by Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author, Human Guinea Pig
Tim Ferriss departs from his usual long-form interview format to explore how a few key decisions can dramatically simplify life in the coming year. He frames the episode with the idea of finding single choices that eliminate hundreds of downstream decisions, drawing on lessons from past guests and management thinkers. Derek Sivers, Seth Godin, and Martha Beck each share specific philosophies and concrete personal rules they've used to reduce complexity, set boundaries, and orient their lives around simplicity, focus, and deep joy.
Nov 26, 2025
Tim Ferriss presents an experimental episode featuring three full chapters from the audiobook of his book The 4-Hour Workweek, narrated by Ray Porter. The chapters explore the concept of mini-retirements and mobile living, how to handle the psychological and existential void that can appear once work is removed, and the 13 most common mistakes made by people adopting the New Rich lifestyle. The episode combines parables, case studies, detailed how-to checklists, and philosophical reflections on freedom, meaning, learning, and service.
Nov 19, 2025
Tim Ferriss interviews strength coach Ben Patrick, also known as Knees Over Toes Guy, about his journey from debilitating knee pain and multiple surgeries to pain‑free athletic performance. Ben explains the origins of his knees‑over‑toes approach, the key exercises and minimalist programming he uses for joint health and performance, and how he applies this with clients and family, including his 71‑year‑old mother. They also discuss equipment innovations, American manufacturing, and Tim's philosophy on integrity, long‑term thinking, and resisting audience capture in media and business.
Nov 12, 2025
Tim Ferriss interviews Roblox founder and CEO David Bazuki about his family's multi‑year struggle with his son Matthew's severe bipolar disorder and how a medically supervised ketogenic diet produced dramatic improvements after many medications and hospitalizations. They discuss metabolic psychiatry, ketosis, continuous glucose and ketone monitoring, and how physiology can underpin mental health. The conversation then shifts to the origin and growth of Roblox, its user‑generated economy, safety and civility at scale, the role of AI in the platform's future, and David's own health routines and long‑term decision‑making as a public company CEO.
Nov 5, 2025
Tim Ferriss interviews Jack Canfield about his life, from a difficult childhood and early teaching career to becoming co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and author of The Success Principles. Jack explains how mentorship from W. Clement Stone shaped his views on responsibility, goal setting, and success, and details the persistence and grassroots marketing that turned Chicken Soup for the Soul into a global phenomenon. He also discusses plant medicine experiences, limiting beliefs, decluttering "messes," aging, and why he is partly retiring to focus on family and creative hobbies.
Oct 29, 2025
Tim Ferriss speaks with lion tracker, storyteller, and retreat leader Boyd Varty about formative experiences in the African bush, including leading an "elite" firefighting team, assisting his wild filmmaker uncle, and close calls with dangerous animals. They explore what Boyd has learned from a decade of nature-based retreats, the power of silence and wordlessness, and how time in the wilderness reawakens innate capacities for awareness, healing, and meaning. The conversation also covers Bushmen persistence hunting, modern masculinity and men's groups, and comedic but revealing encounters with a notorious baboon named Lunch.
Oct 22, 2025
Tim Ferriss interviews legendary comics creator Frank Miller about his life, creative process, and the evolution of his work from Daredevil and Elektra to Ronin, Sin City, and The Dark Knight Returns. Miller discusses technical aspects of drawing and storytelling, his influences from European and Japanese comics, and his collaborations with figures like Neil Adams, Alan Moore, and Robert Rodriguez. He also reflects on professional failure, Hollywood adaptations, alcoholism and sobriety, and offers advice to aspiring cartoonists and storytellers.
Oct 20, 2025
Tim Ferriss, Richard H. Thaler, and Nick Kokonas discuss how traditional economics models people as perfectly rational, selfish agents and why that vision breaks down when confronted with real human behavior. Thaler traces the origins of behavioral economics through stories and experiments on loss aversion, fairness, mental accounting, and self-control, showing how these insights improve predictions and policy in areas like retirement savings, pricing, and investing. They also explore the winner's curse in auctions and sports drafts, the power of nudges and temptation bundling, and Thaler's collaborations with Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, including a candid conversation about Kahneman's decision to end his life through assisted dying.
Oct 10, 2025
Tim Ferriss interviews science journalist James Nestor about how everyday breathing habits profoundly affect health, sleep, mental performance, and athletic capacity. They discuss historical and modern breathwork practices, the dangers of mouth breathing and sleep-disordered breathing (especially in kids), and simple, low-cost ways to improve nasal breathing, sleep quality, and CO2 tolerance. Nestor also explores indoor CO2 levels and cognition, the emerging field of bioelectric medicine, breathing for athletes, and how he approached structuring and writing his bestselling book "Breath."
Sep 30, 2025
Tim Ferriss interviews David Senra, host of the Founders Podcast, about how studying hundreds of biographies of entrepreneurs and investors has shaped his thinking and behavior. They explore different archetypes of "extreme winners," the fine line between productive and destructive drive, David's obsessive reading and note-taking process, and how he built Founders from a one-man, paywalled show into a widely respected business history podcast. They also discuss his new conversation-driven show, his relationships with mentors like Daniel Ek, Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Michael Dell, Sam Zell, and Michael Ovitz, and how focus, authenticity, and obsession guide his work and life design.
Sep 24, 2025