George Saunders (A Swim in a Pond in the Rain) is a #1 New York Times bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author. George joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the mental phenomena of life, farting in an elevator, and romanticizing everything as a writer. George explains how he learned that being a writer wasn't about your adventure resume, how to trust your own mind and bless your reactions, and how he finds inspiration by revisiting great works. George discusses how underestimated the role of enco...
Mar 11, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 302
Rupert Grint (Harry Potter, Servant, Sick Note) is an English actor known for his role as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter film series. Rupert joins the Armchair Expert to discuss how different of a role his character on Servant is from anything he's done before, how he can't fully detach from Ron Weasley, and what it was like going through puberty on camera. Dax tells Rupert he was obsessed with how handsome he got throughout the films and Rupert talks about buying a hovercraft, ice cream van, a...
Mar 08, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 301
Michael Eric Dyson is a professor, ordained minister, political commentator, and the author of seven New York Times bestsellers. Michael joins the Armchair Expert to discuss preaching at the National Cathedral on the King's Sunday, the transition from going to an inner-city segregated school to a school with rich white kids, and how the church became a lifeline for him. Michael recounts the day when Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and his last great speech, the level of mastery of Jay-Z, and how...
Mar 04, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 300
Amy Poehler (Moxie, Parks and Recreation, SNL) is an actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director. Amy joins the Armchair Expert to discuss how much she likes to identify as an outsider that worked her way in, how control is the dream state, and how important it was for Dax to do car stuff in Baby Mama. Dax & Amy bond over having a class warfare chip on their shoulder and how much they both rely on things in the future. Amy discusses the expectation for women to come at success with a sense...
Mar 01, 2021•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 299
Chad Sanders is the author of the book Black Magic: What Black Leaders Learned from Trauma and Triumph. Chad joins the Armchair Expert to discuss his experience at Morehouse College, how isolating code switching can be, and his journey to embracing who he really was while working at Google. Chad explains that race is the operating system of everything, how black people are expected to be bold enough to make a mark but not too bold to get kicked out of the club, and the theoretical liberalism of ...
Feb 26, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 298
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace is an ethologist and advocate for the environment, animals, and the natural world. Jane joins the Armchair Expert to discuss her journey to studying chimpanzees, how her approach of empathy allowed her to learn how human chimps are and that they have a culture of their own. Jane explains how similar the gender roles are between chimps and humans, her trajectory of going deep into the jungle and coming out a worl...
Feb 25, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 297
Viggo Mortensen (Green Book, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Captain Fantastic) is an Oscar-nominated actor, writer and director. Viggo joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why it took him so long to finally direct a movie, his ability to revert back to speaking Spanish based on what he's doing, and falling in love with ice hockey. Viggo opens up about the comfort he finds in being untethered and his relationship with dementia. The two discuss how subjective memory is and how it's just a collecti...
Feb 22, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 296
Erin Meyer (The Culture Map, No Rules Rules) is an author and professor at the INSEAD Business School, based in Paris. Erin joins the Armchair Expert to discuss how feedback is interpreted differently in various cultures, who the most direct and confrontational culture is, and how to move beyond stereotypes to understand the more complex issues we are unaware are affecting us. Erin teaches us how we need to build empathy and develop strategies when interacting with people from other cultures, th...
Feb 18, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 295
Salma Hayek (Bliss, Frida, Desperado) is an actress and producer. Salma Hayek joins the Armchair Expert to discuss blackmailing her parents into letting her go to boarding school, how Robert Rodriguez discovered her while flipping through tv stations at 1am, and the choice to start over as an extra in the US after being a star in Mexico. Salma talks about her lovemaking scene in Desperado, how hard it was for her to shoot it, and how much she's had to combat the stereotypes of being a sexy woman...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 294
Emily Morse is a sex therapist, author and host of the podcast Sex with Emily. Emily joins the Armchair Expert to discuss Dax's favorite subject: sex. Emily explains her theory on why sex is still the most taboo topic in America, how little has changed in sex education, and the effect pornography is having on young people. Emily stresses how important communication is for a thriving sex life, how much there is to discover about yourself if you're curious, and that you're responsible for your own...
Feb 11, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 292
Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, How I Met Your Mother, Freaks And Geeks) is an actor, comedian, screenwriter, author, and producer. Jason joins the Armchair Expert to discuss his relationship with writing, how anxious he gets about making decisions that will affect his life, and how he's only comfortable between action and cut. Dax and Jason learn that they are identical twins separated by 5 years, they bond over the "piece of shit at the center of the universe" phenomenon and share the ...
Feb 08, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 291
Zeus walks among us, and today we honor him with a commercial-free replay of our celestial chat. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Feb 05, 2021•1 hr 21 min
Adam Grant returns to discuss his new book Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know. Adam is an organizational psychologist, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and TED speaker. Adam discusses how to open people's minds, the psychology of maximizing and satisficing, and the advantages of imposter syndrome. Adam weighs in on a disagreement between Dax & Monica, explains the dangers of desirability bias, and the different modes of thinking: preacher, pros...
Feb 04, 2021•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 290
Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, An Education, The Great Gatsby) is an Academy Award-nominated actress. Carey joins the Armchair Expert to discuss her parents' fear of her pursuing acting, landing Pride & Prejudice as her first role, and the benefits of having anonymity in the first few years of her career. Carey admits how stressful it is for her to have to be funny or sing on stage, how she met her husband in camp when they were kids, and her new movie, Promising Young Woman. In the fact...
Feb 01, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 289
Robert Livingston is a social psychologist at the Harvard Kennedy School, he studies the science underlying implicit bias and racism. Robert joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the science behind racism, how to synthesize and assemble it into something people can digest, and the ways to make profound and sustainable change around it. Robert explains his P.R.E.S.S. model, how empathy is the most important part of it, and the difference between equality and equity. See Privacy Policy at https://a...
Jan 29, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 288
Jethro Bovingdon and Rob Corddry join the Armchair Expert to discuss all things Top Gear America. The group explains the prestige of the Top Gear brand, how high the bar was going into the new iteration, and Jethro explains how his job is mostly stopping Dax & Rob from doing weird bits. They discuss the competitiveness between Jethro & Dax, Rob's personal arc over the last year on the show, and Jethro answers questions from the group about English people. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/...
Jan 28, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 287
Justin Timberlake (Palmer, Trolls, The Social Network) is a 10x Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter, a 3x Emmy award-winning actor and record producer. Justin joins the Armchair Expert to discuss masculinity, the similarities of growing up in Memphis to Detroit, and the challenges of raising sons. Dax & Justin recount Justin's experience on Punk'd, how well he has navigated new opportunities, and the role naivety has played in it. Dax compliments Justin on his SNL performance, his willingness...
Jan 25, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 286
Jamil Zaki (The War for Kindness) is a professor of psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab. Jamil joins the Armchair Expert to discuss all things empathy: why he was drawn to the topic, the roadblocks of it, the erosion of empathy and how to get it back. He explains the different types of empathy (emotional, cognitive, and empathic concern), the impact it has on motivation in the workplace, and how self-compassion is a bridge to having compassi...
Jan 21, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 285
Common (Mind Power Mixtape, A Beautiful Revolution Pt 1, Hell on Wheels) is a rapper, actor, and writer. Common joins the Armchair Expert to discuss learning to love process, the value of character, and having gratitude for the moment. Common explains how he found strength in individualism and how grateful he is to finally be able to do the things he loves without the pressures of their monetary performance. Dax and Common bond over their parallel lives: their love of Pulp Fiction and Barack Oba...
Jan 18, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 284
Brad Grossman is an author, entrepreneur, and creator of the Zeitguide's Culture Class. Brad joins the Armchair Expert to discuss his role as a culture guide and how he seeks out all the interesting information in the world and synthesizes it for his students. Brad explains the inspiring ways companies and individuals are pivoting in order to connect to consumers, how covid has been a magnifier to our systemic problems, and the ways it will help us reboot our sense of humanity. Dax and Brad expl...
Jan 14, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 282
Randy Jackson (Name that Tune, American Idol) is a world-renowned musician, record producer, A&R executive, and founder ofUnify Health Labs.Randy joins the Armchair Expert to discuss being a child in the deep south in the 60s, how he got started playing music, and his desire to live his life through music. He discusses his journey as a studio musician to an A&R executive, the ingredients that make up a star, and his vision of American Idol as the A&R process completely unfolded. Rand...
Jan 11, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 281
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the first three-peat Armchair Expert guest and an American neurosurgeon, medical reporter, CNN medical correspondent, and author. Sanjay, fresh off receiving his covid-19 vaccination, joins the Armchair Expert to discuss how much we've learned this year about human behavior. Sanjay explains the evolution of neurogenesis and why cognitive decline is not inevitable. The two discuss that in order to heal the body you have to heal the mind, the importance of building the resilien...
Jan 07, 2021•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 280
Jackie Tohn (Glow, Best Leftovers Ever, CHiPs) is an actress and musician. Jackie joins the Armchair Expert to discuss getting into acting in New York at nine-years-old, how she and Kristen became best friends and how being a boundaries-less person has affected her relationships. Jackie opens up about her past boyfriends and how they've all become megastars, how much her mom gave up in order to make her dreams come true, and how self-awareness is what separates the assholes from the non-assholes...
Jan 04, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 279
On this special episode, we revisit some of our favorite moments from 2020. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dec 24, 2020•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 278
Join us for our annual holiday party featuring remote guests Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr., Emmy Raver-Lampman, Bob Mervak and Kristen Bell. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 277
John O. Brennan is a former American intelligence officer who served as the Director of the CIA from 2013 to 2017. John joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the distinctions between the CIA and FBI, his professional route through his career, and serving under six different administrations. John explains what it's like to be confronted with harsh realities where either course of action has implications, the ebbs and flows of the CIA's power of persuasion, and the need for ethical intelligence. Jo...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 276
Shawn Mendes is Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum singer and songwriter. Shawn joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the results of finding success at such an early age, where the main source of his fears and anxieties stem from, and how lockdown has forced him to figure out his own identity. The two explore the ways society is conditioning people to want more and more, how social media has made everything need to be quantified, and the isolation of a musician. Shawn discusses his relationship wit...
Dec 14, 2020•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 275
Dov Fox is Professor of Law and Herzog Endowed Scholar at the University of San Diego School of Law and the host of the podcast Donor 9623. Dov joins the Armchair Expert from his closet to discuss growing up without a father, the effects overcoming adversity had on him as a parent, and cases of reproduction gone awry. The two debate genetic advantages that people are born with, how hard it is to tell your life story without knowing where it begins, and the ethics behind testing for genetic condi...
Dec 10, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 273
Natalie Portman is an Academy Award & Golden Globe-winning actress, director, producer, and activist. Natalie joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the effect of being a public figure at a young age, how being sexualized that early affected her and how privileged she feels to be able to connect with so many people that she admires. Dax tries to impress Natalie by wearing a Fauci shirt and admits to having a photo of her in his toolbox. Natalie explains her decision to take a break from acting to ...
Dec 07, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 272
BONUS EPISODE with Emmanuel Acho is a former NFL player and the author of the New York Times Bestselling book Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. Emmanuel joins the Armchair Expert to discuss that their are huge differences between color and culture, how societally we need to do a better job being proactive instead of reactive, and the communication barriers between the black lives matter and blue lives matter movements. He explains the need to acknowledge opportunity inequality and th...
Dec 04, 2020•51 min•Ep. 271
