Hi, I’m Dax Shepard, and I love talking to people. I am endlessly fascinated by the messiness of being human, and I find people who are vulnerable and honest about their struggles and shortcomings to be incredibly sexy. I invite you to join me as I explore other people’s stories. We will celebrate, above all, the challenges and setbacks that ultimately lead to growth and betterment. What qualifies me for such an endeavor? More than a decade of sobriety, a degree in Anthropology and four years of improv training. I will attempt to discover human “truths” without any laboratory work, clinical trials or data collection. I will be, in the great tradition of 16th-century scientists, an Armchair Expert.
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Susie Wolff (Driven, F1 Academy, and Williams Formula One) is a former professional racing driver, and managing director of F1 Academy. Susie joins Armchair Expert to discuss her motorsport-obsessed childhood in Scotland, her grandfather's career as a daredevil motocross rider, and discovering karting as the only girl on the track. Susie and Dax talk about racing against Lewis Hamilton as a kid, the physical toll of driving an F1 car, and building F1 Academy from a financially unworkable idea in...
Steve Aoki (Wonderland, Dim Mak, and Neon Future) is a Grammy-nominated DJ, producer, and record label founder. Steve joins Armchair Expert to discuss the larger-than-life legacy of his Benihana-founder father Rocky Aoki, growing up a skater kid in Newport Beach, and finding belonging in the straight-edge hardcore punk scene. Steve and Dax talk about launching Dim Mak out of living room shows, transitioning into electronic music through DJing and remixes, and why he still regrets turning down th...
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a story about a crazy neighbor. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Leslie John (Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing) is a behavioral scientist, Harvard Business School professor, and expert on privacy, self-disclosure, and decision-making. Leslie joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in Waterloo, Canada, training professionally in ballet as a child, and how her family’s irrational penny-pinching sparked her fascination with human behavior. Leslie and Dax talk about why people are more open to revealing their dark secrets on a sketchy-looking we...
Hunter Biden (Beautiful Things) is a former attorney, artist, and recovery advocate. Hunter joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in Delaware political royalty, surviving the car accident that killed his mother and sister, and the unconditional love of his more extraverted brother Beau. Hunter and Dax talk about the comfort and danger of self-destruction, the mythology of “functional” addiction, and the people who loved him when he could not love himself. Hunter explains how addiction narr...
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy camping story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Darby Saxbe (Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How It Shapes Men’s Lives) is a clinical psychologist, tenured professor, and researcher on family stress and the transition to parenthood. Darby joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in an academic household, her parents’ dramatic divorce, and watching her surgeon father suddenly learn how to become the primary parent. Darby and Dax talk about why fatherhood research has lagged behind motherhood research, what happens chemically an...
Hannah Berner (Giggly Squad, None of My Business, Summer House) is a comedian, podcaster, and former Division I tennis player. Hannah joins Armchair Expert to discuss her dad being her personal tennis coach, battling performance anxiety as a college player, and rebuilding her identity after leaving the sport. Hannah and Dax talk about nightmare experiences on the New York subway, how stand-up became the place she could finally be herself, and the pressure of filming her first Netflix special. Ha...
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a time they stole something. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Cohen Miles-Rath (Mending Reality: An Advocate’s Existential Journey with Mental Health) is a mental health advocate, author, and suicide prevention professional. Cohen joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up between two wildly different households in upstate New York, finding his footing as a distance runner while becoming the first in his family to go to college, and how injuries and pressure began to unravel his sense of self. Cohen and Dax talk about the psychotic break that led him to t...
Lena Waithe (The Chi, Queen & Slim, Master of None) is an Emmy-winning writer, producer, actor, and playwright. Lena joins Armchair Expert to discuss being a talkative kid in the South Side of Chicago, discovering television through her grandmother, and realizing she was a writer before the industry knew where to place her. Lena and Dax talk about the changing definition of celebrity, the hard-won evolution of The Chi, and her fairy godmothers in the business. Lena explains how identity can ...
Dax and Monica hear four wild graduation stories. Patricia recounts a reckless Gator accident at her college party. Olivia shares her mom's chaotic injuries on her graduation and wedding days. Amelia details a high school beach week with a shocking injury and police encounter. Finally, Will shares a truly mortifying incident during his UGA graduation ceremony. Each story offers humor, chaos, and unexpected life lessons.
Ezra Klein (Abundance, The Ezra Klein Show, Why We’re Polarized) is a political commentator, journalist, podcast host and New York Times columnist. Ezra joins Armchair Expert to discuss becoming a father, getting serious about longevity and strength training, and why self-improvement became politically coded. Ezra and Dax talk about how attention became the most valuable currency in politics, why there’s no liberal Joe Rogan, and how cancellation can backfire into shadow influence. Ezra explains...
Jack McBrayer (Zillow Gone Wild, 30 Rock, Wreck-It Ralph) is an Emmy-nominated actor, and comedian. Jack joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in a family of school teachers, finding his people in Chicago improv, and why he’s wary of letting too much private silliness become public record. Jack and Dax talk about the early magic of Second City, his steel trap memory for dates and birthdays, and the wild houses and homeowners of Zillow Gone Wild. Jack explains why reading the room isn’t the...
Dax and Monica host "Armchair Anonymous: Bad Roommate II," where three guests recount their challenging cohabitation stories. Listeners will hear about a roommate's shocking use of personal items and strange social cues, a terrifying discovery of a roommate's criminal past leading to an FBI investigation, and a deeply personal account of living with severe night terrors that almost turned violent. The episode explores the unique stresses and unexpected turns life can take when sharing a living space.
Dr. Elizabeth Letourneau (One in Five) is a leading prevention researcher and Luke Malone is an Emmy-nominated journalist. Elizabeth and Luke join Armchair Expert to discuss the staggering prevalence of child sexual abuse, why this subject is so difficult to talk about publicly, and how a reluctant interview became a long collaboration. Elizabeth, Luke, and Dax talk about the difference between pedophilia and offending, why so much child sexual abuse happens at the hands of other kids, and how t...
Brandi Carlile (Returning to Myself, By the Way, I Forgive You, and The Story) is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, producer, activist, and author. Brandi joins Armchair Expert to discuss being a feral kid in rural Washington, navigating her father’s alcoholism, and being denied baptism by her church as a teenager. Brandi and Dax talk about building a career through relentless hustle, working with Rick Rubin and T Bone Burnett, and bringing Joni Mitchell and Tanya Tucker back to the stage and ...
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy waterpark story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Ben McKenzie (Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, Easy Money) is an actor, author, and outspoken cryptocurrency skeptic. Ben joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in a civically minded family in Austin, studying economics at the University of Virginia, and stumbling into acting success with early fame on an unnamed hit show. Ben and Dax talk about navigating imposter syndrome after overnight success, transitioning from acting into writing and directing, and what led him into investigating ...
Chace Crawford (The Boys, Gossip Girl, and The Covenant) is an actor. Chace joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up between Texas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota, being a people pleasing chameleon from having to always make new friends, and leaving Texas for College in California. Chace and Dax talk about crashing a car while valeting in Malibu, narrowly missing Friday Night Lights, and achieving overnight success on Gossip Girl. Chace explains how fame can either make you self-centered or paranoid...
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about an unauthorized evacuation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Patrick Radden Keefe (London Falling, Empire of Pain, Say Nothing) is an award-winning investigative journalist, bestselling author, and staff writer for The New Yorker. Patrick joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in a deeply intellectual household, developing a childhood obsession with writing for The New Yorker, and navigating a winding academic path through Columbia, Cambridge, and Yale Law. Patrick and Dax talk about the years-long reporting process behind London Falling, how a chanc...
Jack Antonoff (Bleachers, everyone for ten minutes) is a Grammy-winning producer, songwriter, and frontman. Jack joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up as an unsupervised middle child in suburban New Jersey, processing profound family loss at a young age, and finding early identity through obsessive music discovery. Jack and Dax talk about grinding through DIY touring as a teenager, the evolution from punk purist to global pop collaborator, and how environment and movement shape his creativ...
This episode features three wild "bar stories" from Armcherries. Listeners share tales ranging from a security guard's heroic intervention leading to a severe infection and surgery, to a tense confrontation with an ex-boyfriend that escalates into a car chase and legal charges. Another story involves a desperate attempt to use a fake ID in college, culminating in a police chase and a frantic escape, highlighting the unexpected and often dangerous outcomes of a night out.
Tara Stoinski (A Gorilla Story) is a primatologist, conservationist, and CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Tara returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss growing up outside Philadelphia, her academic path from Tufts to Oxford to Georgia Tech, and balancing motherhood with a career studying gorillas in Rwanda. Tara and Dax talk about documenting rare gorilla dominance battles, the challenges of filming endangered animals in the wild, and how gorilla social structur...
Laufey (A Matter of Time, Mei Mei the Bunny, and Bewitched) is a two-time Grammy Award–winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Laufey joins Armchair Expert in between Coachella performances to discuss growing up between Iceland and the US with a violinist mother in the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, how having an identical twin helped shape her sense of self, and navigating her identity as a biracial kid in a homogenous society. Laufey and Dax talk about the discipline of classical mus...
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a crazy twin story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Alvin E. Roth (Moral Economics) is a Nobel Prize-winning economist, Stanford professor, and author. Alvin joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in Queens with two schoolteacher parents, skipping a traditional high school path to attend college at 16, and how early academic exposure shaped his curiosity about markets and human behavior. Alvin and Dax talk about pioneering kidney exchange programs that have saved thousands of lives, the surprising ways incentives influence behavior in everyd...
Tom Pelphrey (Task, Ozark, Love and Death) is an Emmy-winning actor and mental health advocate. He joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in New Jersey near the Shore, the impact of his intense high school acting teacher, and how he maintains lifelong childhood friendships. Tom and Dax talk about early success colliding with addiction, the relentless pace of daytime television, and rebuilding a life through sobriety. Tom explains why tying identity to achievement can be dangerous, how aware...
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a time they were scammed. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
