Karl Friston is one of the most influential neuroscientists alive. He pioneered the methods that underpin modern brain imaging and developed the Free Energy Principle—considered by many neuroscientists to be the closest thing we have to a general theory of intelligence.

In this conversation with Dr. Michael Mannino and me, Friston explains why your brain doesn’t just record reality—it invents it. Perception is best understood as a “controlled hallucination”: the brain generates models of the world, then tests them against incoming data.

We dig into what this means for consciousness, resilience, and performance.

• Why intuition works as your brain’s shortcut for reducing uncertainty

• How flow states and psychedelics both relax rigid brain assumptions—unlocking clarity and creativity

If you want a deeper grasp of how your brain constructs reality—and how to shape that construction through flow—this is the episode to watch.

Guest Bio: Dr. Karl Friston is a theoretical neuroscientist and one of the most influential figures in modern brain science. He invented statistical parametric mapping, voxel-based morphometry, and dynamic causal modeling—methods that have become foundational to brain imaging. He also developed the Free Energy Principle, a unifying framework for action and perception that’s been called the closest thing we have to a general theory of intelligence.

Across his career, Karl has earned nearly every major accolade in neuroscience, from the Minerva Golden Brain Award to the Glass Brain Award for lifetime achievement in human brain mapping. He’s a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Biology, the Academia Europaea, and EMBO.

And he’s also a collaborator with us here at the Flow Research Collective. Together we’ve published two recent papers—just last week in Nature: Communications Biology on Pathfinding: a neurodynamical account of intuition, and earlier in Neuroscience of Consciousness on Flow and intuition: a systems neuroscience comparison.

In This Episode:

05:38 Birth of the Free Energy Principle

09:09 Theoretical vs. Computational Neuroscience

11:06 What the Free Energy Principle Actually Means

17:42 Intuition as Inference

24:15 Flow, Uncertainty, and Prediction

29:39 Flow, Psychedelics & PTSD

38:12 Cognitive Bias & Relaxing Priors

49:55 Flow as Neuroprotective

1:03:20  Metastability: The Brain’s Flexibility Principle 

1:12:36  From Theory to Practice 

Episode Resources:

Join 300,000+ members on our weekly newsletter for more neuroscience-based tools delivered straight to your inbox: → ⁠⁠Subscribe here⁠⁠

Check out a few of the papers featured in this episode below:

• Pathfinding: A Neurodynamical Account of Intuition: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-08612-9
• Flow and intuition: a systems neuroscience comparison: https://academic.oup.com/nc/article/2025/1/niae040/7942876

Flow Radio Is Presented By Steven Kotler’s Flow Research CollectiveFlow Research Collective was founded by Steven Kotler, one of the world’s leading experts on human peak performance. He is an award-winning journalist and author with over ten bestselling books.

Flow Research Collective is a leading neuroscience research company. ‍

Follow Steven Koter:

YouTube:⁠ ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheStevenKotler⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/stevenkotler/⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenkotler/⁠

Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/6RQY0d5rdlEiinHEtfWy6A⁠⁠

Website: ⁠⁠https://www.stevenkotler.com/⁠

‍

AI is moving faster than most of us can comprehend. But what if our edge isn’t in outthinking machines—but in outflowing them?

In this episode, Steven Kotler sits down with two of the sharpest minds shaping our technological future: Peter Diamandis, founder of the XPRIZE and a pioneer of exponential thinking, and Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at Google X and bestselling author of Scary Smart. Together, they unpack how artificial intelligence is changing everything—from productivity and purpose to risk, resilience, and what it means to stay human at speed.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the pace of change, this episode offers tools rooted in neuroscience, performance psychology, and hard-earned experience at the bleeding edge of innovation.

You'll Learn:

• Why intuition, context, and creativity are still uniquely human superpowers.

• How to use flow states to outperform exponential tech (instead of being crushed by it).

• Why training risk tolerance and recovery are essential survival skills in a synthetic world.

Peter Diamandis: Recently named one of Fortune’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” Peter Diamandis is the Founder and Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, which has launched over $500 million in incentive prize competitions. He also founded Singularity University and has started more than 25 companies in healthtech, space, venture capital, and education.

Diamandis is Co-founder and Vice-Chairman of Celularity and Vaxxinity, and Chairman of Fountain Life—a platform for predictive, preventative, and data-driven health. He also co-founded BOLD Capital Partners, a $500 million fund investing in exponential technologies and longevity companies.

A four-time New York Times bestselling author, his books include Abundance, BOLD, The Future is Faster Than You Think, LIFE FORCE (with Tony Robbins), and LONGEVITY: Your Practical Playbook.

Mo Gawdat: Mo Gawdat is the former Chief Business Officer of Google [X]; host of the popular podcast, Slo Mo: A Podcast with Mo Gawdat; author of the international bestselling books Solve for Happy; Scary Smart; That Little Voice in Your Head; and Unstressable; founder of One Billion Happy; and Chief AI Officer of Flight Story.

After a 30 year career in tech and serving as Chief Business Officer at Google [X], Google's 'moonshot factory' of innovation, Mo has made happiness his primary topic of research, diving deeply into literature and conversing on the topic with some of the wisest people in the world. In recent years, he has focused on the dangerous implications of rapid AI development.

In This Episode:

02:15 The False Promise of AI Productivity

06:41 Why Flow Beats the Busy Trap

11:02 Synthetic Intelligence, Human Reflection

17:48 You Can’t Outthink AI—But You Can Outflow It

23:05 Risk Tolerance: The Real Cognitive Upgrade

29:17 The Burnout Feedback Loop

36:44 Training Your Brain for Warp Speed

42:10  How AI Mirrors Your Attention Patterns 

48:19 Peak Performance as an Existential Choice

55:31The Human Advantage: Intuition, Context, Creativity

Flow Radio Is Presented By Steven Kotler’s Flow Research Collective.

Follow Steven Kotler:

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‍

Flow Research Collective was founded by Steven Kotler, one of the world’s leading experts on human peak performance. He is an award-winning journalist and author with over ten bestselling books.

Join 300,000+ members on our weekly newsletter for more neuroscience-based tools delivered straight to your inbox: → Subscribe here

What if your gut instinct was more than a hunch? What if it was your brain’s first navigation system—designed to reduce uncertainty, minimize surprise, and keep you alive?

In this episode of Flow Radio, Steven Kotler and neuroscientist Dr. Michael Mannino crack open the black box of intuition. Along with co-authors Karl Friston, György Buzsáki, J.A. Scott Kelso, and Guillaume Dumas, they’ve just completed a new scientific paper—Pathfinding: A Neurodynamical Account of Intuition—set to be published this summer in Nature Communications Biology.

Thirty years in the making, the paper proposes a bold model: intuition as pathfinding. Not magic. Not precognition. But an embodied, neurodynamic process built to help us make the next best move—fast.

From hippocampal sharp wave ripples to attractor landscapes and the free energy principle, Kotler and Mannino break down how your brain runs compressed simulations of the past to predict the future. You’ll learn how intuition differs from insight, why instincts often lead us astray in matters of sex and money, and how novel environments can help you tap into opportunistic assimilation—a key to creativity and problem-solving.

You'll Learn:

• Why intuition is a movement-based, evolutionarily ancient survival mechanism
  

• The role of hippocampal “sharp wave ripples” in solving problems while you sleep—and while you move
  

• How to train your “prepared mind” to boost intuitive decision-making
  

• Why intuition is fast, embodied, and predictive—and what that means for agency, flow, and peak performance
  

• How the brain uses the free energy principle to minimize surprise and optimize action
  

→ This is neuroscience with bite. A gut-check for anyone who’s ever wondered, “Should I trust my instinct?”

In This Episode:

05:13 Defining Intuition: Pathfinding in the Brain

18:06 Neuroscience Behind Intuition

24:11 The Role of Memory and Problem Solving in Intuition

30:00 Theoretical Frameworks: Free Energy Principle and Meta-Stability

37:00 700% More Creative? Flow Science Explained

40:38 Exploring Intuition and Decision Making

43:52 Neuroscience of Intuition and Action

47:02 The Role of Feedback in Intuition 

54:50 Delta Waves and Intuition

58:42 Meta-Stability and Multitasking

Join 300,000+ members on our weekly newsletter for more neuroscience-based tools delivered straight to your inbox: → ⁠Subscribe here

Follow Flow Research Collective:

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@flowresearchcollective⁠

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X: ⁠https://twitter.com/thefrc_official⁠

Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/flowresearchcollective⁠

Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/6RQY0d5rdlEiinHEtfWy6A⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.flowresearchcollective.com⁠

‍

Flow Research Collective was founded by Steven Kotler, one of the world’s leading experts on human peak performance. He is an award-winning journalist and author with over ten bestselling books.
Flow Radio Is Presented By Flow Research Collective

What do DIY entrepreneurship, peak performance, and punk rock have in common? Everything.

In this live Flow Radio episode, recorded at Summit at Sea 2024, New York Times bestselling author and FRC Executive Director Steven Kotler joins fashion icon John Varvatos to trace the rebel spirit from CBGB’s to Silicon Valley. Together, they map how the kids nobody wanted—punks, misfits, and rule-breakers—accidentally built the culture of innovation we live in today.

This isn’t just music history. It’s a neuroscience-backed deep dive into how rebellion, risk, and raw self-expression create the perfect storm for flow—and why punk’s anti-authoritarian DNA became the blueprint for startup culture, action sports, and social movements.

If you’re chasing innovation, impact, or just trying to stay sane while breaking things—there’s flow on the other side of risk.

Go get it.

Guest Bio:

John Varvatos is an award-winning fashion designer, cultural curator, and lifelong rebel.Best known for fusing rock-and-roll attitude with high-end tailoring, he launched his namesake brand in 2000 and has since earned multiple CFDA Designer of the Year awards. He’s also the force behind the revival of CBGB—the legendary punk venue turned retail and cultural space.

From the Bowery to boardrooms, Varvatos has spent decades channeling the punk ethos into business, design, and live music. His work sits at the intersection of culture, entrepreneurship, and radical self-expression—making him not just a fashion icon, but a builder of movements.

In This Episode:

03:30 Punk as Evolutionary Instinct

06:45 The DIY Revolution Begins

10:55 The Neuroscience Behind the Movement

14:30 Group Flow, Mosh Pits & the End of the Stage Dive

18:15 From Subculture to Startup Culture

25:00 Punk Values: Radical Individuality to DIY Capitalism

30:45 Rebellion Goes Mainstream

36:00 The New Punk: Entrepreneurs, Artists & Conscious Rebels

38:20 Final Words from the Moshpit

Episode Resources:

Steven returns to Summit this June in Detroit—a city that pulses with creativity, reinvention, and raw energy.

Join a one-of-a-kind gathering of visionaries, builders, and creators. This one won’t be forgotten.

→ Learn more & apply to attend

Footage shot at Summit At Sea 2024, courtesy of Summit Series, © Summit Series.

Flow Radio Is Presented By Flow Research Collective

Flow Research Collective is a leading neuroscience research company. ‍

Follow Flow Research Collective:

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@flowresearchcollective⁠

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X: ⁠https://twitter.com/thefrc_official⁠

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Website: ⁠https://www.flowresearchcollective.com⁠

‍

Flow Research Collective was founded by Steven Kotler, one of the world’s leading experts on human peak performance. He is an award-winning journalist and author with over ten bestselling books.

No one is coming to save you—but staying stuck isn’t the only option.

Steven Kotler and Ryan Wickes welcome back Columbia professor and humanistic psychologist Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman—author of the just-released Rise Above, and one of today’s leading voices on human potential.

Kaufman joins to unpack the victim mindset, the neurobiology of agency, and how narcissism, entitlement, and impostor syndrome can quietly block the path to self-actualization.

At the heart of this conversation is a powerful truth: flow demands agency. When we feel powerless, we avoid challenge—and without challenge, there is no flow. A victim mindset disrupts the neural circuitry behind motivation, focus, and drive.

This episode breaks down the science of that disruption—and maps out a way through. From learned helplessness to learned hopefulness, you’ll hear how reclaiming agency reactivates your growth, unlocks flow, and strengthens resilience.

The journey is personal. The tools are universal.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman is a humanistic psychologist, Columbia University professor, and one of the world’s leading experts on intelligence, creativity, and human potential. Ranked in the top 1% of most-cited scientists worldwide, he’s the founder of Self-Actualization Coaching, director of the Center for Human Potential, and host of The Psychology Podcast (30M+ downloads). Named one of Business Insider’s 50 groundbreaking scientists, he’s authored 11 books—including Transcend, Choose Growth, and his latest, Rise Above.

In This Episode:

03:03 The Journey from Creativity to Self-Actualization

06:07 Overcoming the Victim Mindset

09:07 Neurobiology of Mindsets

15:06 Understanding the Victim Mindset

17:53 Evolutionary Perspectives on Victimhood

20:53 Empathy and Honest Love

25:29 Empowerment Through Adversity

28:39 Challenging the Trauma Narrative

32:39 Navigating the Victim Mindset

45:12 Imposter Syndrome: A Signal for Growth

52:08 Narcissism and Wellbeing

Episode Resources:

Self-Actualizing People in the 21st Century by Scott Barry Kaufman

A modern, data-driven update to Maslow’s theory—complete with a validated scale and new insights into well-being, resilience, and creative expression.

→ Read the full paper

Scott’s New Book — Rise Above

Want to go deeper on the science behind the victim mindset, resilience, and human potential?

Grab Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman’s latest book, Rise Above…

→ scottbarrykaufman.com/books/rise-above

Flow Radio Is Presented By Flow Research Collective

Flow Research Collective is a leading neuroscience research company. ‍

Follow Flow Research Collective:

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@flowresearchcollective⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/flowresearchcollective⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/flowresearchcollective⁠

X: ⁠https://twitter.com/thefrc_official⁠

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Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/6RQY0d5rdlEiinHEtfWy6A⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.flowresearchcollective.com⁠

‍

Flow Research Collective was founded by Steven Kotler, one of the world’s leading experts on human peak performance. He is an award-winning journalist and author with over ten bestselling books.

Creativity isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a survival skill.

In this episode of Flow Radio, Steven Kotler sits down with artist, designer, and serial entrepreneur Jody Levy for a conversation on how intuition, constraint, and ritual unlock creativity—and why all three are non-negotiables for high-performance leadership.

They trace Jody’s path through experience design and explore the mindset behind building high-flow communities. From the tactical to the transcendent, this episode delivers real tools—and ends with a major announcement: the Summit community is coming to Detroit. It’s a rare chance to catch Steven live, speaking on flow, AI, and the future of creativity.

If you're chasing innovation, collaboration, and community at full tilt—don’t miss it.

Guest Bio:

Jody Levy is an artist, systems thinker, and serial entrepreneur whose work lives at the intersection of wellness, innovation, and impact.

She’s the founder of WTRMLN WTR, the category-defining beverage brand; the creator of NeuroPraxis, a breakthrough platform for brain and spinal cord recovery; and a leader in large-scale trauma and disaster response. Today, she serves as the Global Director and CEO of Summit—the legendary community of creators, builders, and change agents.

Jody has a rare ability to turn bold ideas into real-world systems for healing, creativity, and human optimization.

In This Episode:

02:51  The Journey of Creativity and Flow

05:49  The Role of Art in Emotional Regulation

08:58  Intuition and Decision-Making in Entrepreneurship

11:50  Constraints as Catalysts for Creativity

17:48  Building High-Impact Experiences

29:53  The Importance of Structure in Creative Environments

31:06  Cultivating Flow in Teams

36:25  The Power of Rituals

41:04  Time Management and Leadership

46:32  Optimizing Community Engagement

52:37  Preserving the Magic in Growth

Summit Detroit

This June, Steven will be joining forces with Summit (once again) in Detroit—a city that pulses with creativity, reinvention, and raw energy. Join an unforgettable gathering of visionaries, builders, and creators.

→ Learn more & apply to attend

Flow Radio is Presented Bt Flow Research Collective

Flow Research Collective is a leading neuroscience research company. ‍

Follow Flow Research Collective:

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@flowresearchcollective⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/flowresearchcollective⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/flowresearchcollective⁠

X: ⁠https://twitter.com/thefrc_official⁠

Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/flowresearchcollective⁠

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Website: ⁠https://www.flowresearchcollective.com⁠

‍

Flow Research Collective was founded by Steven Kotler, one of the world’s leading experts on human peak performance. He is an award-winning journalist and author with over ten bestselling books.

Guest Bio:
In This Episode:
Episode Resources:
Flow Radio Is Presented By Flow Research Collective

What happens when AI takes center stage—and humans still want to create?

Steven Kotler returns to Peter Diamandis’s Moonshots to unpack the forces shaping our future: AI, abundance, creativity, and how flow fuels the human advantage. Drawing on three decades at the bleeding edge of peak performance, they explore what it takes to thrive in a world accelerating beyond imagination—and why the right 100 people can still change everything.

This is required listening for creatives, entrepreneurs, and anyone building in the age of machines. If the future belongs to the bold, flow is your blueprint.

Guest Bio:

Recently named one of Fortune’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” Peter Diamandis is the Founder and Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, which has launched over $500 million in incentive prize competitions. He also founded Singularity University and has started more than 25 companies in healthtech, space, venture capital, and education.

Diamandis is Co-founder and Vice-Chairman of Celularity and Vaxxinity, and Chairman of Fountain Life—a platform for predictive, preventative, and data-driven health. He also co-founded BOLD Capital Partners, a $500 million fund investing in exponential technologies and longevity companies.

A four-time New York Times bestselling author, his books include Abundance, BOLD, The Future is Faster Than You Think, LIFE FORCE (with Tony Robbins), and LONGEVITY: Your Practical Playbook.

He holds degrees in molecular genetics and aerospace engineering from MIT and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. His motto: “The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.”

In This Episode:

05:42 Tech Tipping Points: From Tesla to GPT-4

10:04 Understanding Flow States

14:00 Flow & Craft

29:51 Facing the Fermi Paradox: What Comes Next?

37:00 700% More Creative? Flow Science Explained

57:37 The XPRIZE & Cross-Disciplinary Breakthroughs

01:19:31 Mindset as Neurobiology, Not Woo-Woo

01:30:31 The Age of AI Companions

01:19:31 Mindset and Resilience

01:57:37 How 100 People Shift Culture

02:09:17  Inside The Alliance: Creativity, Flow, and the Future of Learning

Episode Resources:

The Alliance is a hyper-curated 15-person think tank where we train creativity and collaborate with one another.

The Alliance is made up of visionary, entrepreneurs and thought leaders looking to accelerate their creative process and realize their next breakthrough

→ Apply to join today

Flow Radio Is Presented By Flow Research Collective

Flow Research Collective is a leading neuroscience research company. ‍

Follow Flow Research Collective:

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@flowresearchcollective⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/flowresearchcollective⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/flowresearchcollective⁠

X: ⁠https://twitter.com/thefrc_official⁠

Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/flowresearchcollective⁠

Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/6RQY0d5rdlEiinHEtfWy6A⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.flowresearchcollective.com⁠

‍

Flow Research Collective was founded by Steven Kotler, one of the world’s leading experts on human peak performance. He is an award-winning journalist and author with over ten bestselling books.

What happens when you reach such extreme states of pain that you start having out-of-body experiences?

Join us for a fascinating conversation with James Lawrence (aka the Iron Cowboy) about redefining human limits, managing pain through flow states, and what happens when you push beyond what doctors claim is impossible. 

James shares his raw truth about overcoming the voice of doubt, achieving out-of-body flow experiences, and why your next step won't kill you—even when everything in your body screams otherwise. 

From his early days riding a Ferris wheel for ten straight days in a contest of who could stay bored the longest to becoming a world record holder, this is a masterclass in human potential. 

In This Episode:

05:04 The Journey to Endurance Sports

10:04 Understanding Flow States

14:53 Managing the Internal Bully

19:58 The 50-50-50 Challenge

25:06 The Conquer 100 Experience

36:37 The Power of Flow in Peak Performance

38:11 Mastering Monotony for Success

40:19 Embracing the Impossible

50:15 Mindset and Resilience

56:39 Recovery and Adaptation

01:01:35 Intuition and Flow Experiences

About The Guest:

James Lawrence, more commonly known as the Iron Cowboy, is a world-renowned speaker, endurance athlete, 2x author, and 2x documentary subject.

He received his nickname from the public after he started to wear a cowboy hat during races to be recognized by his children.

With two Guinness world records under his belt, James and his family attempted to do something every person deemed impossible, the 50/50/50.

However, that wasn't enough to satisfy him. On June 8, 2021, James achieved a remarkable milestone known as the Conquer 100—a series of 100 consecutive full-distance triathlons, as coined by the team. 

Sports Illustrated ranked James in the top 50 fittest freaks with Lebron James and Connor McGregor, two of James' favorite athletes. 

Originally from Calgary, Canada, he now lives in Utah with his wife, Sunny, and their five children. His family plays a crucial role in his endeavors, providing unwavering support through his remarkable journey. 

Episode Resources:

Book: Iron Hope: Lessons Learned from Conquering the Impossible - January 21, 2025

Website: Ironcowboy.com

Social: @ironcowboyjames

Learn more: https://linktr.ee/ironcowboyjames

Flow Radio Is Presented By Flow Research Collective

Flow Research Collective is a leading neuroscience research and training company. If you’re interested in learning the science-backed techniques we used to train top executives at Facebook, Audi and even the Navy SEALs, click the link here: https://www.flowresearchcollective.com

‍

Follow Flow Research Collective:

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@flowresearchcollective⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/flowresearchcollective⁠

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X: ⁠https://twitter.com/thefrc_official⁠

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Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/6RQY0d5rdlEiinHEtfWy6A⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.flowresearchcollective.com⁠

‍

Flow Research Collective was founded by Steven Kotler, one of the world’s leading experts on human peak performance. He is an award-winning journalist and author with over ten bestselling books.

Flow—your brain's gateway drug to the infinite game.

How far could you push your performance if you knew exactly what your brain was capable of?

In this special Ask Me Anything episode, Steven Kotler and Dr. Michael Mannino answer questions from people around the world who use their work to unlock more flow. They share mind-bending insights about "getting into the zone"—insights that have helped world-class athletes and entrepreneurs break through their perceived limitations.

Through candid stories and cutting-edge research, they show exactly how anyone can tap into these optimal states of consciousness—whether you're hurling yourself down mountains or seeking deeper connections in your everyday life.

The question isn't whether you can access these states. The question is: what will you do once you know how?

Warning: Side effects include the uncontrollable drive to truly live your life.  

In This Episode:

01:01 Endurance & Scripting

20:27 Clear Goals: Risk vs. Reward

29:00 ADHD, Flow States, and Peak Performance

41:00 Neurodivergence Debate: Rethinking Labels

49:19 Flow States in Healing and Therapy

54:54 Teacher-Student Flow Dynamics 

1:00:04 Psychoneuroimmunology and Healing

1:03:04  Individual vs. Group Flow States

1:07:36 Closing Remarks and Holiday Wishes

About The Guest:

Steven Kotler is a New York Times-bestselling author, an award-winning journalist, and the co-founder and executive director of the Flow Research Collective. He is one of the world’s leading experts on human performance. He is the author of eleven bestsellers (out of fourteen books), including The Art of Impossible, The Future is Faster Than You Think, Stealing Fire, The Rise of Superman, Bold and Abundance. His work has been nominated for three Pulitzer Prizes, translated into over sixty languages, and has appeared in over 110 publications, including academic journals such as Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews and Psychophysiology, and mainstream publications like The New York Times Magazine, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, Wall Street Journal, TIME, and the Harvard Business Review.

Dr. Michael Mannino is the Director of Programs at the University of Miami's Institute for Data Science and Computing, focusing on AI projects across various domains. He holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience and a Master’s in philosophy, with expertise in embodied cognition, critical thinking, and the philosophy of mind. As a professor of philosophy and ethics for over a decade, Michael integrates his academic background with a passion for peak performance, flow science, and the mind-body connection. He is also an athlete, musician, and avid learner, and serves on the Singularity University Miami Chapter.

Episode Resources:

Flow Radio Is Presented By Flow Research Collective

Flow Research Collective is a leading neuroscience research and training company. If you’re interested in learning the science-backed techniques we used to train top executives at Facebook, Audi and even the Navy SEALs, click the link here: https://www.flowresearchcollective.com

Follow Flow Research Collective:

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@flowresearchcollective⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/flowresearchcollective⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/flowresearchcollective⁠

X: ⁠https://twitter.com/thefrc_official⁠

Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/flowresearchcollective⁠

Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/6RQY0d5rdlEiinHEtfWy6A⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.flowresearchcollective.com⁠

‍

Flow Research Collective was founded by Steven Kotler, one of the world’s leading experts on human peak performance. He is an award-winning journalist and author with over ten bestselling books.

Flow—your brain's gateway drug to the infinite game.

In this episode of Afterthoughts, Steven Kotler reveals how flow states unlock doors to possibilities we never knew existed. Joined by neuroscientist Dr. Michael Mannino and host Ryan Wickes, the team explores how flow can revolutionize aging.

Building on Steven's conversation with Modern Elder Academy founder Chip Conley, they examine why time slows in flow, how brains sync in groups, and why curiosity defends against aging. Tune in for practical insights for maintaining vitality throughout life.

This isn't just theory—it's a roadmap to unlocking your brain's natural anti-aging mechanisms. From neuroplasticity to cognitive reserve, discover how flow might be the fountain of youth we seek.

Join the discussion by leaving your questions for future Afterthoughts episodes in the comments.

In This Episode:

02:30 Gateway Drug to the Infinite Game

14:30 Time Perception Changes

19:05 Zombie Cells and Inflammation

27:03 Training Creativity

31:00 Recovery and Flow Triggers

39:40 Group Flow Synchronization

44:20 Curiosity and Neural Networks

49:15 AI and Flow Research

52:30 The Hippocampus and New Neurons

54:30 Language Learning and Flow

About The Guest:

Steven Kotler is a New York Times-bestselling author, an award-winning journalist, and the cofounder and executive director of the Flow Research Collective. He is one of the world’s leading experts on human performance. He is the author of eleven bestsellers (out of fourteen books), including The Art of Impossible, The Future is Faster Than You Think, Stealing Fire, The Rise of Superman, Bold and Abundance. His work has been nominated for three Pulitzer Prizes, translated into over sixty languages, and has appeared in over 110 publications, including academic journals such as Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews and Psychophysiology, and mainstream publications like The New York Times Magazine, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, Wall Street Journal, TIME, and the Harvard Business Review.

Dr. Michael Mannino is the Director of Programs at the University of Miami's Institute for Data Science and Computing, focusing on AI projects across various domains. He holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience and a Master’s in philosophy, with expertise in embodied cognition, critical thinking, and the philosophy of mind. As a professor of philosophy and ethics for over a decade, Michael integrates his academic background with a passion for peak performance, flow science, and the mind-body connection. He is also an athlete, musician, and avid learner, and serves on the Singularity University Miami Chapter.

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