This episode is a role-reversal.
I flew to New York City and sat down with Stephen J. Dubner (@freakonomics) of Freakonomics fame. He proceeded to ask me all sorts of questions that I’d never heard before, and we recorded the entire thing. It was a blast.
His team did an incredible job with post-production, and I wanted to share the conversation with all of you. You can learn more about Stephen J. Dubner and his team at Freakonomics.com, on Twitter, or you can subscribe to their show on iTunes.
Without further preamble, please enjoy this wide-ranging and sometimes-weird conversation with Stephen J. Dubner!
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another podcast featuring Stephen J. Dubner? — Listen to this early episode of The Tim Ferriss Show. In this episode, we discuss the craft of brainstorming, narrative storytelling, and how to avoid wasting mental energy on meaningless nonsense (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by Gymnastic Bodies. This is the training system that I am most obsessed with at the moment. Coach Sommer appeared on a previous episode of the podcast, which turned into a sleeper hit. He is the former USA national team coach for men’s gymnastics and creator of this bodyweight-based training system. I’m not easily impressed, and I have been completely blown away by the sophistication and the elegance of his programming.
I have been using Gymnastic Bodies for just a few months now, and I already feel more flexible and stronger than I have in years. Check it out GymnasticBodies.com/tim, where you’ll find the Fundamentals course for diagnosing your weakest areas, those you can tweak for fast improvements. It is incredible. Take a look at GymnasticBodies.com/tim for more details and a large discount.
This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.
I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run.
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What do you think is the best possible future invention or discovery for humankind? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
- Why I’m Taking a Long ‘Startup Vacation’
- Learn more about Huperzine A
- Some Practical Thoughts on Suicide
- Check out the Urban Evasion and Escape episode of The Tim Ferriss Experiment
- What My Morning Journal Looks Like
- Check out things to do anywhere at Vayable
Show Notes
- If you had to pick a noun to describe what you think of yourself as, what is that noun? [6:23]
- Why start a podcast and thoughts on the 4-Hour books [6:57]
- Growing up as a Long Island townie [9:47]
- Age, partnership status, Molly, sardines and ketones [10:30]
- Steven Dubner tells the story of my adventures in enterprise and absence [11:53]
- On The 4-Hour Workweek [12:49]
- Learning to say “no,” lucky startup bets, and leaving the startup world [15:41]
- Experiments in lucid dreaming [20:33]
- The story behind my thoughts of attempting suicide [21:52]
- Adventures in TV and The Tim Ferriss Experiment [29:12]
- FREAK-quently asked questions [31:28]
- Morning rituals [31:42]
- Something you own that you should throw out, but probably never will [33:21]
- My strategy for giving money to panhandlers [34:45]
- What is something you believed for a long time to be true until you found out you were wrong? [35:46]
- If we were to leave the studio to get something to eat, where would we go and what would we eat? [36:53]
- What is the best possible future invention or discovery for humankind? [37:50]
- With a time machine, where would you travel to, why would you travel there, and what would you do there? [40:25]