A master-class in personal and professional development, ultra-athlete, wellness evangelist and bestselling author Rich Roll delves deep with the world's brightest and most thought provoking thought leaders to educate, inspire and empower you to unleash your best, most authentic self. More at: https://richroll.com
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Roll On is here—and this one has teeth. Adam and I unpack the tale of two Alexes—Honnold and Pretti—and what that juxtaposition reveals about the best and worst of human nature. From there: a 9-month surgery milestone (30 lbs down, joy levels up), the Attia-Epstein fallout and the allure of proximity to power, and ICE's authoritarian overreach. Listener questions round us out: finding hope, perfectionism, escaping burnout, and the sacred practice of showing up for someone else. Enjoy! Show notes...
Alex Honnold, the world's most accomplished free solo climber and subject of Oscar-winning Free Solo, just climbed Taipei 101 live on Netflix. In this special live podcast event—our first with a studio audience—we go behind the spectacle to explore what really happened on that building: the unexpected challenges and the mental shift that transformed pressure into joy. We discuss his training philosophy at 40, his evolving relationship with risk and mortality as a father, and why he challenges ou...
James Nestor is an acclaimed science journalist and author of the international bestseller "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art." This conversation explores why so many of us breathe dysfunctionally—and how it may be connected to chronic ailments. We discuss breathing biomechanics, CO2 tolerance, the link between sleep-disordered breathing and ADHD in children, and practical techniques to optimize how you breathe. James also walks us through his Stanford experiment, where breathing only throug...
Bruce Wagner is a novelist, former student of Carlos Castaneda, and author of fifteen books, including his latest, "Amputation." This conversation explores his use of Hollywood as a laboratory for human behavior, crafting transgressive fiction that skewers the desperate while searching for transcendence. We discuss his decade with Castaneda, writing "Amputation" after the LA fires, the relationship between suffering and art, Buddhist and Sufi wisdom, and why fiction is our most potent vehicle to...
Dr. Elizabeth Poynor is a gynecologic oncologist, Chair of Women's Health at Atria Health Institute, and host of the podcast “Decoding Women's Health.” This conversation explores why women's health has been siloed for centuries, modern hormone therapy, the estrogen-brain connection, metabolic shifts, GLP-1s, and what partners need to understand about this transition. Underneath it all: generations of women have known what the medical literature is only now catching up to. Elizabeth is a vital vo...
Brad Stulberg is a bestselling author, executive coach, and one of my favorite thinkers on sustainable high performance. This conversation explores the dualities in personal development, discipline and self-compassion, striving and surrender, intensity and joy. We discuss the "humble badass" archetype, building resilient identities, why curiosity is the skeleton key, and excellence as an antidote to alienation. Along the way, Brad gets vulnerable about the childhood wounds that still drive his a...
Dr. Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist, host of the podcast “A Slight Change of Plans,” and author of “The Other Side of Change.” This conversation explores the challenge of navigating involuntary change, whether it's injury, loss, or a future that suddenly collapses. We discuss identity and attachment, the illusion of control, why our brains resist uncertainty, the end of history illusion, rumination, and practical tools to help us see change not as a burden—but as a revelation. Maya also op...
Dr. Will Bulsiewicz is a gastroenterologist, one of the world's foremost authorities on the gut microbiome, and author of “Plant Powered Plus.” This conversation explores the gut-immune connection as the root determinant of chronic inflammation—the silent driver behind three out of five deaths. We discuss the four nutritional workhorses, why your microbiome is nocturnal, and what happens when you eat after dark. Dr. B also opens up about a decade-long estrangement from his father—an unexpected r...
Mark Manson is the author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and host of the Solved podcast. Back for his third appearance (eps. 476 , 882 ), we skip the backstory and pull questions from a fishbowl. We discuss vanity goals versus values-aligned goals, why procrastination is really about emotional avoidance, the trap of people-pleasing, how to distinguish intuition from impulse, and the delusion of passive manifestation. I also share my own shifting perspectives on positive thinking and the ...
The finale is here. Let's close this thing out. Part 2 explores courage, honesty, creativity, relationships, and balance. Bravery. Addiction. Love. Mastery. And why fulfillment doesn't require sacrifice. It's been fun putting this auditory yearbook together. I hope you found these two episodes uplifting and inspiring. Thanks for the love and support. This podcast has been an amazing journey. I'm grateful you're on it with me. Here's to 2026. Show notes + MORE Watch on YouTube Newsletter Sign-Up ...
Happy holidays from the RRP mothership. Another year in the rearview. Time for what's become one of my favorite traditions, our annual “Best Of.” 12 years running now. This year was packed with an astonishing array of guests—too many to feature here. Part 1 revisits the year's most powerful moments: longevity science, neuroplasticity, happiness research, emotional regulation, consciousness, and what it actually takes to change. I'm filled with gratitude for our guests, my team, and most of all—f...
Kevin Hall, Ph.D., is a physicist-turned-nutrition scientist and author of "Food Intelligence: The Science of How Food Both Nourishes and Harms Us. "This conversation explores why diets fail, the truth behind the "slow metabolism" myth, how ultra-processed foods hijack our biology, and why the 800-pound gorilla driving the obesity epidemic isn't willpower—it's our toxic food environment. He also opens up about his decision to leave the NIH after 20 years due to political interference with his re...
Rutger Bregman is a Dutch historian, bestselling author, and the guy who went viral telling Davos billionaires to pay their taxes. This conversation is a salve for the crisis of meaning percolating through modern life. We explore Rutger's pragmatic antidote—moral ambition—and discuss why a quarter of workers believe their jobs are socially useless, what the abolitionists teach us about coalition-building, and why factory farming may be the ethical abomination future historians judge us for most ...
Gregg Renfrew is the founder of Beautycounter and now Counter—a pioneer in the clean beauty movement. Five years after our first exchange, Gregg returns with her story about navigating imposed change. After losing her company, she bought it back out of foreclosure in 48 hours—then let it die to save it. Today, we explore identity collapse, decoupling self-worth from success, why selling control means losing it, and the beauty industry's toxin loopholes. Along the way, we confront rebuilding when...
Roll On returns! Just in time for the holiday gauntlet. Adam Skolnick and I unpack three questions the season demands: how to navigate family gatherings when the same dynamics play out like clockwork, what rock bottom actually means (hint: it's a launchpad for transformation, not a life sentence), and why I've traded rigid goals for something more like trajectory. We get into the superpower of extreme neutrality, why everyone is right from their perspective, and morning pages as the unlock you d...
Todd Marinovich is a former NFL quarterback, USC Rose Bowl champion, and the subject of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "The Marinovich Project." This conversation explores the duality of engineered perfection and performance-based love. We discuss his father's authoritarian methods, the identity crisis of living someone else's dream, his harrowing addiction, the moment his father's approval paradoxically ended his motivation, and his journey toward self-compassion through art and recovery. Throu...
Oliver Burkeman is a bestselling author, journalist, and the mind behind “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals” and “Meditations for Mortals.” We explore our broken relationship with time and Oliver's philosophy of imperfectionism, which dismantles the delusion that productivity is a moral imperative. Oliver explains why we're all chasing an infinite backlog, how perfectionism keeps us from doing the work, the path from overwhelm to agency, why acceptance isn't resignation, and the m...
This Fasting Compilation features Dr. Alan Goldhamer, Dr. Valter Longo, and Dr. Michael Greger to discuss the science of strategic deprivation. We explore why visceral fat behaves like a tumor secreting inflammatory molecules that drive chronic disease. How many health conditions stem from dietary patterns rather than requiring medication alone. The evolutionary mechanism of insulin resistance and the reality that when you eat can matter as much as what you eat, with the same calories producing ...
Katie Couric is a journalist and the first woman to solo-anchor a major network evening newscast. We explore the disintermediation of news media, institutional distrust, and the fragmentation of shared truth in America. Katie shares her experiences navigating the CBS boys club, her perspective on the Sarah Palin interview, the craft of asking great questions, her cancer advocacy work after personal tragedy, and what she's learned about happiness. Along the way, Katie admits she's never been addi...
Tig Notaro is a comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer, and co-host of the podcast Handsome. This conversation explores Tig's legendary 2012 set—delivered days after her cancer diagnosis—and how loss became her greatest teacher. We discuss her wild upbringing, choosing presence over performance, the napkin-based writing process, what's going on in the comedy scene, and producing "Come See Me in the Good Light," the Sundance-winning doc about poet Andrea Gibson. Oh, and we bond over spinal fusio...
This episode compiles insights from Scott Galloway, Terry Crews, Jonathan Haidt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John W. Price, John Pearson, and Toby Morse on modern manhood. Discussions cover the economic disparities affecting young men, the critical absence of male role models and mentorship, and the profound impact of digital culture on youth mental health and social connection. The conversation advocates for embracing vulnerability, fostering strong communities, and redefining strength to address the challenges men face today.
Relationship expert Jillian Turecki explores the complexities of modern love, arguing that healthy partnerships stem from deep self-awareness and a commitment to internal work rather than external blame. She unpacks how childhood conditioning and unmet expectations sabotage adult relationships, advocating for selfless love, open communication, and the courage to confront personal flaws. The conversation also tackles the unique difficulties of online dating and offers actionable insights for building trust and fostering genuine connection.
Malala Yousafzai is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate, education activist, and survivor of a Taliban assassination attempt at age fifteen. This conversation explores the gulf between icon and identity—what happens when you're trying to figure out who you are while everybody has already decided for you. We discuss PTSD that surfaced years later, therapy she resisted, reconciling heritage with freedom, the crisis facing Afghan girls under gender apartheid, and why meaningful activism extends...
Dr. Andy Galpin, an elite performance coach, shares his comprehensive framework for fitness, focusing on nine key adaptations. He details why many people hit plateaus by training in a “gray zone” and emphasizes the importance of movement quality, intentional training, and understanding individual limiters. The discussion also covers the nuances of recovery data, the relationship between exercise and weight management, and prioritizing long-term health over short-term gains. Galpin provides practical, evidence-based wisdom to help listeners optimize their fitness journeys.
Nick Thompson is CEO of The Atlantic , an elite marathoner, and author of the memoir The Running Ground . This conversation explores how running reveals our deepest inherited patterns. We discuss Nick's journey from getting fired from CBS in under an hour to running The Atlantic , reconciling with his brilliant father's tragic collapse, setting age-group records at 50, and why AI threatens the very nature of reality. We also discuss why the simple act of running becomes a portal for understandin...
Joanne Molinaro, aka The Korean Vegan, is a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author who has redefined food storytelling through viral videos. This conversation explores her journey from the facile safety of corporate law to creative uncertainty, using food to reconcile generational trauma, and navigating the liminal space between Korean tradition and personal evolution. We also discuss her refugee parents' silence, the wellness world's descent into conspiratorial thinking, and how the Korean c...
Roll On is here! Adam Skolnick and I catch up after a month of nonstop travel. Tokyo for the Track & Field World Championships, New York, and DC multiple times. Big news: Adam announces his debut novel American Tiger —20 years in the making, with the audiobook recorded right here in our studio. Also on tap: my family crisis that required an Ocean's 11-style heist, accidentally crashing the wrong high school reunion, Alex Honnold scaling skyscrapers live on Netflix, the Norwegians sweeping Ir...
Emily Harrington is a professional climber who became the first woman to free climb El Capitan's Golden Gate route in under 24 hours, captured in the documentary Girl Climber . This conversation explores her 50-foot fall that nearly ended everything, the eating disorder that almost destroyed her career, and how crying while climbing became her strength. We discuss her innovative double-shoe technique, losing mentor Hilary Nelson while pregnant, and why she calls Mount Everest "Steve." Emily brin...
Dr. John Price is a depth psychotherapist and co-founder of The Center for Healing Arts & Sciences. This conversation explores why men have 50% fewer friends than twenty years ago, the crisis of modern masculinity, shadow work, and John's concept of "sacred refusal" —honoring the adaptations that once saved us but now destroy us. We discuss why suffering is initiation not pathology, the absence of rites of passage, and how the things we find most uncomfortable often reveal our deepest truths...
This Women's Health and Hormones Compilation explores how estrogen regulates brain function, why 86% of mothers lose core strength with no recovery protocol, and the critical timing window for hormone therapy. Featured experts include Dr. Lisa Mosconi (ep. 819) , Dr. Robin Berzin (ep. 873) , Dr. Neal Barnard (ep. 492) , Dr. Gemma Newman (ep. 678) , and Dr. Kyle Gillett (ep. 720) . We discuss fat cells as hormone producers, the 1993 federal mandate for women's inclusion in research, and the two t...
