Modern Wisdom - podcast cover

Modern Wisdom

Chris Williamsonchriswillx.com
Life is hard. This podcast will help. Lessons from the greatest thinkers on the planet with Chris Williamson. Including guests like David Goggins, Dr Jordan Peterson, Naval Ravikant, Sam Harris, Jocko Willink, Dr Andrew Huberman, Dr Julie Smith, Steven Bartlett, Ryan Holiday, Robert Greene, Matthew McConaughey, Alain de Botton, Alex Hormozi, Tony Robbins, Chris Bumstead, Mark Manson and more.
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Episodes

The Unstoppable Power Of Reframing Your Experiences - Derek Sivers - #847

Derek Sivers is an entrepreneur, author, and speaker. Things are not what they are, things are what we think they are. The power of reframing and changing your perspective is a kind of alchemy, and today we get to hear some of Derek's best principles for altering the way you see everything. Expect to learn how you can reframe your perspective for the better, what the term ‘Useful Not True’ means, why your thoughts cannot be trusted, why people don’t bond over facts but rather perspectives, how t...

Oct 05, 20242 hr 3 minEp. 847

How Will The 2024 Election Play Out? - Nate Silver - #846

Nate Silver is a statistician, writer of Silver Bulletin, and Founder of FiveThirtyEight. No one truly knows who will win an election, but if anyone does, it's Nate. He is the man behind the most accurate, sophisticated polling data assessments in America and has an insight into modern culture like no one else. Expect to learn why this election cycle differs from other ones, just how complex election prediction models are, what the most important topics of this election are, whether there is eve...

Oct 03, 20241 hr 11 minEp. 846

Has America Completely Lost Its Mind? - Ben Shapiro - #845

Ben Shapiro is a political commentator, Co-Founder of the Daily Wire, an author and a podcaster. Election years are always chaotic, but this one feels particularly spicy. Why is the world at fever pitch and how much is actually going to stop after November? Expect to learn if the 2024 election is going to be a typical one, why Ben hasn't had Donald Trump on his show, Ben's experience with childhood bullying and how it changed him, what Ben wished more men realised about masculinity, his thoughts...

Sep 30, 20242 hr 8 minEp. 845

Why Do Humans Actually Have Emotions? - Dr Laith Al-Shawaf - #844

Dr Laith Al-Shawaf is an emotions researcher and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at UCCS. Humans have a wide range of emotions. But why do we feel anything at all? Why do we have a felt sense of emotions and how did they evolve? Expect to learn the evolutionary story of why humans feel stuff, whether some emotions are more basic than others, evolutionary explanations for joy, anger, disgust, envy, awe, happiness and much more… Sponsors: See discounts for all the products I us...

Sep 28, 20241 hr 35 minEp. 844

Why Can No One Agree On Evolution, Race & Religion? - Richard Dawkins - #843

Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist, author, and emeritus fellow at the University of Oxford. I spoke to Richard on stage in Austin Texas as a part of his final ever live tour. The next day we got to sit down and discuss all the things we didn't have time to talk about the night before. Expect to learn what Richard thinks about the recent rise of cultural Christianity, whether religion was an influential factor on the evolution of humans, what Richard meant by “Race Is A Spectrum, Sex I...

Sep 26, 20241 hr 6 minEp. 843

Exercise Scientist’s Masterclass On Recovery & Stress Management - Dr Mike Israetel - #842

Dr Mike Israetel is a Professor of Exercise and Sport Science at Lehman College and the Co-Founder of Renaissance Periodization. Muscle building and fat loss are often the main focuses of bodybuilding. But what about recovery? What are the most effective ways to recover quicker, reduce stress and get more jacked? Expect to learn what it means to actually recover from fatigue, how recovery is measured if you're not a professional athlete, Dr Mike's thoughts on regular weed usage, science's most e...

Sep 23, 20242 hr 11 minEp. 842

How To Be More Hopeful In A Cynical World - Dr Jamil Zaki - #841

Dr Jamil Zaki is a psychologist, professor at Stanford University, and an author. In a world filled with fake news, bad news and doom, it’s easy to become cynical. But what does science say about whether cynicism helps or harm us? Why is it so seductive, and how can we all learn to become more hopeful? Expect to learn why people are so tempted by cynicism, how skepticism is different, if cynical people are more or less happy, health, intelligent and successful, whether there is a reason to feel ...

Sep 21, 20241 hr 8 minEp. 841

8 Unexpected Lessons To Be Less Hard On Yourself - Oliver Burkeman - #840

Oliver Burkeman is a journalist, a writer for The Guardian and an author. Does trying harder to be extra productive actually work? Does it net more success or just more misery? For the Type-A people in the world, how can we learn to be less tough on ourselves and learn to have more fun in the process? Expect to learn what imperfectionism is, how to overcome decision paralysis & dealing with distractions better, whether or not there is an easy solution to imposter syndrome, the unexpected sol...

Sep 19, 20241 hr 23 minEp. 840

12 Raw Truths About Gaining Power & Respect - Robert Greene - #839

Robert Greene is an author and historian. Robert is one of the most legendary writers in the world on human nature and today we get to go through some of my favourite lessons from him on seduction, confidence, happiness, masculinity, Machiavelli and more. Expect to learn the biggest problems with modern philosophy, why acquiring knowledge and skill are always the most important thing, why you must protect your reputation at all costs, why you are so often your own worst enemy, which lessons from...

Sep 16, 20242 hr 6 minEp. 839

What Do People Really Want In A Partner? - Dr Paul Eastwick - #838

Dr Paul Eastwick is a psychologist, professor, and a researcher. What do people actually want in a partner compared to what they say they want? Paul is the lead author on largest study of its kind which was just released breaking down exactly this question. Expect to learn the #1 trait people actually look for in a partner, how well people know what they want, what Ideal Partner Preference-Matching is, the biases that affect mate evaluation, the sex differences in stated vs. revealed preferences...

Sep 14, 20241 hr 6 minEp. 838

The Truth Behind The Fall Of The UK - Rory Stewart - #837

Rory Stewart is a British academic, broadcaster, writer, podcaster and former diplomat and politician. From riots to stabbings, useless politicians to corrupt businesses, all wrapped in terrible weather and high taxes, the UK is not having a great time right now. Perhaps Rory can help explain what is going wrong. Expect to learn what Afghanistan is like under new Taliban control, what the real problems in the UK are, why politicians are so reliably stupid, whether immigration really is breaking ...

Sep 12, 20241 hr 9 minEp. 837

The New Science Of Longevity, Resilience & Breaking Bad Habits - Dr Andrew Huberman - #836

Dr Andrew Huberman is a neuroscientist, Associate Professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine and a podcaster. From personal dramas to scientific uproars, it's been a wild year for the biggest health & fitness podcaster in the world. And today we get to discover his biggest new insights about life, relationships and protocols. Expect to learn whether you actually should drink coffee within 90 minutes of waking up, how to get the best sleep of your life according to the latest sci...

Sep 09, 20243 hr 27 minEp. 836

2.5M Q&A - Naval Ravikant, Quitting Alcohol & Having Kids - #835

I hit 2.5 million Subscribers on YouTube!! To celebrate, I asked for questions from YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, so here’s another 90 minutes of me trying to answer as many as possible. Expect to learn who I’m thinking of bringing on as guests on the left and right, how to learn to trust your decisions and how to be aware of the biases that can influence them, my advice for getting out of a Rut, how to ask critical questions, what it’s like living with a giraffe and much more… Sponsors: See d...

Sep 07, 20241 hr 21 minEp. 835

Why Is Everyone Having Fewer Children? - Lyman Stone - #834

Lyman Stone is a demographer, researcher, and a writer. It wasn't long ago that everyone was worried about the population bomb and within a few short decades global birth rates are now declining. What's going on? What is driving such a rapid change in the number of children people are having and should we do anything about it? Expect to learn the best explanations for why birth rates are declining, whether declining birthrates are downstream from declining marriage rates, what winning the lotter...

Sep 05, 20241 hr 33 minEp. 834

Are We On The Brink Of A Revolution? - Eric Weinstein - #833

Eric Weinstein is a mathematician, economist, former Managing Director of Thiel Capital and a podcaster. It feels like the world is reaching a fever-pitch. From deep fakes to cheap fakes, AI girlfriends to senile presidents, we've never had more access to information, and yet it's never been harder to work out what is true. So, what do we do? Expect to learn Eric’s thoughts on the 2024 presidential election, whether we are being gaslit on a global scale by the media, the future of string theory ...

Sep 02, 20243 hr 29 minEp. 833

Is This The Most Absurd Time In History? - Rudyard Lynch - #832

Rudyard Lynch is a YouTuber and a historian. Is the modern world weird? Whether it's incels, brat summer, a broken media landscape, godlessness or a decline in institutional trust it seems like lots of modernity is kind of odd. From the fall of empires to the rise of new world orders, how does our current timeline compare to the rest of recent history? Expect to learn whether we are actually living in a unique time in history, what a far-right backlash might look like, why the left is seen as mo...

Aug 31, 20241 hr 46 minEp. 832

How To Stop Wasting Your Time & Money On Things That Don’t Matter - Dan Martell - #831

Dan Martell is an entrepreneur, investor, and author. The saying “money can’t buy time” is often used to emphasise the importance of not wasting your days. But what if there was a way to actually buy back your time. What if using your money well actually can liberate your life? Expect to learn what "the bigger it gets, the harder it gets" means in business, why so many successful people suffer with more chaos rather than less as they grow, Dan's framework for outsourcing all the stuff you don't ...

Aug 29, 20242 hr 35 minEp. 831

24 Controversial Truths About Success & Failure - Alex Hormozi - #830

Alex Hormozi is a founder, investor and an author. Alex’s Twitter has been one of my favourite sources of insights over the last few years. Today we get to go through some of his best lessons about life, human behaviour, psychology, business and resilience. Yet again this is so, so good. Expect to learn how to stop being indecisive and take action, how to persevere when things get rough, why overnight successes don’t happen overnight, why Alex hates being around negative people, if there is a wr...

Aug 26, 20243 hr 3 minEp. 830

How To Improve Your Heart Rate Variability - Dr Leah Lagos - #829

Dr Leah Lagos is a clinical psychologist, HRV performance coach and an author. Heart Rate Variability is one of the most important new metrics that people are using to gauge heart health, longevity and fitness, but improving it can be a minefield. Thankfully Dr Lagos has spent decades optimising the HRVs of some of the world's highest performers and today we get to hear her best advice. Expect to learn the crucial relationship between HRV and your brain function plus heart health, the best way t...

Aug 24, 202456 minEp. 829

What Happened To Dan Bilzerian? - Dan Bilzerian - #828

Dan Bilzerian is an entrepreneur and a professional poker player. What would it be like to dedicate yourself to hedonism for a decade? Without any budget or time or resource constraints. What would you discover from doing every adventure available in the modern world? And what would you truly value once it was over? Expect to learn where Dan has been for the last few years, whether his company Ignite actually went bankrupt, if Dan is still rich, why he's trying monogamy, what happens when you lo...

Aug 22, 20241 hr 58 minEp. 828

Why Is Everyone So Emotionally Fragile? - Whitney Cummings - #827

Whitney Cummings is a comedian, actress, writer, and a podcaster. Emotional maturity is a difficult thing to truly come by. Making your needs known, setting boundaries, being able to disappoint people without being afraid. If it's such an important skill, why is it so hard to discover how to develop it? Expect to learn how Whitney has been changed since becoming a mother, why Whitney has been thinking about circumcision so much, what codependence is and how to overcome it, why your niceness migh...

Aug 19, 20241 hr 55 minEp. 827

How To Stop Feeling So Frustrated All The Time - Jonny Miller - #826

Jonny Miller is a writer, nervous system coach and a podcaster. Emotions are scary. Feeling feelings and being truly connected to your life is hard. But what if the solution to these thinking problems doesn't lie in thinking more, but in fixing your body, nervous system and breath first? Expect to learn why it’s so hard to feel feelings, whether it’s possible to think your way out of overfeeling, how to use breathwork to master your nervous system, what the personal development industry gets wro...

Aug 17, 20241 hr 30 minEp. 826

The New Science Of Why Men & Women Cheat - Macken Murphy - #825

Macken Murphy is an evolutionary biologist at the University of Melbourne, a writer and a podcaster. Why do people cheat? Is it just the allure of novelty? Dissatisfaction in their current relationship? Fear of being left? Retaliation for their partner cheating? Macken's brand new study gives so many fascinating answers to these questions. Expect to learn what the evolutionary drivers are behind men's and women's infidelity, what this new science says about the Dual Mating and Mate Switching hyp...

Aug 15, 20241 hr 58 minEp. 825

317 Miles: Breaking The Longest Non-Stop Swim Record - Ross Edgley - #824

Ross Edgley is an endurance athlete and an author. Ross just broke the world record for the world's longest non-stop river swim. It took over 2 days with no sleep, no stopping or touching land. He's also swum around the entire UK and competed head to head with sharks. Time to find out how his mind, body and preparation works. Expect to learn how Ross prepares for an endurance event, how you go to the bathroom when you're locked in a wetsuit, what 50 hours of sleep deprivation whilst exercising f...

Aug 12, 20241 hr 57 minEp. 824

Is It Ethical To Hand-Pick Your Child’s Genes? - Dr Jonathan Anomaly - #823

Dr Jonathan Anomaly is a philosopher, professor and an author. The concept of hand-selecting your baby’s traits has been an idea since the dawn of genetic science. This technology is now available. But just how ethical is it to shape your child’s destiny, and what unseen problems might a world with this science be facing? Expect to learn why so many people dislike any discussions about IQ, what the moral challenges of embryo selection are, why genetic selection is going to be the biggest global ...

Aug 10, 20241 hr 48 minEp. 823

The New Science Of Heart Health, VO2 Max & Sleep Hacking - Dr Andy Galpin - #822

Dr Andy Galpin is a professor of kinesiology, exercise scientist, and an author. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and poor sleep is affecting almost everyone. Andy has some of the best, evidence-based strategies for improving both, while becoming fitter and more resilient. Expect to learn which metrics matter most for health, the best ways to train your VO2 Max, what the most optimal daily routine for peak VO2 max looks like, advanced techniques to enhance your sl...

Aug 08, 20242 hr 12 minEp. 822

Who Actually Runs The US Government? - Tulsi Gabbard - #821

Tulsi Gabbard is a politician, military veteran, and former U.S. Representative. Our elected officials are supposed to be in charge of the country we live in. But the more we learn about the inner workings of government, the less that seems to be true. So, who is really running the show, and what will the future of America look like for those who truly hold the power? Expect to learn what Joe Biden is actually like behind the scenes, why RFK Jr’s campaign didn't succeed, the reason that Elon Mus...

Aug 05, 20241 hr 56 minEp. 821

“Sleep Your Way To Empowerment” Has Failed Women - Bridget Phetasy - #820

Bridget Phetasy is a writer, comedian and a podcast host. We all have moments in life we wish we could undo. But when an entire generation has been told that all life paths are acceptable and there is no judgement no matter how you spend your time, what happens when they grow up? Expect to learn why Bridget regrets her twenties, her controversial thoughts on divorce, why people have such a problem the word ‘regret’, why everyone still feels the need to manage emotionally immature boomers, if Bri...

Aug 03, 20241 hr 54 minEp. 820

The Secrets Behind A Crumbling British Government - Dominic Cummings - #819

Dominic Cummings is a political strategist who served as Chief Adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Dominic has masterminded some of the biggest events in recent history. From leading the Vote Leave campaign during Brexit to quarterbacking Boris Johnson's Covid response, he has seen the inside of UK and US government at their most chaotic. And what he knows is wild. Expect to learn just how inefficient the inside of government is, how the Conservatives lost so badly in the General El...

Aug 01, 20242 hr 1 minEp. 819

How To Stop Feeling Like Your Success Is Never Enough - Andrew Wilkinson - #818

Andrew Wilkinson is an entrepreneur, co-founder of Tiny, and an investor. "I'll be happy when..." is the beginning of many people's mindsets about life and happiness. We assume that happiness sits on the other side of the next set of goals, even though right now we're on the other side of our last set of goals. So the question is, what if you're a billionaire? Does this pattern ever stop? Expect to learn whether successful people are just disordered, if SSRIs aren’t actually that bad, what Andre...

Jul 29, 20241 hr 51 minEp. 818
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