The James Altucher Show

A Note from James: 

I'm confused. There are so many national and international issues being debated on constitutional grounds lately. For example, issues at the Texas border and federal versus state powers—like the case of friends versus the state of Colorado. Does a state have the right to decide who appears on the national presidential ballot?

Regarding COVID-19, I'm wondering if it was constitutional to close down all the businesses. It might have been the right decision, but does it infringe on our right to life, liberty, and property without due process? 

I posed these questions to a renowned constitutional expert, the author of "The Odd Clauses," who is also a professor of constitutional law at Boston University, Jay Wexler. He provided insights into which recent events were constitutional and which may not have been. Here's what he had to say.

Episode Description:

James leads an enlightening conversation with Jay Wexler, a professor of constitutional law at Boston University and author of 'The Odd Clauses'. They explore topics ranging from state rights in decision-making, such as Texas' border policies and Colorado's stance on the national presidential ballot, to significant constitutional debates such as the power of the Supreme Court, the implications of COVID-19 business shutdowns, and the increasingly prominent discussions around freedom of speech and presidential powers. 

Wexler provides deep insights into each topic, shedding light on the constitutional underpinnings and contemporary interpretations that inform these critical national discussions. The discussion also touches on potential constitutional conflicts and the nuanced understanding required to navigate these issues, with particular emphasis on the importance of Constitution's adaptability over time and the ongoing debate between originalism versus evolutionary interpretation.

Episode Summary:

01:00 Introduction: The Constitution in the News

01:46 Interview with Constitutional Expert Jay Wexler

02:33 The Life of a Law Professor

03:13 Challenges of Teaching in the Digital Age

04:49 Constitutional Battles in Recent Years

06:16 The Power of the Supreme Court

07:00 The Intricacies of Marbury v. Madison

08:34 The Role of the Supreme Court in the Executive Branch

11:38 The Texas Border Issue and Constitutional Merit

24:46 The Power of States in Deciding Presidential Candidates

33:18 Understanding the Qualifications for Presidential Candidates

36:06 Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Businesses and Constitutional Rights

37:34 The Lochner Era and its Influence on Business Regulations

40:20 Religious Rights and Restrictions during the COVID-19 Pandemic

44:22 The Controversial Topic of State Secession

51:31 The Intricacies of Freedom of Speech and its Boundaries

54:51 The Power and Limitations of Presidential Executive Orders

01:05:51 The Unusual Third Amendment and its Interpretation

------------

• What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!
• Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!

------------

• Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!
• My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!
• Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.
• I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com

------------

Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” wherever you get your podcasts: 

• Apple Podcasts
• iHeart Radio
• Spotify

Follow me on social media:

• YouTube
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

A Note from James:

For 20 years, I've been writing about how much I think people should not go to college, and that college is not the only solution for a career. It could be the worst solution because  tuition has risen faster than inflation every single year for the past 50 years.

And why is that? Because student loans are a big scam and the government backs them, college presidents always know they're getting their money. They keep raising tuition even faster than society is raising the prices of anything else. 

James Keyes, former CEO of multibillion-dollar company 7-Eleven, has been CEO of many companies, including Blockbuster, and he wrote a book about the importance of education: Education is Freedom: The Future Is in Your Hands.

So guess what? We decided to debate. And I'll admit I'm the sort of person who tends to agree with whoever the last person I speak to is, but he presented some very good arguments and I have to, I have to give them all credit for that. But I'll let you hear the conversation and it's well worth listening to, particularly if you've been wondering about this issue.

So, here he is.  Let's talk about college.

Episode Description:

James and corporate leader Jim Keyes debate the relevance of a college education for career success, attributing rising tuition costs and impractical skill sets to modern colleges' downsides. The importance of degrees as a differentiator in the job market is emphasized, with the debate also covering emerging alternatives such as Google certificates. The two later shift to discuss learning and education in the context of business evolution, specifically detailing challenges faced by 7-Eleven in maintaining "freshness" and the role of technology in overcoming these. 

Episode Summary:

00:00 The Value of College Education: A Conversation with James Keyes

01:45 The Business of Convenience: The 7-Eleven Story

04:52 The Evolution of Blockbuster and the Future of Streaming

07:03 The Impact of Technology on Global Education

08:42 The Importance of Learning and the Role of College

08:50 The Debate: Is College Worth It?

09:46 The Role of College in Career Advancement

13:52 The Future of Education and the Global Economy

21:47 The Power of Self-Investment and the Value of a Degree

24:07 The Practical Reality of College Education

29:16 The Entrepreneurial Path vs. College Education

36:22 The Impact of Self-Doubt and the Confidence from Education

37:51 The Role of Society in Learning

38:18 The Importance of Discipline in Self-Learning

38:45 The Social Aspect of Education

39:02 The Value of Collaboration in Learning

39:32 The Impact of Real-World Experience on Learning

40:12 The Comparison Between Formal Education and Self-Learning

41:31 The Role of Professors in Learning

42:05 The Power of Self-Learning

42:52 The Debate on College Degree vs Google Certificate

46:11 The Importance of Broad Education

49:14 The Future of Education

01:02:25 The Impact of Fear on Learning

01:08:23 The Future of Economy

01:15:31 The Importance of Freshness in Business

01:17:15 The Power of Knowledge

------------

• What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!
• Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!

------------

• Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!
• My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!
• Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.
• I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com

------------

Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” wherever you get your podcasts: 

• Apple Podcasts
• iHeart Radio
• Spotify

Follow me on social media:

• YouTube
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

A Note from James:

Civil war… Honestly, I had an Uber driver the other day and he asked me, in the middle of the drive, "Hey, do you have your go bag?" And I'm like, "What's that?" And he said when the civil war starts - "and it's going to start any day, definitely before the 2024 election," he said - "you need to have your go bag. So wherever you are, you can just go right up into the mountains. Put up your tent, get your plasma lights, get your almond butter and seeds and honey. And you better learn how to like forage for vegetables and hunt and start a fire." 

I'm like, "What are you talking about?" And he pointed to the passenger seat next to him.

He had a go bag ready in the Uber car. He said it could happen anytime where he just can't, you can't go back to the city. You can't go back to your home because the Civil War has started. And I got nervous. 

I think as I get older, I really don't want the status quo to change that much. And, there's a movie coming out, "Civil War", Texas and the federal government are having these conflicts and you're about to hear more about that.

So let's get right into it…A few years ago, a guy who's a regular guest on the podcast - has been since 2014. I can't believe this is the 10th year I'm doing this, but I love doing it. But one of my first guests, anyway, he came on in 2020, he said, "James, you're hearing it from me. Now there's going to be a civil war."

I said, "no way it's impossible," but now it's like in the news. I still don't believe there's going to be any kind of civil war at least one where people are shooting at each other with guns, which sounds ridiculous to me, but now at least it's the, in the public discussion and there's a movie coming out and people are nervous about this upcoming election.

So here we go. Tucker Max, coming back on the show to explain a little bit more why he predicted this, what he predicts now, and what will lead up to a potential civil war in 2024. The conversation didn't make me that happy, but I always prefer to be informed than not informed. So here we go.

Episode Description:

Tucker Max discusses a civil war prediction within the United States, made by an Uber driver who believes it would happen before the 2024 election. Max talks about the current political climate and the possible scenarios that could lead to a civil confrontation, mentioning that the war has already started in some respects. He also discusses the recent developments with states ignoring federal mandates or creating their own laws, leading towards a more decentralized form of governance. Additionally, the conversation shifts to personal memoirs, where Max discusses his work teaching others how to write memoirs and understanding their truths. He suggests that memoir writing is a constant process of truth discovery and self-acknowledgement.

Episode Summary:

00:08 Introduction: An Unexpected Conversation with an Uber Driver

01:23 The Civil War Prediction: A Guest's Insight

02:47 Interview with Tucker: A Deep Dive into Predictions

02:59 The Texas Scenario: A Civil War Starting Point

03:31 The Cultural Divide: Left vs Right

04:28 The Communist Threat: A Discussion on Ideologies

08:20 The Shift in American Politics: A Historical Perspective

11:17 The Border Crisis: A Constitutional Battle

14:50 The Future of America: Predictions and Possibilities

29:57 The 2024 Election: A Potential Flashpoint

32:14 The Power of Propaganda and Tribalism

33:12 The Shocking Reality of COVID-19

33:48 The Ongoing Civil War

38:14 The Future of Elections and the Potential for Conflict

41:47 The Collapse of Empires and the Importance of Community

43:12 The Current State of Safety and the Fragility of the System

49:01 The Importance of Self-Reliance and Personal Responsibility

57:37 The Challenges of Writing a Memoir

01:02:00 The Power of Truth in Memoir Writing

01:04:28 The Launch of the Memoir Mastermind

------------

• What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!
• Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!

------------

• Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!
• My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!
• Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.
• I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com

------------

Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” wherever you get your podcasts: 

• Apple Podcasts
• iHeart Radio
• Spotify

Follow me on social media:

• YouTube
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

A Note from James: 

 Sometimes I think I'm a pretty good communicator, but sometimes I'm just awful. It's really important to have good skills at communicating - I've done lots of kind of communicating. I've been a public speaker. I've been in sales. I've been an entrepreneur. I've been a standup comedian and I've been a podcaster, but my biggest communications have been with writing and you really always have to put yourself in the shoes of the other person.

Fortunately, I just read an incredible book - I highly recommend it -  called Supercommunicators by my good friend, Charles Duhigg. You've previously seen him on the podcast for Smarter Faster Better and his book The Power of Habit.

All of his books have been great. But this one just blew me away. I invited him on the podcast. And I had a ton of questions for him. And here he is. 

Episode Description:

The discussion navigates Charles Duhigg's transition from The New York Times to The New Yorker and how it shaped his perspective on communication. He introduces the concept of practical, emotional, and social conversations and how understanding these can improve one's communication proficiency. The conversation also addresses the importance of systematizing communication and how pre-preparation lessens anxiety. Key highlights include the art of negotiation, maintaining a nonjudgmental attitude, and harnessing curiosity for effective interaction. Duhigg also introduces his book 'Supercommunicators', a culmination of three years of work, where he explores these principles in detail. The program encourages audience interaction and asserts that everyone can become a 'supercommunicator' with awareness and technique.

Episode Summary:

00:01 Introduction and Career Transition to The New Yorker

01:18 The Writing Process and Balancing Multiple Projects

01:49 The Journey of Writing 'Supercommunicators'

02:08 The Art of Writing Books and Stories

02:46 Personal Growth and Self-Improvement

03:24 The Struggle of Communication and Its Importance

04:49 Understanding Different Types of Conversations

05:52 The Power of Matching in Conversations

07:12 The Role of Authenticity in Communication

08:16 The Art of Asking Deep Questions

09:35 The Impact of Authenticity and Vulnerability in Conversations

13:39 Navigating Difficult Conversations

15:16 The Power of Understanding in Conversations

22:10 The Art of Recruiting in the CIA

29:10 The Importance of Authenticity in Difficult Conversations

39:49 Understanding the Power of Communication

40:27 The Art of Active Listening

40:53 The Importance of Genuine Understanding

41:15 The Power of Perspective Sharing

41:28 The Impact of Authenticity in Communication

41:56 The Role of Empathy in Difficult Conversations

42:57 The Pitfalls of Trying to Convince Others

43:02 The Power of Motivational Interviewing

43:51 The Importance of Shared Concerns in Communication

44:37 The Power of Facts in a Common Ground

45:07 The Role of Neural Entrainment in Communication

45:21 The Power of Connection in Communication

45:38 The Importance of Genuine Conversation in Relationships

47:50 The Power of Self-Awareness in Communication

49:02 The Role of Communication in Influencing Others

51:08 The Importance of Understanding Communication Channels

53:36 The Power of Authenticity in Online Communication

56:22 The Role of Communication in Public Speaking

59:07 The Power of Curiosity in Communication

01:12:14 The Importance of Respect in Communication

01:16:25 The Role of Communication in Building Relationships

01:17:56 The Power of Communication in Personal Growth

------------

• What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!
• Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!

------------

• Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!
• My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!
• Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.
• I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com

------------

Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” wherever you get your podcasts: 

• Apple Podcasts
• iHeart Radio
• Spotify

Follow me on social media:

• YouTube
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Episode Description:

The podcast episode of 'My Favorite Things' explores various movies such as 'Lean on Me' and 'Argyle', and TV series like 'pen15' and 'Atlanta'. James also shares two websites, ACX and Text Broker, recommending them as platforms to earn money from home. The discussion transitions to financial freedom and the concept of having a 'number' for comfort in life. Jay and James suggest people consider how to grow their wealth through calculated investments for a more secure future. They conclude the episode with book recommendations for gaining financial freedom and better decision-making.

Episode Summary:

02:20 Introduction to My Favorite Things

02:43 Movie Recommendation: Lean on Me

03:00 Appreciation for Bill Withers

05:07 Movie Discussion: Argyle

06:26 Reflections on Technology and Outsourcing

07:00 Exploring Spy Comedy Films

08:00 Movie Recommendations Continued

10:02 TV Series Recommendations: Pen15 and Atlanta

17:58 Exploring Online Money-Making Opportunities

23:34 Discussing the Book 'How to Satisfy a Billionaire'

27:36 Experimenting with Writing and Publishing

32:27 Reviewing 'How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World'

33:34 Understanding the Concept of 'Boxes' in Life

37:59 Exploring Other Interesting Reads

39:01 Discussing Personal Financial Goals

41:21 Calculating the 'Retirement Number'

50:14 Understanding the Importance of Investing

51:02 Wrapping Up and Looking Forward

------------

• What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!
• Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!

------------

• Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!
• My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!
• Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.
• I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com

------------

Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” wherever you get your podcasts: 

• Apple Podcasts
• iHeart Radio
• Spotify

Follow me on social media:

• YouTube
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn