Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Chris Feistl and David Mitchell (After Escobar: Taking Down the Notorious Cali Godfathers and the Biggest Drug Cartel in History, with Jessica Balboni) are former DEA agents. Chris and David join the Armchair Expert to discuss the Miami Vice dream of being stationed in 1980s Florida as a DEA agent, the mechanics of providing transport for drug cartels, and how they became involved in the pursuit of the Cali cartel in Colombia. Chris, David, and Dax talk about the true magnitude of Pablo Escobar as the world’s first narcoterrorist, how Cali cartel’s approach to power differed from Medellín’s, and why those at such a high level in cartels can’t quit while they’re ahead. Chris and David explain breaking the rules by working unilaterally to get the job done, operating under the assumption that everything and everyone was corrupt, and the real-life raid to capture the head of Cali that inspired Narcos Season 3.

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Shaquille O'Neal (Shaq's Scholars Campus Scholarship and Mentorship Program) is a 4x NBA champion, sports analyst, and philanthropist. Shaquille joins the Armchair Expert to discuss discovering his love languages, how he learned to tame his inner bully with silliness, and why a nuclear physicist is who taught him how to accept criticism. Shaq and Dax talk about the incredible highs that followed the lows of his life, how he unwinds now by going to a hookah bar, and navigating the fine line between pain relief and addiction. Shaquille explains how beating Michael Jordan was a teaching moment, learning early on to appreciate the people that make you who you are, and the impetus for partnering with Campus.edu was advice he received to invest in things that change people’s lives.

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Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy substitute teacher story.

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Caroline Fraser (Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Caroline joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why Christian Science churches and parishioners are disappearing, consequences of healthcare ideologies and practices defined by religious exemption, and tracing her interest in writing about violence to growing up in the 70s. Caroline and Dax talk about why the Pacific Northwest is so associated with serial killers, women’s relationships to and the ethics of true crime, and her argument that violent crime is a human health issue. Caroline explains Missing White Woman Syndrome, why mass murderers and serial killers might be following different kinks, and whether she feels more paranoid as a result of writing this book.

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Ramy Youssef (Mountainhead, Number One Happy Family USA, Ramy) is an award-winning comedian, director, and actor. Ramy returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss how shooting Mountainhead was akin to a play, his subway take that everyone is inherently good and evil is just a virus, and why the US Constitution is dope. Ramy and Dax talk about likening his experience making TV to the national integrity crisis, who can throw a Molotov cocktail, and why the best things in life often emerge in spite of us. Ramy explains his initial understanding that at its core Poor Things is a romcom, how to him LeBron is the personification of discipline, and why he wanted to make a cartoon about a Muslim-American family set on and after September 10, 2001.

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Carter Sherman (The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation's Fight Over Its Future) is an Emmy Award-nominated reporter covering reproductive health and justice. Carter joins the Armchair Expert to discuss being a nosy babysitter, writing an early piece on the sex lives of millennial girls, and covering reproductive health during the 2024 election. Carter and Dax talk about her explanation behind the trend of elective celibacy, how she was able to elicit honest feedback from young people about their sex lives, and the societal consequences of exclusively abstinence-only sex education. Carter explains why we need a study that tracks how political affiliation correlates to faked orgasms, that me too wasn’t likely the direct cause of the sex recession, and whether or not we should want younger generations to have more sex.

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Seth Meyers (Dad Man Walking, Late Night with Seth Meyers, SNL) is an Emmy Award-winning comedian, writer, and talk show host. Seth returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss the most satisfying celebrity interaction he’s ever had, a mutual worry that he’s not sentimental enough, and his milquetoast performance on Finding Your Roots. Seth and Dax talk about knowing his good side as host versus guest, the sanctuary of a desk being no small thing, and the turning point in his life marked by his dad’s disappointment. Seth explains embracing pettiness and talking about things he’s bad at in his standup, the reoccurring prank he can’t help pulling on his incredible father-in-law, and overcoming the fear of impermanence and uncertainty by just showing up and doing the work.

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Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a really bad date.

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Rizwan Virk (The Simulation Hypothesis) is an entrepreneur, computer scientist, and bestselling author. Rizwan joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the VR ping pong game that tipped him off we might be in a simulation, his ten stages of singularity that the physical world isn’t exactly what we think it is, and comparing the NPC versus RPG versions of the simulation. Rizwan and Dax talk about whether The Matrix was prophetic, if such AI advancement is inevitable how we would know if we’re in a simulation, and the observer effect in quantum physics as illustrated by Schrödinger’s Cat. Rizwan explains ancient Eastern religious and philosophical origins of the sim, the bizarre notion of consciousness that the past isn’t fixed, and the Mandela Effect as evidence of the existence of alternate timelines.

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Alexander Skarsgård (Murderbot, Melancholia, True Blood) is an Emmy Award-winning actor. Alexander joins the Armchair Expert to discuss accidentally signing up for a month-long cross country ski trek in the South Pole, gaining 25 pounds and long hair in the final season of True Blood because he was prepping to play Tarzan, and how everyone in Sweden exhibits symptoms of No Tall Poppy Syndrome. Alexander and Dax talk about why a sprinkle of anarchy would be good in Sweden, growing up around actors and artists he longed for a dad that drove a Saab, and joining the military as a response to being raised by bohemians. Alexander explains booking his first Hollywood audition for Zoolander, playing AI gone rogue in Murderbot, and whether as a Swede he’s liberated from the hedonic treadmill of obsessing about money.

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