Timothy Ferriss's Blog, page 15

Live from South Korea — Steve Jang on Korea’s Exploding “Soft Power,” The Poverty-to-Power Playbook, K-Pop, “Han” Energy, Must-See Movies, Export Economies, and Much More (#707)

Illustration via 99designs

“For Koreans, han can be a drive to do great things, to bond together, to understand each other, to empathize. But it can also just be anger and K-rage which, channeled correctly, allows you to build an entire industry and succeed on the global level to create pop culture phenomenons that win Grammys, and movies that win Oscars, and light up the world to what’s happening in this little country that used to be poor, that was broken after colonization and a war.”
— Steve Jang

Scroll down to the show notes section to see Steve’s must-see Korean movies and must-do things in Seoul.

Steve Jang (@stevejang) is the founder and managing partner at Kindred Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund based in San Francisco. He is also a longtime friend and one of the founder-now-investor generation of VCs that arose out of the last technology cycle. Steve is one of the top 100 venture capital investors in the world, according to Forbes Midas List of top venture capital investors, and was ranked #45 in 2023. He is also a Korean-American, a gyopo, who is deeply invested and involved in both the technological and cultural worlds in the US and Asia.

Previously, Steve was an early advisor to, and angel investor in, Uber, and then an early-stage investor in Coinbase, Postmates, Poshmark, Tonal, Blue Bottle Coffee, and Humane, the AI device platform. He helped Uber, Coinbase, and Blue Bottle Coffee, among others, to expand into Korea and Japan. As an entrepreneur, Steve co-founded companies in the consumer internet, mobile, and crypto space.

In the film and music world, he is an executive producer, and his most recent film is Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV, which tells the story of the greatest Korean artist, and father of digital video art, and which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023. His next film is a documentary about Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Brought to you by Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega fish oil, GiveWell.org charity research and effective giving, and Wealthfront high-yield savings account.

Listen onApple Podcasts [image error]Listen onSpotify [image error]Listen onOvercast#707: Live from South Korea — Steve Jang on Korea’s Exploding “Soft Power,” The Poverty-to-Power Playbook, K-Pop, “Han” Energy, Must-See Movies, Export Economies, and Much More

This episode is brought to you by Nordic Naturals, the #1-selling fish-oil brand in the US! More than 80% of Americans don’t get enough omega-3 fats from their diet. That is a problem because the body can’t produce omega-3s, an important nutrient for cell structure and function. Nordic Naturals solves that problem with their doctor-recommended Ultimate Omega fish-oil formula for heart health, brain function, immune support, and more. Ultimate Omega is made exclusively from 100% wild-caught sardines and anchovies. It’s incredibly pure and fresh with no fishy aftertaste. All Nordic Naturals’ fish-oil products are offered in the triglyceride molecular form—the form naturally found in fish, and the form your body most easily absorbs.

Go to Nordic.com and discover why Nordic Naturals is the #1-selling omega-3 brand in the U.S. Use promo code TIM for 20% off your order.

This episode is brought to you by Wealthfront! Wealthfront is an app that helps you save and invest your money. Right now, you can earn 5% APY—that’s the Annual Percentage Yield—with the Wealthfront Cash Account. That’s more than ten times more interest than if you left your money in a savings account at the average bank, according to FDIC.gov.

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This episode is brought to you by GiveWell.org! For over ten years, GiveWell.org has helped donors find the charities and projects that save and improve lives most per dollar. GiveWell spends over 30,000 hours each year researching charitable organizations and only recommends a few of the highest-impact, evidence-backed charities they’ve found. In total, more than 100,000 people have used GiveWell to donate as effectively as possible.

This year, support the charities that save and improve lives most, with GiveWell. Any of my listeners who become new GiveWell donors will have their first donation matched up to $100 when you go to GiveWell.org and select “PODCAST” and “Tim Ferriss” at checkout.

Want to hear another episode featuring a gyopo? Listen to my conversation with streetwear artist Bobby Hundreds in which we discussed his double life as a parent-pleasing law student and clandestine artist, collaboration over competition, rolling with the tides of fickle fashion, necessary disconnections, subcultural security, hermit north stars, and much more.

#671: Bobby Hundreds — Building an Iconic Streetwear Brand, Making $7 Million in 40 Minutes, The Power of Garfield, Why Korean Entertainment is Taking Over the World, Maintaining the Mystery, The Fickleness of Fortune, and Developing “Nunchi”

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODEConnect with Steve Jang:

Kindred Ventures | Twitter | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Steve’s Top “Must-See” Korean Movies:

Oldboy The Wailing The Handmaiden Memories of Murder Parasite Burning Minari Broker (2022)Joint Security Area

Steve’s “Must-Do” Things in Seoul:

Walk and explore the old town areas of Samcheong, Insa, and Hongdae. Meander around these hills and small streets and alleys full of small shops, cafes, and tea houses.Headbob or dance with local folks at small DJ bars in Hongdae or Itaewon. Favorites are Cakeshop, Hills and Europa, and Gopchang Jeongol.Eat at a Hanwoo beef specialty restaurant. Hanwoo is the Korean version of Wagyu.Check out small art galleries, craft boutiques, and large museums including the Leeum. The artist community in Korea is a core element of Korean society, in historical, counterculture, and fine art spheres.Eat lunch in the food court of a major department store like Hyundai, Galleria, or Shinsegae. Completely different quality than what you’d expect in the US.Exercise at the outdoor park by the Han River. The colder the weather, the better.Get Tongdak (Korean fried chicken) and beer. If you aren’t eating next to taxi drivers and ajummas, then it’s not OG.Explore Dongdaemun Market, the largest independent fashion designer marketplace in the world.Go out for cocktails, makkoli (fermented soybean liquor), and karaoke (which is called “noraebang” in Korean) in Apgujeong, the cool kid area of Gangnam.Sign up for a K-pop boot camp for three months and pay to learn how to sing, dance, and dress to be in the next BLACKPINK or BTS.Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV | Prime Video Past Lives | Prime Video Hallyu (Korean Wave) | Korea.net K-Everything: The Rise and Rise of Korean Culture | The Guardian Full History of Korea in Five Minutes | History on Maps Korean Diaspora | Wikipedia South Korea’s Complicated Embrace of Gyopo | Los Angeles Times Blade Runner | Prime Video Korea First to Protect Robot Rights | Wired Seoul Hopes to Start Flying Taxis in 2025 | Chosunilbo AMP Korea: From Hermit Kingdom to Colony | Association for Asian Studies Van Nuys Senior High Your All-in-One Hangul Guide | 90-Day Korean What’s Behind Japan and South Korea’s Latest Attempt to Mend Ties? | United States Institute of Peace Nine Things You Should Know About Christianity in Korea | TGC Confucianism | National Geographic Introduction to the Cultural Revolution | FSI Thriving on Anxiety: Korea’s Multibillion-Dollar Hagwon Industry | Korea Herald Pachinko by Min Jin Lee | Amazon A Uniquely Japanese Take On Nostalgia | BBC Saudade: An Untranslatable, Undeniably Potent Word | alt.latino Bizarro World | Wikipedia Stranger Things | Netflix The Upside Down | Stranger Things Wiki How to Say “No” In Japanese? It’s Harder Than You Think | Japan Dev Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s Punch Perm Is a Tough-Guy Look with a Wild History | Inverse Families Divided by War in North and South Korea Reunite | CBS Mornings This News Broadcast Reunited 10,189 Families Separated by War | The Ethnographer The Korean War | AP US History Study Guide from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History An Unpromising Recovery: South Korea’s Post-Korean War Economic Development: 1953-1961 | Association for Asian Studies The Host (English Subtitled) | Prime Video What Are Chaebol Structures in South Korea? | Investopedia South Koreans Push for Promised Chaebol Reforms | Financial Times Squid Game | Netflix Physical: 100 | Netflix American Gladiators (1989 TV Series) | Wikipedia The Hunger Games | Prime Video BLACKPINK at Coachella: Group Thanks Fans for Supporting Historic Set | Rolling Stone Venture Capital | Investopedia Paving the Path to Soft Power: Crucial Moments in South Korea’s Cultural Policies | Wilson Center Manga Answerman: How Do Censorship Rules Work for Hentai? | Anime News Network How the Beanie Baby Craze Came to a Crashing End | History Naruto | Prime Video Wu-Tang Clan Backstreet Boys This Is Spinal Tap | Prime Video “These Go to 11.” | Spinal Tap K-Pop Trainee Program | ACOPIA There’s a Uniquely Korean Word for Rage and Regret. So Why Had I Never Heard of It? | CBC Radio “Chips on Shoulders Put Chips In Pockets” | Josh Wolfe, Twitter The Uniquely Korean Concept of Jeong (정/情) | Knowing Korea What Is ‘Nunchi’, the Korean Secret to Happiness? | The Guardian Omotenashi : The Philosophy of Japanese Hospitality | TOKI South Korea Has the Lowest Fertility Rate in the World – And That Doesn’t Bode Well for Its Economy | The Conversation 1997 Asian Financial Crisis | Federal Reserve History How Gold Rode to the Rescue of South Korea | Forbes Is Korea’s College Entrance Exam Too Difficult? | Korea Herald Gwageo: Gateway to Success in Joseon | Korea Herald Esports in Korea: Guide to Korean Gaming Culture | Seoulz League of Legends The Korean PC Bang: Everything to Know Before You Go! | The Soul of Seoul 10 Popular Korean Cosplayers | KPOP Webmagazine LVKM+Wold How Ugg Boots Became Fashion’s Hottest New Shoe — Again | Vogue ‘Squid Game’ Has Transformed What It Means to Go Viral | Protocol Hollywood Relies on China to Stay Afloat. What Does That Mean for Movies? | NPR I Only Work 4 Hours by Timothy Ferriss (Korean Edition) | Amazon Ryanair: The Full Story of the Controversial Low-Cost Airline by Siobhan Creaton | Amazon Making Commerce Better for Everyone | Shopify The Story of Uber | Investopedia Talk To Me In Korean Level 1 | Amazon Real-Life Korean Conversations For Beginners | Amazon Why Do Some French People Dislike It When You Try to Speak Their Language? | Quora The Free, Fun, and Effective Way to Learn a Language | Duolingo The Natural Way to Learn a New Language | The Michel Thomas Method Learn to Read Korean in 15 Minutes | Ryan Estrada Powerful, Intelligent Flash Cards | Anki Learn Fast and Remember Forever | SuperMemo The Language Master: A Film about Michel Thomas | Michel Thomas Method One Piece Wiki | Fandom Dragon Ball Z Game of Thrones | HBO Game of Thrones Tour in Dubrovnik, Croatia | King’s Landing Dubrovnik Four Apps You Need in Korea: Naver Map, Kakao Map, Google Maps, Subway | Your Korea Friend Naver Map Kakao Map WeChat What Is K-Beauty and Why Is It So Advanced? | Coveteur History | Suntory Gangnam Style | Psy Teheran-ro : The Venture Capital Mecca of Korea | InvestKOREA South Korean LLM War Intensifies to Fend Off ChatGPT | KED Global Nuclear Tensions Escalate Dangerously on Korean Peninsula | ICAN Don’t Hold Your Breath for Korean Reunification: Five Problems | Time Who First Said ‘Long Time, No See’ and in Which Language? | Code Switch How to Order and Eat Korean BBQ | Thrillist Kimchi | Wikipedia Hammer Stahl Kitchen Scissors | Amazon Battle of the Sauces at the Get Sauced SXSW Pool Party | Eater Austin Benu Restaurants, Products, Nationwide Shipping | Momofuku South Korea’s Archery Invincibility Explained | Land of Legends Sundance Film Festival TV Buddha by Nam June Paik | National Gallery Singapore Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii by Nam June Paik | Smithsonian American Art Museum Five Times Artist Nam June Paik Predicted the Future | Tate Nam June Paik Videos | YouTube He5 and He6 | Psychedelic Rock ‘n’ Roll Jingle Bells / In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1969) by He5 | YouTube Little House on the Prairie: The 10 Darkest Episodes, Ranked | Screen Rant Rammstein R-16 Korea National Championships | Wikipedia Homemade Mandu (Korean Dumplings) | Beyond KimcheeSHOW NOTES[09:37] Why has Korean culture been globally overlooked until recently?[13:36] In Seoul, the future is now.[17:23] Gyopo and the Korean diaspora.[19:15] Modern relations between South Korea and Japan.[21:07] Christianity and Confucianism in South Korea.[23:17] The intensity of Korean (including gyopo) hagwons.[25:46] Why Steve finds Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko particularly moving.[28:07] Japanese nostalgia.[29:25] Seoul: the Bizarro Tokyo?[39:49] Generations of Korean families traumatized by North/South separation.[44:32] Class struggle and cultural dichotomy in Korean cinema and literature.[50:22] Activism in a chaebol-dominated landscape.[54:25] How Korean culture resonates on a universal level.[56:50] How big money finances the artistic class struggle against big money.[59:57] Is the K-wave a fad, or is it here to stay?[1:05:24] Getting a handle on the untranslatable han.[1:08:13] Jeong and nunchi.[1:14:38] What will it take to remedy South Korea’s disastrously low birth rate?[1:25:05] Why I’ve been so fascinated by the K-wave.[1:36:02] How I’ve been learning the Korean language.[1:47:04] Why so many Japanese women visit Korea.[1:47:57] The lucrative power of Korea’s export economy.[1:52:07] Why the main road in Gangnam is named after the capital of Iran.[1:54:19] The real reason Steve believes South Korea is so industrious on multiple fronts.[1:58:02] How learning just 10 sentences in another language can fundamentally change your experience.[2:00:28] Korean food![2:09:35] The unforgivable insult of leaving food uneaten.[2:11:25] Why you owe it to yourself to see Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV.[2:17:46] Why you owe it to yourself to listen to “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by Korean psych rock band He5.[2:18:15] How gyopo influence on the arts bypassed home censorship policies.[2:24:20] Why you owe it to yourself to visit Seoul sooner rather than later.[2:26:30] Parting thoughts.MORE STEVE JANG QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“The North and South Korean governments at certain times, when they get along, they’ll try to do some great olive branch moves to reunite families. And they had the TV station film it, and they set up a whole area and they brought buses down. And it turned out to be not cathartic at all, but reopening pain.”
— Steve Jang

“Class struggle is the theme of so many [Korean] movies, books, TV series. It’s the suffering and the struggle to move out of their condition, and that society and the upper crust of society won’t allow it. This tension is in music, it’s in movies, it’s in literature, it’s in TV shows, it’s all around. And you might say, ‘Oh, no, it’s around every country.’ Sure it is. But it’s really strong and consistent in Korean movies and literature.”
— Steve Jang

“Han is probably the most talked-about collective trait of Koreans. What it essentially boils down to is this idea of collective suffering that the Korean people have through history, and manifests in this very complicated feeling of we are suffering and we share that pain with each other, but it’s somehow not always a negative. It can sometimes drive us to express ourselves in strong ways. It can drive us to suffer together collectively.”
— Steve Jang

“For Koreans, han can be a drive to do great things, to bond together, to understand each other, to empathize. But it can also just be anger and K-rage which, channeled correctly, allows you to build an entire industry and succeed on the global level to create pop culture phenomenons that win Grammys, and movies that win Oscars, and light up the world to what’s happening in this little country that used to be poor, that was broken after colonization and a war.”
— Steve Jang

“There is this accelerated sense of ‘We must achieve something tomorrow because we’re already behind.’ That is a very Korean mentality.”
— Steve Jang

“Tomorrow is not guaranteed for South Koreans. There’s a well-understood tension with North Korea that at any moment this could all be over.”
— Steve Jang

“Of all the cultural exports, Korean food is the most important one.”
— Steve Jang

“You get a thousand points of credit from any Korean if you try to speak the language. They love it. It’ll smooth all rough edges on anything that you’re talking about with them if you at least try.”
— Steve Jang

PEOPLE MENTIONEDVitalik Buterin Teo Yoo Min Jin Lee Superman/Clark Kent Bizarro Margaret Des Gaines Bong Joon-ho W. Edwards Deming David Chang Travis Kalanick Bobby Hundreds Hulk/Bruce Banner Michel Thomas Barbra Streisand Michael Jordan Elon Musk Michael Galpert Corey Lee Nam June Paik Steven Yeun Amanda Kim

The post Live from South Korea — Steve Jang on Korea’s Exploding “Soft Power,” The Poverty-to-Power Playbook, K-Pop, “Han” Energy, Must-See Movies, Export Economies, and Much More (#707) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.

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Published on November 30, 2023 06:22

Dr. Willoughby Britton — The Hidden Risks of Meditation, Overlaps with Psychedelic Risks, Harm Reduction Strategies, How to Choose a Retreat, Near-Death Experiences, and More (#705)

Illustration via 99designs

“If you can interface with any type of meditation spiritual system with maintaining your inner compass, that’s going to be a recipe for a much better outcome.”
— Willoughby Britton, PhD

Willoughby Britton, PhD is a clinical psychologist, an associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University Medical School, and the director of Brown’s Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory.

Her clinical neuroscience research investigates the effects of contemplative practices (meditation) on the brain and body in the treatment of mood disorders, trauma, and other conditions. She is especially interested in which practices are best- or worst-suited for which types of people or conditions and why. She is probably best known for her research on adverse effects—why they happen and how to mitigate them.

Dr. Britton is the founder of Cheetah House, a nonprofit organization that provides evidence-based information and support for meditators in distress as well as meditation safety trainings to providers and organizations.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

Brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements, Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega fish oil, and Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating.

Listen onApple Podcasts [image error]Listen onSpotify [image error]Listen onOvercast#705: Dr. Willoughby Britton — The Hidden Risks of Meditation, Overlaps with Psychedelic Risks, Harm Reduction Strategies, How to Choose a Retreat, Near-Death Experiences, and More

This episode is brought to you by Nordic Naturals, the #1-selling fish-oil brand in the US! More than 80% of Americans don’t get enough omega-3 fats from their diet. That is a problem because the body can’t produce omega-3s, an important nutrient for cell structure and function. Nordic Naturals solves that problem with their doctor-recommended Ultimate Omega fish-oil formula for heart health, brain function, immune support, and more. Ultimate Omega is made exclusively from 100% wild-caught sardines and anchovies. It’s incredibly pure and fresh with no fishy aftertaste. All Nordic Naturals’ fish-oil products are offered in the triglyceride molecular form—the form naturally found in fish, and the form your body most easily absorbs.

Go to Nordic.com and discover why Nordic Naturals is the #1-selling omega-3 brand in the U.S. Use promo code TIM for 20% off your order.

This episode is also brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements! Momentous offers high-quality supplements and products across a broad spectrum of categories, and I’ve been testing their products for months now. I’ve been using their magnesium threonate, apigenin, and L-theanine daily, all of which have helped me improve the onset, quality, and duration of my sleep. I’ve also been using Momentous creatine, and while it certainly helps physical performance, including poundage or wattage in sports, I use it primarily for mental performance (short-term memory, etc.).

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Want to hear an episode that examines the upsides of meditation? Listen to my latest interview with Buddhist mindfulness legend Jack Kornfield in which we discussed yogic swoons, the point of consciousness, how the Buddha would deal with anxiety, the dimensions of meditation, reliably eliciting the non-self, cultivating a more joyful mind, and much more.

#684: Jack Kornfield — How to Reduce Anxiety and Polish the Lens of Consciousness

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODEConnect with Willoughby Britton:

Brown University | CLANlab

Connect with Cheetah House:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

The Varieties of Contemplative Experience Research Project | CLANlab The Varieties of Contemplative Experience: A Mixed-Methods Study of Meditation-Related Challenges in Western Buddhists | PLOS ONE Willoughby Britton: When Meditation Causes Harm | Mind & Life Podcast The Understudied Risks of Mindfulness | Brown University The Dark Knight of the Soul | The Atlantic A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life by Jack Kornfield | Amazon The Spiritual Roller Coaster: Kundalini and Other Side Effects | Yoga Louisiana The Center for Consciousness Studies | University of Arizona Sleep as an Altered State of Consciousness | Open Spaces Meditation for Sleep: Paradoxes and Promises | HuffPost Life Buddhism: Meditation | BBC Religions Awakening Is Not a Metaphor: The Effects of Buddhist Meditation Practices on Basic Wakefulness | Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Can Mindfulness Be Too Much of a Good Thing? The Value of a Middle Way | Current Opinion in Psychology Ritalin | Drugs.com Modafinil | Drugs.com Caffeine and Sleep | Sleep Foundation Hyperarousal: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments | Healthline Vipassana Retreats 101: What They Are & The Lessons They Teach | Mindbodygreen Transcendental Meditation An Insight Meditation Center | Spirit Rock “The Dose Makes the Poison.” | Chemical Safety Facts Psychedelics: Help or Hindrance? | Tricycle My Healing Journey After Childhood Abuse (Includes Extensive Resource List) | The Tim Ferriss Show #464 Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari | Amazon Psychedelics for Therapy: What to Know About Benefits and Risks | The New York Times Prevalence of Meditation-Related Adverse Effects in a Population-Based Sample in the United States | Psychotherapy Research Identifying Adverse Effects of Meditation | Mindfulness Exercises Podcast The Side Effects of Meditation No One Talks About | Vice Understanding the Stress Response | Harvard Health Altered State of Consciousness | Wikipedia Emotional Dysregulation | Cleveland Clinic Lost in Thought | Harper’s Magazine Anhedonia | Cleveland Clinic Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation | Wharton Neuroscience Initiative Equanimity: The Golden Rule For Lasting Happiness | MindThatEgo Dissociation | Wikipedia What is Metabolic Psychiatry? | Stanford Medicine Wise Up by Aimee Mann | Amazon Music Negative Symptoms of Meditation | Cheetah House ‘She Didn’t Know What Was Real’: Did 10-Day Meditation Retreat Trigger Woman’s Suicide? | Penn Live Energy-Like Somatic Experiences (ELSEs) | Cheetah House Problems with Sense of Self | Cheetah House HPPD Nonprofit | The Perception Restoration Foundation Citta (Buddhism) | Wikipedia Person-Centered Therapy | Psychology Today The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran | Amazon How Gardening Improves Your Mental Health and Well-Being | ECOgardener Epicureanism | Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Vermont, USA Carhartt Bibs and Coveralls | Amazon Importance of Integrating Spiritual, Existential, Religious, and Theological Components in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies | JAMA Psychiatry Danny Meyer: The Four Quadrants of Performance | The Tim Ferriss Show Empathy at Work: All About Institutional Betrayal | Psych Central Psychedelic Peer Support | Zendo Project Near-Death Experiences: Evidence for Their Reality | Missouri Medicine Temporal Lobe Epilepsy | Epilepsy Foundation Joan of Arc — Hearing Voices | American Journal of Psychiatry Near-Death Experiences and the Temporal Lobe | Psychological Science Online Rorschach Inkblot Test Psychedelics May Lessen Fear of Death and Dying, Similar to Feelings Reported by Those Who’ve Had Near Death Experiences | Johns Hopkins Medicine Switchable Smart Glass | Smart Glass Tech Dalai Lama Presentation: Mind and Life XXIV | Cheetah HouseSHOW NOTES[05:55] Where did Willoughby’s interest in meditation begin?[09:47] Discovering a link between meditation and insomnia.[11:51] Challenging assumptions about meditation as a purely beneficent practice.[13:29] Awakening is not a metaphor.[17:40] Can mindfulness be too much of a good thing?[19:46] My personal experience with meditation defying positive expectations.[28:04] Undesirable consequences of meditation are more common than you probably think.[30:03] What makes some people more vulnerable to the potential dangers of meditation than others?[45:53] Altered states as a deviation from baseline.[46:38] The impact of diet on meditation.[48:21] The neuroscience behind psychedelics and meditation.[52:53] The dangers of combining psychedelics and meditation.[54:36] Choosing and vetting the ideal meditation retreat.[59:39] When being a high achiever is a risk factor.[1:04:21] Does Willoughby currently practice any forms of meditation?[1:07:04] When meditation compromises cognition.[1:10:45] Duration of symptoms and duration of impairment.[1:11:41] Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD).[1:12:50] Differences between meditation-related and psychedelic-related adverse events.[1:15:31] The origin of Cheetah House.[1:17:52] Ideological power and scaffolding.[1:25:54] Willoughby’s self-care.[1:29:47] Resources for people seeking relief from meditation-related adverse effects.[1:34:43] Institutional betrayal and the empathy that comes from being humbled.[1:37:12] Advice for aspiring psychedelic healers.[1:39:33] Near-death experiences (NDEs).[1:50:18] Parting thoughts, and the Dalai Lama’s response to Willoughby’s meditation research.MORE WILLOUGHBY BRITTON QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“I was on a meditation retreat, and I mentioned the data that I had found, which is basically that it was causing cortical arousal and insomnia. And the meditation teacher sort of chastised me and said, ‘I don’t know why all you clinical psychologists are always trying to make meditation into a relaxation technique. Everyone knows that if you meditate enough, you stop sleeping.'”
— Willoughby Britton

“Let me tell you, males 18 to 30 who think that combining every possible powerful tool, all at once, to break on through to the other side is a story that I see again over, and over, and over again.”
— Willoughby Britton

“Within that study, we found that people who had tried meditation even once, half of them would have at least one negative effect. And it could be extremely brief, no big deal. More concerning is that 10 percent, so one in 10 people who had tried meditation even once, would have a meditation-related adverse effect that was associated with impairment in functioning.”
— Willoughby Britton

“Having a negative experience during meditation, which we call negative valence, I don’t consider that an adverse effect. I think that if you don’t have some kind of negative experience in your meditation at some point you’re probably sleeping, because it’s not a warm bath for the mind — it can be challenging.”
— Willoughby Britton

“If you can interface with any type of meditation spiritual system with maintaining your inner compass, that’s going to be a recipe for a much better outcome.”
— Willoughby Britton

“Meditation never really improved my cognition. I always found that I was sort of one of those sleepy meditators. I would just get really, really, really calm and my brain just kind of got dull. But if I go out there and just use power tools outside in the cold, then my blood’s moving, my brain’s working. That’s doing more of what I was hoping meditation would do. I am also just ecstatically happy, which meditation never did that for me.”
— Willoughby Britton

PEOPLE MENTIONEDJack Kornfield Paracelsus Yuval Noah Harari Richard J. Davidson Simon Goldberg Obi-Wan Kenobi Chris Palmer George S. Patton Aimee Mann Kahlil Gibran Roman Palitsky Danny Meyer Hermann Rorschach The Dalai Lama

The post Dr. Willoughby Britton — The Hidden Risks of Meditation, Overlaps with Psychedelic Risks, Harm Reduction Strategies, How to Choose a Retreat, Near-Death Experiences, and More (#705) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.

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Published on November 22, 2023 08:10

My 2023 Holiday Gift Guide: 12 Gifts to Make Your Holidays Extra Fun, Relaxing, and Delicious

This blog post is a very special holiday edition of 5-Bullet Friday, my very own email newsletter!

It features 12 things I love, all of which make great holiday gifts. I also reached out to some of my favorite brands to get special deals for subscribers. I use all of these products on a daily or weekly basis. Each sponsored bullet is indicated with a star at the end of it, just like this sentence.*

Everything in this post is literally in my home, minus the last gift for mom.

I dislike shopping, but I do love finding the perfect gift. Finding that gift, though, gets harder with time. So… If you’re having trouble thinking up great options, here’s a list of goodies that deliver.

Outstanding game that I’m playing with friends and family

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. You can learn how to play in less than a minute. The game is fast, fun, addictive, hilarious, and suitable for all ages. It scrambles brains to the delight of all. It’s also a simple deck of cards that travels easily. Hat tip to game Jedi Elan Lee (@elanlee) for introducing me to this gem!

Book I’m rereading and gifting

The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander. I have read this book many times. It’s a wonderful and short reboot for possibility, excellent for all students of life and those who want to overcome self-imposed limitations. Here’s a snippet from the description: “Presenting twelve breakthrough practices for bringing creativity into all human endeavors, The Art of Possibility combines Benjamin Zander’s experience as conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and his talent as a teacher and communicator with psychotherapist Rosamund Stone Zander’s genius for designing innovative paradigms for personal and professional fulfillment.”

Sleep technology I’m using nightly

Pod 3 Cover by Eight Sleep. Temperature is one of the main causes of poor sleep, and heat is my nemesis. I’ve suffered for decades, tossing and turning, throwing blankets off, pulling them back on, and repeating ad nauseam. The Pod 3 Cover has been a game changer for the quality of my sleep and the quality of my life. It pairs dynamic cooling and heating with biometric tracking to offer the most advanced (and user-friendly) solution on the market. I’ve been using Eight Sleep for more than three years. Just in time for the holidays, add the Pod 3 Cover to your current mattress and start sleeping as cool as 55°F or as hot as 110°F. It also splits your bed in half, so your partner can choose a totally different temp. No more fighting over the A/C! The Pod technology adjusts the temperature of each side of the bed based on your sleep stages, biometrics, and bedroom temperature, reacting intelligently to create the optimal sleeping environment. For a limited time, Eight Sleep is offering subscribers of 5-Bullet Friday $350 off(!) of the Pod 3 Cover. Click here to get the exclusive holiday savings until November 30th.*

Eye mask I swear by

WAOAW Sleep Mask. This is my favorite sleep mask, and I’ve tried a lot. The WAOAW is a contoured mask that removes all pressure from the eyes, and it’s been added to my list of “things I didn’t know I needed.” The design also blocks much more light than conventional masks.

Two tools that save my low back

As I type this on an international flight, both of the below are in my luggage. You are about as
old as your back feels, and these help me go, go, go without the ow, ow, ow.

PSO-RITE. If you have low-back pain, there’s a good chance your psoas muscle is involved. This was recommended by multiple people in this Twitter thread on self-release, and I use it right before bed.

Fisher Traction’s Low Back Device. This was first recommended to me by a martial-arts teacher who, in his mid-60s, can still outperform most 20-somethings. It’s a simple, portable way to use traction at home or on the road. I do 3–4 reps of five minutes with 60 seconds in between, and it makes a world of difference. One fine-tuning point: rather than pull on the “release strap” for the 60-second rest, I simply take the belt off of my hips and lie on the floor.

Electrolytes I depend on

LMNT. I’ve enjoyed LMNT for years now. I typically use 1–2 packs per day to add electrolytes, which helps me maintain both focus and energy levels. I add electrolytes for many reasons: because I over-hydrate compulsively while stuck at a laptop (which dilutes electrolytes and leads me to feel tired); because I’m typically on a low-carb diet; and because I’ve lost electrolytes through exercise, dry winter climates, sauna, etc. It’s convenient hydration insurance that tastes great. Each serving of LMNT delivers a meaningful dose of electrolytes without the garbage—no sugar, no artificial ingredients, no coloring, no junk. My favorite flavor is Citrus Salt, which, as a side note, you can use to make a kick-ass, no-sugar margarita. For the colder months, I’ve also been enjoying their chocolate flavors to mix into my favorite hot beverages. Find your favorite flavor with a free LMNT Sample Pack, included with any purchase. And if you don’t love your purchase for any reason, my friends at LMNT offer a no-questions-asked refund policy. This special offer is available at DrinkLMNT.com/Tim.*

What I’ll be wearing while skiing and snowboarding this winter

ORTOVOX Merino Thermovent Hoody. I wore this for the end of last season, and it is the best combination of warmth and breathability I’ve ever found. From the description: “The HOODY is made of 99% fine merino wool. Thanks to the mesh structure in the torso and arm areas, this super-lightweight base layer wicks moisture away perfectly and provides ventilation. And the air pockets in the special structure make it particularly warm. Merino wool is naturally temperature- and moisture-regulating. A small pack size and ideal weight-to-warmth ratio will delight all tourers who value comfort and low weight.”

A delicious little indulgence for cheat day or any day

Big Island Coffee Sea Salt Espresso Bites. Thanks to Jake Muise for bringing these goodies to Austin! Here’s a delicious one-liner from the website: “A little salty, a little sweet, and decadently wild, this espresso bite is made with 100% Maui coffee and sprinkled with mineral-rich sea salt from Molokai.” Outside of cheat day, a single square right before podcast recording also gives me just the right cognitive boost without any jitters.

Coffee gadgets I and my friends adore

AeroPress Original (Cost: The 4-Hour Chef in 2012: “This is now, bar none, my favorite brewing method. Remember the Aerobie, the amazing UFO-like disc that you could throw farther than a football field, 20 times farther than a standard Frisbee? Alan Adler, a mechanical engineer and Stanford University lecturer, created it. After conquering the 1980s toy market, he began to obsess over coffee. The result was the AeroPress, which debuted in 2006. Quickly adopted by the specialty coffee community, it offers a simple way to prepare a small amount of excellent coffee, and it’s great for travel. Armed with an AeroPress and a tiny manual hand grinder like the Hario MSS-1B Mini Mill [or the more recently recommended Comandante], you can even make world-class coffee on an airplane meal tray! No mess and no fuss.” If you want to use a beefier and automated burr grinder at home, I now use the Baratza Encore.

Jura ENA 4 (Cost: $999). Going up quite a few notches in fancy, the Jura ENA 4 was gifted to me by my friend Brad L. He is a die-hard coffee nerd and swore it was the best cup of coffee you could have without a professional barista. Just feed it whole beans, and it handles the rest. This attractive machine also imbues the coffee with a creamy texture that is hard to describe. There are multiple models to choose from with different features.

Health supplements I’m loving for sleep and performance

Momentous. Momentous offers high-quality supplements and products across a broad spectrum of categories, and I’ve been testing their products for months. I’ve recently focused on their Magnesium Threonate, Apigenin, and L-Theanine, which I use before bed. In combination, they have really helped me improve the onset, quality, and duration of my sleep. Momentous Sleep conveniently delivers all three in one single blend to help prime your body for sleep and help you build a powerful nighttime routine. I’ve also been using Momentous Creatine, and while it certainly helps physical performance, including poundage or wattage in sports, I use it primarily for mental performance (short-term memory, general podcasting, etc.). Their products are third-party tested (Informed Sport and/or NSF-certified), so you can trust that what is on the label is in the bottle… and nothing else. Until November 28th, Momentous is offering subscribers of 5-Bullet Friday exclusive early access to a 25% discount on all products, including my personal favorites, Sleep and Creatine. Click here to access these holiday savings. Momentous also ships internationally.*

Delicious meat I’m devouring this holiday season (and every season)

Maui Nui Venison. This is the most delicious, nutrient-dense, and environmentally conscious red meat you can bring to your table. Many of my close friends have made this their go-to clean meat, and it’s helped me get into the best shape I’ve been in in years. Maui Nui is on a mission to restore balance to Hawai‘i’s ecosystems. The only operation of its kind, Maui Nui’s 100% wild-harvest process helps manage Maui’s invasive Axis deer populations while producing stress-free, incredibly tender and delicious protein, delivered right to your door. Enjoy clean-tasting venison (no gaminess at all) with the highest density of protein per calorie in a variety of cuts, jerky sticks, and bone broth. I love this company and their products so much that I ended up investing in them, as did Dr. Peter Attia. For a quick 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up, I eat three of their pepper jerky sticks nearly every morning. Supplies are limited, which is why I’m excited to offer 5-Bullet Friday subscribers 20% off site-wide, including your first purchase of their remaining subscription boxes. Visit MauiNuiVenison.com/Tim to take advantage of this limited-time offer and get 20% off.*

A device that most moms (or parents) will love

Skylight Digital Picture Frame. I gave this to my mom roughly a year ago, and it’s gotten more use than perhaps any other gift. The gist is simple: a nice digital display that rotates through photos. It runs 24/7 in my parents’ house, and it’s now loaded with family and childhood pics taken over decades. This one definitely exceeded all expectations.

And there you go! Twelve of my favorite things that make great holiday gifts. I love them all and hope you do, too.

Have a wonderful weekend and wonderful holiday season, everyone!

Much love to you and yours,

Tim

The post My 2023 Holiday Gift Guide: 12 Gifts to Make Your Holidays Extra Fun, Relaxing, and Delicious appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.

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Published on November 17, 2023 11:05

Q&A with Tim — New Religions, AI Companions, Longevity Levers, Resurrecting “Forgotten” Languages, Stress-Testing Cherished Beliefs, Tactics for Writer’s Block, Low-Back Pain, and Much More (#704)

Illustration via 99designs

Hello, boys and girls, ladies and germs. This is Tim Ferriss. Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is usually my job to sit down with world-class performers of all different types to tease out the habits, routines, favorite books, and so on that you can apply and test in your own life.

This time, we have a slightly different format. I’m the guest, and you asked the questions.

I recently sat down with subscribers to my email newsletter for a fun and live Q&A on YouTube.

To join these exclusive Q&A sessions in the future, it’s simple. Just sign up at tim.blog/friday .

Every Friday, you will receive my free 5-Bullet Friday newsletter—a short email of five bullet points. It’s one of the most popular newsletters in the world.

Each newsletter describes the five coolest things I’ve found or explored that week, often including books, gadgets, tech workarounds, tricks from experts, strange experiments, and weird stuff from all over the world. My subscribers have seen many, many things at the edges before they’ve gone mainstream.

In this episode, I answer questions on resurrecting “forgotten” languages, dog training, writer’s block, reducing alcohol intake, AI companions, training the “good enough” muscle, low-back pain, the importance of weight training and muscle mass, travel recommendations for Japan, managing fear of death and the descent to death, breaking negative self-talk, and much, much more.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the Q&A on YouTube here.

Brought to you by Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating; Cometeer delicious hyper-fresh, flash-frozen coffee; and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Listen onApple Podcasts [image error]Listen onSpotify [image error]Listen onOvercast#704: Q&A with Tim — New Religions, AI Companions, Longevity Levers, Resurrecting “Forgotten” Languages, Stress-Testing Cherished Beliefs, Tactics for Writer’s Block, Low-Back Pain, and Much More

This episode is brought to you by Cometeer! Cometeer is hyper-fresh, expertly brewed, flash-frozen coffee that produces an incredibly delicious cup. Cometeer lets you prepare your coffee with no mess, no machines, no burning, and no bitterness. Cometeer sources high-quality beans from the country’s top roasters. The coffee is brewed using proprietary technology to pull out more flavor compounds and antioxidants. It’s then flash-frozen at minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit to lock in that incredible flavor and freshness of the specialty brew. Simply add hot water and you’ve got a game-changing cup of coffee. It’s easily customizable in seconds for iced coffees, lattes, espresso martinis, and more.

Order today at Cometeer.com/TimTim. Listeners of The Tim Ferriss Show will receive $25 off their first order.

This episode is brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG1 further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system.

Right now, you’ll get a 1-year supply of Vitamin D free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive your 1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive daily, foundational nutrition supplement that supports whole-body health.

This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep! Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover is the easiest and fastest way to sleep at the perfect temperature. It pairs dynamic cooling and heating with biometric tracking to offer the most advanced (and user-friendly) solution on the market. Simply add the Pod Cover to your current mattress and start sleeping as cool as 55°F or as hot as 110°F. It also splits your bed in half, so your partner can choose a totally different temperature.

Until November 30th, my listeners can save $350 on the Pod Cover. Go to eightsleep.com/tim for these exclusive holiday savings. That’s eightsleep.com/tim for these exclusive and very special holiday savings! Eight Sleep currently ships within the USA, Canada, the UK, select countries in the EU, and Australia.

Want to hear my last Q&A? Listen to the episode here, in which I answered questions about newsletters I read every day, how to launch a successful nonprofit, outcompeting in a saturated market, notable contributions during my days as a tech company advisor, cosmic insignificance therapy, metaverse musings, recent spiritual shifts, required reading for someone in need of self-love, and much more.

#628: Q&A with Tim — Revisiting 15+ Years of PR and Marketing Lessons, Time Dilation for Deep Relaxation, The Art of Setting Ultra-High Prices, The Low-Information Diet, Studying Animal Communication, My 3-Day Fasting Protocol, Tools for Handling Adversity, Selling to the Affluent, My Current Coffee and Alcohol Rules, Risk Mitigation, and Much More

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

The post Q&A with Tim — New Religions, AI Companions, Longevity Levers, Resurrecting “Forgotten” Languages, Stress-Testing Cherished Beliefs, Tactics for Writer’s Block, Low-Back Pain, and Much More (#704) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.

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Published on November 15, 2023 07:21

Sheila Heen — How to Master the Difficult Art of Receiving (and Giving) Feedback (#703)

Illustration via 99designs

Sheila Heen has spent the last three decades working to understand how people can better navigate conflict, with a particular specialty in difficult conversations.

She is a founder of Triad Consulting Group, a professor at Harvard Law School, and a co-author of Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well (even when it’s off base, unfair, poorly delivered, and, frankly, you’re not in the mood), with Douglas Stone, and Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, with Douglas Stone and Bruce Patton (with a newly updated third edition that was released in August).

Sheila and her colleagues at Triad work with leaders and organizations to build their capacity to have the conversations that matter most. Her clients have included Pixar, American Express, the NBA, the Singapore Supreme Court, the Obama White House, and theologians struggling with the nature of truth and God.

She is schooled in negotiation daily by her three children. You can find my first conversation with Sheila at tim.blog/SheilaHeen.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform .

Brought to you by Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega fish oil, Helix Sleep premium mattresses, and ShipStation shipping software.

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Listen onApple Podcasts [image error]Listen onSpotify [image error]Listen onOvercast#703: Sheila Heen — How to Master The Difficult Art of Receiving (and Giving) Feedback

This episode is brought to you by Nordic Naturals, the #1-selling fish-oil brand in the US! More than 80% of Americans don’t get enough omega-3 fats from their diet. That is a problem because the body can’t produce omega-3s, an important nutrient for cell structure and function. Nordic Naturals solves that problem with their doctor-recommended Ultimate Omega fish-oil formula for heart health, brain function, immune support, and more. Ultimate Omega is made exclusively from 100% wild-caught sardines and anchovies. It’s incredibly pure and fresh with no fishy aftertaste. All Nordic Naturals’ fish-oil products are offered in the triglyceride molecular form—the form naturally found in fish, and the form your body most easily absorbs.

Go to Nordic.com and discover why Nordic Naturals is the #1-selling omega-3 brand in the U.S. Use promo code TIM for 20% off your order.

This episode is brought to you by ShipStation. Do you sell stuff online? Then you know what a pain the shipping process is. ShipStation was created to make your life easier. Whether you’re selling on eBay, Amazon, Shopify, or over 100 other popular selling channels, ShipStation lets you access all of your orders from one simple dashboard, and it works with all of the major shipping carriers, locally and globally, including FedEx, UPS, and USPS.

Tim Ferriss Show listeners get to try ShipStation free for 60 days. Just visit ShipStation.com/Tim!

This episode is brought to you by Helix Sleep! Helix was selected as the best overall mattress of 2022 by GQ magazine, Wired, and Apartment Therapy. With Helix, there’s a specific mattress to meet each and every body’s unique comfort needs. Just take their quiz—only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you get to try it out for a hundred nights, risk-free. They’ll even pick it up from you if you don’t love it. And now, Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders plus two free pillows at HelixSleep.com/Tim.

Want to hear Sheila’s last appearance on this program? Have a listen to our conversation in which we discussed three categories of difficult conversations, conveying curiosity without coming off as condescending, finding common ground amid a disconnect, rewriting the scripts for bad apologies, setting behavioral expectations, presenting obstacles as shared problems, blame-absorbers versus blame-shifters, and much more.

#532: Sheila Heen of the Harvard Negotiation Project — How to Navigate Hard Conversations, the Subtle Art of Apologizing, and a Powerful 60-Day Challenge

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODEConnect with Sheila Heen: Website | LinkedInConnect with Triad Consulting Group: Website | Help Yourself Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen | Amazon Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen | Amazon Triad Consulting Group Harvard Negotiation Project | Harvard Law School Sheila Heen of the Harvard Negotiation Project — How to Navigate Hard Conversations, the Subtle Art of Apologizing, and a Powerful 60-Day Challenge | The Tim Ferriss Show #532 The Psychology of Victim Blaming | The Atlantic The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss | Amazon RE: Bill Cosby Quote from The 4-Hour Workweek | Nikita Singh, Twitter Sheila Heen: Appreciation, Coaching, and Evaluation (ACE) | Global Leadership Network Three Kinds of Feedback | Yale School of Medicine The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield | Amazon To Give Better Feedback, You Must Fully Understand the Agony of Receiving It | Quartz At Work Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt | Amazon Sheila Heen: Blame Absorbing vs. Blame Shifting | Global Leadership Network The Three Kinds of Feedback and Our Triggers | Conversation Agent Online Rorschach Inkblot Test Nonviolent Communication: Create Your Life, Your Relationships, and Your World in Harmony with Your Values by Marshall B. Rosenberg | Amazon A Research-Based Approach to Relationships | The Gottman Institute The 6 Things That Predict Divorce | The Gottman Institute Why Do People Roll Their Eyes? Psychologist Suggests Theories for Passive-Aggressive Sign in Teenage Girls | The Independent How to Treat Fatigue From Lyme Disease: 5 Tips | Medical News Today For All Your Stories of Small Victories Over Those Who’ve Wronged You | r/PettyRevenge Kill Bill: Volume 1 | Prime Video Kill Bill: Volume 2 | Prime Video The 5 Love Languages Explained | Wisdom for Life How to Use Words of Affirmation in Your Relationship | Verywell Mind Sheila Heen: The “One Thing” Questions | Global Leadership NetworkSHOW NOTES[07:01] Conversations are the relationship.[08:12] How should we talk about feedback?[11:16] De-escalating the ask.[13:30] Addressing victim-blaming feedback for the new edition of Difficult Conversations.[28:48] How I’ve dealt with reader (and proofreader) feedback.[41:18] Making use of the three types of feedback.[49:05] Received difficult feedback? Phone a friend.[54:36] Discovering a good/bad match early in the dating game.[00:59:30] How I’ve traditionally handled conflict and stress.[1:07:50] The conundrum of feedback’s source.[1:09:03] Three triggered reactions to feedback.[1:12:09] The you plus me combination.[1:20:16] What does resolution look like?[1:22:52] The Gottman Institute.[1:29:35] Coping with a relationship’s unresolvable frictions.[1:33:41] The courtship of Sheila’s sister.[1:37:11] A thirst for vindictiveness and other deal breakers.[1:43:31] Learning from the comfort of our strengths.[1:45:43] Perspective from three positions.[1:47:09] How to extend positive reinforcement.[1:51:26] Giving feedback without starting a fight.[1:55:12] Asking “one thing” questions as a leader.[1:57:43] Are you aware of your need to receive feedback?[2:02:13] Parting thoughts.MORE SHEILA HEEN QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“Being an honest mirror is asking a friend to help you see what might be right about this feedback.”

“We uncovered some evidence that suggests that, in terms of sensitivity to feedback, how upset we get and how long it takes us to recover, that can vary by up to 3,000 percent.”

“We have the biggest emotional reaction to the evaluation part because we hate being judged. It’s hard. It’s really hard to feel judged, so we’re quick to hear it in anything.”

“The need to give feedback is a felt problem. I have feedback for you. I’m carrying it around with myself because I don’t know how to give it to you, or I’ve tried to give it to you and you’re not taking it. If there’s a book that would help me do that, I would buy that book, and could use some help. The need to receive feedback from other people who are carrying it around and not giving it to us is not necessarily a felt problem. I’m oblivious to it. I have mixed feelings about it.”

PEOPLE MENTIONEDDouglas Stone Bruce Patton Barack Obama Bill Cosby Steven Pressfield Jerzy Gregorek Hermann Rorschach John & Julie Gottman Hercule Poirot Sherlock Holmes John Richardson Stacy Heen Lennon Quentin Tarantino

The post Sheila Heen — How to Master the Difficult Art of Receiving (and Giving) Feedback (#703) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.

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Published on November 09, 2023 18:12

Morgan Housel — Contrarian Money and Writing Advice, Three Simple Goals to Guide Your Life, Journaling Prompts, Choosing the Right Game to Play, Must-Read Books, and More (#702)

Illustration via 99designs

“I’m not interested in anything that’s not sustainable. Friendships, investing, careers, podcasts, reading habits, exercise habits. If I can’t keep it going, I’m not interested in it.“
— Morgan Housel

Morgan Housel (@morganhousel) is a partner at The Collaborative Fund. His book The Psychology of Money has sold more than three million copies and has been translated into 53 languages.

He is a two-time winner of the Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and winner of the New York Times Sidney Award. In 2022, MarketWatch named him one of the 50 most influential people in markets. He serves on the board of directors at Markel.

Morgan’s new book is Same As Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes. You can find my first, widely popular interview with Morgan at tim.blog/morganhousel.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Watch the interview on YouTube.

Brought to you by Cometeer delicious hyper-fresh, flash-frozen coffee; Momentous high-quality supplements; and LinkedIn Jobs recruitment platform with 900M+ users.

Listen onApple Podcasts [image error]Listen onSpotify [image error]Listen onOvercast#702: Morgan Housel — Contrarian Money and Writing Advice, Three Simple Goals to Guide Your Life, Journaling Prompts, Choosing the Right Game to Play, Must-Read Books, and More

This episode is brought to you by Cometeer! Cometeer is hyper-fresh, expertly brewed, flash-frozen coffee that produces an incredibly delicious cup. Cometeer lets you prepare your coffee with no mess, no machines, no burning, and no bitterness. Cometeer sources high-quality beans from the country’s top roasters. The coffee is brewed using proprietary technology to pull out more flavor compounds and antioxidants. It’s then flash-frozen at minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit to lock in that incredible flavor and freshness of the specialty brew. Simply add hot water and you’ve got a game-changing cup of coffee. It’s easily customizable in seconds for iced coffees, lattes, espresso martinis, and more.

Order today at Cometeer.com/Tim . Listeners of this podcast will also receive a FREE 8-pack of Barista’s Choice, a rotating selection of limited-edition specialty roasts from world-class roaster partners like George Howell, Onyx, and Intelligentsia—names many of you will recognize.

This episode is also brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements! Momentous offers high-quality supplements and products across a broad spectrum of categories, and I’ve been testing their products for months now. I’ve been using their magnesium threonate, apigenin, and L-theanine daily, all of which have helped me improve the onset, quality, and duration of my sleep. I’ve also been using Momentous creatine, and while it certainly helps physical performance, including poundage or wattage in sports, I use it primarily for mental performance (short-term memory, etc.).

Their products are third-party tested (Informed-Sport and/or NSF certified), so you can trust that what is on the label is in the bottle and nothing else. If you want to try Momentous for yourself, you can use code Tim for 20% off your one-time purchase at LiveMomentous.com/Tim. And not to worry, my non-US friends, Momentous ships internationally and has you covered.

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. Whether you are looking to hire now for a critical role or thinking about needs that you may have in the future, LinkedIn Jobs can help. LinkedIn screens candidates for the hard and soft skills you’re looking for and puts your job in front of candidates looking for job opportunities that match what you have to offer.

Using LinkedIn’s active community of more than 900 million professionals worldwide, LinkedIn Jobs can help you find and hire the right person faster. When your business is ready to make that next hire, find the right person with LinkedIn Jobs. And now, you can post a job for free. Just visit LinkedIn.com/Tim.

Want to hear the last time Morgan was on the show? Listen to our conversation in which we discussed unorthodox career decisions, teaching children the value of money, lessons learned from being gamed by the market, counterintuitive bets, preparing for financially bumpy long hauls, understanding the difference between a fee and a fine, tolerance for petty annoyance as a valuable life skill, and much more.

#576: Morgan Housel — The Psychology of Money, Picking the Right Game, and the $6 Million Janitor

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODEConnect with Morgan Housel:

Website | Twitter | Instagram

Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes by Morgan Housel | Amazon The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness by Morgan Housel | Amazon The Morgan Housel Podcast | Apple Podcasts For Entrepreneurs Pushing the World Forward | Collab Fund Insurance, Ventures, and Investments | Markel Corporation Morgan Housel — The Psychology of Money, Picking the Right Game, and the $6 Million Janitor | The Tim Ferriss Show #576 Warren Buffett: Snickers Is the Most Dominant Candy Bar on the Market | The Profit Pathway Motley Fool: Pundits Pandering Your Wealth Away | USA Today Knuth versus Email | Stanford University Finding the One Decision That Removes 100 Decisions (or, Why I’m Reading No New Books in 2020) | Tim Ferriss Cuneiform: 6 Facts About the World’s Oldest Writing System | HistoryExtra The Tao of Seneca: Letters from a Stoic Master (aka The Moral Letters to Lucilius) | Tim Ferriss On the Danger of Knowing Your Audience | Morgan Housel, Twitter The Serenity Prayer | Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis What Is Stoicism? A Definition & 9 Stoic Exercises To Get You Started | Daily Stoic Stoicism for Modern Stresses: 5 Lessons from Cato | Daily Stoic Stoicism Resources and Recommendations | Tim Ferriss Morgan Housel on Writing | Ted Merz The Swooper/Basher Dichotomy | Steven R. Southard Respect and Admiration | Collab Fund Rich and Anonymous | Collab Fund Expectations Debt | Collab Fund Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper | Amazon Financial Advice for My New Son | The Motley Fool Financial Advice for My New Daughter | Collab Fund Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins | Amazon Why the 3rd Generation Always Destroys a Family Business by Scott McCollum | LinkedIn Microphilanthropy 101 | Charity Navigator A Few Laws of Getting Rich | Collab Fund The Solitary Billionaire: J Paul Getty (1963) | YouTube Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson | Amazon 1980s: How Donald Trump Created Donald Trump | NBC News “Sports Do Not Build Character; They Reveal It” | Quote Investigator The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center | University of Nebraska Medical Center What Makes You Happy | Collab Fund The Three Sides of Risk | Collab Fund Little Ways The World Works | Collab Fund David McCullough on “1776” | Charlie Rose Be Here Now by Ram Dass | Amazon Global Uncertainty Related to Coronavirus at Record High | IMF Experts Say the ‘New Normal’ in 2025 Will Be Far More Tech-Driven, Presenting More Big Challenges | Pew Research Center What We Knew: Terror, Mass Murder, and Everyday Life in Nazi Germany by Eric A Johnson and Karl-Heinz Reuband | Amazon Public Enemy? At Home in Mexico, ‘El Chapo’ Is Folk Hero No. 1 | The New York Times A Few Things I’m Pretty Sure About | Collab Fund Very Important and Hard to Teach | Collab Fund The Optimal Amount of Hassle | Collab Fund Useful and Overlooked Skills | Collab Fund 11 Reasons Not to Become Famous (or “A Few Lessons Learned Since 2007”) | Tim Ferriss The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder | Amazon The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss | Amazon Gothic Tropes: The Faustian Bargain | The Gothic Library Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs | Verywell Mind This American Life MrBeast | YouTube “Fake Famous” and the Tedium of Influencer Culture | The New Yorker How I Built The Tim Ferriss Show to 700+ Million Downloads — An Immersive Explanation of All Aspects and Key Decisions (Featuring Chris Hutchins) | The Tim Ferriss Show #538 The Home for Great Writing | Substack The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs | Amazon I Think You’re Fat by A.J. Jacobs | Esquire Tim Ferriss | TED Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss | Amazon Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David von Drehle | Amazon Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr. | Amazon The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst by Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall | Amazon Working by Robert A. Caro | Amazon The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro | Amazon The Civil War | PBS Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire | Wikipedia President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal | Library of Congress No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin | Amazon Endless Uncertainty | Collab Fund Tao of Charlie Munger: A Compilation of Quotes from Berkshire Hathaway’s Vice Chairman on Life, Business, and the Pursuit of Wealth with Commentary by David Clark | AmazonSHOW NOTES

Editor’s Note: Timestamps will be added shortly.

Buffett’s Snickers.What prompted Morgan to write Same As Ever?Morgan’s worst advice for aspiring writers is what works for him.The upsides of being rich and anonymous.Tips for raising unspoiled kids.Should families avoid passing along dynastic wealth?Finding worthy charities and causes.Money and happiness.Avalanches and other random, life-changing flukes.We can prepare for the future, but we can’t predict it.What current unknowns will seem shockingly obvious in a year?Which of our current views would change if our incentives were different?The most valuable personal finance asset.Optimizing the chance of marrying the right person.Mending divergence in a marriage or relationship.Trying to eliminate a hassle that’s an unavoidable cost of success.Guessing at the future of text vs. audio/video.Books vs. podcasts.Recommended reading.Has writing Same As Ever changed how Morgan operates in the world?Who is the intended audience for Same As Ever?Parting thoughts.MORE MORGAN HOUSEL QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“Let’s focus on what we know with certainty is going to be a part of your future, and that’s the best that we can do to see the future.”
— Morgan Housel

“In anything you do in life, you want feedback that what you’re doing is working. And in a lot of these situations, you don’t get it.”
— Morgan Housel

“Does money buy happiness? I think that answer is pretty firmly no. Can money buy contentment? I think that’s a pretty firm yes. And that’s great. Contentment is a great trait that makes your life better, but it’s very different from happiness.”
— Morgan Housel

“Some people have fuck you money. Charlie [Munger] has fuck you intelligence.”
— Morgan Housel

“I think you do your best work if you are being introspective about yourself. And “knowing your audience” slips into pandering very quickly. And pandering is the worst writing. Not only is it the worst content, it’s the worst writing style.”
— Morgan Housel

“When people want something from you, they treat you differently, and it’s not good.”
— Morgan Housel

“A lot of investors try to eliminate volatility, and they view it as a burden and something that you should get rid of when, actually … it’s the fee and not the penalty.”
— Morgan Housel

“I’m not interested in anything that’s not sustainable. Friendships, investing, careers, podcasts, reading habits, exercise habits. If I can’t keep it going, I’m not interested in it. And I think the only way to really do that is if you are going out of your way to live life at 80 percent to 90 percent potential. If you’re always trying to squeeze out 100 percent potential for something, almost certainly it’s going to lead to burnout, whether it’s a friendship or a relationship or an investing strategy.”
— Morgan Housel

PEOPLE MENTIONEDWarren Buffett Naval Ravikant Donald Knuth Seneca the Younger Jason Zweig Kurt Vonnegut Monica Lewinsky Anderson Cooper Shelby M.C. Davis Chris C. Davis Bill Gates Arnold Schwarzenegger J. Paul Getty Elon Musk Walter Isaacson Justine Musk Donald Trump George Carlin Bill Burr Brendan Allan and Bryan Richmond Tim Urban Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz George Washington David McCullough Charlie Rose Adolf Hitler Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Louis C.K.Justin Bieber Faust Abraham Maslow Matt Levine Joe Rogan A.J. Jacobs Donald Crowhurst Robert Caro Lyndon B. Johnson Robert Moses Napoleon Bonaparte Winston Churchill Ken Burns Frances Perkins Franklin D. Roosevelt Doris Kearns Goodwin Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Nassim Nicholas Taleb Charlie Munger

The post Morgan Housel — Contrarian Money and Writing Advice, Three Simple Goals to Guide Your Life, Journaling Prompts, Choosing the Right Game to Play, Must-Read Books, and More (#702) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.

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Published on October 31, 2023 12:56

Guy Laliberté, Founder of Cirque du Soleil — The Power of Belief, Street Gangs, Wild Tales from Las Vegas, The Dangers of Nurturing Fear, and Dancing on the Cliff (#700)

Illustration via 99designs

“Evaluate danger. Don’t nurture fear.”
— Guy Laliberté

Guy Laliberté (@guylalibertedj) is the founder of Cirque du Soleil, One Drop Foundation, and Lune Rouge. He was named by Time Magazine as one of the most influential personalities in the world and has been recognized as one of the most creative and innovative minds by Condé Nast.

An artist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Guy is a three-time winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award—including World Entrepreneur of the Year; a Knight of the National Order of Quebec; and an inductee of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. Guy has been granted the insignia of the Order of Canada, the highest distinction in the country, and in 2010 received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Guy now dedicates his time to his company, Lune Rouge, and his international nonprofit, One Drop Foundation, which aims to “ensure sustainable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene for communities everywhere through innovative partnerships, creativity, and the power of art.”

Visit Frooogs.com to discover Guy’s latest project.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements, Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating, and Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business.

Listen onApple Podcasts [image error]Listen onSpotify [image error]Listen onOvercast#700: Guy Laliberté, Founder of Cirque du Soleil — The Power of Belief, Street Gangs, Wild Tales from Las Vegas, The Dangers of Nurturing Fear, and Dancing on the Cliff

This episode is brought to you by Shopify! Shopify is one of my favorite platforms and one of my favorite companies. Shopify is designed for anyone to sell anywhere, giving entrepreneurs the resources once reserved for big business. In no time flat, you can have a great-looking online store that brings your ideas to life, and you can have the tools to manage your day-to-day and drive sales. No coding or design experience required.

Go to shopify.com/Tim to sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period. It’s a great deal for a great service, so I encourage you to check it out. Take your business to the next level today by visiting shopify.com/Tim .

This episode is also brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements! Momentous offers high-quality supplements and products across a broad spectrum of categories, and I’ve been testing their products for months now. I’ve been using their magnesium threonate, apigenin, and L-theanine daily, all of which have helped me improve the onset, quality, and duration of my sleep. I’ve also been using Momentous creatine, and while it certainly helps physical performance, including poundage or wattage in sports, I use it primarily for mental performance (short-term memory, etc.).

Their products are third-party tested (Informed-Sport and/or NSF certified), so you can trust that what is on the label is in the bottle and nothing else. If you want to try Momentous for yourself, you can use code Tim for 20% off your one-time purchase at LiveMomentous.com/Tim. And not to worry, my non-US friends, Momentous ships internationally and has you covered.

This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep! Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover is the easiest and fastest way to sleep at the perfect temperature. It pairs dynamic cooling and heating with biometric tracking to offer the most advanced (and user-friendly) solution on the market. Simply add the Pod Cover to your current mattress and start sleeping as cool as 55°F or as hot as 110°F. It also splits your bed in half, so your partner can choose a totally different temperature.

Go to EightSleep.com/Tim and save $250 on the Eight Sleep Pod Cover. Eight Sleep currently ships within the USA, Canada, the UK, select countries in the EU, and Australia.

Want to hear another episode with a creative empire builder? Listen to my conversation with David Maisel, founding chairman of Marvel Studios and founder of Mythos Studios, in which we discussed wheeling and dealing with Bob Iger, creating the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Broadway detours, early Hollywood lessons, and much more.

#676: David Maisel of Marvel Studios Fame — Never-Before-Heard Tales of Hollywood Dealmaking, The Art of Aiming Big, Lessons from Power Broker Michael Ovitz, Combining Business Smarts with Street Smarts, The Making (and Importance) of Iron Man, Selling to Disney for $4 Billion, and Much More

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODEConnect with Guy Laliberté:

Frooogs | Instagram | Spotify | Soundcloud

Editor’s Note: Timestamps will be added shortly.

A galvanizing trip to Europe in 1977.Busking without going broke.Managing Mom and Dad’s misaligned values.Emerging from a dark teenage period.The transcendental power of Cirque du Soleil.Beginning a “theater troupe on stilts.”How Hawaiian epiphanies forged the spirit of Cirque du Soleil.Black sheep winning over the wolves.Drawing from P.T. Barnum and Walt Disney.Overcoming early financial hurdles.An opening day that signaled the beginning of never looking back again.Evaluating danger without nurturing fear.Buffering against betrayal without surrendering to cynicism.Steve Wynn for the win.Blue Ocean Strategy.Pioneering, inspiring, and imitated.Priority and mortality.Parting thoughts.MORE GUY LALIBERTÉ QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“It’s one thing to convince the government, but I’m telling you, it’s much more difficult to convince a bank.”
— Guy Laliberté

“Evaluate danger. Don’t nurture fear.”
— Guy Laliberté

“There’s many things that kill success. The first one I’ve seen is about once you have success, you get a lot of reward, financially. Then you start to nurture the fear of not having tomorrow what you have today, and that changes your entire way of addressing things.”
— Guy Laliberté

“The first month was a disaster. We lost our big top. It was raining. It was conflicts. The artists [were] fighting and there was a strike. Whatever happened at the beginning, we were in the mud up to the throat. But one month after, our show was so tight.”
— Guy Laliberté

“One of the biggest skills in business I learned was in the street because of this dangerous environment. You make friends or you run or you’re ready to face a more physical reality.”
— Guy Laliberté

“I’m not giving up. Unless the fish is cutting the line, I’m taking that fish out of the pond.”
— Guy Laliberté

PEOPLE MENTIONEDGaston and Blandine Laliberté Neil Armstrong Kahlil Gibran Gilles Ste-Croix Daniel Gauthier Speedy Gonzales Jacques Cartier René Lévesque P.T. Barnum Walt Disney Daniel Lamarre Benny Le Grand Steve Wynn Siegfried Fischbacher Roy Horn Henry Gluck Terrence Lanni Elvis Presley Bobby Baldwin Franco Dragone

The post Guy Laliberté, Founder of Cirque du Soleil — The Power of Belief, Street Gangs, Wild Tales from Las Vegas, The Dangers of Nurturing Fear, and Dancing on the Cliff (#700) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.

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Published on October 25, 2023 12:59

Apollo Robbins, The World’s Most Famous Pickpocket — Pickpocketing the Secret Service, Manipulating Attention, Famous Con Artists, The Psychology of Deception, Self-Defense Techniques, The Secret Language of Thieves, and More (#699)

Illustration via 99designs

“When we lose, we’re more curious. And when we win, we’re less curious about why we’re winning.”
— Apollo Robbins

Apollo Robbins (@ApolloRobbins) is often referred to as “The Gentleman Thief.” He ﬁrst made national news when he pick-pocketed the Secret Service while entertaining a former U.S. President. Forbes has called Robbins “an artful manipulator of awareness,” and Wired has written that “he could steal the wallet of a man who knew he was going to have his pocket picked.”

Robbins’ entertainment credentials include the Warner Bros. film Focus, with Will Smith and Margot Robbie, along with appearances in Brooklyn 99, and the TNT series Leverage. He was a producer and co-host for National Geographic’s Brain Games, which was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Informational Series. Robbins applies his expertise in magic and misdirection beyond entertainment, pulling back the curtain to show how the principles behind these illusions can enhance strategic thinking and decision-making.

His contributions to attention and perception research have been published in Scientiﬁc American Mind and Nature Reviews Neuroscience. He has delivered lectures at Harvard Kennedy School, MIT Sloan School of Management, and the Society of Neuroscience. He has been proﬁled by The New Yorker and featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and The Wall Street Journal. Robbins’ TED Talk, “The Art of Misdirection,” is ranked in the 20 most-watched TED Talks of all time and has been hailed by the TED editors as a revelation in the ﬂaws of human perception.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Watch the interview on YouTube here.

Brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements, Sundays for Dogs ultra-high-quality dog food, and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.

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This episode is brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG1 further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system.

Right now, you’ll get a 1-year supply of Vitamin D free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive your 1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive daily, foundational nutrition supplement that supports whole-body health.

This episode is also brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements! Momentous offers high-quality supplements and products across a broad spectrum of categories, and I’ve been testing their products for months now. I’ve been using their magnesium threonate, apigenin, and L-theanine daily, all of which have helped me improve the onset, quality, and duration of my sleep. I’ve also been using Momentous creatine, and while it certainly helps physical performance, including poundage or wattage in sports, I use it primarily for mental performance (short-term memory, etc.).

Their products are third-party tested (Informed-Sport and/or NSF certified), so you can trust that what is on the label is in the bottle and nothing else. If you want to try Momentous for yourself, you can use code Tim for 20% off your one-time purchase at LiveMomentous.com/Tim. And not to worry, my non-US friends, Momentous ships internationally and has you covered.

This episode is brought to you by Sundays for Dogs, ultra-high-quality dog food without the prep or mess! I want to give my pooch, Molly, the best of everything. This is especially true when it comes to the ingredient quality of her food. But most healthy dog foods are an expensive, frozen mess. They’re a hassle to thaw and serve, and the prep work eats up time I’d rather spend hiking with Molly. Sundays for Dogs solves my problem with air-dried, high-quality dog food I can store and pour right from my pantry.

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Get 35% off your first order of Sundays for Dogs by going to SundaysForDogs.com/TIM or by using code TIM at checkout. Upgrade your pup to Sundays for Dogs and feel great about the food you feed your best friend.

Want to hear another episode featuring someone who sees the world through a magic lens? Listen to my conversation with World Champion of Magic Simon Coronel in which we discussed radical earliness, the Magic Castle, gauging audience perception and finding balance before a show, ugly crying through victory, hotbeds of magical innovation, why learning magic can be so daunting for a beginner, and much more.

#679: Simon Coronel, World Champion of Magic — Quitting the Day Job, The Delights of the Magic Castle, Finding Glitches in Reality, Learning How to Use Your Own Brain, and Worshiping at the Altar of Wonder

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODEConnect with Apollo Robbins:

Website | Twitter

Apollo Robbins: The Art of Misdirection | TED Talk Attention and Awareness in Stage Magic: Turning Tricks Into Research | Nature Reviews Neuroscience A Pickpocket’s Tale: The Spectacular Thefts of Apollo Robbins | The New Yorker “The Biggest Scam of All Time” | The Atlantic Science of Magic | The New York Times ‘You’re Not Aware That My Finger Is in Your Pocket’ | The Atlantic Sometimes, It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief | Wired 11 Questions with Apollo Robbins | 417 Apollo Robbins: The Pickpocket Who Trains Spies | Spyscape Brain Games | Prime Video Focus | Prime Video Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Prime Video Leverage | Prime Video City of Enid, Oklahoma Human ABO Blood Groups and Their Associations with Different Diseases | BioMed Research International Help Us Solve the Cruel Mystery | Lupus Foundation of America Forrest Gump | Prime Video Tuberculous Meningitis Symptoms, Causes, Treatment | NORD Ozark | Netflix Springfield, Missouri Atheism and Agnosticism | Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The KJV Holy Bible | Amazon The Creation/Evolution Continuum | National Center for Science Education FAQ: Speaking in Tongues | Assemblies of God Doctrine: The Bible & Tongues | Baptist Press The Far Side Comic Strip by Gary Larson Murphy’s Magic Svengali Deck | Amazon Modern Coin Magic: 116 Coin Sleights and 236 Coin Tricks by J.B. Bobo | Amazon Complete Coin Vanish Tutorial | PigCake Impossible Location Easy Card Trick Tutorial | Doug Conn Equivoque | Magicpedia Mentalism | Magicpedia Warren Zevon Quotes | Goodreads The Fitzkee Trilogy by Dariel Fitzkee | Amazon The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas | Amazon Aikido | Wikipedia Caesars Magical Empire | PCAP Why Do Vampires Need an Invitation to Enter a House? And Why Does the Stake to Kill a Vampire Need to Be Wooden? | Quora What is Proprioception? | University of California Television FY20 Protective Operations | United States Secret Service “William Wallace is Seven Feet Tall!” | Braveheart 2010 Pentagon Shooting | Wikipedia Inattentional Blindness in Psychology | Verywell Mind Selective Attention Test | Daniel Simons The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons | Amazon Teller Speaks! | Magic of Consciousness Symposium The Magic Castle | The Academy of Magical Arts Ocean’s Eleven (2001) | Prime Video Gish Gallop: When People Try to Win Debates by Using Overwhelming Nonsense | Effectiviology The Short Change Con | The Real Hustle The Republic by Plato | Amazon Conditions for Intuitive Expertise: A Failure to Disagree | American Psychologist Project Nim | Prime Video Battle of Wits Scene | The Princess Bride Confirmation Bias | The Decision Lab Meet the Forty Elephants, the All-Girl Gang from London | Danny Dutch Woman Steals TV Under Her Skirt in Only 13 Seconds | Buzz60 Woman Steals Beer Under Her Skirt | On Demand News Tricking Mosquitoes into Thinking They’ve Mated Could Reduce Spread of Malaria | Imperial College London Misinformation and Disinformation | APA Artful Paltering: The Risks and Rewards of Using Truthful Statements to Mislead Others | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Propaganda by Edward Bernays | Amazon How Lobbyists Made Breakfast ‘The Most Important Meal of the Day’ | The Guardian Mere Puffery vs. False Advertising: Recent Trends | ArentFox Schiff The Perceptual Shaping of Anticipatory Actions | Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) | Wikipedia Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini | Amazon Nobody’s Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do about It by Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris | Amazon How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion by David McRaney | Amazon The Person and the Situation: Perspectives of Social Psychology by Lee Ross and Richard E. Nisbett | Amazon Deception in the Digital Age: Exploiting and Defending Human Targets through Computer-Mediated Communications by Cameron H. Malin, Terry Gudaitis, Thomas Holt, and Max Kilger | Amazon Whiz Mob: A Correlation of the Technical Argot of Pickpockets with Their Behavior Pattern by David W. Maurer | Amazon The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man by David Maurer | Amazon The Sting | Prime Video The Sneaky Pickpocketing Glossary | Spyscape How Pickpockets Work | HowStuffWorks Harry In Your Pocket | Prime Video An Overview of the Dunning-Kruger Effect | Verywell Mind Situational Awareness: A Guide for Journalists | Committee to Protect Journalists The Four Stages of Competence | MCCC US Mother Gets Call from ‘Kidnapped Daughter’ – But It’s Really an AI Scam | The Guardian European Politicians Duped into Deepfake Video Calls with Mayor of Kyiv | The Guardian Study: One in Three People Is Distracted by Their Phone While Crossing Busy Streets | The Atlantic The Mere Presence of Your Smartphone Reduces Brain Power, Study Shows | UT News Everyday Carry (EDC) | Wikipedia Satisficing | The Decision Lab The Illusion of Knowledge | Mealtime Hostage The Greatest Obstacle to Discovery Is Not Ignorance — It Is the Illusion of Knowledge | Quote Investigator League of Legends Titanic Thompson | The Stacks Reader The Unsinkable Titanic Thompson by Carlton Stowers | Amazon The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower. Twice. | Smithsonian Magazine Your Guide To The Kepplinger Holdout Cheating Device | Casino.org Police Public Safety Software and Cross-Platform Data-Sharing | CODY Systems The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin Mitnick and William L. Simon | Amazon DEF CON 30 Hacking Conference Human Error. Conquered. | KnowBe4 The Benefits of Boredom | Child Mind Institute SHOW NOTES[07:51] Was Apollo a naturally dextrous wunderkind?[10:26] The influence of Apollo’s blind minister father.[14:10] Apollo’s slide toward agnosticism.[17:24] Ben Stone enters the picture.[21:08] Taking in orphaned animals as a youngster.[23:31] An early lesson on the value of money.[25:20] Bear in a box.[28:19] Seeing magic as a ticket to the larger world.[30:55] Shoplifting for fun, profit, and education.[32:19] Equivoque magic and Jazz-based mentalism.[38:09] A magic book club and a year-round Santa.[44:10] Apollo’s first fateful trip to Vegas.[52:14] A false accusation leads to a real job and a vampire code.[55:27] Jimmy Carter and the Secret Service.[1:03:44] The pros and cons of becoming legendary.[1:05:39] Academic accolades.[1:08:01] A sauce less secret isn’t necessarily less rich.[1:09:28] Recovering when the reps get rough.[1:11:12] Sheet music versus jazz.[1:14:10] The introduction to — and enduring influence of — Apollo’s wife, Ava Do.[1:22:27] Perception science perceived but not yet entered into the lexicon.[1:26:16] The significance of Apollo’s silver ring.[1:27:01] Meeting (and stealing from) Penn Jillette.[1:29:10] Demonstrating the confidence of a con man.[1:33:03] Hallmarks that differentiate Apollo’s style.[1:40:14] Who has the advantage with arguments in the Robbins household?[1:41:18] 40 Elephants in the modern world.[1:42:52] Teaching kids about the cons — and pros — of deception.[1:45:50] Paltering and puffery.[1:49:14] Perceptual shaping and change raising.[1:51:14] Slick re-thievery.[1:54:01] Influential reading.[1:56:38] Whiz Mob.[1:59:22] How is a team of pickpockets organized?[2:04:54] The pandemic of the Dunning-Kruger effect.[2:08:37] Best practices to avoid becoming a target for theft.[2:11:14] The Illusion of Knowledge Project.[2:15:28] The Unsinkable Titanic Thompson and other noteworthy charlatans.[2:19:06] Rod the Hop, Kevin Mitnick, and Whizmob Inc.[2:23:11] How one word can make a difference to an impressionable child.[2:26:38] Parting thoughts.MORE APOLLO ROBBINS QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“When you can’t walk the same as everyone else, you end up watching everyone else. You become a people watcher, and there’s a lot of commonality between animals and people. You start to do a lot of what I call perspective shifting, of jumping into their head to think, ‘Why would they make that decision?'”
— Apollo Robbins

“‘Boring’ means that your imagination is broken. So you’ve got to find a way to do it, you’ve got to find something to do, and you’ve got to use your imagination better.”
— Apollo Robbins

“I found that lore can take you so fast so far, but also it can encapsulate what people think you are versus what you are. And it can be hard to underpromise and overdeliver when people have this expectation of what you can do.”
— Apollo Robbins

“When we lose, we’re more curious. And when we win, we’re less curious about why we’re winning.”
— Apollo Robbins

“Deception is a social lubricant. It happens all the time around us, from the moment we put on makeup to something else. So, whether it be a defeat for cancer by using decoy cells, there’s all these things that have a reason. But it’s about your intent, and that’s the big thing.”
— Apollo Robbins

PEOPLE MENTIONEDForrest Gump Paul the Apostle James VI and I Ben Stone Gary Larson Charlie Strothkamp Ava Do Mark Sparks Dariel Fitzkee Santa Claus Daryl Martinez Justin Tranz James Carter William Wallace Daniel Simons Christopher F. Chabris Stephen L. Macknik Susana Martinez-Conde Penn Jillette Raymond Teller Simon Coronel Adam Green The Yellow Kid Titanic Thompson Duane Gish Socrates Plato Aristotle Derren Brown Daniel Kahneman Gary Klein Edward Bernays Richard E. Nisbett Cameron Malin J.B. Bobo David W. Maurer Herbert A. Simon Daniel J. Boorstin Robin Hood Victor Lustig Rod the Hop Kevin Mitnick Mr. Miyagi Simon Henderson Anthony Pratkanis

The post Apollo Robbins, The World’s Most Famous Pickpocket — Pickpocketing the Secret Service, Manipulating Attention, Famous Con Artists, The Psychology of Deception, Self-Defense Techniques, The Secret Language of Thieves, and More (#699) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.

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Published on October 19, 2023 06:01

Dr. Mark Plotkin on Coffee, the World’s Favorite Stimulant — Chemistry, History, and More (#698)

Welcome to The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is usually my job to deconstruct world-class performers to tease out their routines, habits, et cetera that you can apply to your own life.

This time around, we have a very special edition featuring Dr. Mark Plotkin.

Mark takes over my duties as host and shares an episode of the Plants of the Gods podcast. You, my dear listeners, are hearing the audio before anyone else, even before his podcast subscribers, so this is a Tim Ferriss Show exclusive.

So, who is Dr. Mark Plotkin? Mark (@DocMarkPlotkin) is an ethnobotanist who serves as president of the Amazon Conservation Team, which has partnered with ~80 tribes to map and improve management and protection of ~100 million acres of ancestral rainforests. He is best known to the general public as the author of the book Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice, one of the most popular books ever written about the rainforest. His most recent book is The Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know. You can find my interview with Mark at tim.blog/markplotkin.

This tightly-packed episode explores all things coffee—the most widely consumed mind-altering plant product in the world.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

This episode is brought to you by my very own COCKPUNCH Coffee !

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Listen onApple Podcasts [image error]Listen onSpotify [image error]Listen onOvercast#698: Dr. Mark Plotkin on Coffee, The World’s Favorite Stimulant — Chemistry, History, and More

This episode is brought to you by my very own COCKPUNCH Coffee! This year, one way I’ve scratched my own itch is by creating COCKPUNCH Coffee—the first coffee I’ve ever produced myself, which I now drink every morning. It’s a tie-in to a fictional world I created, but that’s another story for another time. I enlisted the help of world-class experts and tested dozens of variations over many months. As longtime listeners know, I have very high standards when it comes to coffee. After dialing in the sourcing, roasting, and more, this is the combo that finally made me say, “This is the one!”

100% of my COCKPUNCH-related proceeds to date—now $2.5M+—including those from COCKPUNCH Coffee, go to my non-profit foundation, the Saisei Foundation, which focuses on cutting-edge, scientific research and other uncrowded bets.

To learn more about the latest projects that I’m working on, check out SaiseiFoundation.org. And if you’d like some of the best coffee in the US, at least in my humble opinion, check out cockpunchcoffee.com. I think you’ll love it as much as I do. Grab a bag—or two or three—at cockpunchcoffee.com.

If you’d like to hear the last time we featured a Plants of the Gods conversation on this show, listen to Mark’s interview with Brian C. Muraresku, author of New York Times bestseller The Immortality Key here. In it, they discussed the Eleusinian mysteries, stoned apes vs. drunk monkeys, changing attitudes at the Vatican, the role of beer and wine in the foundation of civilization, doing good in the world based on the otherworldly, the strange places where ethnobotanists find friends, and much more.

#646: Brian C. Muraresku with Dr. Mark Plotkin — The Eleusinian Mysteries, Discovering the Divine, The Immortality Key, The Pagan Continuity Hypothesis, Lessons from Scholar Karen Armstrong, and Much More

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODEConnect with Dr. Mark Plotkin:

Website | Plants of the Gods Podcast

Amazon Conservation Team | Twitter | Facebook

The Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know by Mark J. Plotkin | Amazon Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice: An Ethnobotanist Searches for New Medicines in the Amazon Rain Forest by Mark J. Plotkin | Amazon Dr. Mark Plotkin on Ethnobotany, Real vs. Fake Shamans, Hallucinogens, and the Dalai Lamas of South America | The Tim Ferriss Show #469 Plants of the Gods — Dr. Mark Plotkin on Ayahuasca, Shamanic Knowledge, the Curse and Blessing of Coca, and More | The Tim Ferriss Show #508 The Hidden Knowledge of Animals — Mark Plotkin on Nature’s Medicine Cabinet | The Tim Ferriss Show #537 Hamilton Morris and Dr. Mark Plotkin — Exploring the History of Psychoactive Substances, Synthetic vs. Natural Options, Microdosing, 5-MeO-DMT, The “Drunken Monkey” Hypothesis, Timothy Leary’s Legacy, and More | The Tim Ferriss Show #605 Brian C. Muraresku with Dr. Mark Plotkin — The Eleusinian Mysteries, Discovering the Divine, The Immortality Key, The Pagan Continuity Hypothesis, Lessons from Scholar Karen Armstrong, and Much More | The Tim Ferriss Show #646 The Life and Times of Richard Evans Schultes | Plants of the Gods S1E10 Magic Mushrooms and the Roots (Actually, the Mycelia) of the Psychedelic Renaissance | Plants of the Gods S2E4 Absinthe as Ideogen in Art and Literature | Plants of the Gods S3E3 Absinthe, New Orleans, and the Birth of Rock and Roll | Plants of the Gods S3E4 Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl | Prime Video Official Movie Site | Barbie How New Orleans Made Chicory Coffee Its Own | Epicurious The Social Life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse by Brian Cowan | Amazon In ‘Stoned Ape’ Theory, Consciousness Has Roots in Psilocybin | Inverse How the Drunken Monkey Hypothesis Explains Our Taste for Liquor | The Atlantic Coffee: A Dark History by Antony Wild | Amazon Java Man | Wikipedia How Humans Discovered Coffee But Were Unable to Control It | Forklore Caffeine | The Vaults of Erowid Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World by Mark Pendergrast | Amazon The World Before Starbucks | The New York Times What Is a Whirling Dervish and Why Is It Called That? | Istanbul Dervish Ceremony Mocha | Merriam-Webster Plants and Society by Estelle Levetin and Karen McMahon | Amazon Coffee and Qahwa: How a Drink for Arab Mystics Went Global | BBC News Coffee: A Global History by Jonathan Morris | Amazon Coffea Arabica | Wikipedia Bruce’s Abyssinian Plants in the Leith Walk Garden | Botanics Stories Coffee’s History Blooms at Amsterdam’s Hortus Botanical Garden | Sprudge Jardin des Plantes in Paris | Go Guides Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind by Henry Hobhouse | Amazon Beyond the Cup: Who Was Gabriel Mathieu De Clieu? | The Golden Lamb Old Time Farm Crime: The Coffee Spies of the 1700s | Modern Farmer Slavery in Brazil | Wilson Center Coffee Production in Haiti | Wikipedia Coffeeland: One Man’s Dark Empire and the Making of Our Favorite Drug by Augustine Sedgewick | Amazon German Guatemalan | Wikipedia Coffee in Colombia: A Long Story | FARO Roasting Houses The Story of Costa Rican Coffee: From the Central Valley to Your Mug | Insight Guides Blog Johann Sebastian Bach: “Coffee Cantata” BWV 211 (English Subtitles) | Vesteel The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee by Honoré de Balzac | Urbigenous Library Voltaire’s Coffee Obsession in the 18th Century | Geri Walton The High, Oxford: Angel Inn | Oxford History Ode to Café Pamplona | Cambridge Local First Café Algiers: A Hidden Gem with a Long History | History Cambridge 150-Year-Old Cambridge Book Store Set to Close | NBC Boston Grolier Poetry Book Shop A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage | Amazon Coffee and Pope Clement VIII: The Devil’s Drink | Catholic Coffee How Coffee Forever Changed Britain | BBC Travel Coffee Houses | The Engines of Our Ingenuity Women’s Petition Against Coffee | Wikisource “Penny Universities”: How Coffeehouses Changed the World | Big Think Promoting Excellence in Science for the Benefit of Humanity | The Royal Society St. Paul’s Cathedral The Principia: The Authoritative Translation and Guide: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy by Sir Isaac Newton | Amazon The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith | Amazon Where J.K. Rowling Wrote Harry Potter in Edinburgh | Independent Travel Cats Harry Potter Complete Boxed Set by J.K. Rowling | Amazon Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land by Jacob Mikanowski | Amazon Nechezol | Wikipedia Coffee and Commerce 1652-1811 | Lloyd’s Jonathan’s Coffee-House | Wikipedia Forget Garages, Coffee Shops Are Where Businesses Get Started | The Guardian How Coffee Fueled Revolutions — And Revolutionary Ideas | History Fonde En 1686 | Procope Coffea | Wikipedia Peaberry | Wikipedia Kopi Luwak | Wikipedia Jacu Bird Coffee | Gastro Obscura The World’s Rarest Coffee. Naturally Refined By Elephants | Black Ivory Coffee Company Coffea Charrieriana | Wikipedia Coffee Consumption by Country 2023 | World Population Review McMurdo Station | National Science Foundation ISSpresso | Wikipedia The Mystery of the Green Dragon Tavern and the Boston Tea Party | Boston Tea Party Historical Society The Green Dragon Tavern All About Coffee by William H. Ukers | Amazon How Hot Coffee Helped William McKinley Become President | Tasting Table William McKinley Coffee Break Monument | Roadside America “Way Out” Coffeehouses | Restaurant-ing Through History World-Renowned San Francisco Saloon | Vesuvio Cafe Since 1927 | Caffè Reggio Listen. Experience. Engage. | Passim Third Wave Coffee & Specialty Coffee: What Are They? | Methodical Coffee The Original Craft Coffee | Peet’s Coffee Our Original Store | Starbucks Archive What the Death of Coffee Shops Tells Us about Silicon Valley | Financial TimesSHOW NOTES[04:35] Plants of the Gods: the story so far.[05:28] Coffee is the most widely consumed mind-altering plant in the world.[06:35] Why they drink coffee with chicory in New Orleans and Vietnam.[08:41] An acquired taste.[09:18] Is coffee responsible for human consciousness?[12:08] The origin story of coffee.[13:10] The motivational power of caffeine.[14:30] How coffee spread through the Arab world.[16:07] Why such a “troublemaking social brew” persisted despite resistance from authorities.[19:55] Intrigue brings coffee to Europe and the New World.[28:26] How coffee shaped Brazil’s society and economy.[31:19] Slave revolts, rainforest depletion, and income inequality in tropical America.[33:20] Guatemalan Nazis.[34:31] Colombia’s Jesuit java.[35:21] Costa Rican egalitarianism.[36:09] How coffee fueled European arts.[38:25] Why coffee’s impact was magnified in Europe.[42:34] “The combination between coffee drinking and coffee thinking is a real one.”[44:21] Why coffee houses made Kings and clergy nervous.[47:42] The Age of Reason’s internet.[50:53] Harry Potter’s debt to the modern coffee house.[52:07] The role of coffee in communist Romania.[54:02] How coffee houses seeded some of today’s most vaunted institutions in England.[55:27] French coffee house culture’s impact on the French and American revolutions.[57:28] Coffee talk for botany nerds.[59:01] Peaberry.[59:27] Civets, turkeys, and elephants (oh, my).[1:00:18] Robusta.[1:01:27] Caffeine-free abominations.[1:01:54] The global economic value of coffee.[1:03:02] Coffee’s role in US history.[1:07:45] A shift toward convenience as a priority and its inevitable backlash.[1:09:20] The Beatnik-boosted specialty coffee movement.[1:10:32] Why did this movement originate in the Western US?[1:12:04] Thank you, coffee.PEOPLE MENTIONEDRichard Evans Schultes Horatio Nelson Napoleon Bonaparte Brian Cowan Robert C. Bolles Terence McKenna Ian Tattersall Antony Wild Kaldi Waaqa Mark Pendergrast Muhammad Alexandre Dumas Estelle Levetin Jonathan Morris Carl Linnaeus James Bruce Rembrandt van Rijn Johannes Vermeer Frans Hals Nicolaes Witsen Pieter van den Broecke Louis XIV Henry Hobhouse Gabriel-Mathieu de Clieu Francisco de Melo Palheta Claude Guillouet d’Orvilliers Marie-Claude Vicq de Pontgibaud Jorge Amado Euclides da Cunha Toussaint L’Ouverture Johann Sebastian Bach Honoré de Balzac M. de Voltaire Pasqua Rosée Jacob the Jew Tom Standage Patrick Edward McGovern Pope Clement VIII Charles II of England Dr. Seuss Isaac Newton Adam Smith Jonathan Swift Christopher Wren Robert Hooke Edmond Halley J. K. Rowling Harry Potter Jacob Mikanowski Denis Diderot Jean Jacques Rousseau Benjamin Franklin Baron de Montesquieu Camille Desmoulins Georges Danton Jean-Paul Marat Maximilien Robespierre Samuel Adams John Hancock Paul Revere Daniel Webster William Ukers Alexander Hamilton William McKinley Jimmy Doolittle Osama bin Laden Allen Ginsberg Jack Kerouac

The post Dr. Mark Plotkin on Coffee, the World’s Favorite Stimulant — Chemistry, History, and More (#698) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.

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Published on October 13, 2023 11:31

Dr. Mark Plotkin on Coffee, The World’s Favorite Stimulant — Chemistry, History, and More (#698)

Welcome to The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is usually my job to deconstruct world-class performers to tease out their routines, habits, et cetera that you can apply to your own life.

This time around, we have a very special edition featuring Dr. Mark Plotkin.

Mark takes over my duties as host and shares an episode of the Plants of the Gods podcast. You, my dear listeners, are hearing the audio before anyone else, even before his podcast subscribers, so this is a Tim Ferriss Show exclusive.

So, who is Dr. Mark Plotkin? Mark (@DocMarkPlotkin) is an ethnobotanist who serves as president of the Amazon Conservation Team, which has partnered with ~80 tribes to map and improve management and protection of ~100 million acres of ancestral rainforests. He is best known to the general public as the author of the book Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice, one of the most popular books ever written about the rainforest. His most recent book is The Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know. You can find my interview with Mark at tim.blog/markplotkin.

This tightly-packed episode explores all things coffee—the most widely consumed mind-altering plant product in the world.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

This episode is brought to you by my very own COCKPUNCH Coffee !

Listen onApple Podcasts [image error]Listen onSpotify [image error]Listen onOvercast#698: Dr. Mark Plotkin on Coffee, The World’s Favorite Stimulant — Chemistry, History, and More

This episode is brought to you by my very own COCKPUNCH Coffee! This year, one way I’ve scratched my own itch is by creating COCKPUNCH Coffee—the first coffee I’ve ever produced myself, and which I now drink every morning. It’s a tie-in to a fictional world I created, but that’s another story for another time. I enlisted the help of world-class experts and tested dozens of variations over many months. As longtime listeners know, I have very high standards when it comes to coffee. After dialing in the sourcing, roasting, and more, this is the combo that finally made me say, “This is the one!”

100% of my COCKPUNCH-related proceeds to date—now $2.5M+—including those from COCKPUNCH Coffee, go to my non-profit foundation, the Saisei Foundation, which focuses on cutting-edge, scientific research and other uncrowded bets.

To learn more about the latest projects that I’m working on, check out SaiseiFoundation.org. And if you’d like some of the best coffee in the US, at least in my humble opinion, check out cockpunchcoffee.com. I think you’ll love it as much as I do. Grab a bag—or two or three—at cockpunchcoffee.com.

If you’d like to hear the last time we featured a Plants of the Gods conversation on this show, listen to Mark’s interview with Brian C. Muraresku, author of New York Times bestseller The Immortality Key here. In it, they discussed the Eleusinian mysteries, stoned apes vs. drunk monkeys, changing attitudes at the Vatican, the role of beer and wine in the foundation of civilization, doing good in the world based on the otherworldly, the strange places where ethnobotanists find friends, and much more.

#646: Brian C. Muraresku with Dr. Mark Plotkin — The Eleusinian Mysteries, Discovering the Divine, The Immortality Key, The Pagan Continuity Hypothesis, Lessons from Scholar Karen Armstrong, and Much More

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODEConnect with Dr. Mark Plotkin:

Website | Plants of the Gods Podcast

Amazon Conservation Team | Twitter | Facebook