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Shawn T. Smith is a clinical psychologist and the author of various books, including his best-seller, The Tactical Guide to Woman. During our conversation, Shawn talks about green flags in women, depression as a symptom rather than an illness, advice for men who are depressed, shame and love, the importance of tribe and purpose in a man's life, and the lack of scripts for healthy men in modern culture.

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00:00 Intro

01:14 Green flags in women

03:45 Prioritizing the long-term over the short-term

05:49 The importance of habits

08:23 Love and shame in a man's life

17:00 The importance of having a male tribe

20:40 Men's hunger for talking honestly about relationships

23:21 Depression in men

26:20 Causes of depression in men

29:29 Depression is like a fever - a symptom, not the cause

33:11 Vetting women with no optionality

36:44 Purpose in a man's life

43:43 The role of men and fathers in society

50:32 Dealing with pushback while striving toward goals

52:52 Advice Shawn would give to his young daughter

James Fadiman is a researcher, an author, and one of the world's leading experts on microdosing psychedelics. During our conversation, Jim talks about finding one's microdosing "sweet spot," the potential benefits of microdosing, how a healthy society might approach psychedelics, the future of psychedelics in America, and his own spiritual and religious worldview.

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00:00 Intro

00:40 Finding your microdosing "sweet spot"

06:25 Microdosing quantities for psilocybin

10:07 Potential benefits of microdosing

15:13 What is happening in the brain with microdosing?

20:12 Are there specific strands of psilocybin that are best for microdosing?

24:14 How commonly-used should microdosing be in a healthy society?

30:08 The future of psychedelics in America

36:31 Is there a forthcoming backlash to psychedelics?

42:46 What kind of people might be helped by microdosing?

56:50 Jim's spiritual and religious views

Dr. William Davis is the author of many best-selling books, including Wheat Belly and Super Gut. During his second appearance on this podcast, Bill talks about the potential benefits of adding probiotics like lactobacillus reuteri to one's microbiome, the benefits of fermented foods, the many negative side effects of wheat, how modern diets seem to contribute to various mental illnesses, and a diet that he would recommend to live a healthy life in modern times.

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00:00 Intro

00:38 What Bill has learned in the past two years

07:51 Lactobacillus reuteri

15:10 How to improve one's microbiome

20:03 Fermented foods

23:43 "Diseases of civilization"

27:36 The modern diet and antibiotics

31:29 Bill's views on a healthy diet and lifestyle

47:48 The link between mental illness and diet

55:10 Habits and supplements to increase health

Bill Wasik is the editorial director for the New York Times Magazine and the author of a variety of books, including his newest - co-written with his wife Monica Murphy - Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals. During our conversation, Bill talks about the dawn of the animal rights movement in post-Civil War America, the lives and work of Henry Bergh and George Angell, and the creation and mission of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals.

Bill also talks about the industrialization of meat production, the invisibility of animal suffering today, and his own lifestyle related to animal rights.

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00:00 Intro

00:37 How Americans treated animals in the mid-19th century

03:54 Animal blood sport in the 19th century

07:28 Religious and philosophical outlooks on animals in the 19th century

12:25 Who was Henry Burgh?

16:16 The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

22:22 The legal power of the ASPCA 28:21 Who was George Angell?

33:10 The goal: reduce suffering, not eliminate meat consumption

38:55 Industrializing meat production, and the invisibility of animals today

47:20 How this book has influenced Bill and his lifestyle

Oliver Burkeman is a journalist and an author of multiple books, including his bestseller, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. During our conversation, Oliver talks about being an insecure overachiever, his historic obsession with productivity, learning to say no to things you want to do, the 80/20 principle, and how modern life rewards winners with an unending, lifetime supply of intense work.

He also discusses getting clear on what matters to you in life, the work and ideas of James Hollis, and, when facing a big life decision, asking the question, "does this choice diminish or englargen me?"

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00:00 Intro

00:49 Oliver's struggles with time management

03:58 "The mistaken belief that it can be cured"

06:53 How Oliver has addressed his productivity addiction

12:29 The importance of saying no

16:57 Insecure overachievers and people pleasers

21:52 Today, the reward for winning is a lifetime of intense work

28:25 Human's concept of time over time

32:15 Time management in other cultures

37:33 When deciding, ask: "Does this choice englargen or diminish me?"

45:03 Quotes from James Hollis and Carl Jung

51:14 Closing comments about "Four Thousand Weeks"

Derek Sivers is an author, a TED speaker, a businessman, a musician, and one of my favorite thinkers on the planet. During our conversation, Derek talks about pursuing mastery, having enough, what success means to him, how he thinks about money, having and raising a kid, and more.

Derek's book Hell Yeah or No is one of my all-time favorites, and his essays have had a huge influence on my life. I love Derek's originality, his enthusiasm for life and ideas, and most importantly, his generosity, kindness, and friendliness.

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00:00 Intro

00:32 Written off from an early age

02:40 How Derek knew he wanted to be a musician

08:50 Transitioning from a musician to a businessman

15:40 Having enough

22:28 Money

28:15 The importance of quiet, journaling and solitude

40:45 Freedom and children

54:48 Giving away $22 million

01:03:52 Lifestyle creep

01:08:34 Why Derek chooses freedom

01:11:14 Envy and maintaining minimalism

01:19:25 Success

01:21:21 Quotes from Derek's essays

01:26:02 Dan's New Zealand story

01:35:06 Small actions can have big consequences

01:37:23 Reach out to Derek: https://sive.rs/contact

Hemant Mehta is an author, a YouTuber, and an atheist activist. During our conversation, Hemant talks about his journey to atheism, the threat of Christian nationalism to secular society, and the atheist and secular movements. He also addresses the loss of community felt by those who leave religion, and the life and legacy of Daniel Dennett, including his work with The Clergy Project.

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00:00 Intro

00:44 Hemant's personal and religious background

07:05 Hemant's experience losing his religious belief

08:47 Has Hemant's atheism changed him?

11:37 What persuaded Hemant to become an atheist?

14:56 Modern instances of religious overreach into secular society

20:44 Hemant's definition of atheism

23:00 What motivates Hemant's work

30:57 Christian nationalism in America

36:32 Reasons for optimism

42:26 The loss of community as people leave religion

47:05 Does Hemant have doubts about his atheist convictions?

49:29 Who does Hemant go to for information?

55:56 Dan Dennett and The Clergy Project

D.J. Taylor is a novelist, a literary critic, and the author of two biographies of George Orwell: Orwell: The Life, and Orwell: The New Life. During our conversation, D.J. talks about Orwell's life, why Orwell's books, particularly his two on totalitarianism, Animal Farm and 1984, have endured so many years after his death, and the relevance of his ideas and insights to modern times.

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00:00 Intro

00:34 Who was George Orwell?

02:48 Why is Orwell so intriguing to D.J. Taylor?

04:46 Orwell's relevance over the past 20 years

08:06 How did Orwell capture totalitarianism so clearly?

13:15 The totalitarian impulse in Orwell

17:51 Orwell's commitment to his beliefs

21:44 A power of facing unpleasant facts

26:32 The void filled by the decline of religion

30:00 What was Orwell for?

34:43 Orwell's final years on Jura

38:33 Criticisms of Orwell

45:04 How would Orwell view modern times?

51:52 Euphemism and Newspeak today

54:28 Famous quotes from Orwell

55:30 Why does Orwell endure?

Camilla Kring is an author, a global speaker, and is the founder of B-Society, an organization fighting for "chronotype equality." During our conversation, Camilla talks about night owls and morning birds, why humans have a wide spectrum of sleep cycles, our cultural bias towards early birds, the damage done to night owls who are asked to fit into a morning bird society, and how we might be able to provide greater time autonomy to people to live in accordance with their own rhythms.

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Camilla's org, B-Society

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00:00 Intro

00:39 An "A person" vs "B person"

02:40 Social jet lag of night owls

04:15 Evolutionary reasons for night owls

11:15 How society became biased against night owls

15:30 Are night owls lazy?

21:00 The range of preferred sleeping cycles in humans

26:27 The guilt of and bias against night owls

32:12 Advice for night owls who can't control their schedule

36:10 How AM sunlight and light exposure helps people

37:20 The importance of sleep

43:16 Chronotypes and a quote from "Why We Sleep"

48:44 Can night owls turn into morning birds?

54:30 Is our society chronically sleep-deprived?

58:23 How does a sane society approach sleep?

Sarah Everts is a science journalist, an associate professor at Carleton University, and the author of "The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration." During our conversation, Sarah talks about how sweating was an evolutionary superpower for humans, what sweat is, why some people sweat more than others, the history of the antiperspirant industry, and why we receive such psychological benefits from sauna exposure and exercise-induced sweating.

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00:00 Intro

00:53 Sarah's interest in sweat

02:23 Sweating as an evolutionary advantage

13:11 Why do some people sweat more than others?

19:32 Is being able to easily sweat a sign of health?

24:33 Ethnic differences in sweating

29:08 How advertising created the antiperspirant industry

39:38 The benefits of heat and sweating

51:48 Forcing your heart to exercise