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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On this week’s episode of Mom’s Car we welcome actor extraordinaire and Timothy Simons. Tim, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through the full day of testing he underwent in the 90s to diagnose him with ADHD and how a comorbidity is a heightened sensitivity to injustice. The team hit a two-banger order while Tim discusses seeing behaviors in his kids that are really just reflections of his own, having a contrarian streak in the beginning stages of his career, and finding a backdoor into c...
Kristen Bell & Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This) join the Armchair Expert to discuss the incredibly involved, long-game prank pulled on set, how this season of their show is a love story between her their characters, and why wanting to evolve into a better person is so aligned with wanting to become a better actor. Justine, Kristen, and Dax talk about Justine coming to a place in her life where it feels good to not deliver a counterpoint, having a penchant for justice in accordance with her n...
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy valet story. Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at http...
Steven Pinker (When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life) is a cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, and author. Steven returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss how in general things have gotten better, that tracking the data can make one more optimistic than reading headlines, and the differences between private knowledge and common knowledge. Steven and Dax talk about how evolved language generates common knowledge, the ro...
On this week’s episode of Mom’s Car we welcome none other than the Duchess of Duluth, Monica Padman. Dax, Monica, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through the most tempted they’ve been to sample their own wares, a definitely real, meet-cute write-in question that could have been a full-circle big twist, why Monica’s kink is sick men and tasty food, a historic review of pubic hair styles, and whether there’s something unattractive or scary about a partner being totally immersed in a new pursuit...
Dominic Fike (Euphoria, Rocket, What Could Possibly Go Wrong) is a singer, musician, and actor. Dominic joins the Armchair Expert to discuss growing up around high-functioning relationships in Florida, how being raised by addicts factors into having a big heart, and wanting to cry when he thinks about the points of departure he’s found with his family. Dominic and Dax talk about having that friend in his head that never lets him be different, how somatic therapy has helped him give form and a vo...
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a time they got arrested. Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at...
Bobbi Brown (Still Bobbi: A Master Class in Leading an Authentic Life) is a make-up artist, entrepreneur, and author. Bobbi joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why the motto "the less I do, the more I’m me” is her secret to happiness, realizing she wasn’t stupid but that things that are boring don’t interest her, and her tips to a happy 37-year marriage. Bobbi and Dax talk about learning how to design make-up looks by working for film and theater departments in college, making her first lipstic...
On this week’s episode of Mom’s Car, we welcome friend of the pod, Erick Richardson. Erick, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through making a deal with God on a catamaran, the fruitful strategy of taking stock as payment from clients, the former fun of having an unexpected dark side, how Erick came to own 11 rare giant tortoises, and the instability of the market for a cut-off toe. #sponsored by @Allstate. Go to https://bit.ly/momscar to check Allstate first and see how much you could sav...
Timothy Olyphant (Alien: Earth, Deadwood, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) is an Emmy Award-nominated actor. Timothy joins the Armchair Expert to discuss whether he gives middle child vibes, the benefits of being a skills generalist, and why his smile always designated him as the “talk-to-the-cops guy.” Timothy and Dax talk about how knocking things off balance a little bit can create a lovely vulnerable moment, invoking Lou Reed and Bob Dylan as interview inspiration, and being the favorite co-st...
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about an unauthorized evacuation. Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice ...
Seth Harp (The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces) is an investigative reporter, foreign correspondent, and war veteran. Seth joins the Armchair Expert to discuss being called out of college even though he was anti-war to serve in Iraq, the key differences between Green Berets and other covert special forces, and his circuitous path to becoming an investigative journalist. Seth and Dax talk about whether he believes there are secret military operations that are ...
On this week's episode of Mom's Car, we welcome actor and Dax's on-screen wife Joy Bryant. Joy, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through high stakes three-way matching tattoos, BFAW’s entertaining story involving a thong and a 20-year full circle moment, digging into the morality of a hypothetical brother-sister scenario, a Vulnerboys write-in question, Joy’s top-five dream stoner list, and the crew invent a brand new moral dumbfounding about dolphins. #sponsored by @Allstate. Go to https...
Alicia Silverstone (Irish Blood, Bugonia, Clueless) is an award-winning actress, writer, and activist. Alicia joins the Armchair Expert to discuss her incidence of disassociation when remembering entertainment business adjacent meetings, how her mom was a proto-environmentalist without even knowing it, and connecting to the deep, juicy inner lives of older teenagers in her first acting class. Alicia and Dax talk about how she truly could not have been more dissimilar to Cher Horowitz as a person...
Mark Ronson (Night People: How to be a DJ in 90s New York City) is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning producer, songwriter, and DJ. Mark returns to Armchair Expert to discuss feeling the full circle moment returning to vinyl after coming up as a DJ in the 90s, the tangible difference between experiencing the sounds of records versus digital media, and not playing his own records because he wants to earn the crowd on merit. Mark and Dax talk about having a vague memory of Robin Williams waking hi...
On this week’s episode of Mom’s Car, we welcome actor Karan Soni. Karan, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through Karan’s first Kristen connection when he was still working out his identity, his dad working for John Deere tractors which are made in India, remembering all gay storylines on TV being shame based, at what age discovering he was funny, a write-in question about possible levels of happiness moving back to one’s hometown, finally accepting that he couldn’t change his family with...
Jason Aldean (Full Throttle, My Kinda Party, Night Train) is a Grammy Award-winning country music artist. Jason joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the chameleonic effects of not spending more than two years at any school growing up, teaching himself guitar via cassette player, and how big the gap feels between his real-life and performance personas. Jason and Dax talk about the eye-opening experience of playing bars while in high school, how he puts his fingerprint on a song he hears promise i...
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy subway experience. Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice a...
Journalist Amanda Uhle shares her unique upbringing, marked by her mother's severe hoarding and her charismatic, financially turbulent father. She recounts the challenges of living in a home filled with secrets and clutter, and her parents' constant reinvention through diverse careers and financial ups and downs. Amanda delves into her post-mortem investigation of her parents' lives, leading to a profound understanding and acceptance of their eccentricities and the lasting impact of their chaotic but loving relationship.
On our first ever episode of Mom’s Car we welcome Mom herself, award-winning actress and beloved spouse Kristen Bell. Kristen, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through sim sizes of the Chevrolet Bolt and why Kristen loves hers so much she wanted multiple backups, BFAW describes the experience of receiving Dax’s big heart for the first time, the gang get their first delivery while processing assumptions about those who order food to their home, field a write-in question from a concerned im...
Remember borrowing your mom’s car and driving around with your friends? Us too. It was the greatest. Dax and Best Friend Aaron Weakley missed it so much that they borrowed Kristen’s (America’s Mom) car and started filming a show in it. Each week they invite a guest to join them as they serpentine through Los Angeles, delivering food for a popular app (that you likely use). The guests include actors, spouses, lawyers, producers, directors, and old friends. With 39 years of best-friendship under t...
Amanda Knox (The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox) is an exoneree, author and producer. Amanda joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the human urge to find fault in others to exonerate ourselves, coming of age in the era of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and the personal journeys undertaken while studying abroad. Amanda and Dax talk about how people still have a hard time distinguishing when media is sensationalized, the vital distinction between an interview and an interrogation, and the deep, cartoonis...
Dax and Monica host Armchair Anonymous, featuring three callers who recount unforgettable, crazy first day of school experiences. A new teacher accidentally hits a student on a bike, a freshman projectile-vomits on her high school choir, and a small gymnast confronts hazing on "Freshman Friday." The episode explores anxieties, unexpected twists, and the lasting impact of these memorable school starts.
Nancy Segal (Deliberately Divided: Inside the Controversial Study of Twins and Triplets Adopted Apart) is an evolutionary psychologist, behavioral geneticist, and author. Nancy joins the Armchair Expert to discuss whether there’s anything predictable about a twin who comes out first, why in twin studies differences are not deficits, and her work with the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart. Nancy and Dax talk about the unexpected reason identical twins are more alike that any other pair of peo...
Luke Combs (Back in the Saddle, Fathers & Sons, What You See Is What You Get) is an award-winning songwriter, singer, and musician. Luke joins the Armchair Expert to discuss Garth Brooks gifting him a surprise truck, why buying a plane is akin to flushing money down the toilet, and still feeling lazy despite everything he’s achieved. Luke and Dax talk about his high school music teachers that still come to his shows, assuming that life was getting a job that you hate because he didn’t know a...
This Armchair Anonymous episode dives into wild summer camp anecdotes. Listeners share a mortifying childhood incident involving a bucket, a crush, and knocked-out teeth, and another recounts a staff member's compromising shower hookup that became camp legend. The episode culminates with a co-director's harrowing account of managing a church camp through a series of disasters including injuries, lice, and a police manhunt for an armed fugitive.
Chris Feistl and David Mitchell (After Escobar: Taking Down the Notorious Cali Godfathers and the Biggest Drug Cartel in History, with Jessica Balboni) are former DEA agents. Chris and David join the Armchair Expert to discuss the Miami Vice dream of being stationed in 1980s Florida as a DEA agent, the mechanics of providing transport for drug cartels, and how they became involved in the pursuit of the Cali cartel in Colombia. Chris, David, and Dax talk about the true magnitude of Pablo Escobar ...
Shaquille O'Neal (Shaq's Scholars Campus Scholarship and Mentorship Program) is a 4x NBA champion, sports analyst, and philanthropist. Shaquille joins the Armchair Expert to discuss discovering his love languages, how he learned to tame his inner bully with silliness, and why a nuclear physicist is who taught him how to accept criticism. Shaq and Dax talk about the incredible highs that followed the lows of his life, how he unwinds now by going to a hookah bar, and navigating the fine line betwe...
Listeners recount their most unforgettable substitute teacher experiences. Stories include a college student's chaotic first day facing a child who weaponized a stapler and a particularly disturbing account from a third-grader whose substitute subjected the class to emotional abuse and physical restraint. The episode also delves into a harrowing tale of a teacher who later encountered a former student with a violent past, raising critical questions about mental health support and public safety.
