Deep Questions with Cal Newport

A lot of attention has been paid recently to examples of AI going “rogue.” What’s missing from this discussion, however, is a more detailed explanation of what specific types of systems are causing problems. Taking a closer look at this problem reveals an issue that’s much more narrow and much more avoidable than some of the frontier labs would like you to believe.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) Rogue AI not inevitable. It’s a choice. 

(54:00) The legal implications of rogue AI

(1:00:03) Rogue AI sending advice emails

(1:07:41) A reaction to the recent episode about “chatbots harming kids”

(1:16:52) What Cal is up to

October books:

Telephone: The first hundred years (John Brooks)

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow 

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/

https://openai.com/index/how-we-monitor-internal-coding-agents-misalignment/

https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Paul-Ohm-Testimony.pdf

https://www.science.org/content/article/exclusive-ai-agent-emailed-hundreds-researchers-help-it-told-us-why

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/opinion/children-screens-parents-health.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/technology/openai-attack-hugging-face.html?eafs_enabled=false

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/technology/openai-ai-breach-australia.html?eafs_enabled=false

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/anthropics-claude-ai-submitted-false-murder-tip-to-philadelphia-police/

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Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Nate Mechler for research and newsletter, and Ben Crain and Rob Montz for video editing.

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How do we stop from becoming so reliant on LLMs that we lose our ability to think. A new paper explores answers based on an unlikely source: rigorous mathematical models. In this episode, Cal explains the paper and its conclusions, arguing that once you cut through its complexity it yields a useful way of thinking about our current AI moment.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) An unlikely team tackles AI brain rot

(38:08) What are Cal’s thoughts on how Jesse Singal describes AI?

(56:29) A look at some vision documents

(1:00:42) Cal’s advice for a parenting situation

(1:03:16) What Cal is up to

October books:

Simplify (Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, Roy Schwartz)

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow 

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.03344

https://thedispatch.com/article/artificial-intelligence-hugging-face-security-death/

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

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https://www.notion.com/cal

https://www.mybodytutor.com

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Nate Mechler for research and newsletter, and Ben Crain and Rob Montz for video editing.

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Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News. Cal interviews Emile Torres who provides a stark warning about AI.

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) A stark warning from a former AI doomer

(2:01) Interview with Emile Torres

(1:13:57) Cal recaps the interview with Emile

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow 

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Nate Mechler for research and newsletter, and Ben Crain and Rob Montz for video editing.

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One of the more debilitating experiences in our current digital world is the sense of being trapped in relentless, reactive, busyness. This “whirlwind” can separate you from both ambition and presence, leaving you feeling flat and fried. In this episode, Cal discusses a simple trick he deploys when he finds himself in this state. It requires only a single sheet of paper.

More from Cal

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:01:25) Why Overload Makes Life Feel Flat

(00:05:17) The Two Plus Five Plan

(00:21:54) The Long-Term Fix: Workload Management

(00:26:04) Office Hours: Rebuilding After a Health Crisis

(00:31:50) Landlining and Taming Your Phone

(00:46:54) Talking to AI, Star Trek Style

(00:55:57) September Books and Studio Update

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

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Credits:

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The conversation around AI harms has become incredibly heated in recent weeks. But it's also incredibly confusing. In this short explainer episode, Cal walks through the three major categories of beliefs around AI in the current moment and helps explain who belongs where and how they all relate to each other. If you're trying to keep up with AI news you have need to learn this framework.

Chapters:

(0:00) Intro

(1:01) Why the debate is so heated

(2:01) Group 1: The Doomers (rationalists and effective altruists)

(9:12) Anthropic, OpenAI, and the doomer civil war

(14:03) Group 2: The Accelerationists

(17:51) Group 3: The Centrists

(24:00) The full landscape and the fight over regulation

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at ⁠www.calnewport.com/slow ⁠

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at ⁠https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/⁠

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.

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With all the recent discussion of the potential catastrophic impacts AI might cause in the future, we’re losing track of the significant harms it is already causing right now. In this episode, Cal goes deep into a serious and tragic topic that he recently learned about in a panel discussion about children and technology. He has an urgent warning for parents that has implications for all of us as well.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) Kids should not use Chatbots

(39:52) What is Cal’s opinion of a recent NY Times article about dumb phones?

(45:04) How should I apply Slow Productivity when my company rewards quick email turnaround?

(51:00) What happens when the craftsman mindset doesn’t yield results?

(56:30) Cal’s reaction to Ezra Klein’s article on AI

(1:10:51) What Cal is up to

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow 

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5545749/ai-chatbots-safety-openai-meta-characterai-teens-suicide

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3xgwyywe4o

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/parents-allege-harmful-character-ai-chatbot-content-60-minutes/

https://www.wwnytv.com/2026/04/08/alleged-florida-state-shooter-used-chatgpt-plan-attack-victims-attorneys-claim/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12967755/

https://parentstogetheraction.org/character-ai/

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/opinion/dumbphone-smartphone-friendship.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/opinion/ai-ban-self-improvement-recursive-models.html?eafs_enabled=false

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Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.

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A recent New York Times op-ed reveals the true nature of “brain rot,” and in doing so reveals a much larger problem affecting us all. In this episode, Cal explores this broader problem then draws from an unlikely source from his childhood to help identify a dramatic solution.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) The truth about brain rot

(31:31) Will you address Immanuale Kants “Critique of Pure Reason” in your upcoming book about thinking?

(33:42) What is the difference between the strategic plan and vision document?

(36:59) Can I buy the “Deep Life” on pre-order?

(39:30) Cal discusses his recent newsletters 

(41:54) My small business uses Claude. Is that ok?

(44:45) Are any AI companies responsible to use?

(45:28) The truth about LLMs

(45:45) What are some AI book recommendations?

(46:42) AI and regulation

(50:25) What Cal is up to?

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow 

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WePNs-G7puA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIeeDcnu9Ck

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/opinion/gen-z-tiktok-ig-reels.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlnmQbPGuls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XRKcUtOkbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_zYn-HHcyA

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

https://www.cozyearth.com (Use code “DEEP”)

https://www.quo.com/deep

https://www.gusto.com/deep

https://www.drinklmnt.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.

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After a week spent debating AI’s impact on humanity, Cal wants to turn his attention back to AI’s impact on humans. To support this shift, he brings on the writer Brad Stulberg who recently decided that he was “done” with AI. They explore whether this is a resistance movement in the making…

Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(4:03) Brad gave AI a real shot — then quit

(8:13) Why everything online now sounds the same

(13:22) Plank 1: Effort, struggle, and the click-of-a-button economy

(20:11) You can take a gondola to the summit, but you didn't climb it

(28:30) Plank 2: AI is an average maker

(33:39) AI swirl: pseudo-productivity turned up to 11

(49:40) Treat AI like ultra-processed food

(55:08) Getting it off your phone, and the lesson of sports analytics

(1:00:13) Team Human and the humanist resistance

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Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) How Worrisome is GPT-6’s “Stealth Thinking”? 

(8:58) Reasoning models

(15:30) Astra

(21:02) The Good

(24:48) The Bad

(28:28) The Hype

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QNsdr-Qx_I

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/secret-technique-behind-openais-astra-model-sparks-security-concerns?rc=1ycz3a

https://x.com/_NathanCalvin/status/2094957301564092914

https://x.com/sjgadler/status/2094959837691908214?s=61

https://x.com/merettm/status/2095023204993490967?s=20

https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.11473

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.

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It’s that time of year again when Cal tunes up his organizational systems for the onslaught of the fall. In this episode, Cal walks through the exact system he’s personally adopting for the next few months. He also discusses why such systems are key to thriving in our current frenetic technological world, why it’s important to continue to tweak your systems, and best practices for constructing your own setup.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) How I’m organizing my life this fall

(24:36) An Irish novelist talks about her use of AI

(30:11) Developing a more balanced approach to tech products

(35:04) Cal’s opinion on an AI article

(41:55) Large corporations move away from all enterprise AI

(48:46) What Cal is up to

August 2026 Books

The New Dark Age (Nigel Biggar)

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow 

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/ 

https://culturedcode.com/things/

https://www.timeblockplanner.com/

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

https://www.superhuman.com

https://www.shopify.com/deep

https://www.monarch.com (Use code “DEEP”)

https://www.mybodytutor.com

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices