In this conversation with designer, mindfulness teacher, and friend Jay Vidyarthi — we explore how to reclaim agency in the age of the attention economy without rejecting the magic of technology. We discuss why mainstream narratives about digital distraction often leave out empowerment, how to build healthier relationships with technology, the nuanced role of AI, the sacred responsibility of attention and why awareness is the first “spell” in your own defense against the dark arts of distraction...
Sep 30, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 78
Nir Eyal is a New York Times bestselling author and behavioral design expert. We had a wide-ranging conversation on curiosity, identity, and the unexpected ways that beliefs that shape our lives. Nir shared why curiosity is a superpower for self-improvement, the role of community in mental well-being, why “pills don’t teach skills” when it comes to mental health, why testing and rewiring our beliefs is essential for personal growth, and how living with integrity aligns us with our deepest values...
Sep 22, 2025•56 min•Ep. 77
This is a special one-off episode in which the tables are turned — Ocean Kiani interviews Jonny and leadership coach Ben Ward. We discuss how the training has evolved over time, including some of the teaching philosophies and experimental mindset that underpin everything we do, as well as explore the profound impact that nervous system work has had on our lives. ~~ Explore More from Jonny 👋 Follow on Twitter/X @jonnym1ller 🫁 Learn more about Nervous System Mastery 🎴 Order our deck of Calm Car...
Sep 16, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 76
This conversation is with men’s fertility expert Josh Paigen — whose path took him from a childhood fascination with the natural world to helping men and couples prepare for healthy conception. We explore the alarming global decline in sperm count, why preconception health is about far more than simply being able to conceive, and Josh’s five pillars of male fertility: sustenance, purity, exercise, rest, and mindset. Along the way, we dive into the roles of nutrition, environmental toxins, circad...
Sep 10, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 75
Dylan is the founder of the ketamine-assisted therapy startup “ Mindbloom ” — He also shares what they’ve learned so far from running nearly 700 thousand guided ketamine sessions, his idea that "There’s no magic pill, but there is a magic program". and how he’s been dealing with a recent Wall Street Journal hit piece attempting to discredit his company. I also shared some of my own recent experiences with ketamine assisted somatic journeys and the impact that it’s had on my own life. Learn More ...
Sep 01, 2025•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 74
Joe Hudson is an executive coach for tech CEOs like Sam Altman, and is a cofounder of the Art of Accomplishment. In this in-person interview, we sat down to talk about what I like to think of as the first principles of inner work as well as some of the common pitfalls that often get us stuck along the way. Time-stamps 00:04 Why does my wife trust Joe more after seeing how little tension he has in his belly? 00:06 How 7 years of breathwork rewired his capacity for authenticity + emotional express...
Aug 24, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 73
Franzi is someone whose work sits at the powerful intersection of nervous system health, emotional resilience, and embodied leadership. What I admire most about her is the way she weaves personal integrity, deep inquiry, and relational intelligence into every facet of her life — from parenting her three sons to working with founders navigating burnout and stuck emotions. We explore what it truly means to lead from a place of wholeness — and why she believes leadership should be a force for heali...
Apr 07, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 72
In this episode, I’m speaking with a friend, author, entrepreneur & prolific writer Nat Eliason. The timing of this conversation was interesting as we recorded it shortly before the US elections, after which the crypto markets shot back into the mainstream. You’ll hear about the intense emotional rollercoaster he went through, losing millions of dollars in a very short period of time — how it felt to write about this — what he’s learned about cultivating creative endurance with his writing, ...
Feb 20, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 71
In this episode, I'm speaking with Dan Shipper — Dan is a friend, the founder of Every, and someone who I consider to be a philosopher founder. This conversation didn’t go the direction that I thought it would, I had prepared questions exploring the future of AI and technology, but I’m glad we listened to the thread that was most alive — which ended up being exploring Dan’s personal journey with OCD and recent deep dive into Jungian archetypal perspectives — and living on the borders of things ...
Feb 11, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 70
In this episode, I'm speaking with Marc Champagne — who after building a journaling app that reached nearly 90 million users and then having to shut it down, emerged with profound insights about the power of transformative question s and the Socratic Method. In this conversation, we explored: ❓ What it means to ask better quality questions, some of the specific questions that have altered the trajectory of Marc’s life — like “How can I be the most curious person in the room?” or “Whom haven't I ...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 69
In this episode, I'm speaking with Tom Morgan — who after 15 years on Wall Street and experiencing what he describes as a " hellish midlife transition " (which is putting it mildly) has emerged with profound insights about human development and — especially relevant for this podcast – the nature of curiosity itself. In this conversation, we explored: 🧠 How we might navigate the delicate balance between intellectual understanding and embodied wisdom , especially for high-achieving individuals se...
Jan 06, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 68
I’m speaking with theoretical neuroscientist Michael Edward Johnson — who, after spending seven years researching consciousness and writing the book Principia Qualia, has developed a revolutionary theory that could fundamentally change how we understand trauma, meditation, and human wellbeing. Mike’s theory of ‘latches’ — what he calls vasocumputation — may provide a testable and concrete biological mechanism for how trauma gets stored in the body, and how to release it effectively. This sounds ...
Dec 17, 2024•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 67
I’ve been following River’s substack essays for a few years now and I feel a real kinship with his irreverent and genuinely unique perspectives — as well as his talent for self-experimentation and weaving together esoteric yet incredibly practical concepts which he uses for self-exploration. In this conversation, you can expect to learn: 💬 How River was able to use somatic-based practices to go from experiencing an incessant inner-critic and suicidal ideation, to almost no inner-dialogue and op...
Sep 11, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 66
In this conversation, I’m speaking with my good friend and cofounder of Ultraspeaking Tristan de Montebello. Tristan has an incredible story of training to become a finalist in the World Championship of Public Speaking in just seven months. In this conversation, you can expect to learn: 📣 Tristan's radical approach of focusing on impromptu speaking rather than scripted speeches 💬 Unlocking capacity for self-expression & why the key starts with learning to speak before you think 🎴 How they...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 65
A few years back Ali decided to quit his job as a junior doctor in the UK to become a full time YouTuber. Since then his career and life has skyrocketed — he’s built a channel with over 5.5 million youtube subscribers and recently published a New York Times Bestselling book called ‘Feel Good Productivity’ In this conversation Ali shares: 😨 His experience with imposter syndrome whilst writing his book 🧠 Recent insights around 'leaving mental health on the table' ⚖️ How he’s been intentionally d...
Aug 26, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 64
I’m speaking with co-founder of Reboot Jerry Colonna. Jerry is one of the most infamous executive coaches in the world — with a reputation for making CEOs cry and asking devastatingly poignant self-reflection questions. In this conversation, we explore: 🕷️ Jerry's inner journey discovering his mythopoetic identity and how that has informed the coaching work he is so known for 🙇♂️ The idea that one measure of a leader is the numerous of people who feel safe enough to belong 🌍 The root causes ...
Aug 21, 2024•57 min•Ep. 63
Ben is the author of the phenomenal new book: The Way Home: Discovering the Hero's Journey to Wholeness at Midlife. I was really excited to talk to Ben because the hero’s journey has been a framework that I still use myself as a way of orienting and meaning making. Ben shares how his own life has been a series of spiraling journeys, embodying the hero’s path. In this conversation, you can expect to learn: 📚 Challenges of refusing the call to adventure 🤷♂️ The transition between evasion and em...
Aug 17, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 62
Marcela Ot’alora worked as the lead co-therapist and principal investigator for all of the MAPS — which stands for Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies — MDMA-assisted psychotherapy studies. She has also been designing curriculum and training therapists associated with MAPS. In this conversation, which we recorded together in our home here in Boulder Colorado, we explored how she found her way into this work over three decades ago, possible tension I perceived between the clinic...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 61
I'm choosing to republish this episode that I had with David Whyte four years ago, because I had found myself revisiting his timeless book Consolations ’ and rediscovering wisdom that felt appropriate for these times — which has remained within an arm's reach of my bedside ever since I first discovered it. It ratcheted open my mind to a new perspective on the definitions of words like Ambition, Courage and Heartbreak, that I thought I previously understood. I’m not sure how to even begin to desc...
Jan 01, 2024•39 min•Ep. 60
In this episode, I am speaking with Steve March — who is, although maybe lesser known in the public sphere, what he has created with Aletheia , which we will get into — is, to my mind, a revolutionary innovation in the realm of human development and how we orient to personal growth. Expect to have your paradigm of personal growth turned upside down as we cover: ⚖️ Self-development vs. Self-unfoldment , which points to why so much of the personal development industry and individual efforts to sel...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 59
Khe Hy is a dear friend, creator and philosopher in residence at Rad Reads, which is a business he started after leaving a 7-figure salary on Wall Street. He is a dedicated Father, host of the superb Examined Life podcast and makes time to get in the ocean and surf every single day. In this conversation, you can expect to hear: - How Khe has worked through his feelings of self-doubt - Exploring his insights from wrestling with desires for fame and validation. - The question of 'Winning the Game ...
Dec 06, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 58
Ryan Duey is an entrepreneur, podcaster, the founder + CEO of Plunge.com and as you'll hear in this episode, a remarkably self-aware and courageous human. Over a decade ago, Ryan had what he calls his “greatest gift” — a head-on motorcycle accident in Thailand. This near-death experience catapulted Ryan into a journey of self-inquiry, leading him to the jungles of the Amazon, the inside of a float tank. In this conversation, you can expect to learn: ⚖️ How to balance of selfishness and selflessn...
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 57
Brooks Barron is an experienced leadership coach specializing in nature-based initiations and rites of passage — to help the leaders he works with explore their vulnerability, find their inner wisdom, and surrender to the flow of what wants to come through them. In this conversation, you can expect to learn: - Brooks' definition of wholeness as a human being - The difference between the desire to make an impact in the world from above the line vs. below the line. - How he shifted out of victim c...
Oct 26, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 56
Show Notes Matt Maruca is the founder of RaOptics , who make, I think it's fair to say objectively, the world's best blue-blocking glasses — but more importantly, he is in my view a radical citizen scientist, self-experimenter, and articulate communicator — and what's more he's only 24 years old. Which, given his depth of knowledge and wisdom, is somewhat mind-blowing for someone of his age. This conversation didn't go the way that I had expected. I'd been reading journal papers and studies on p...
Sep 30, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 55
Dr Michael Yang is an integrative medicine specialist based in Los Angeles who specializes in Ketamine treatment. I had an absolute blast with Michael and honestly feel a renewed sense of optimism for the medical system knowing that there are doctors like him treating patients. In this conversation, you can expect to learn: 💊 Ketamine's clinical use and its role as a psychedelic in his clinical practice 🧠 How to increase the squishiness of your brain 😬 Why suffering might make us uniquely hum...
Sep 21, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 54
Jim Dethmer is co-author of the bestselling book 'The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership' and is one of the most sought-after executive coaches in the world. It was an honor to speak with Jim, and I had the sense that I was sitting in the presence of someone who really had spent a lifetime embodying and living what he teaches. In this wide-ranging conversation, you can expect to learn: 🙋♂️ How to use the Sedona method for yourself 👐 What it means to live an undefended life 👊 How to take ...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 53
When I first started this podcast, I had Derek Sivers in mind as the archetypal curious human — and to this day, I think of him as one of the most interesting and provocative philosophers of life. His career path involved joining the circus as a ringleader, then becoming a professional musician and touring, building a company and selling it for $22 million dollars, then giving most of the money away to charity, then becoming a TED speaker and author... to now where he's a minimalist living in Ne...
Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 52
Show Notes A large part of my personal motivation for creating this podcast — is the privilege of speaking with those who I consider to be elders, those who have lived their lives to the absolute fullest and have stories and insights to share with younger generations about what it means to truly live well. And this conversation with Kevin Kelly turned out to be exactly that. You'll probably want to have a pen and paper handy to take notes, and it was so rich with practical wisdom — in part becau...
May 16, 2023•58 min•Ep. 51
Today I'm speaking with Kyle Kowalski — who might be one of the most well-read humans and certainly most relentlessly curious humans that I've ever met — in fact as he shares in this episode, he believes that his purpose or Ikigai in life is to synthesize lifelong learning that catalyzes human development. As the title of this episode suggests, we nerded out on so many fascinating topics — we discuss how Kyle's crisis and burnout transformed him, discovering the Concept of Intentional Living, ho...
May 02, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 50
This is my second conversation with Anne Laure — I reached back out after I read a powerful account of her transformative experience drinking Ayahuasca 9 months ago and how following this experience, in her words, she is ' not depressed anymore, I quit drinking… And, for the first time ever and truly happy to be alive'. So we do a deep dive into her plant medicine experience she had, her reflections since that experience — as well as why linear goals are inherently fragile as compared to what sh...
Apr 25, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 49
