As the author of "The Rise of Superman" and co-founder of the Flow Genome Project, Steven Kotler is one of the world's leading experts on ultimate human performance. In this Talk, he provides a tour of the current research focusing on "flow states”, or an optimal state of consciousness where we both feel our best and perform our best. Researchers now know that flow sits at the heart of almost every athletic championship, underpins most major scientific breakthroughs, and accounts for significant...
Jan 10, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 515
Masatoshi Ohno and Jérôme Guth visit Google to discuss how team sports fosters a sense of belonging, appreciation, and resilience. Masatoshi 'Mar' Ohno is a 3-time Japan Pro Surfing Association Grand Champion surfer who has made significant contributions to the Japanese surf industry. He holds the record for most consecutive wins in a single year, with 7 Golds in 2013. Mar has also been instrumental in promoting surfing in Japan, leading the national surf team to multiple victories and serving a...
Jan 07, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 514
Jump start your new year with a dynamic, action-oriented, inspirational conversation with Mike Steib, who is now CEO of XO Group, now known as The Knot Worldwide. During his time at Google, Mike created the “Career Manifesto” Google doc for his team. This doc quickly went viral, inspiring many Googlers and young professionals beyond Google’s walls. In this podcast, Mike brings the Career Manifesto to life through an engaging, insightful Talk geared toward early professionals who want to take con...
Jan 03, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 513
The cast & creatives from the Tony Award winning musical “The Outsiders” join us to perform a song and discuss the beloved story that defined a generation, reimagined as a groundbreaking new musical. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1967, Ponyboy Curtis, his best friend Johnny Cade, and their greaser family of ‘Outsiders’ battle with their affluent rivals, the Socs. “The Outsiders” navigates the complexities of self-discovery as the Greasers dream about who they want to become in a world that may never accep...
Dec 31, 2024•49 min•Ep. 512
David DeSteno visits Google to discuss his book “Emotional Success: The Power of Gratitude, Compassion, and Pride.” Grit, the ability to persevere against all odds, is often recognized as the key to success. But how can grit be cultivated and sustained? In this book, David DeSteno reveals that the most powerful tools we can draw upon to achieve our toughest goals are not willpower or self-denial, but our prosocial emotions—gratitude, compassion, and pride. This undervalued toolkit evolved specif...
Dec 27, 2024•56 min•Ep. 511
Award winning author of 12 cookbooks Rose Levy Beranbaum visits Google to discuss her hugely influential cookbook “The Cake Bible, 35th Anniversary Edition.” This updated edition contains recipes for both classic and innovative cakes, plus complementary adornments of all types, instructions for making stunning decorations, and flavor variations for every craving and occasion. The original “Cake Bible” is a guiding light in the world’s baking literature, with Rose Levy Beranbaum’s deep knowledge ...
Dec 24, 2024•57 min•Ep. 510
Tony Hsieh visits Google to discuss his book "Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose." Back in 1999, Tony Hsieh sold LinkExchange, the company he co-founded, to Microsoft for $265 million. He then joined Zappos as an adviser and investor, and eventually became CEO. In 2009, Zappos was listed as one of Fortune magazine's top 25 companies to work for, and was acquired by Amazon later that year in a deal valued at over $1.2 billion on the day of closing. In his book, Tony sha...
Dec 20, 2024•57 min•Ep. 509
Dr. Tony Nader visits Google to discuss his book “Consciousness Is All There Is: How Understanding and Experiencing Consciousness Will Transform Your Life.” Dr. Nader offers a direct path to peace for ourselves and our world that anyone can obtain—simply by delving into our own Consciousness. He provides the methods, tools, and guidance for connecting with our authentic inner nature and understanding how Consciousness is the essence of all existence, including addressing such fundamental questio...
Dec 17, 2024•35 min•Ep. 508
Alton Brown visits Google to discuss his book “Good Eats 3: The Later Years”. The book offers foodies more than 200 recipes accompanied by hundreds of photographs, drawings, and stills from his hit Food Network show “Good Eats”, as well as lots of science-of-food facts, cooking tips, food trivia, and behind-the-scenes glimpses. In chapters devoted to everything from pomegranates to pretzels, mincemeat to molasses, Alton delivers delicious recipes along with fascinating background in a book that’...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 507
Joanna “JoJo” Levesque visits Google to discuss her book “Over the Influence: A Memoir.” Signed to a major recording deal at just 12 years old, JoJo catapulted to the top of the pop-and-R&B-infused charts in the mid 2000s. JoJo was an undeniable superstar and pop culture fixture, appearing in major studio films, on Top 40 radio, magazine covers, and national TV. Then, out of the blue, everything came to a halt and JoJo seemingly stepped out of the spotlight, leaving many fans to wonder: What hap...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 506
James Franco visits Google to discuss writing, directing, producing and starring in his film "The Disaster Artist.” The movie is based on Greg Sestero’s best-selling tell-all book about the making of Tommy Wiseau's cult-classic disasterpiece The Room, often referred to as “The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made”. In the film, Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero become friends after meeting each other in an acting class in San Francisco. Hoping to achieve Hollywood stardom, Sestero moves to Los Angeles and s...
Dec 06, 2024•39 min•Ep. 505
Award-winning author Maggie Jackson joins us to discuss her latest book “Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure.” In an era of terrifying unpredictability, the swift, sure answer often seems right. We race to address precarity and complexity with neat algorithms, crisp bullet points, or hurried tweets. Who has time to dally in the wilderness of being unsure? How could we find the clarity and vision so urgently needed today by not-knowing? This book is about the unsung triumph of doing ...
Dec 03, 2024•34 min•Ep. 504
In "Sleep Smarter", Shawn Stevenson shares easy tips and tricks to discover the best sleep and best health of your life. When it comes to health, there is often one criminally overlooked element: sleep. Good sleep helps you lose weight, stave off disease, stay productive, and improve virtually every function of your mind and body. That’s what Shawn Stevenson learned when a degenerative bone disease crushed his dream of becoming a professional athlete. Like many of us, he gave up on his health an...
Nov 29, 2024•58 min•Ep. 503
Social health expert Kasley Killam visits Google to discuss her book “The Art and Science of Connection.” Weaving together cutting-edge science, mindset shifts, and practical wisdom, Kasley offers a methodology for how to be socially healthy. Her book is an antidote to the loneliness epidemic and an inspiring manifesto for seeing wellbeing as not only physical and mental, but also social. Exercise. Eat a balanced diet. Go to therapy. Most wellness advice is focused on achieving and maintaining g...
Nov 26, 2024•55 min•Ep. 502
Sir Barry Cunliffe has been Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford for 35 years and is a Fellow of the British Academy. In this talk, he discusses his book "The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe.” Brilliant horsemen and great fighters, the Scythians were nomadic horsemen who ranged wide across the grasslands of the Asian steppe from the Altai mountains in the east to the Great Hungarian Plain in the first millennium BCE. Their steppe homeland bordered on a number of ...
Nov 22, 2024•55 min•Ep. 501
Simon Sinek, optimist, author, and founder of The Optimism Company, visits Google to discuss how adopting an optimistic mindset can help you rediscover your purpose and thrive even when it seems like everything around you is changing. Simon Sinek is an unshakable optimist, who believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. He has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up eve...
Nov 19, 2024•59 min•Ep. 500
Muhammad Yunus, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and bestselling author of "Banker to the Poor," visits to Google to talk about his book "A World of Three Zeroes." Muhammad Yunus is one of today's most vigorous social critics. Now he declares it's time to admit that the capitalist engine is broken, and that in its current form it inevitably leads to rampant inequality, massive unemployment, and environmental destruction. He advocates for a new economic system that unleashes altruism as a creati...
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 499
Tamron Hall and Lish Steiling join us to discuss their book “A Confident Cook,” where they share empowerment and excitement with those who are just beginning to cook. This book is packed with scrumptious recipes as well as cocktails and mocktails. Throughout, Lish and Tamron chat, teach, learn, and inspire you to keep it going in the kitchen. Tamron Hall is an Emmy Award-winning television host and executive producer of the syndicated talk show, "Tamron Hall," a best-selling author, and a self-t...
Nov 12, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 498
Christopher McDougall visits Google to discuss his book “Born to Run.” Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, and cutting-edge science, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world's greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong. Isolated by the most sav...
Nov 08, 2024•55 min•Ep. 497
Marion Jones visits Google to discuss strength, resilience, and using past experiences to serve as an example of no matter how far you fall down, you can always get back up. Marion Jones is widely considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time. She became the first woman to win five medals in a single Olympics in the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. After a doping scandal that affected over 20 professional athletes, Marion was the only athlete to serve a prison sentence. She ha...
Nov 05, 2024•56 min•Ep. 496
Barbara Corcoran from ABC's series Shark Tank visits Google to discuss entrepreneurship and her success in the real estate business. After failing at twenty-two jobs, Barbara Corcoran borrowed $1,000 from a boyfriend, quit her job as a diner waitress, and started a tiny real estate office in New York City. Using the unconventional lessons she learned from her homemaker mom, she gradually built it into a $6 billion dollar business. Now Barbara is even more famous for the no-nonsense wisdom she of...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 495
Renowned computer scientist Neil Lawrence visits Google to discuss his book "The Atomic Human: What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI." What does Artificial Intelligence mean for our identity? Our fascination with AI stems from the perceived uniqueness of human intelligence. We believe it's what differentiates us. Fears of AI not only concern how it invades our digital lives, but also the implied threat of an intelligence that displaces us from our position at the center of the world. Neil D. Law...
Oct 29, 2024•51 min•Ep. 949
Tero Isokauppila visits Google to discuss his book Healing Mushrooms: A Practical and Culinary Guide to Using Mushrooms for Whole Body Health. Adaptogenic mushrooms are one of today's buzziest superfoods, known for their ability to restore skin's youthful glow, increase energy levels, reduce brain fog, keep your hormone levels in check, and so much more. In this book, you’ll learn about the ten most powerful mushrooms you can add to your daily diet to maximize your health gains. Though some of t...
Oct 25, 2024•55 min•Ep. 493
Elizabeth L. Block visits Google to discuss her book “Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing” where she explores the diverse history of women’s hair. In the nineteenth century, the complex cultural meaning of hair was not only significant, but it could also impact one's place in society. After the Civil War, hairdressing was also a growing profession and the hair industry a mainstay of local, national, and international commerce. In Beyond Vanity, Elizabeth Block expands the nascen...
Oct 22, 2024•34 min•Ep. 492
Stephen Pearcy, lead singer and frontman of the rock band RATT, visits Google to discuss his book "Sex, Drugs, RATT and Roll: My Life in Rock." Women. Spandex. Drugs. Hair spray. Welcome to heavy metal rock ’n’ roll, circa 1980, when all you needed was the right look, burning ambition, and a chance. Cranking out metal just as metal got hot, RATT was the perfect band at the perfect time, and their hit single “Round and Round” became a top-selling anthem. The bigger RATT got, the more excessive le...
Oct 18, 2024•41 min•Ep. 491
Renowned wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant visits Google to discuss her book “Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World,” where she explores the ever-shifting relationship between humans, animals, and the Earth. Growing up in the diverse and bustling California Bay Area, renowned wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant always felt worlds away from the white male adventurers she watched explore the wilderness on TV. She dreamed of a future where she could spend sleepless nights under th...
Oct 15, 2024•30 min•Ep. 490
Pat Dorsey visits Google to discuss his book “The Little Book that Builds Wealth”. Over time, most businesses with high returns on capital attract competition that forces down profitability. However, a small minority of companies are able to defy the laws of economic gravity by creating competitive advantages, or “economic moats” that insulate them from competition and allow them to maintain high returns on capital. After spending fifteen years analyzing thousands of companies, Pat has identifie...
Oct 11, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 489
Top Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin, ice hockey gold medalist Angela Ruggiero, and two-time track and field gold medalist Ashton Eaton join us for a panel to discuss mindset, goal setting, and resilience in sports and life. Missy Franklin was raised in Centennial, Colorado, began swimming competitively at the age of 5, and competed in her first international event in 2009 at the age of 14. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Missy won 4 Gold Medals and 1 Bronze Medal. Missy’s performance in the ...
Oct 08, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 488
The Venerable Pomnyun visits Google to discuss secular compassion and social justice. Venerable Pomnyun Sunim is the chairman of The Peace Foundation in Seoul, which supports policy research and analysis aimed at Korean unification and humanitarian issues in North Korea. He concurrently serves as the chairman of Good Friends for Peace, Human Rights, and Refugee Issues, whose weekly publication “North Korea Today” provides detailed, up-to-date information about conditions on the ground in North K...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 487
Jay Ellis visits Google to discuss his book "Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)?" What do you do when you’re the perpetual new kid, only child, and military brat hustling school to school each year and everyone’s looking to you for answers? Make stuff up, of course! And a young Jay Ellis does just that, with help from his imaginary friend, Mikey. A testament to the importance of invention, trusting oneself, and making space for creativity, "Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (...
Oct 01, 2024•58 min•Ep. 486
