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.

Episodes

#852 - Dan Jones - The Untold Story Of England’s Greatest King

Dan Jones is a historian, author and a podcaster. Though many English kings throughout history have left a lasting impact, Henry V is considered potentially the greatest ever, even though he only ruled for 9 years. So, what made him such an important figure and why has his legacy endured for over 600 years? Expect to learn why King Henry V made such an impact on history, how he rose to power and what he managed to accomplish during his reign, why he was so impressive as a leader, what has happen...

Oct 17, 20242 hr 7 minEp. 852

#851 - Chris Bumstead - Discipline, Motivation & The Champion’s Mindset

Chris Bumstead is a professional bodybuilder, 5x Mr. Olympia Classic Physique title holder, and a business owner. Ask any of the greats what it takes to win, and they’ll tell you the same thing: greatness comes at a cost. So, what is the price to becoming the best? What lessons are there to discover from a world champion who is prioritising his mental health above his sport? Expect to learn Chris’ reflections on his prep for his 6th Olympia Championship, Chris’ message to his younger self, how t...

Oct 14, 20242 hr 4 minEp. 851

#850 - 2.75M Q&A - Women’s Value, Loneliness & Bernie Sanders

I hit 2.75 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 whether I'll bring Bernie Sanders on the podcast, what I think about women's value to the world, why my forearms are this size, how to deal with loneliness, whether I'll release merch, why I'm a large emo kid, my advice for people going through a tough time and much more… Sponsors: See discoun...

Oct 12, 20241 hr 45 minEp. 850

#849 - Calley Means - Is Our Food Supply Making Us Sick?

Calley Means is an entrepreneur, health & wellness advocate and an author. Why is America struggling with all time highs of obesity and illness? Healthcare has never been more advanced and yet levels of healthiness have never been worse. What's going on? And is there a way to make America healthy again? Expect to learn why modern health is so broken, the healthcare system's biggest issues, which health problems are unique to Americans, what is wrong with American food compared to the rest of the...

Oct 10, 20241 hr 20 minEp. 849

#848 - Will Tennyson - Male Body Dysmorphia, Fat Loss & Insane Challenges

Will Tennyson is a YouTuber and an athlete. Taking a journey from fat to fit is a massive achievement in itself. Will then went on to become one of the best creators of positive fitness and mindset content on the internet and today we get to discover some of his best lessons from a decade of self-improvement. Expect to learn why Will decided to become morbidly obese for a day and what he learned, which diet allowed him to lose the most weight, his thoughts on the state of male body dysmorphia, w...

Oct 07, 20241 hr 25 minEp. 848

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

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

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

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

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

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 7 minEp. 845

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

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

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

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

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

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 7 minEp. 842

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

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

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

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 solutio...

Sep 19, 20241 hr 23 minEp. 840

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 science...

Sep 09, 20243 hr 27 minEp. 836

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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
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