This One Study Will Change How You Think About Your Entire Life: The Cornell Legacy Project
Mel Robbins interviews gerontologist Dr. Carl Pillemer about the practical life lessons, regrets, and advice he gathered from people in their 80s, 90s, and 100s through his Legacy Project at Cornell. Drawing on hundreds of in-depth interviews, he shares elders' guidance on worry, relationships, work, health, choosing a partner, self-acceptance, and learning to be "happy in spite of" difficult circumstances. The conversation emphasizes acting now on what truly matters, because almost every very old person reports that life feels shockingly short in retrospect.
Essentials: Breathing for Mental & Physical Health & Performance | Dr. Jack Feldman
Andrew Huberman and respiratory neuroscientist Dr. Jack Feldman discuss how breathing is generated and controlled by the brain, with emphasis on the pre-Bötzinger complex, the diaphragm, and the evolution of mammalian respiration. They explore physiological sighs, how breathing patterns influence emotional and cognitive states, rodent studies of slow breathing and fear, and potential mechanisms involving the vagus nerve, olfaction, and carbon dioxide regulation. In the latter part, they discuss magnesium threonate's effects on synaptic plasticity and cognitive aging, including animal and human data on learning, memory, and mild cognitive decline.
The Exact Words You Need to Hear Today If It Feels Like Nothing's Working
Mel Robbins speaks with poet and spiritual teacher Mark Nepo, joined by her husband Chris Robbins, about reconnecting to life, opening the heart, and finding meaning through love, suffering, and everyday ritual. Mark shares stories behind his seminal book "The Book of Awakening," his cancer journey, and his new work on creativity in the second half of life. Together they explore practical ways to honor your gifts, practice self-love, cultivate resilience, and participate more fully in the present moment.
#2407 - Billy Bob Thornton
Joe Rogan talks with Billy Bob Thornton about aging, nostalgia, and growing up in the American South, along with the violence and roughness that shaped his early life. They dig into Southern stereotypes, Hollywood prejudice, and Thornton's philosophy of acting, music, and fame, including the creation of "Sling Blade" and his band The Boxmasters. The conversation also explores social media, critics, awards, the impact of technology on attention and culture, and how to stay grounded and sane while navigating fame and modern life.
What Loneliness Does To Your Brain with Ben Rein
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary O'Reilly, and Chuck interview neuroscientist Ben Rein about what loneliness and social isolation do to the brain and body. They distinguish between objective isolation and the subjective feeling of loneliness, explain the stress and inflammatory pathways involved, and discuss how personality, aging, technology, and drugs like alcohol, painkillers, and MDMA affect social behavior and health. Rein also shares research on empathy, dogs and oxytocin, and practical ideas for rebuilding social connection in an increasingly automated world.
Essentials: The Biology of Slowing & Reversing Aging | Dr. David Sinclair
Andrew Huberman and Dr. David Sinclair discuss aging as a disease, the role of the epigenome and information loss in driving aging, and how these processes connect to visible signs of aging and age-related diseases. They explore how fasting, blood sugar control, growth hormone, amino acids like leucine, exercise, and compounds such as NMN influence key longevity pathways including sirtuins, mTOR, and NAD. The conversation also covers iron and senescent cells, biomarkers such as CRP and HbA1c, fertility and reproductive aging in animal models, and the broader concept that aspects of aging can potentially be slowed or partially reversed.
650. The Doctor Won't See You Now
Stephen Dubner examines the growing shortage of physicians in the United States, exploring both demand-side pressures like an aging population and supply-side constraints in medical education and training. Former CDC director and infectious disease physician Rochelle Walensky outlines workforce data, training bottlenecks, burnout, debt, and rural access problems, while economic historian Karen Clay explains how the early 20th-century Flexner Report raised medical standards but also sharply reduced the number of medical schools and doctors, with complex long-term consequences. Throughout, practicing and former physicians describe how bureaucracy, insurance rules, changing public attitudes, and alternative career options are reshaping the medical profession.
#619 - Stan the Chauffeur
Theo interviews professional chauffeur Stan the Chauffeur, whose real name is Stanford Boyay, about his life journey from growing up in the Bronx to building a career driving limos and sprinters in Charlotte and Columbia, South Carolina. Stan shares how he left New York to be closer to his daughter, stumbled into chauffeuring, and developed a customer-first philosophy with many wild passenger stories. He also talks about quitting cocaine, a violent confrontation with a scamming contractor, a serious burn incident caused by his much younger girlfriend, his complicated love life, and his advice to young men to avoid the streets and pursue education.
#2393 - Bryan Callen
Joe Rogan and Bryan Callen talk about aging while staying extremely physically active, emphasizing meticulous warm-ups, strength work, and recovery so they can still wrestle, kick, and train hard in their late 50s. They range into addiction and channeling obsessive tendencies into positive pursuits, debates over trans inclusion in sports and culture, government surveillance and censorship, war and Middle East politics, Jeffrey Epstein and intelligence agencies, drug policy and cartels, and inside-baseball comedy topics including personal beefs and the Austin comedy scene. Callen also plugs his new stand-up special "False Gods" and describes a live "acting competition" show he runs in Austin.
Neil deGrasse Tyson: The Brutal Truth About Astrology! Our Breath Contains Molecules Jesus Inhaled!
Neil deGrasse Tyson discusses mortality, meaning, and the "cosmic perspective," arguing that humans are literally made of stardust and fundamentally connected to the universe and each other. He explores religion and spirituality, the evolution of belief, simulation theory, artificial intelligence, space travel and why Mars colonies are unlikely soon, as well as black holes, alien life, UFO claims, and why astrology and other untested beliefs can be dangerous when they replace objective truth. Throughout, he emphasizes scientific literacy, humility about what we know, and the importance of creating, rather than searching for, meaning in life.
Everyone Deserves A Good Death
The hosts explore the concept of a "good death" and how modern hospice care aims to provide comfort, dignity, and holistic support to people who are terminally ill. They trace the history of hospice from its modern origins with Cicely Saunders and Florence Wald through the creation of the Medicare hospice benefit, explain how hospice works today, and discuss its strengths and structural problems, including caregiver burdens and for‑profit abuses. The episode closes with practical end-of-life planning advice and a listener mail segment on Gen Z communication and the "Gen Z stare."
Use Your Mind to Heal Your Body With the #1 Harvard Psychologist
Mel Robbins interviews Harvard psychology professor Ellen Langer about her 50 years of research on mindfulness and what she calls mind-body unity. Langer explains how mindlessness underlies many personal and health problems, and how simple shifts in attention, language, and expectations can measurably change physical outcomes like vision, wound healing, blood pressure, and chronic disease symptoms. Through anecdotes and landmark studies, she offers practical ways to question rigid beliefs, reduce stress, and actively notice variability so that people can add more life to their years and influence their own health trajectories.
(#2) Elise's Top Ten: You don't actually know what your future self wants | Shankar Vedantam
Host Elise Hu introduces a favorite TED Talk by journalist and podcast host Shankar Vandantam about how poorly we understand our future selves. Through personal anecdotes, a powerful medical case, and the Ship of Theseus thought experiment, Vandantam argues that our identities and preferences change far more than we expect, creating an "illusion of continuity." He closes with three recommendations-stay curious, practice humility, and be brave-to better relate to and care for our future selves.