally put on their to-do lists?
• [00:36:24] The capture list, the two-minute rule, and emptying the in-basket.
• [00:37:22] Top-down versus bottom-up systems and understanding the hierarchy of priorities.
• [00:43:02] What led to the Allens' relocation to Amsterdam, and what quality of life improvements have he and his wife noticed since moving there?
• [00:48:29] How long did it take for the Allens to go from thinking about the possibility of moving from Ojai to Amsterdam to actually going through with it?
• [00:50:50] What does David consider his most fruitful — though seemingly counterintuitive — life decision?
• [00:55:34] One of David's mentors in Berkeley claimed to have extra-sensory abilities. Did David ever experience evidence of this in person?
• [00:56:58] David shares a particularly difficult period of time in his life, what led to it, and what happened in its aftermath.
• [01:01:21] What does the word "spiritual" mean to David?
• [01:02:14] What does David's meditation practice look like these days — and what does he recommend for someone who wants to start meditating?
• [01:02:58] What was David's biggest takeaway from the time he spent in a mental institution?
• [01:04:05] Does David ever feel overwhelmed or unfocused? If so, how does he deal with it?
• [01:05:02] Are there any new beliefs, behaviors, or habits that have materially improved David's life in the last handful of years?
• [01:06:19] Books (aside from his own) that David has gifted or recommended most to others.
• [01:07:13] What are David's bedtime and morning routines, and how much sleep does he get every night?
• [01:08:48] Is there anything about GTD David wishes more adherents would heed? Does anything important get commonly missed?
• [01:10:25] What are the steps of the GTD weekly review? Does David recommend doing it at any particular day or time?
• [01:12:40] Are there certain categories of things to which David simply says "No" as a default?
• [01:14:00] How does David filter unpleasant people out of his life?
• [01:14:52] Why GTD is intended as a force for freedom and creativity, not a yawnworthy paean to rigid structure — as Brad Keywell, Howard Stern, Will Smith, and Robert Downey, Jr. can testify.
• [01:18:58] Is the GTD weekly review inherently a solo process, or can it involve someone's group, staff, or family?
• [01:19:38] What does David use to organize his email?
• [01:20:58] Does David use any particular app or program for pulling material like articles or references from the Web?
• [01:22:13] Are there any quotes by which David tries to live his life?
• [01:22:48] What would David's billboard say?
• [01:23:16] Does David still have hope that people will do something with the space created by GTD to answer life's bigger questions?
• [01:25:35] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Follow Tim:

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Graham Duncan (@GrahamDuncanNYC) is the co-founder of East Rock Capital, a multibillion-dollar multi-family investment office he launched in 2006. He is also Chairman of the Sohn Conference Foundation, which funds pediatric cancer research.

This episode was originally published in February 2019. Show notes: https://tim.blog/2019/02/28/graham-duncan/

This episode is brought to you by:

• Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/tim
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• 5-Bullet Friday, my very own free email newsletter: https://tim.blog/friday

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:29] I think of Graham as far more than an investor. How does he describe what he does?
• [00:06:13] Absent the systems and frameworks he's honed over time, what made Graham a good talent hunter at the tender age of 24?
• [00:08:42] What constitutes taste when Graham is scouting for talent these days?
• [00:11:14] Upon meeting someone, how does Graham stress-test whether or not someone is "commercial" in the way they balance aggression and integrity?
• [00:16:49] One high-signal question Graham has found particularly useful when trying to determine the quality of anyone from a trader to an OB/GYN.
• [00:19:17] When interviewing a potential candidate, how does Graham vet their given references?
• [00:22:21] On approaching the reference process with curiosity rather than an attempt to catch anyone with a "gotcha."
• [00:25:34] Why does mutual friend Josh Waitzkin call Graham The Wild Gardener?
• [00:27:04] How does Graham deal with contradictory perspectives — when the data is telling him one thing and his gut is telling him another?
• [00:29:09] What does Graham do to familiarize himself with the way people underwrite their mental models (besides nearly beheading them)?
• [00:30:29] Graham talks about his role as an investment coach, of sorts, and how he picks the best "players" for the game at hand.
• [00:31:53] What other patterns has Graham noticed in the successful talent he's ended up selecting?
• [00:36:06] In what way have others helped Graham surface his hidden assumptions, and how might a coach do the same for others?
• [00:39:17] An example of when Graham's "grip" has been a bit too tight around his own beliefs.
• [00:40:09] What Byron Katie has taught us about articulating the opposite of such beliefs — and having a mindful lunch.
• [00:46:18] When evaluating a team, how does Graham think about each person developing the ability to look at the opposite versus hiring to end up at that optimal mixture?
• [00:49:12] How might someone train to more clearly see disconfirming evidence — and roll with the punches when their instincts lead them toward regrettable decisions?
• [00:42:21] What books does Graham gift to others most often?
• [00:56:11] An aside about Wim Hof and Josh Waitzkin embracing "the other side of pain" to get the most out of life.
• [00:59:31] How does James Carse's distinction of finite and infinite games apply to finance, and how would Graham test a potential teammate for compatible sensibility?
• [01:02:41] How likely would it be for Graham to invest in a Jocko Willink project?
• [01:04:16] Different people have different ways of sniffing around direct questions. Here are a few examples.
• [01:05:54] Graham explains what this Kwame Appiah quote means to him: "In life the challenge is not so much to figure out how best to play the game; the challenge is to figure out what game you're playing."
• [01:08:13] Going by David Foster Wallace's famous commencement speech, what's your water? Podcasting helps me see mine.
• [01:09:32] Graham's take on Greg McKeown's Essentialism.
• [01:10:31] How Graham sees careers as a river (with a nod of thanks to neuroscientists Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson's model of well-being).
• [01:12:53] Toward which bank do the top one percent in any given field swim? What if that field is financial markets? What if that field is writing fiction novels?
• [01:16:39] The differences between millionaires, billionaires, cultural billionaires, and time billionaires.
• [01:18:47] An idea for how Tim Urban might allow for personalization of his 90-year-life calendar.
• [01:20:00] Are you more concerned about the length of your life or its width?
• [01:20:38] Life changes Graham and I have both made as a direct result of reading Tim Urban's "The Tail End" piece at Wait But Why.
• [01:22:05] How does Graham try to appreciate the width of his life?
• [01:25:05] Aside from the aforementioned Kwame Appiah quote, what might Graham put on his billboard?
• [01:25:52] The power to be found in treating negative feelings like welcome party guests.
• [01:27:43] Parting thoughts from Mark Twain and Graham.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

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"Coca is to cocaine what potatoes are to vodka" — Dr. Andrew Weil and Wade Davis on the health benefits, sacred history, and unjust prohibition of the most misunderstood plant on Earth.

Dr. Andrew Weil is a pioneer in integrative medicine and founder of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, where he holds the Lovell-Jones Endowed Chair and serves as Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health.

Wade Davis is an ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker. From 2014 to 2024 he served as Professor of Anthropology and BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia, and from 2000 to 2013 as Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society.

Connect with the Beneficial Plant Research Association (BPRA): Website (scroll down to donate) | Coca Leaf Research | Coca Leaf Documentary | Coca Leaf Retreat

This episode is brought to you by:

• Incogni, which removes your personal data from the web, helping shield you from fraud, scams, and identity theft: Incogni.com/Tim (use code TIM at checkout and get 60% off an annual plan)
• Maui Nui Venison​ delicious, nutrient-dense, and responsible red meat: https://mauinuivenison.com/tim
• 5-Bullet Friday, my very own free email newsletter: https://tim.blog/friday

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:38] When coca tea cured my brutal altitude sickness in Chile.
• [00:04:01] Andy meets coca, 1965: the Andes' master medicine for gut, energy, mood, metabolism.
• [00:06:20] 14 alkaloids, one scapegoat.
• [00:07:11] The paradox: one remedy for both diarrhea and constipation.
• [00:11:37] 8,000 years, zero addiction — and the 1975 study no one wanted to run.
• [00:13:11] Eradication began 60 years before there was a cocaine problem.
• [00:16:27] Two nations inside Peru: alcohol versus coca.
• [00:17:05] The 1950 UN commission that dictated coca policy by pseudoscience, fear, and racism.
• [00:18:10] Filed beside fentanyl and heroin; 250,000 families and the price of peace.
• [00:20:03] What coca actually feels like: milder than half a coffee, no crash, no withdrawal.
• [00:24:19] Decoupling the leaf from the cartels; why crop substitution is a fantasy.
• [00:25:54] Domesticated three times; the accident of Schedule II.
• [00:27:49] The sacred leaf: k'intu, cruceta, Pachamama, runakuna.
• [00:31:11] Hayo in the Sierra Nevada, and Latin America's most-denied gift.
• [00:32:53] The wedge in the door: demand, the FDA, and an entrepreneur's gold mine.
• [00:40:22] The story coca deserves — a film, green powders, and one good study.
• [00:43:12] Monkey mind, the tax of consciousness, and an 84th birthday on coca.
• [00:47:35] Who to fund: McCurdy and the hunt for legal leaves.
• [00:49:17] Could coca treat cocaine addiction? Cost, and NIDA's timing.
• [00:53:18] "Green cocaine" at the airport: coca is to cocaine as potatoes are to vodka.
• [00:56:58] A 24-hour ritual run powered entirely by coca.
• [00:59:07] Why two men gave their careers to one leaf — and the pharmaceutical body count.
• [01:06:22] America's legal cocaine capital, and Coke's secret recipe.
• [01:09:08] No accident: the hideous prose behind laws we still obey.
• [01:15:42] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Sebastian Mallaby (@scmallaby) is the Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and the author of six books, including More Money Than God, The Power Law, The Man Who Knew, and The World's Banker. His latest book is The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim
• AG1 Pro all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim
• Wealthfront high-yield cash account: Wealthfront.com/Tim 

New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional  0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest.  Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

*

Timestamps

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:11] The twinkly eyed polymath who became Sebastian's next book.
• [00:06:55] Picking the next book project the way a great VC picks a startup.
• [00:09:41] Why God keeps crashing the superintelligence party.
• [00:11:13] Shane Legg's grainy 2009 prophecy — and the nervous giggle.
• [00:13:11] Ilya Sutskever burns an effigy.
• [00:13:54] Demis at 4 a.m., hunting God's algorithm.
• [00:18:43] Super-abundance, Mad Max, and the China shock lesson.
• [00:22:39] The kitchen debate with Geoff Hinton that flipped Sebastian.
• [00:24:06] Why a zero-percent chance of doom is indefensible.
• [00:24:52] Will Washington seize the labs? The Mythos wake-up call.
• [00:27:18] Anthropic's bull case, bear case, and a dead parent's letter.
• [00:33:24] Where Sebastian and Benedict Evans part ways.
• [00:38:16] Is the SaaS apocalypse overdone? One word: Palantir.
• [00:39:53] The AI friend you'll never switch.
• [00:41:56] Does Google win consumer AI by default?
• [00:44:45] Four cities, eight days: China actually talks safety.
• [00:47:28] A Cold War non-proliferation playbook for AI.
• [00:49:45] Did the chip export controls actually work?
• [00:51:49] Burned doves: why Washington swears China won't talk.
• [00:54:56] "By 2028, the race is over" — one lab boss' bet.
• [00:59:11] Inside Hikvision: toddlers, sensors, and US sanctions.
• [01:01:07] Bill Gurley's Uber bet: venture capital perfected.
• [01:05:18] Luke Nosek bear-hugs DeepMind into existence.
• [01:10:52] Thiel's heresy: never invest by committee.
• [01:11:59] How Founders Fund nearly fumbled the deal of the century.
• [01:14:30] Selling to Google for $650M: a secret British heist?
• [01:16:41] The Traitorous Eight, gardening leave, and the UK's to-do list.
• [01:20:55] Ender's Game: "That's really how I see myself."
• [01:23:42] Too dumb for Gödel, Escher, Bach? Maybe an LLM can help.
• [01:25:19] If not Demis or Sam, then Dario.
• [01:26:04] My royalties cliff — and what dropped in late 2022.
• [01:27:47] Lila Sciences and the labs that run themselves.
• [01:31:13] Sebastian's billboard: "Prepare your mind."
• [01:35:14] The one thing Sebastian will never outsource to AI.
• [01:40:09] Parting thoughts.

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Max Levchin (@mlevchin) is a serial entrepreneur and investor in 100+ startups. He's the founder and CEO of Affirm, the payment network powering consumer purchases and merchant growth. An original PayPal co-founder, Max served as CTO until its 2002 acquisition by eBay.

This episode is brought to you by:

• ProLon: science-backed Fasting Mimicking Diet that helps activate cellular renewal through fasting, while still eating nourishing meals: ProlonLife.com/Tim
• Monarch track, budget, plan, and do more with your money: Monarch.com/Tim 
• Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/tim

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:50] The Ronin line that rewired how Max makes every decision.
• [00:06:09] Paprika-style brain-computer interfaces.
• [00:09:09] PayPal's founders lived inside a Neal Stephenson novel.
• [00:19:21] Transformation via Neuromancer and Snow Crash.
• [00:23:40] The book that found Max his wife.
• [00:29:24] The real secret to a great marriage.
• [00:38:29] What's worth tracking, and what's not.
• [00:44:13] A scrawny kid, a clarinet, and a Kyiv velodrome.
• [00:46:55] What going all-out on a bike actually gives you.
• [00:51:02] The mantra by which Max rides.
• [00:53:02] A Soviet kid's fear of socialism.
• [01:02:48] Making a profit without destroying society.
• [01:04:31] What is Affirm, and why did every banker say it would fail?
• [01:20:18] Why the best mathematicians eschew the lending industry.
• [01:23:50] Does agentic commerce break Affirm, or supercharge it?
• [01:28:01] A PhD-level financial advisor in everyone's pocket.
• [01:29:58] How close are we to buying anything through one AI chat?
• [01:36:32] Improving your coffee: cheap, intermediate, and Bugatti options.
• [01:44:33] The books every first-time founder should actually read.
• [01:48:08] Claude Shannon, Ed Thorp, and the joy of playful genius.
• [01:51:00] Why physical books still beat every digital reading experience.
• [01:51:44] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jake Becraft is the CEO and co-founder of Strand Therapeutics, a company building one of the most advanced programmable genetic medicine platforms in biotechnology. Under his leadership, Strand is redefining what RNA medicines can do by enabling cell-selective targeting and therapeutic payload delivery inside the body, unlocking a new class of precision genetic therapies.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Helix Sleep premium mattresses: HelixSleep.com/Tim (20% off any purchase)
• Incogni, which automatically removes your personal data from the web, helping shield you from fraud, scams, and identity theft: Incogni.com/Tim (use code TIM at checkout and get 60% off an annual plan)

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:06:07] What Strand does.
• [00:08:19] The Boston dinner.
• [00:11:05] The image of a body riddled with cancer.
• [00:15:05] What stuck for the muggles in the pitch deck.
• [00:17:14] A good drug vs. a good product.
• [00:19:40] Tricking cancer into snitching on itself.
• [00:27:38] The abscopal effect.
• [00:34:04] Potency, specificity, and delivery.
• [00:35:46] First principles thinking.
• [00:36:38] The precipice of a revolution.
• [00:41:14] The thousand people in the room.
• [00:48:38] Psychedelic medicine as a cautionary tale.
• [00:51:17] What actually catches a policymaker’s attention.
• [00:53:42] Breakthrough vs. incremental.
• [00:54:55] What’s in it for the policymakers?
• [00:58:08] The 80/20 wish list.
• [01:01:31] Australia’s CTN system.
• [01:03:51] Sheep, psychedelics, and red-tape arbitrage.
• [01:05:22] China’s clinical-trial flywheel vs. slow-motion American loss.
• [01:06:53] The bicoastal biotech ethos.
• [01:08:10] Can the FDA actually pull this off?
• [01:12:12] The Sophie’s Choice of pharma development.
• [01:14:16] Lost arts of founder mode.
• [01:15:23] Rockets for tumors, T-cells, and beyond.
• [01:19:16] Viral in policy circles.
• [01:23:09] The Washington Post headline and the PickFu split test.
• [01:27:56] Solution-first storytelling.
• [01:33:54] RNA medicine and platform therapeutics.
• [01:39:17] Moderna’s 62 days.
• [01:40:33] Uber Eats and the de-risked launch.
• [01:44:17] CEO blockers.
• [01:45:52] Where’s biotech’s SpaceX moment?
• [01:46:53] Elon Musk betting black on the wheel.
• [01:51:55] AWS and the post-conviction / pre-consensus window.
• [01:58:47] COVID politicization.
• [01:59:46] Insulin, growth hormone, and the original platform story.
• [02:01:35] Biotech as pharma’s little brother.
• [02:03:29] More recent role models, Apple edition.
• [02:04:50] Art Levinson, Steve Jobs, and the biotech-tech crossover.
• [02:06:25] The iPhone as a delivery platform.
• [02:08:25] Spotify’s problem and the future of bespoke medicine.
• [02:10:07] Baby KJ and the limits of liver-only solutions.
• [02:11:19] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Becky Kennedy is the founder and CEO of Good Inside, a parenting movement that overturns a lot of conventional, modern parenting practices to empower parents to become sturdy, confident leaders and raise sturdy, confident kids. She is the author of the bestselling book Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be, a chart-topping podcast, a TED talk with more than 5 million views on the power of repair.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Monarch track, budget, plan, and do more with your money: Monarch.com/Tim 
• Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/tim

*

This episode was originally published in December 2024. Show notes and links: https://tim.blog/2024/12/27/dr-becky-kennedy-good-inside/

TIMESTAMPS:

[00:00:00] Start.

[00:01:55] The power of repair.

[00:04:50] "It's never your fault when I yell at you."

[00:08:55] What does it mean to be a "good" parent?

[00:10:32] Activating curiosity over judgment.

[00:13:33] Alternatives to saying "Good job" as a confidence builder.

[00:20:50] Making kids happy vs. building capability.

[00:24:18] A pilot metaphor for sturdy leadership.

[00:29:30] Role confusion.

[00:32:04] Defining boundaries.

[00:35:07] How parenting becomes a two-way mirror for growth.

[00:40:09] The MGI (Most Generous Interpretation) approach.

[00:42:52] Biggest challenges in parenting.

[00:46:52] Recommended reading for someone with kids in their life.

[00:52:11] Advisable prerequisites for singles who aim to build a family.

[00:56:18] Setting boundaries with grandparents and dealing with different parenting styles.

[01:01:42] Handling frustration when a child is pushing your buttons.

[01:09:58] Lessons learned from working with eating disorders.

[01:13:26] Managing troublemaker behavior.

[01:17:38] Bad influence intervention.

[01:22:52] Cultivating resilience in "deeply feeling" kids (DFKs).

[01:28:58] The trials and errors that birthed Good Inside.

[01:32:53] "Our words are not our wishes. Our words are our fears."

[01:40:07] Billboard messages and mantras.

[01:48:00] Fan-favorite scripts on saying no, boundaries, and repair.

[01:51:15] The tennis court metaphor for boundaries.

[01:55:45] Resources and parting thoughts.

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sami Inkinen (@samiinkinen) is a Finnish-born, Stanford-trained entrepreneur and the founder and CEO/president of Trulia and Virta Health. Virta is on a mission to reverse metabolic disease in one billion people using technology, AI, and nutrition. A world-class endurance athlete, Sami is a triathlon age-group world champion and an 8-hour, 24-minute Ironman finisher, having completed the Hawaii Ironman World Championship seven times.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim
• AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim
• Wealthfront high-yield cash account: Wealthfront.com/Tim 

New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional  0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest.  Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

DISCLAIMER:

The content of this episode is for informational purposes only. Neither Sami Inkinen nor Tim Ferriss is a medical professional, and nothing discussed here should be taken as medical advice or a substitute for consultation with a qualified healthcare provider.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Start.

[01:45] How Sami uses 15 minutes every Sunday to outrun the universe.

[03:37] Virta: at a thousand employees and counting.

[04:15] The 5 a.m. boot-up: cold lake, core work, and emptying the dishwasher.

[06:45] Why mood follows movement before the brain even boots up.

[11:54] Saying no to 99% of what “normal people” do.

[19:29] The weekly architecture.

[20:29] Two direct reports: the case for radical subtraction.

[21:09] 553 CEO letters and the case for one scalable habit.

[32:36] The text-file life plan.

[33:32] The 15-year personal plan Sami stumbled into by accident.

[34:30] The four-pillar formula for not cracking in 26 years of founder life.

[38:20] What “white Japanese people” and beer steins in saunas have in common.

[45:55] Smoke saunas, löyly, and the one Finnish word worth knowing.

[48:37] The lean, ten-percent-body-fat triathlete who was quietly going prediabetic.

[53:07] Why 93% of American adults are metabolically unhealthy.

[56:05] Reversing type 2 diabetes the way Virta actually does it.

[1:00:17] Most surprising interventions.

[1:03:32] The pancreatic cancer trial that bought patients 35% more time.

[1:07:02] The McDonald’s protocol: how to reverse diabetes from the drive-thru.

[1:16:00] Why GLP-1 adherence collapses and Virta’s doesn’t.

[1:21:10] Vegans, tofu, and the hardest macronutrient to get right.

[1:25:27] The dose-response curve that lets perfect stop being the enemy of progress.

[1:29:32] VO2 max blocks: how Sami trains an 80+ engine without burning out.

[1:41:56] Hacking 10% off your running speed in four weeks.

[1:46:09] Progressive overload, specificity, and the case against the long ride.

[1:50:07] 45 days, three hours, and a contract to keep a marriage afloat.

[1:55:27] The lightning strike in the middle of the Pacific that started a family.

[2:01:15] The 36-year-old who bought his first car only because his wife made him.

[2:05:40] The book recommendation no one saw coming: Trejo.

[2:07:51] The PSA: chronic, progressive, and irreversible — three words Sami refuses.

[2:11:40] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

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Jerzy Gregorek (@TheHappyBody) is a 4x World Weightlifting Champion, co-founder of UCLA’s weightlifting team, and co-creator, with his wife Aniela, of the Happy Body program. You can watch the documentary Prisoner No More, directed by Jeff Wolfe and produced by WolfePrideProductions.com, for free here: tim.blog/hardchoices. To fill out the form on Cerebral Palsy Research Project, visit tim.blog/cp.

This episode is brought to you by:

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Timestamps

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:01:29] The transformation I’ve been chasing for a decade.
• [00:02:39] When an unstoppable coach meets an immovable cerebral palsy diagnosis.
• [00:04:35] Three pounds to 170: the bench press that woke a brain up.
• [00:07:17] Navigating autism and building the basics of communication that sustain higher education.
• [00:10:41] Treadmills exhaust, athletes progress: why physical therapy stalled where coaching took off.
• [00:19:00] Lethargy, sleeping in the car, and the quiet power of resting energy.
• [00:20:22] The 16-inch box that opened the bathroom door — and everything after.
• [00:24:26] Micro-progressions, certificates, ceremonies, and writing history onto a blank brain.
• [00:29:16] Parental dedication and appreciation.
• [00:31:54] The adulthood gambit: quit piano, quit training — if you can stick an 18-inch jump.
• [00:35:14] License plates as the gateway drug from counting to math five hours a day.
• [00:40:04] Jerzy’s coaching style doesn’t court approval.
• [00:42:42] Genghis Khan vs. Admiral Yi Sun-Sin vs. Jerzy vs. Tae Jin.
• [00:46:35] In search of the science behind such transformations: 25 patients, five years, and a method built to be replicated (interested researchers, visit tim.blog/cp).
• [01:05:39] Hard choices, easy life — and the call to find your starting point.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

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Many of us feel like we’re drowning in invisible complexity. So I wanted to hit pause and ask a simple question: What are 1-3 decisions that could dramatically simplify my life in 2026? To explore that, I invited four long-time listener favorites—Anne Lamott, Claire Hughes Johnson, David Yarrow, and Diana Chapman.

This episode is brought to you by:

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***

Connect with David Yarrow: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

David's previous appearance on this show: David Yarrow on Art, Markets, Business, and Combining It All | The Tim Ferriss Show #443

Connect with Claire Hughes Johnson: LinkedIn | Twitter

Claire's book: Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building

Claire's previous appearance on this show: Claire Hughes Johnson — How to Take Responsibility for Your Life, Create Rules That Work, Stop Being a Victim, Set Strong Boundaries, and More | The Tim Ferriss Show #724

Connect with Diana Chapman: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Diana's book: The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success, co-authored with Jim Dethmer and Kaley Klemp

Diana's previous appearance on this show: Diana Chapman — How to Get Unstuck, Do "The Work," Take Radical Responsibility, and Reduce Drama in Your Life | The Tim Ferriss Show #536

Connect with Anne Lamott: Substack | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Anne's new book: Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences, co-authored with Neal Allen

Anne's previous appearance on this show: Anne Lamott on Taming Your Inner Critic, Finding Grace, and Prayer | The Tim Ferriss Show #522

*

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:20] David Yarrow: British photographer in America and an unconventional divorcé.
• [00:02:32] The anti-remarriage thesis: why staying single was the boldest simplification of all.
• [00:03:19] The unlikely happy ending: ex-spouses who became best friends.
• [00:04:58] The friend audit.
• [00:06:07] Energy as a luxury brand.
• [00:06:34] No agent, no problem: the art of the direct “no.”
• [00:07:39] Claire Hughes Johnson: COO, author, and self-described bad simplifier.
• [00:07:59] The switch from default yes to default no.
• [00:08:39] Root cause analysis on the “yes” problem: earning love through usefulness.
• [00:09:21] Arthur Brooks’ flip: think people, not tasks.
• [00:10:35] Mission clarity: knowing exactly why you said yes before you walk in the door.
• [00:11:16] The “retention exercise”: how Claire negotiated sleep and workouts into her job description.
• [00:16:45] Diana Chapman: Conscious Leadership disruptor, professional fear-finder.
• [00:17:07] The “whole body yes”: simplicity lives where your inner and outer worlds agree.
• [00:17:41] Decision #1: Evicting “should” from the vocabulary entirely.
• [00:19:15] Decision #2: The relationship contract — same rules, dramatically less drama.
• [00:20:37] The No-Blame Zone: signs on the wall, accountability in the air.
• [00:24:02] Curiosity over righteousness, feelings over suppression, play over seriousness.
• [00:26:29] How play unlocked a hard conversation.
• [00:27:56] Decision #3: Holding two truths — your work matters and the world will survive without you.
• [00:30:32] Anne Lamott: 21 books, one husband, and a very heavy 60th birthday.
• [00:31:00] Ditching the six-plate act: reclaiming the inner goofball.
• [00:32:18] “The point is not to try harder, but to resist less.”
• [00:33:18] The belly breath: watching your hand rise as an act of radical simplicity.
• [00:33:41] Ram Dass’ heart-nostrils: expanding the spiritual core.
• [00:33:59] The third third: borrowed time, intentional days, and tossing boxes out of the plane.

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Elad Gil (@eladgil) is CEO of Gil & Co, a multi-stage investment firm, holding company, and operating company working on the world’s most advanced technologies. Elad is a serial entrepreneur, operating executive, and investor or advisor to private companies, including AirBnB, Anduril, Coinbase, Figma, Instacart, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Stripe. He was previously VP of Corporate Strategy at Twitter and started mobile at Google. He was the founder and CEO of Mixerlabs and Color. Elad is the author of the bestseller High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People.

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Timestamps

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:21] What’s the “AI personal IPO” that just quietly happened across Silicon Valley?
• [00:05:28] Tens to hundreds of millions per researcher: What top AI pay packages actually look like.
• [00:06:44] The compute ceiling: Why Korean memory fabs are the unlikely bottleneck throttling every AI lab on earth.
• [00:11:11] From zero to $30B run rate: The fastest revenue ramps in the history of capitalism.
• [00:17:24] The dot-com survival rate was one in 100. Buckle up, AI founders.
• [00:20:35] Your value-maximizing window: Why the next 12–18 months may be as good as it gets.
• [00:21:32] Durable advantage — and why the AI market is an oligopoly (for now).
• [00:24:12] Exit options for AI founders: labs, hyperscalers, vertical players, and the underrated merger of equals.
• [00:28:11] Math, biology, and intuitive leaps: Elad’s pre-investing background.
• [00:29:42] Elad’s revisionist genesis story.
• [00:30:50] Go where the cluster is: 91% of global AI private market cap lives in a 10×10 mile square.
• [00:33:20] The accidental investor: Patrick Collison walks, Airbnb intros, and deals that just happened.
• [00:34:37] Want money? Ask for advice. Want advice? Ask for money.
• [00:35:00] The High Growth Handbook: Tactical guide, not bedtime reading.
• [00:35:41] Market first, team second — with a Perplexity-and-Anduril asterisk.
• [00:37:43] Smoke in the distance: AlexNet and the transformative GPT-3 moment.
• [00:45:15] AI cold-reading: Feeding photos to the model and getting eerily accurate personality reads.
• [00:48:56] Has Elad ever done a retrospective on his own investing?
• [00:52:13] Power laws are terrifying: 10 companies, 80% of returns, two decades.
• [00:55:53] Avoiding science projects, and how SPACs accidentally saved hard tech investing.
• [00:59:20] The one-belief framework: Coinbase = crypto index. Stripe = e-commerce index. That’s the whole memo.
• [01:00:54] Due diligence theater vs. the one question that actually matters.
• [01:02:13] The four-year vest is a relic: How venture capital ate growth investing.
• [01:07:16] Boards as in-laws: You can’t fire them, so choose wisely.
• [01:09:47] “Valuation is temporary. Control is forever.” — Naval Ravikant, as quoted by Elad, as relayed to you.
• [01:11:30] How great companies actually grew: toolbars, name-targeted ads, and billions in distribution spend.
• [01:15:36] Selling software vs. selling labor hours: The real shift generative AI made.
• [01:18:40] Spotting a great market: regulatory shifts, technology shifts, and Hashi getting bought by IBM.
• [01:21:28] Fake TAM, real TAM, and the Coke CEO who realized he wasn’t in the soda business.
• [01:22:47] Right now, consensus is just correct. Save the contrarianism for later.
• [01:25:15] Market entry vs. market disruption: SpaceX launched rockets, then disrupted the internet.
• [01:26:16] How Elad learns: X, papers, 20-minute calls with the right people — and four AI models running in parallel.
• [01:27:15] Deep dive: ADHD, autism, and why diagnostic rates soared without more people actually having it.
• [01:33:40] Longevity for realists: sleep, creatine, and maybe rapamycin when the real drugs arrive.
• [01:40:30] Ibogaine, anesthesia, and the next frontier of bioelectric medicine.
• [01:45:15] Elad’s first-ever 10-year plan — and why making one changes everything.
• [01:46:53] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Cathy Lanier is the Chief Security Officer of the National Football League, where she oversees security across the league office and all 32 clubs. Before the NFL, she served as Chief of Police of Washington, D.C., from 2007 to 2016 — the first woman in the role and the longest-serving chief in the force's history — where her strategies helped cut violent crime by 21 percent even as the city's population grew 15 percent.

This episode is brought to you by:

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New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional  0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest.  Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

TIMESTAMPS:

[00:00] Start.

[01:38] Cathy Lanier: from Tuxedo to the top.

[03:22] Dad vanishes; Mom holds the line (and takes shorthand to the TV).

[08:08] Bused into DC: straight-A student turns chronic truant.

[10:37] Married at 15, signed over for $100 off child support.

[12:54] The baby-in-the-crib wake-up call.

[16:37] GED by a single point; secretary by day, waitress by night.

[20:18] The Washington Post ad that changed everything.

[20:39] 1990 MPD: into the crack cocaine wars.

[23:46] Grandma's gospel: no excuses, damned for doing.

[26:23] Mount Pleasant riots: trial by brick, and a better-way epiphany.

[33:23] Donny Exum's nudge — and sergeant at 26.

[38:56] Being a woman on the '90s force: harassment and the 90-day dodge.

[49:38] Marion Barry exits, Chuck Ramsey enters.

[51:08] Lieutenant: the sweet spot. Captain: the desk (but keep the cuffs).

[56:58] 9/11 and the surprise transfer to Special Ops.

[58:07] Mentors lend confidence — and a counterterrorism bureau built from scratch.

[1:00:14] Live Sarin, VX, and training with bioweapons legends.

[1:02:22] Text the 50, get the 411: the tip line gambit.

[1:03:36] Cultivating sources: the white Escalade payoff.

[1:09:02] Attention to detail: OCD as a superpower.

[1:10:43] Teletubby pagers to smartphones — and the Thomas Maslin reckoning.

[1:15:14] NFL security: the scope of "everything."

[1:17:10] Red teaming, explained.

[1:18:53] NFL vs. MPD: diversity and complexity that goes to 11.

[1:21:24] The book club: The Tipping Point and Blink.

[1:23:32] Decisions under pressure — and with incomplete information.

[1:28:34] Billboard wisdom: it's not what happens; it's what you do.

[1:30:08] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Brian Dean is the founder of Backlinko and Exploding Topics, both acquired by Semrush, which itself was recently acquired by Adobe for $1.9 billion. Brian's story starts exactly where a lot of great stories start: broke, directionless, and eating canned beef stew in his dad's basement during the 2008 financial crisis. He picked up a copy of The 4-Hour Workweek and took action. As is nearly always the case, his path wasn’t a straight line, but a series of winding turns, all fed by experiments. His journey includes failures, two successful exits, and a hard-won answer to the question most people never think to ask: what do you actually do with your freedom once you have it?

This episode is brought to you by:

• Incogni, which automatically removes your personal data from the web, helping shield you from fraud, scams, and identity theft: https://incogni.com/Tim (use code TIM at checkout and get 60% off an annual plan)
• Fin powerful AI Agent for all your customer service: Fin.Ai/Tim

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:53] From PhD pipettes to Dad’s basement to Jerry Springer.
• [00:04:38] The 4-Hour Workweek finds its dream reader — marginal notes and all.
• [00:06:04] First product flops, free traffic beckons, and SEO.
• [00:07:40] The 200-domain AdSense empire.
• [00:09:40] Dreamlining: From “escape the basement” to “3k a month in Thailand.”
• [00:11:27] When Google’s Panda update slapped the internet (and Brian’s empire).
• [00:12:32] Scared straight: Black hat to white hat via a hostel in Spain.
• [00:17:55] Backlinko is born.
• [00:19:50] The 200 ranking factors post: 25 hours of patent-digging, a million visitors.
• [00:22:13] New rule: One post a month, 10x better than anything out there.
• [00:23:02] Semrush comes knocking to buy his company — Brian ignores the email.
• [00:24:02] Taking celebratory shots at Legal Sea Foods while wondering where the contract is.
• [00:25:32] Due diligence hell: Hunting down ghosted freelancers and the contractor commandments.
• [00:29:25] SEC market-close rules vs. Brian’s 10 p.m. bedtime.
• [00:30:16] Post-acquisition: Hopping from one treadmill to the next.
• [00:34:19] Backlinko on autopilot, boredom on full blast, and the chapter everyone skips.
• [00:35:42] Exploding Topics: The paid newsletter mistake vs. the obvious SaaS play.
• [00:38:41] Data-driven content and the ChatGPT user stats flywheel.
• [00:41:00] Noah Kagan’s advice: Double down on what works — then 10x down.
• [00:42:26] Ready, Fire, Aim — the litmus test for would-be founders.
• [00:44:06] Startup costs: $500 for Backlinko vs. $90k to acquire Exploding Topics.
• [00:47:29] How love and a Craigslist apartment scam in Berlin landed Brian in Portugal.
• [00:48:48] Geoarbitrage still works — just don’t trust the 2007 pricing.
• [00:50:20] Post-exit stress: Oura Ring at 2x baseline and the Algarve hard reset.
• [00:52:21] Why founders who launch within a year of selling usually regret it.
• [00:53:30] Tennis as the ultimate void-filler: Fun, fitness, community, and fresh air in one sport.
• [00:54:31] The paradox of choice after exit: Structure, identity, and vertigo.
• [00:56:52] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Follow Tim:

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Daredevil Michelle Khare lives life to the extreme in Challenge Accepted, amassing more than 6 million followers and more than 1 billion views. Across the show, you'll see Michelle attempt everything from Tom Cruise’s Deadliest stunt to Harry Houdini’s water torture cell to trying to earn a black belt in taekwondo in only 90 days.

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TIMESTAMPS:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:00:24] Challenge Accepted: The logline and why breakdowns stay in the edit.
• [00:03:05] Growing up in Shreveport, LA: Friday night movies, the AFI Top 100, and interning on Snitch.
• [00:06:15] Podcasting: While “easier” than writing books, it’s a heck of a lot more work than meets the ear.
• [00:21:24] Quality over quantity: 8–10 episodes a year, scarcity as strategy, and building a defensible moat.
• [00:31:47] “Hard choices, easy life.” — Jerzy Gregorek, calling the FAA 300 times, and why no one copies you when the barrier is insanity.
• [00:35:32] Dartmouth to Google.org: the Fermi estimation faceplant and not getting the job.
• [00:37:10] BuzzFeed as graduate school of the internet.
• [00:40:37] Work for someone else first: My case against starting a company right out of school.
• [00:47:28] The stolen book: Michelle pulls out a battered 2016 copy of The 4-Hour Workweek and reads her fear-setting chart aloud.
• [00:51:10] “I’ve never designed my own rubric of success” — the nightmare, the repair plan, and what Michelle was putting off out of fear.
• [00:56:59] Practicing poverty: studio apartment, stripped-down life, moonlighting for a year, then the three-month-savings leap.
• [01:06:58] Kebab-shop destiny: meeting stunt coordinator Steve Brown in L.A. — now he does Avatar and straps Michelle to planes.
• [01:09:04] Surface area for luck: Bill Gurley, Kevin Kelly’s sleeping bag, and Seneca on voluntary discomfort.
• [01:12:44] Coach, mentor, cheerleader: the three-person Formula One team you actually need.
• [01:17:20] The art of the cold email — and cold-calling the FBI tip line to meet “The Hollywood Guy.”
• [01:21:55] Michelle’s three-paragraph, six-sentence formula for emails that open any door.
• [01:26:15] My cold email playbook: the “via” trick, include your damn cell number, and why “Yo, Ferriss” is an auto-archive.
• [01:36:24] The fake Tim Ferriss Podcast phishing scam: Zoom calls, screen access, and hijacked Facebook pages.
• [01:40:58] Emailing Hank Green, Brandon Sanderson’s unpublished novels, and why your first cold emails are just practice reps.
• [01:46:37] Michelle’s storytelling syllabus: Survivor, Snyder’s Save the Cat, and peer review of whatever went viral last week.
• [01:48:44] The magic of Jeff Probst, and dissecting the bones of storytelling.
• [01:53:12] John McPhee’s red-ink writing class at Princeton.
• [01:58:38] Six Thinking Hats broke Michelle’s pessimism; Radical Candor taught her how to give feedback.
• [02:07:20] The slinky org chart: Seven full-timers that balloon to 50 for a shoot, then compress right back.
• [02:21:21] Scope creep, saying no to big checks, and why Michelle has never hit creator burnout.
• [02:30:34] My No Book teaser: 850 pages on renegotiating commitments and getting back on the wagon.
• [02:33:31] The Mindy Kaling manifesto: @MindyKalingFan, The Office, and shattering expectations for Indian women in entertainment.
• [02:40:38] Wishlist shout-out: Norland College, where Mary Poppins meets Secret Service.
• [02:42:48] Episodes Michelle would pay to relive.
• [02:47:40] Episodes Michelle would pay to skip.
• [02:52:15] Seven marathons, seven continents, one week.
• [02:57:10] Free Solo, Alex Honnold in the creepy van, and things both of us would never do.
• [03:00:38] Books gifted most: Radical Candor, The Great CEO Within, and Adam Grant’s Originals.
• [03:01:21] Michelle’s billboard.
• [03:02:45] A primetime Emmy run and parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome back to another in-between-isode, with one of my favorite formats: the good old-fashioned Q&A.

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• Our Place’s Titanium Always Pan® Pro using nonstick technology that’s coating-free and made without PFAS, otherwise known as “forever chemicals”: FromOurPlace.com/Tim
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• Wealthfront high-yield cash account: Wealthfront.com/Tim (New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional 0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. )

New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional  0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest.  Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

TIMESTAMPS:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:12] Why I tend to choose the dull edge over the bleeding edge of tech.
• [00:04:27] Leopold Aschenbrenner: The closest thing to an AI Nostradamus.
• [00:05:32] What humans still do better than AI.
• [00:07:55] The bull and bear case for Alphabet.
• [00:11:30] Three things for which you should never use AI.
• [00:16:05] Can AI be as creative as humans?
• [00:17:01] Rising above the AI content flood.
• [00:19:19] Chris Hutchins on optimizing workflow with OpenClaw and Claude Code.
• [00:22:02] AI under the hood at Team Ferriss
• [00:26:37] Making career jumps in the age of AI displacement.
• [00:30:20] Cultivating a respectful community of 1,000 True Fans
• [00:34:49] Dog training as community management.
• [00:36:03] My favorite color
• [00:36:21] Coyote’s steady state and the future of Cockpunch/Varlata.
• [00:38:03] Essential reading from my own bookshelf.
• [00:40:48] Most breathtaking places I’ve visited.
• [00:41:44] Optimizing time and networking effectively at conferences.
• [00:47:34] Choosing what not to do when your company’s growing quickly.
• [00:49:12] Psychedelic practitioner red flags (and why you should watch Kumaré).
• [00:52:35] The career I’m pursuing in an alternative universe.
• [00:53:29] Dog training the right way with Molly the rescue mutt and Susan Garrett.
• [00:55:28] Thoughts on Enneagram for matchmaking.
• [00:57:02] Quantum computing: Fascinating, terrifying, and probably not 30 years away anymore.
• [00:58:18] Maintaining friendships across ideological lines.
• [00:59:49] The compounding upsides to selective ignorance.
• [01:02:04] In-common humor: The glue that binds the most resilient relationships.
• [01:02:36] The inspiration behind my blog post about 20+ years of “optimizing.”
• [01:04:28] Simple ways to make the world shine brighter.
• [01:05:16] The No Book.
• [01:05:37] The 18th question: “What is the most generous interpretation of this?”
• [01:07:42] The best way I’ve found to experience a new city with limited time.
• [01:08:18] How “Ozymandias” informs the priority I place on wealth accumulation.
• [01:09:59] Relationships over riches.
• [01:11:16] What I consider the top three values for kids: Optimism, resourcefulness, physical activity.
• [01:13:04] Weirdness in the wilderness and succumbing to a shipwreck scam.
• [01:14:21] Ask your best friends when they’ve seen you at your best — and what superpower you’re blind to.
• [01:17:33] Is courage internal or external? Can it be learned?
• [01:19:27] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

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Follow Tim:

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Welcome to another wide-ranging "Random Show" episode that I recorded with my close friend Kevin Rose (digg.com)!

This episode is brought to you by:

• Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim
• AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim
• Cresset family office services for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: CressetCapital.com/Tim

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] A meditative start.
• [00:02:19] Reflecting on our second Zen retreat in Santa Fe with Henry Shukman.
• [00:04:08] Ketone liver warnings and eggplant allergies: The perils of raiding Kevin’s fridge.
• [00:08:06] “Just be still” — three simple words that miraculously shut down my OCD.
• [00:13:54] Is meditation secretly vagus nerve stimulation?
• [00:20:17] DIY vagus nerve stim for $25 vs. Kevin’s $900 ear clip.
• [00:24:57] HeartMath and watching your HRV move in real time.
• [00:27:57] Marching toward 50: balance boards and the end of jiu-jitsu.
• [00:31:26] Tony Hawk snowboarding Hokkaido with screws in his hip.
• [00:33:01] Slacklining and why your nervous system needs sleep cycles.
• [00:35:19] Bertolotti’s Syndrome: My six-year back pain gets a name.
• [00:37:09] The nerve block test: everything wrong, zero pain.
• [00:44:10] Abrahangs tendon protocol: 10 seconds on, 50 off.
• [00:46:24] The NUG: a pocket hangboard for travelers.
• [00:48:31] Craig Mod’s Japanese toothbrush and Toaster’s cameo.
• [00:50:45] Kevin’s $92 vintage fire jacket: Blue Heritage Japan.
• [00:54:26] Podcast picks: The Power Broker and STEM Talk.
• [00:56:20] Alzheimer’s: A plaque or mitochondrial problem?
• [00:57:30] 10 grams of ketones turns one-word answers into sentences.
• [00:58:40] Methylene blue on Amazon: 120 years of research, zero guardrails.
• [01:02:36] Bredesen Protocol, APOE genotyping, and a cognitive comeback.
• [01:05:32] Photobiomodulation: $30k laser to the forehead.
• [01:07:55] Urolithin A and the high price of mitochondrial upkeep.
• [01:14:56] Recipe for disaster pants: espresso + creatine + MCT oil.
• [01:17:39] Norwegian 4×4 training and lactate as a brain lever.
• [01:23:15] Blood flow restriction bands and schwantz ring koans.
• [01:29:08] Hummingbirds named Sunset and squirrel obstacle courses.
• [01:32:06] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Many of us feel like we’re drowning in invisible complexity. So I wanted to hit pause and ask a simple question: What are 1-3 decisions that could dramatically simplify my life in 2026? To explore that, I invited five long-time listener favorites: Maria Popova, Morgan Housel, Cal Newport, Craig Mod, and Debbie Millman.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/tim
• Helix Sleep premium mattresses: HelixSleep.com/Tim

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:01:49] Maria Popova
• [00:02:04] The Cherish Quotient: Stop giving hours to people who rank as “fine.”
• [00:03:15] When you apologize for your priorities, you’re apologizing for your life. Stop!
• [00:04:41] Morgan Housel
• [00:04:50] The do-nothing thesis: Be average long enough and you’ll end up in the top 1%.
• [00:08:42] Read more history, fewer forecasts — and watch the news lose its power over you.
• [00:09:32] How Stephen King’s 11/22/63 illustrates the futility of prediction.
• [00:12:21] Cal Newport
• [00:12:36] What deserves a “yes” when the default is “no?”
• [00:16:38] Deep Work sells two million copies and creates a schizophrenic double life.
• [00:19:07] The unifying insight: Both careers were always about technology and human flourishing.
• [00:24:07] Craig Mod
• [00:24:46] How quitting alcohol has been Craig’s highest-ROI decision.
• [00:27:13] Therapy after a decade of sobriety: The cliché that actually cleared the water.
• [00:30:27] The compounding interest that comes from committing to one craft.
• [00:33:09] Debbie Millman
• [00:34:30] How being offered the CEO seat at her company led to four months of paralysis.
• [00:36:10] The sentence that broke the spell: “If it takes four months, you probably don’t want it.”
• [00:37:38] Ambition changes shape: Validation isn’t fulfillment, and power isn’t purpose.

More about today's guests:

Maria Popova (@mariapopova) thinks and writes about our search for meaning, lensed sometimes through science and philosophy, sometimes through poetry and children's books, always through wonder. She is the creator of The Marginalian (born in 2006 under the name Brain Pickings), which is included in the Library of Congress permanent digital archive of culturally valuable materials. Her books and projects include Traversal, The Universe in Verse, Figuring, The Coziest Place on the Moon, and An Almanac of Birds: 100 Divinations for Uncertain Days.

Morgan Housel (@morganhousel) is a partner at The Collaborative Fund. His book The Psychology of Money has sold more than three million copies and has been translated into 53 languages. Morgan is also the author of Same As Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes and The Art of Spending Money.

Cal Newport is a professor of computer science at Georgetown University, where he is also a founding member of the Center for Digital Ethics. In addition to his academic work, Newport is a New York Times bestselling author who writes for a general audience about the intersection of technology, productivity, and culture. His books have sold millions of copies and been translated into over forty languages. He is also a contributor to The New Yorker and hosts the popular Deep Questions podcast. His latest book is Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout.

Craig Mod (@craigmod) is a writer, photographer, and walker living in Tokyo and Kamakura, Japan. He is the author of Things Become Other Things and Kissa by Kissa. He also writes the newsletters Roden and Ridgeline and has contributed to The New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired, and more. 

Debbie Millman (@debbiemillman) has been named one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company and one of the most influential designers working today by Graphic Design USA. She is the host of Design Matters—a great show and one of the world’s longest-running podcasts. She is also chair of the Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, editorial director of Print magazine, a Harvard Business School Case Study, and a member of the board of directors at the Joyful Heart Foundation.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

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Jim Collins has published multiple international bestsellers that have sold in total more than eleven million copies worldwide, including the perennial favorite Good to Great. His new book is What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire, and the Self-Knowledge Imperative.

This episode is brought to you by:

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• Gusto simple and easy payroll, HR, and benefits platform used by 400,000+ businesses: Gusto.com/Tim

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:43] More energy at 68 than 37: Jim’s mysteriously expanding battery.
• [00:04:57] Two mornings a day.
• [00:08:24] How Marcelo Garcia avoids the “simmering six.”
• [00:10:24] The portable coffee ritual.
• [00:12:44] Side passions of high performers: Disco dancing, the occult, and Sunday school.
• [00:18:20] Genesis of “What to Make of a Life” and the sage down the hall: John W. Gardner.
• [00:20:51] Joanne’s IRONMAN triumph: winning by 90 seconds on a shattered hamstring — then the cliff.
• [00:26:01] Cliff events, matched pairs, and the bigger question that swallowed the smaller one.
• [00:31:35] The fog-clarity inversion: clear on life, foggy on projects.
• [00:34:56] Fog happens to everyone — don’t freak out about it.
• [00:40:38] Jim’s wife’s one-word review of life with him.
• [00:47:29] When the fire went from red molten rage to a green-yellow warming glow.
• [00:54:18] Encodings vs. strengths: The window frame metaphor and John Glenn’s click moment.
• [01:01:49] My encoding candidates.
• [01:08:07] 70 points on trust: Discovering your encodings matters, but trusting them matters more.
• [01:12:43] Enneagram as an acceptable horoscope for tech guys.
• [01:15:21] The 1,000 creative hours rule and Warren Buffett’s punch card: Life is the ultimate finite resource.
• [01:23:37] “The most wonderful, disappointing answer”: How Jim’s team says no with grace.
• [01:27:14] Right people, right seats, encoded edition: When management angst shrinks to almost nothing.
• [01:38:23] Return on luck deep dive: What luck, who luck, and zeit luck.
• [01:46:24] Natalie moments: Not all time in life is equal.
• [01:46:52] Maximizing surface area of luck, return on luck, and Jim’s chain of who luck.
• [02:04:47] Cardiss Collins and return on bad luck: Cliff events that expose encodings you never knew you had.
• [02:08:33] A warning for founders: Sell your company, lose a decade — the cliff nobody plans for.
• [02:11:23] “An option to come back has negative value”: Irv Grousbeck’s counterintuitive wisdom.
• [02:14:22] Signing the Declaration as a death warrant: When there’s no option, the mind focuses.
• [02:16:01] The hunt for Roger Sherman: Choosing matched pairs and the man who saved the Constitution twice.
• [02:20:48] The mythology of youthful creativity: Jim’s rebuttal — Toni Morrison wrote Beloved at 56.
• [02:34:35] Flipping the arrow of money: Is money fuel for your work, or is your work fuel for money?
• [02:38:42] Commonwealth Club event: Jim Collins live in San Francisco, April 9th.
• [02:39:44] The ultimate definition of success: “My spouse likes and respects me evermore as the years go by.”
• [02:43:08] A plus-two day and parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is a bit different, and I am in the hot seat. Dan Harris (@danharris) interviewed me for his show, the 10% Happier with Dan Harris podcast, and I thought it was worth sharing here. Dan is a wonderful interviewer, and we got in the zone. He is also the bestselling author of 10% Happier and Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-To Book.

This episode is brought to you by:

Cresset family office services for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: CressetCapital.com/Tim

AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim

Wealthfront high-yield cash account: Wealthfront.com/Tim

New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional  0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest.  Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:16] The simple social secret that has me feeling better than self-help and isolation ever did.
• [00:05:55] 70–80% depression remission with accelerated TMS and the SAINT Protocol.
• [00:10:14] One day of TMS + an old tuberculosis antibiotic flipped the OCD switch to near-zero.
• [00:14:10] The pros and cons of TMS accessibility for all.
• [00:18:09] Dan’s parallel confession: The “desertification” of social life under workaholism.
• [00:22:10] “It’s the relationships, stupid.” Evolutionary biology meets self-improvement.
• [00:26:51] What you’re optimizing for should come before how.
• [00:28:33] Health optimization made personal.
• [00:31:12] Intermittent fasting: Just changing when I eat has been the single biggest needle-mover for my bloodwork.
• [00:32:54] Working with your doctors: Replicate tests, respect diurnal cycles, and resist the four-drug opening salvo.
• [00:37:17] AI as health co-pilot: Use LLMs for medical literacy and contraindication checks — but always fact-check one tool with another.
• [00:41:48] Full-body MRIs: Over 40, you will find something. But Dan’s wife (a doctor) says skip ’em — and Rumi might have agreed with her.
• [00:45:22] How my actual daily life compares to a poorly programmed Roomba.
• [00:47:30] Jerry Seinfeld’s grand unified life theory: Lift weights and do TM. That’s pretty much it.
• [00:51:28] The No Book: 800 pages, six years deep, co-written with Neil Strauss — because even the most accomplished people can’t say no.
• [00:55:25] “I can’t do the life Tetris.” Martha Beck’s masterclass in declining without defending.
• [00:59:04] Rocks, gravel, and sand: How to protect your life-changing commitments from death by a thousand small distractions.
• [01:04:50] Three years without social media on my phone, fear-setting as clarity, and two hours of daily focus as the new top 1%.
• [01:08:46] Coyote: My card game with Exploding Kittens, and why I only choose projects that let me win even if they fail.
• [01:13:05] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Tish Rabe (@tishrabebooks) is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 children's books with more than 11 million copies sold. She has written for Sesame Street, Disney, PBS Kids, Curious George, Clifford, and many more. She now heads her own children's book publishing company, Tish Rabe Books.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Circle complete community platform for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand: Circle.so/Tim 
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*

Timestamps

• [00:00:00] Who is Tish Rabe?
• [00:00:24] How an opera major became a bestselling children’s author and songwriter.
• [00:03:12] Tish’s trashy debut on television treasure Sesame Street.
• [00:03:36] Pitching a childhood memory to dead silence — and landing book number one.
• [00:07:27] The value of writing a story’s ending first.
• [00:09:42] Jim Henson: The kind, gentle giant with a mind of steel.
• [00:10:58] Keeping kids and their parents entertained with double-level humor.
• [00:11:38] How Tish put her music training to work with Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch.
• [00:18:56] From nine-note auditions to signing on with Sesame Street‘s mission to level the kindergarten playing field.
• [00:22:48] Churning out children’s books and writing bangers about animal gestation periods and lumber measurement for 3-2-1 Contact.
• [00:26:56] The zero-rhyming genius of Joe Raposo’s “Bein’ Green” and why it works.
• [00:29:59] Curriculum is king: Focus groups, orange Oscar, and making sure the kids aren’t lost.
• [00:32:16] Random House rejected her book, but the late Dr. Seuss took a second look.
• [00:37:17] Accepting the Widow Seuss’s challenge to write a book for babies in utero and ending up with a bestseller.
• [00:40:39] The secret to perfect rhyme in Dr. Seuss’s paradigm.
• [00:44:14] Is rhyming a part of Tish’s DNA, or did she learn it along the way?
• [00:48:12] The time Tish transformed a planet from pizza into nickels to make her deadline.
• [00:49:45] Has music as a mission preserved Tish’s cognition?
• [00:55:10] What does Tish aim to do with the company she started in her 70s?
• [01:01:18] Sometimes Apart, Always in My Heart: A military kid’s book born from a POW father’s legacy and a high-five traced on paper.
• [01:05:30] Alaska the stuffed dog, financial literacy bunnies, hallucinated seagulls, and 843 acres of Central Park in 24 pages.
• [01:12:54] Tish’s campaign to get free books to kids in underserved neighborhoods.
• [01:14:02] Advice for aspiring children’s book authors.
• [01:15:42] Tish doesn’t get derailed by writer’s block — she prepares for it.
• [01:17:24] When Michelle Obama added 16 pages to a book Tish thought would be boring.
• [01:19:37] Big Bird in China, 1982: One hand-painted costume, 13 days of rain, zero coffee, and a five-year-old who memorized the wrong script.
• [01:23:41] Tish’s billboard.
• [01:24:38] Kindness is Caring, Friendship is Sharing and other parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Jordan Jonas (@hobojordo) grew up on a farm in Idaho, rode freight trains across the US, spent time in remote Russian villages, fur trapped and travelled for several years with nomads in Siberia, and won Alone Season 6, after being the first contestant to truly thrive in the wilderness and harvest big game. You can learn more about Jordan's axes at JordanJonas.com/Axe.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: LiveMomentous.com/Tim
• Monarch track, budget, plan, and do more with your money: Monarch.com/Tim
• Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim
• Cresset family office services for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: CressetCapital.com/Tim

*

TIMESTAMPS:

• [00:00:00] Who is Jordan Jonas?
• [00:02:20] The Siberian axe gospel: Single bevel, wide eye, and why your Lowe's hatchet is basically a butter knife.
• [00:07:16] A Montana downpour baptism.
• [00:08:04] Feather sticks and ferro rods.
• [00:12:36] A gnarly axe-ident, a quest for an abandoned boot, and frontier convalescense in a tipi.
• [00:19:59] First Russian word learned, courtesy of a Moscow airport officer with zero chill.
• [00:21:18] Jordan's youthful faith crisis and a Trans-Siberian prayer.
• [00:29:16] From building an orphanage to living with the Evenki.
• [00:31:29] Experiencing tug-of-war hospitality between ex-con Siberian families.
• [00:39:34] Reindeer vs caribou.
• [00:45:42] The Gulag Archipelago at 17.
• [00:49:36] The homeschooling advantage: Finishing academics by noon, then deep-diving history for fun.
• [00:53:50] Campfire psychology for gentlemen.
• [00:56:00] Why llamas are more practical than reindeer on Jordan's expeditions in the northern United States.
• [01:01:37] How Jordan's grandparents found purpose and built a joyful family after surviving Assyrian genocide.
• [01:11:18] Dad's 12-year health collapse and facing death with radical joy.
• [01:18:49] Freight train philosophy and evolutionary dopamine alignment.
• [01:30:03] Grandma moose rodeo.
• [01:33:07] Alone Season 6: The "Super Bowl of survival" just south of the Arctic Circle.
• [01:40:38] How Jordan survived 77 days in the woods barely breaking a sweat.
• [01:48:21] Harvesting a moose at day 20 via Russian fence-funneling tactics.
• [01:56:21] Wolverine vs. man with axe, a tin can alarm, and a wife who likes rustic jewelry.
• [02:03:05] The crappy fate of less-than-lucky rabbit feet.
• [02:04:59] Fat as a survival bottleneck, and how to experience the wild with Jordan.
• [02:09:31] Jordan hopes his upcoming book will help readers build reservoirs of resilience before they're needed.
• [02:12:27] The most overlooked part of the Serenity Prayer: "Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace."
• [02:14:48] The wilderness as political neutral ground and other parting thoughts.

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

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Tim McGraw (@thetimmcgraw) is a Grammy Award-winning entertainer, author, and actor who has sold more than 106 million records worldwide, with 49 number-one singles and 19 number-one albums. He is one of the most-played country artists since his debut in 1992, has four New York Times bestselling books, and has acted for both film and television, including the movies Friday Night Lights and The Blind Side and Paramount Network’s Yellowstone. He recently starred alongside his wife Faith Hill and Sam Elliott in Yellowstone’s prequel—the three-time-Emmy-nominated 1883. You can find tickets for his upcoming Pawn Shop Guitar Tour at TimMcGraw.com.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Circle complete community platform for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand: Circle.so/Tim 
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• AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00:00] Who is Tim McGraw?
• [00:01:51] Two Tims walk into a podcast.
• [00:02:56] “The song always has to win.”
• [00:05:02] Recording “Live Like You Were Dying” at 2 a.m. with Uncle Hank in a puddle in the corner.
• [00:09:22] Sensing when the moment is right.
• [00:10:29] The song Nashville hated that Tim heard his first night off the Greyhound.
• [00:13:18] The one-two punch that saved Tim from novelty-act purgatory.
• [00:15:22] Turning down the CMAs because the song wouldn’t fit the time slot.
• [00:20:11] Why you can’t let the audience steer the ship when testing material live.
• [00:25:51] Coping with the physical toll of performing for three decades.
• [00:34:04] The Four Christmases wake-up call that changed everything.
• [00:37:42] What training smarter looks like for Tim.
• [00:41:22] When Tim found out his dad was a baseball legend whose picture was already on his wall.
• [00:54:53] Important advice for aspiring parents.
• [00:55:41] When Tim pawned his high school ring for a $20 guitar.
• [00:58:27] Learning guitar from CMT videos and fret diagrams.
• [00:59:37] The morning Tim tore up his Marines paperwork and bought a Greyhound ticket to Nashville.
• [01:07:20] Nashville as creative accelerant: Tracy Lawrence, Kenny Chesney, and $50 singing competitions.
• [01:12:45] Po’boy Don’s crawfish shack: The demo that launched Tim’s career.
• [01:15:39] How Faith Hill saved Tim’s life.
• [01:18:33] The 7 a.m. bottle of whiskey cry for help.
• [01:20:27] Parenthood as selfishness-removal surgery.
• [01:24:28] Tim’s “Glory Days” disaster with Bruce Springsteen.
• [01:28:30] When Tim’s first album “went wood” — the failure that taught him everything.
• [01:33:29] A rodeo monkey no longer: When Tim kicked his record company to the curb.
• [01:37:35] Tim’s most important advice for artists.
• [01:43:41] Announcing the summer 2026 Pawn Shop Guitar tour with The Chicks.
• [01:46:28] If it’s so grueling, why does Tim still tour?
• [01:49:50] Tim’s “Humble and Kind” billboard.
• [01:50:50] Parting thoughts and a parting gift: “Different” — the new song only on social media.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

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Dr. Tommy Wood (@DrRagnar) is an associate professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Washington, where his research focuses on brain health across the lifespan. This includes therapies for brain injury in newborns, prevention and treatment of adult brain trauma, and the factors that contribute to long-term cognitive function and cognitive decline. He is the author of the forthcoming book The Stimulated Mind.

This episode is brought to you by:

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*

TIMESTAMPS:

• [00:00:00] Start
• [00:02:30] The cognition conversation commences.
• [00:03:11] Why human babies are chubby little brain-fuel tanks.
• [00:05:16] Brain injury in newborns: Cooling, caffeine, and coming home.
• [00:09:07] Adult concussion protocol: Fever management, ketones, and why you shouldn’t chug Powerade.
• [00:18:59] Washington’s 2nd Strongest Man talks omega-3s, methylation, and why your brain needs the whole orchestra.
• [00:29:34] Auguste Deter, Alzheimer’s mystery patient, and the 45-70% dementia prevention sweet spot.
• [00:39:22] From CGM monitoring to the “use it or lose it” glucose paradox.
• [00:55:54] VO2 max training as cardio insurance against dementia.
• [01:01:32] Jiu-jitsu, sleds, and the Norwegian torture method (4×4 intervals).
• [01:03:37] Lactate training: Forget the finger prick, embrace the misery.
• [01:06:40] Announcing The Stimulated Mind: Tommy’s brain-saving book.
• [01:07:35] Foundation supplements: Omega-3s, B vitamins, vitamin D, iron, and magnesium.
• [01:08:58] Polyphenols, choline, and the case for eating more liver.
• [01:10:40] Creatine: Tommy’s 10-gram cognitive stimulant ritual.
• [01:11:58] Cheap creatine temptation leads to lavatory lamentation.
• [01:14:16] Blood flow restriction training: High lactate, low load, maximum travel convenience.
• [01:21:45] Language learning, music, StarCraft, and why your brain needs to fail.
• [01:38:04] Sleep anxiety, air pollution, and gum disease: the overlooked dementia risk factors.
• [01:45:32] Air purifiers, CO2 levels, and sleep optimization hacks.
• [01:51:52] DORAs for sleep quality: when cognitive stimulation isn’t enough.
• [01:54:55] The thesis behind The Stimulated Mind: Practical, referenced, and sustainable.
• [01:56:32] Kelly and Juliet Starrett’s stamp of approval.
• [01:57:44] The beautiful compounding effect of fixing just one thing.
• [01:58:59] Who is Dr. Ragnar, and does he make housecalls to Valhalla?
• [02:01:06] Tommy’s open invitation for complaints and scientific debates.
• [02:02:21] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

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Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is part of a series called Meditation Monday. The teacher, Henry Shukman, has been on my podcast twice before. He is one of only a few dozen masters in the world authorized to teach Sanbo Zen, and now, he’ll be your teacher.

In addition to my long-form interviews each week, every Monday I’ll bring you a short 10-minute or so meditation, which will help you for the rest of the week.

Over this four-episode series, you’ll develop a Zen toolkit to help you find greater calm, peace, and effectiveness in your daily life.

Henry’s app, The Way, has changed my life since I first started using it. Unlike other meditation apps, where you’re overwhelmed with a thousand choices, The Way is a clear step-by-step training program guided entirely by Henry. Through a logical progression, you’ll develop real skills that stick with you.

I’ve been using it daily, often twice a day, and it’s lowered my anxiety more than I thought possible.

As a listener of my podcast, you can get 30 free sessions by visiting https://thewayapp.com/tim and downloading the app.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Michael Levin (@drmichaellevin) is the Vannevar Bush Distinguished Professor of Biology at Tufts University and director of the Allen Discovery Center. He is primarily interested in how intelligence self-organizes in a diverse range of natural, engineered, and hybrid embodiments. Applied to the collective intelligence of cell groups undergoing morphogenesis, these ideas have allowed the Levin Lab to develop new applications in birth defects, organ regeneration, and cancer suppression.

This episode is brought to you by:

ShipStation shipping software: ShipStation.com/Tim

AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim

Our Place’s Titanium Always Pan® Pro using nonstick technology that’s coating-free and made without PFAS, otherwise known as “forever chemicals”: FromOurPlace.com/Tim

TIMESTAMPS:

• [00:00:00] Start
• [00:03:18] The Body Electric: A Vancouver bookstore discovery that launched a career.
• [00:04:19] Bioelectricity 101: Your brain uses it to think; your body used it before you had a brain.
• [00:06:05] The lesson learned by scrambled tadpole faces that rearrange themselves.
• [00:08:51] Software vs. hardware: The genome is your factory settings, not your destiny.
• [00:11:43] Two-headed flatworms: Rewriting biological memory without touching DNA.
• [00:16:20] Seeing memories: Voltage-sensitive dyes reveal the body’s hidden blueprints.
• [00:20:12] Three killer apps for humans: Birth defects, regeneration, and cancer.
• [00:24:27] Cancer as identity crisis: Cells forgetting they’re part of a team.
• [00:25:40] The boredom theory of aging: Goal-seeking systems with nothing left to do.
• [00:30:09] Planaria’s immortality hack: Rip yourself in half every two weeks.
• [00:31:27] Manhattan Project for aging: Crack cellular cognition, everything else falls into place.
• [00:33:47] Giving cells new goals: Convince a gut to become an eye.
• [00:37:42] Must mammalian mortality be mandatory?
• [00:40:25] Cross-pollination: Why biologists would benefit from programming courses.
• [00:47:15] Does acupuncture actually do anything?
• [00:50:57] Placebo as feature, not bug: Words and drugs share the same mechanism.
• [00:55:06] The frame problem: Why robots explode and rats intuit what matters.
• [00:59:41] Binary thinking is a trap: “Is it intelligent?” is the wrong question.
• [01:07:46] Minimal brain, normal IQ: Clinical cases that break neuroscience.
• [01:08:45] Super panpsychism: Your liver might have opinions.
• [01:13:48] The Platonic space: Bodies as thin clients for patterns from elsewhere.
• [01:15:24] Keep asking “why” and you end up in the math department.
• [01:23:07] Polycomputing: Sorting algorithms secretly doing side quests.
• [01:28:24] Power scaling for the future and avoiding red herrings for understanding machine minds.
• [01:34:06] Sci-fi recommendations.
• [01:37:24] Cliff Tabin’s toast and Dan Dennett’s steel manning.
• [01:41:21] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

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Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is part of a series called Meditation Monday. The teacher, Henry Shukman, has been on my podcast twice before. He is one of only a few dozen masters in the world authorized to teach Sanbo Zen, and now, he’ll be your teacher.

In addition to my long-form interviews each week, every Monday I’ll bring you a short 10-minute or so meditation, which will help you for the rest of the week.

Over this four-episode series, you’ll develop a Zen toolkit to help you find greater calm, peace, and effectiveness in your daily life.

Henry’s app, The Way, has changed my life since I first started using it. Unlike other meditation apps, where you’re overwhelmed with a thousand choices, The Way is a clear step-by-step training program guided entirely by Henry. Through a logical progression, you’ll develop real skills that stick with you.

I’ve been using it daily, often twice a day, and it’s lowered my anxiety more than I thought possible.

As a listener of my podcast, you can get 30 free sessions by visiting https://thewayapp.com/tim and downloading the app.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Steve Young (@steveyoung) is a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback who played more than 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Steve co-founded HGGC, which manages more than $6.9B in capital commitments. He’s also the founder and current chair of the Forever Young Foundation, which supports children’s charities globally. He is the author of QB: My Life Behind the Spiral and The Law of Love.

This episode is brought to you by:

Cresset family office services for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: CressetCapital.com/Tim

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New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional  0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest.  Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

TIMESTAMPS:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:34] The full circle of Josh Waitzkin.
• [00:05:47] The Stephen Covey plane ride that changed everything.
• [00:11:38] Overcoming victimization: The hole you dig, then jump into.
• [00:14:16] How taking ownership led Steve from rock bottom to NFL MVP in one season.
• [00:21:50] Interceptions and the truest truth about accountability.
• [00:26:09] What separates good from great quarterbacks: Adrenaline alchemy.
• [00:31:21] Alex Honnold and the genetics of not panicking.
• [00:32:14] Learning to actually throw a football at BYU.
• [00:35:01] Recovering from the offensive coordinator who wouldn’t coach southpaws.
• [00:37:00] The vulnerability prerequisite.
• [00:42:45] Separation anxiety: Thriving by day, terrified by night.
• [00:48:29] Tears in the Candlestick Park training room.
• [00:52:37] The diagnosis that made the puzzle pieces fit.
• [00:58:32] Dad’s philosophy: Dream (1%) and Plan (80%).
• [01:01:14] Law school between Super Bowl parades.
• [01:02:33] Trading locker room access for venture capital deals.
• [01:08:45] Mourning old identities and heeding Roger Staubach’s transition advice: “Run.”
• [01:11:49] Rich Lawson walks out of Morgan Stanley: “I’ll be the CEO.”
• [01:19:05] 30 years of partnership: Yin, yang, and existential crises.
• [01:23:01] HGGC: The name nobody can pronounce (and why).
• [01:25:19] Faith evolution: From Boy Scout theology to something deeper.
• [01:29:41] The Law of Love: Bill Walsh’s secret weapon.
• [01:32:53] Divine humanity and the irony of losing self-interest.
• [01:43:52] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is part of a series called Meditation Monday. The teacher, Henry Shukman, has been on my podcast twice before. He is one of only a few dozen masters in the world authorized to teach Sanbo Zen, and now, he’ll be your teacher.

In addition to my long-form interviews each week, every Monday I’ll bring you a short 10-minute or so meditation, which will help you for the rest of the week.

Over this four-episode series, you’ll develop a Zen toolkit to help you find greater calm, peace, and effectiveness in your daily life.

Henry’s app, The Way, has changed my life since I first started using it. Unlike other meditation apps, where you’re overwhelmed with a thousand choices, The Way is a clear step-by-step training program guided entirely by Henry. Through a logical progression, you’ll develop real skills that stick with you.

I’ve been using it daily, often twice a day, and it’s lowered my anxiety more than I thought possible.

As a listener of my podcast, you can get 30 free sessions by visiting https://thewayapp.com/tim and downloading the app.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Dominic D’Agostino (@DominicDAgosti2) is a tenured associate professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and a Visiting Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Gusto simple and easy payroll, HR, and benefits platform used by 400,000+ businesses: https://gusto.com/tim 
• Seed's DS-01® Daily Synbiotic broad spectrum 24-strain probiotic + prebiotic: https://Seed.com/Tim 
• David Protein Bars 28g of protein, 150 calories, and 0g of sugar: https://davidprotein.com/tim 
• Coyote the card game​, which I co-created with Exploding Kittens: https://coyotegame.com

*

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Who is Dominic D'Agostino?
• [00:04:37] Ketosis benefits: Quieting the mind, GABA elevation, metabolic psychiatry.
• [00:09:24] My Lyme disease story: Pseudo-dementia reversed in 3-4 days of ketosis.
• [00:13:50] Spirochetes are glycolytic: Starve the bug, boost the immune response.
• [00:19:20] Ketosis and cancer: Slowing glycolytic tumors, enhancing standard care.
• [00:20:50] My 18-day keto experiment: Mood stabilization, Alzheimer’s prevention hopes.
• [00:23:19] Metabolic memory: Carryover effects and Valter Longo’s fasting mimicking research.
• [00:27:11] Intermittent fasting as keto on-ramp: My 2-8 p.m. eating window.
• [00:29:15] Dom’s budget keto meal: Canned mackerel, MCT oil, apple cider vinegar.
• [00:33:28] My ketone measurement paradox: Feeling sharp at 0.2 mM readings.
• [00:36:56] The carburetor analogy: Ketone production vs. utilization explained.
• [00:38:43] Breath ketones vs. blood ketones: Better indicator in caloric deficit.
• [00:39:47] Gluconeogenesis fears: Fat, fiber, and salt to slow protein absorption.
• [00:45:25] The bunless double cheeseburger question: 80 grams of protein in one sitting.
• [00:49:03] Post-meal walking and GLUT4 activation: Timing your glucose disposal.
• [00:51:02] CGM and ketone monitor limitations: When your devices gaslight you.
• [00:58:05] Rabbit starvation and protein-veggie days: Why your body won’t bankroll its own ketosis.
• [01:05:44] Alzheimer’s prevention: Biomarkers, B12, hsCRP, and metabolic health.
• [01:09:40] My family history: Letrozole, metabolic dysfunction, and rapid cognitive decline.
• [01:13:17] Minimum effective dose: 80% of benefits from low-carb Mediterranean.
• [01:18:56] One week per month protocol: Aggressive calorie cut to ramp ketones.
• [01:23:12] GKI sweet spot: Target 1-4, aim for 1-2 during intensive weeks.
• [01:36:22] Exogenous ketones 101: Palatability, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, toxicity.
• [01:39:21] 1,3-Butanediol warnings: Liver toxicity, NAD depletion, dependency risk.
• [01:54:22] Intermittent fasting vs. ketogenic breakfast.
• [01:59:09] My accidental intoxication story.
• [02:03:23] Dr. Veech tribute: Student of Hans Krebs, ketone ester pioneer.
• [02:05:08] Fiber on keto: Wild blueberries, broccoli, apples, walnuts.
• [02:09:58] The tainted gummies incident: Dom’s forensic investigation underway.
• [02:13:08] Thanks to Dr. Boz and Medifoodz.
• [02:16:19] Parting thoughts.

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is part of a series called Meditation Monday. The teacher, Henry Shukman, has been on my podcast twice before. He is one of only a few dozen masters in the world authorized to teach Sanbo Zen, and now, he’ll be your teacher.

In addition to my long-form interviews each week, every Monday I’ll bring you a short 10-minute or so meditation, which will help you for the rest of the week.

Over this four-episode series, you’ll develop a Zen toolkit to help you find greater calm, peace, and effectiveness in your daily life.

Henry’s app, The Way, has changed my life since I first started using it. Unlike other meditation apps, where you’re overwhelmed with a thousand choices, The Way is a clear step-by-step training program guided entirely by Henry. Through a logical progression, you’ll develop real skills that stick with you.

I’ve been using it daily, often twice a day, and it’s lowered my anxiety more than I thought possible.

As a listener of my podcast, you can get 30 free sessions by visiting https://thewayapp.com/tim and downloading the app.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Greg McKeown is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most. 200,000 people receive his weekly 1-Minute Wednesday newsletter, and he recently released The Essentialism Planner: A 90-Day Guide to Accomplishing More by Doing Less. 

Sponsors:

Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: https://livemomentous.com/Tim (Code TIM for 35% off your first subscription.)

Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: https://shopify.com/tim

Helix Sleep premium mattresses: https://helixsleep.com/tim

Coyote the card game​, which I co-created with Exploding Kittens: https://coyotegame.com

*

Show notes: https://tim.blog/2025/01/09/personal-reboot-greg-mckeown/

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 

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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.

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This time around, we have an experimental format, featuring the first episode of a brand-new podcast launching next week, Drug Story. I rarely feature episodes from other shows, but I think this one is well worth your time. It changed how I think about allergies, especially as someone who carries an EpiPen and has wondered: why on earth have food allergies seemed to skyrocket in the last few decades?

Drug Story is a podcast that tells the story of the disease business, one drug at a time. Each episode explores one disease and one drug, and it kicks off with EpiPen and food allergies. A quick teaser: What if I told you that a well-meaning medical recommendation may have caused millions of kids to develop food allergies?

Make sure to subscribe to Drug Story on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also simply go to DrugStory.co and learn more.

The host is Thomas Goetz. He is a senior impact fellow at the University of California Berkeley School of Public Health, and much earlier, Thomas was the executive editor at WIRED, which he led to a dozen National Magazine Awards from 2001 to 2013. His writing has been repeatedly selected for the Best American Science Writing and Best Technology Writing anthologies.

P.S. To help you kick off 2026, I recommend checking out Henry Shukman, a past podcast guest and one of the few in the world authorized to teach Sanbo Zen. Henry’s app, The Way, has changed my life. I’ve been using it daily, often twice a day, and it’s lowered my anxiety more than I thought possible. For 30 free sessions, just visit thewayapp.com/tim No credit card required.

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Arthur C. Brooks is a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Business School, where he teaches courses on leadership and happiness. His next book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness, will be released on March 31, 2026.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Humann’s SuperBeets Sport for endurance and recovery: https://humann.com/tim
• Monarch track, budget, plan, and do more with your money: https://www.monarch.com/tim
• AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://drinkag1.com/tim
• Coyote the card game​, which I co-created with Exploding Kittens: https://coyotegame.com

Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:02:33] The vascular Arthur Brooks returns.
• [00:03:07] Brahmamuhurta and why Arthur studies happiness.
• [00:06:20] Arthur’s morning workout protocol.
• [00:09:58] Why Arthur does Zone 2 cardio without headphones.
• [00:10:38] Quantifying progress as the secret to happiness.
• [00:20:50] Post-workout holy half-hour.
• [00:22:25] Creatine, caffeine strategy, and 60-70 grams of protein for breakfast.
• [00:29:50] Four hours of distraction-free deep work and Hemingway’s protocol.
• [00:32:21] Alcohol kills sleep to borrow happiness from tomorrow.
• [00:34:36] My ketosis, intermittent fasting, and morning protocol.
• [00:39:34] Experimentation is king.
• [00:46:29] David Baszucki, metabolic psychiatry, and ketosis: the poet’s protocol.
• [00:48:20] Four affect profiles: mad scientists, cheerleaders, judges, and poets.
• [00:54:13] Why Arthur was moved to write The Meaning of Your Life.
• [00:55:52] Psychogenic epidemic: technology isn’t the problem, it’s what we’re not getting.
• [00:59:33] Macronutrients of meaning: coherence, purpose, significance.
• [01:03:38] Search vs. presence and the trap for seekers.
• [01:07:53] Marine rule: get to 80 percent and choose.
• [01:12:07] Significance at micro, not macro level; cult of activism as substitute religion.
• [01:17:22] Transcendence: from me self to I self; Harvard’s Astronomy 101.
• [01:19:35] Two dimensions of transcendence: upward (worship) and outward (service).
• [01:21:48] Maslow revised: training awareness so the mundane becomes miraculous.
• [01:28:45] Flow state as self-forgetting; beauty as transcendence.
• [01:32:12] Living in the simulation: complicated vs. complex problems.
• [01:37:55] Left hemisphere vs. right hemisphere.
• [01:42:18] Your suffering is sacred: pain times resistance.
• [01:46:30] Pilgrimage as metaphor.
• [01:55:42] AI as left-brain adjunct.
• [01:57:18] Arthur’s evening protocol: Psalms and Neruda.
• [02:00:13] The oxytocin protocol for marriage, break glass plan.
• [02:04:31] Happiness is love and other parting thoughts.

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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

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Follow Tim:

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bill Gurley (@bgurley) is a general partner at Benchmark, a leading venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. His new book is Runnin’ Down a Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love.

This episode is brought to you by:

• Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support
• Our Place’s Titanium Always Pan® Pro using nonstick technology that’s coating-free and made without PFAS, otherwise known as “Forever Chemicals”
• Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business
• Coyote the card game​, which I co-created with Exploding Kittens

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Timestamps:

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:01:43] The book that gave Jerry Seinfeld permission to pursue comedy and inspired Runnin’ Down a Dream.
• [00:03:59] AI bubble or not?
• [00:06:33] Circular deals and SPV chaos.
• [00:12:01] Angel investing in the AI era.
• [00:14:32] Why you should be the most AI-enabled version of yourself, regardless of field.
• [00:20:47] China deep dive: Ten days, six cities, high-speed trains, and a Xiaomi SU7 factory tour.
• [00:22:43] Communism misconceptions.
• [00:25:40] Lei Jun: The Steve Jobs of China.
• [00:29:17] Jack Ma, ByteDance’s invisible CEO, and the risks of prominence in China.
• [00:32:11] America vs. China (Lawyers vs. engineers).
• [00:41:01] Keys for US competitiveness.
• [00:43:47] Bill is bullish on these countries.
• [00:47:30] Matthew McConaughey’s “Don’t half ass it” moment.
• [00:49:45] Runnin’ Down a Dream thesis: Helping people pursue X instead of A, B, or C.
• [00:51:03] The 80,000-hour question.
• [00:52:47] The self-learning test.
• [00:56:58] Bob Dylan as music expeditionary.
• [01:00:27] Go to the epicenter where the action is.
• [01:10:56] Danny Meyer’s pivot.
• [01:13:30] Working for free.
• [01:19:37] Never too late: Tito Beveridge started Tito’s Vodka at 40.
• [01:21:51] AI sanity checks.
• [01:25:59] AI-proof bets.
• [01:29:13] Sam Hinkie’s Moneyball moment.
• [01:32:37] Competitive strategy, avoiding false failures, and regret minimalization.
• [01:43:46] Purpose, Progress, and Prosperity — the P3 Policy Institute.
• [01:47:18] Regulatory capture explained.
• [01:51:55] Why the IPO market is broken.
• [02:01:52] Stablecoins putting Visa and Mastercard on notice.
• [02:03:40] Hopes for Runnin’ Down a Dream and parting thoughts.

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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Fei-Fei Li (@drfeifei) is the inaugural Sequoia Professor in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University, a founding co-director of Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute, and the co-founder and CEO of World Labs, a generative AI company focusing on Spatial Intelligence. She is the author of The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI, her memoir and one of Barack Obama’s recommended books on AI and a Financial Times best book of 2023.

This episode is brought to you by:

Seed’s DS-01® Daily Synbiotic broad spectrum 24-strain probiotic + prebiotic: https://seed.com/tim

Helix Sleep premium mattresses: https://helixsleep.com/tim

Coyote the card game​, which I co-created with Exploding Kittens: https://coyotegame.com/

Wealthfront high-yield cash account: https://wealthfront.com/tim

New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional  0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest.  Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

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TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:01:22] Why it’s so remarkable this is our first time meeting.
• [00:03:21] From a childhood in Chengdu to New Jersey
• [00:04:51] Being raised by the opposite of tiger parenting.
• [00:07:53] Why Dr. Li’s brave parents left everything behind.
• [00:11:17] Bob Sabella: The math teacher who sacrificed lunch hours for an immigrant kid.
• [00:19:37] Seven years running a dry cleaning shop through Princeton.
• [00:20:50] How ImageNet birthed modern AI.
• [00:23:21] From fighter jets to physics to the audacious question: What is intelligence?
• [00:27:24] The epiphany everyone missed: Big data as the hidden hypothesis.
• [00:28:49] Against the single-genius myth: Science as non-linear lineage.
• [00:32:18] Amazon Mechanical Turk: When desperation breeds innovation.
• [00:39:03] Quality control puzzles: How do you stop people from seeing pandas everywhere?
• [00:41:36] The “Godmother of AI” on what everyone’s missing: People.
• [00:42:31] Civilizational technology: AI’s fingerprints on GDP, culture, and Japanese taxi screens.
• [00:47:45] Pragmatic optimist: Why neither utopians nor doomsayers have it right.
• [00:51:30] Why World Labs: Spatial intelligence as the next frontier beyond language.
• [00:53:17] Packing sandwiches and painting bedrooms: Breaking down spatial reasoning.
• [00:55:16] Medieval French towns on a budget: How World Labs serves high school theater.
• [00:59:08] Flight simulators for robots and strawberry field therapy for OCD.
• [01:01:42] The scientists who don’t make headlines: Spelke, Gopnik, Brooks, and the cognitive giants.
• [01:03:16] What’s underappreciated: Spatial intelligence, AI in education, and the messy middle of labor.
• [01:06:21] Hiring at World Labs: Why tool embrace matters more than degrees.
• [01:08:50] Rethinking evaluation: Show students AI’s B-minus, then challenge them to beat it.
• [01:11:24] Dr. Li’s Billboard.
• [01:13:13] The fortuitous naming of Fei-Fei.
• [01:14:46] Parting thoughts.

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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

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Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.