The Cal Newport Show

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

Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

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

(0:00) Does OpenAI create “secret AI civilizations”?

(1:59) What’s the deal with “agent swarms”?

(8:54) Should we be worried that the agents are plotting?

(17:39) How should we be thinking about all of this?

Links:

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

https://www.dwarkesh.com/p/openai-huggingface

https://calnewport.com/has-ai-gone-rogue/

https://calnewport.com/are-we-at-war-with-ai-agent-civilizations/

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

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

Back in 2023, Cal released an episode on a lifestyle design strategy I called the Deep Life Stack. Today, almost three years later, Cal revisits this idea and replaces it with a more robust concept that he calls “The Deep Life Map.”

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) Rethinking the Deep Life stack

(38:07) Too many interests and not enough time

(47:29) Voluntary attention regulates acute immune responses in humans

(55:34) A freelance musician and social media

(1:09:08) What Cal is up to 

August 2026 Books

An Inside Job (Daniel Silva)

Three Years in Wonderland (Todd James Pierce)

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/ 

Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-026-02541-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Cal-Newport/author/B001IGNR0U

https://x.com/RyanHoliday

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

https://www.surfshark.com/deepquestions

https://www.quo.com/deep

https://www.masterclass.com/deep

https://www.notion.com/cal

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

Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

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

(0:00) Has AI “Gone Rogue”

(2:25) Observation #1 - Most Superhuman AI is well behaved

(4:28) Observation #2 - A specific type of AI system is causing these problems

(9:59) Observation #3 - This specific type of system is a bad idea

(21:25) Observation #4 - The AI companies are negligent

(27:04) Observation #5 - We can push back

Links:

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

https://www.anthropic.com/news/investigating-incidents-cybersecurity-evals

https://apnews.com/article/meta-ai-hacking-anthropic-irregular-openai-0e8061437da6779be962b24ac134a514

https://x.com/_NathanCalvin/status/2080685870877757551

https://huggingface.co/learn/agents-course/unit1/agent-steps-and-structure

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

Sponsor:

https://www.donedaily.com

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

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

In the world of physical health, we use so-called “key performance indicators” (KPIs) to help measure and improve our fitness. In today’s episode, Cal proposes a collection of three KPIs for measuring and improving your *cognitive* capabilities – a small step toward his larger vision of a cognitive fitness revolution.

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 to build a cognitive training plan

(29:48) What is Cal’s opinion on information fatigue syndrome?

(37:04) Comments on the new book, “Pardon Our French: The Parisian Way to a Happier Life”

(40:17) An interesting way to think about AI and thinking

(47:37) An article about Disneyland, high quality leisure, and deep living

(57:53) What Cal is up to

August 2026 Books

The Laws of Thought (Tom Griffiths)

This is For Everyone (Tim Berners-Lee)

Into the Deep  (Bob Ballard and Christopher Drew)202

Links:

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

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at

Cal’s monthly book directory: 

bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

https://workplacepsychology.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/information-overload-when-information-becomes-noise/

https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/08/12/reading-between-the-lines-part-1-a-cognitive-framework-for-ai-in-scholarly-publishing/

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/18/boredom-and-its-discontents-part-ii/

https://pluralistic.net/2026/08/12/insurance-value-of-biodiversity/

https://archive.ph/WvW1F

Thanks to our Sponsors:

https://www.calderalab.com/deep (Use code “DEEP)

https://www.vanta.com/deepquestions

https://www.gusto.com/deep

https://www.babbel.com/deep

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

The best way to kick your scrolling habit is to introduce more “high quality leisure” into your life. But how do you accomplish this goal? In this replay of a classic episode from February, 2024, Cal walks through six new habits – what he calls a “high quality leisure toolkit” – for rebuilding your life around more meaningful activities.

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) Confronting Your Phone 

(13:06) What does Cal think about Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves To Death”? 

(17:45) Can you pursue high quality leisure after a day filled with deep work? 

(21:56) Can commercial breaks be used for high quality leisure? 

(25:04) Will digital minimalism work in an age of augmented reality? 

(31:26) How can a full time YouTuber practice digital minimalism? 

(38:34) How to share content online? 

(46:27) Cost-benefit analysis of technology usage 

(49:09) JRR Tolkien’s Search for Depth 

Links:

https://twitter.com/explore/tabs/trending

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/popular/hl=en

https://www.tiktok.com/foryou?lang=en

https://newcriterion.com/blogs/dispatch/the-consolations-of-fantasy

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

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

https://www.shopify.com/deep

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

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Kieron Rees for slow productivity music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

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

Only 8% of people finish their yearly goals. At the same time, the percentage of people feeling a sense of meaning of purpose in their life is falling. These two numbers are connected: the more we struggle to accomplish meaningful projects, the less meaningful our lives might feel. In this episode, Cal looks back to a classic article he wrote nearly twenty years ago to both better understand why this problem is getting worse and how we can solve it.

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 do I finish meaningful projects?

(39:36) A new study about children with cellphones having poorer reading comprehension 

(43:14) A nurse practitioner in search of deep work

(45:45) Using AI to improve both your work and life

(52:24) A recent Wall Street Journal article about AI and jobs

(1:00:07) What Cal is up to

July 2026 Books

Orality and Literacy (Walter Ong)

Lost (Rachel Harrington)

Sapiens (Yuval Harari)

More Everything Forever (Adam Becker)

Disneyland the Rise of Automation (Roland Bethencourt)

A Brief History of Intelligence (Max Bennett)

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/ 

Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/science-says-92-percent-of-people-dont-achieve-goals-heres-how-the-other-8-perce.html

https://news.gallup.com/poll/711836/gen-zers-missing-sense-meaning-purpose-life.aspx

https://calnewport.com/the-einstein-principle-accomplish-more-by-doing-less/

https://futureoftuesday.substack.com/p/techno-analog

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/owning-a-cell-phone-associated-with-poorer-reading-comprehension-schoolchildren

https://www.wsj.com/business/big-companies-are-starting-to-hire-again-defying-predictions-of-ai-wipeout-f4974e99?mod=hp_lead_pos10

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

https://www.scribe.how/deep

https://www.superhuman.com

https://www.mybodytutor.com

https://www.factormeals.com/deep50off

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

Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

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

(0:00) Does Open AI’s Astra mean AGI has arrived?

(3:07) What actually happened?

(11:35) What does this mean for mathematics?

(21:35) What does this mean for OpenAI? 

Links:

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

https://x.com/polynoamial/status/2083467194663571701

https://x.com/deanwball/status/2083545756003176724?s=61

https://x.com/kevinroose/status/2083632335438905441

https://x.com/mattshumer_/status/2083595078233202919

https://x.com/polynoamial/status/2083478171975082334

https://x.com/__alpoge__/status/2083898804563243033

https://x.com/polynoamial/status/2083476852216369294

https://x.com/thomasfbloom/status/2083444983592284465

Sponsor:

https://www.donedaily.com

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

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

In this replay of a classic episode from January 1st, 2024, Cal walks through the process of learning hard things. The good news is that most people can learn most things. The bad news is that learning is harder than we think. This advice has never been more relevant for those looking to move past the easy dopamine hits offered by their devices and find something deeper.

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) Learning hard things

(21:19) When it comes to taking notes, what really matters?

(27:32) Can I fit all of my hobbies into my week? 

(31:12) Can YouTube teach me to be a better student? 

(37:37) How do I figure out what to learn next? 

(39:54) How do I learn something fast when I already have a busy schedule?-

(46:24) CALL: How does “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” relate to “Slow Productivity”?

(56:17) CASE STUDY: Slow Productivity affinity group

(1:02:23) The 5 books Cal read in December 2023 

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

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

https://www.calderalab.com/deep

This show is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/deepquestions

December 2023 Books:

Home Economics (Wendell Berry)

Panora’s Box (Peter Biskind)

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play (Nick Offerman)

Who Wrote the Bible (Richard Elliott Friedman)

The Exodus (Richard Elliott Friedman)

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Kieron Rees for slow productivity music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

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