The Knowledge Project Podcast

A podcast about mastering the best of what other people have already figured out.

The Knowledge Project focuses on insights and lessons that never expire. You’ll walk away from every episode with actionable insights that help you get better results and live a more meaningful life.

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All Episodes

Episode 117: Kat Cole: The Power of Possible — Kat Cole spent roughly a decade in leadership roles with Focus Brands, the global multi-channel franchisor and operator of Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba Juice and others. She was named President and COO of Focus Brands in 2017 after she spent five years as the President of Cinnabon.

Episode 116: Jeff Immelt: Leadership In A Crisis — Former General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt looks back on his two decades with the company and the strategies he used to lead during three separate crises. In this episode Immelt discusses what happened during those events and why, what it was like to take over for GM icon Jack Welch, getting the information you need to make decisions, activist investors, fighting complexity, the mismatched timelines between CEOs and shareholders, unions, and so much more.

Episode 115: Danny Meyer: Hospitality and Humanity — Celebrated restaurateur Danny Meyer discusses the intersection between hospitality and humanity, and why we’re all invested in the hospitality business. In this episode we define hospitality and how to deliver it the right way, how to scale a feeling, whether Meyer is a bricklayer or a mason, hiring great people, why restaurants that survive more than one year still sometimes fail, and so much more.

Episode 114: Noreena Hertz: The Crisis of Loneliness — Acclaimed economist and author Noreena Hertz breaks down the world’s loneliness crisis, and what it means for the well-being of our minds, bodies, economies and democratic institutions. In this episode we define loneliness and how to recognize it, its mental and physical health implications, the shame around admitting you’re lonely, and what we can do to help alleviate the crisis for ourselves and our kids.

Episode 113: Sarah Tavel: The Value of Intellectual Rigor — Sarah Tavel has spent the past four years as a general partner at venture capital firm Benchmark, after previously serving in the same role with Greylock Partners and as the first-ever product manager at Pinterest. In this episode Shane and Sarah how studying philosophy helped in her career as a venture capitalist, the value of intellectual rigor, her concept of the net-present value of pain, why every strength has a corresponding weakness, where executive boards go wrong, assessing the performance of a CEO, lessons of rapidly scaling at Pinterest, and so much more.

Episode 112: Adam Grant: Rethinking Your Position — Celebrated organizational psychologist and author Adam Grant provides compelling insight into why we should spend time not just thinking, but rethinking. In this episode we cover how to change our own views, how to change the views of others, hiring processes, psychological safety, tribes and group identity, feigned knowledge, binary bias, and so much more.

Members Only Episode: David Rubenstein: Private Equity and The Economy — On this Members Only episode of The Knowledge Project, billionaire businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein discusses the definition of private equity and the near-term and long-term outlook, his current view of the markets and the U.S. economy, interest rates, decision making, opportunity cost and so much more.

Episode 111: Joel Greenblatt: Investing Made Simple — Joel Greenblatt is one of the best investors in the world. In this wide-ranging conversation he talks about the difference between luck and skill, stock options, traits of successful management teams, lessons learned from Warren Buffett and what scares him the most in today’s market.

Episode 110: Jim Collins: Relationships vs. Transactions — Master researcher and author Jim Collins shares a practical guide for leadership. In this episode, we cover the Stockdale Paradox, why we should trust by default, the difference between “risk afraid” and “ambiguity afraid”, approaching life through relationships and not transactions, and so much more.

Episode 109: Angela Duckworth: Grit and Human Behavior  — Angela Duckworth is a professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania studying why some people succeed and others fail. She’s the author of Grit, a New York Times bestseller that reveals the secret to outstanding achievement is passion and persistence. In this conversation, she explores whether human behavior is constant or circumstantial, the mindsets that help us succeed, developing our passion, personal rules for success, and so much more.

Episode 108: Thomas Zurbuchen: Adventures in Astrophysics — Thomas Zurbuchen is currently Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, where he seeks answers to big questions about the universe and our place in it. Previously, he was a professor of space science and aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan and a founding director of its Center for Entrepreneurship. In this episode, Thomas and Shane discuss the origin of his passion for astrophysics, commercial spaceflight, exciting experiments going on at the International Space Station, the challenges of space flight, how he makes decisions, whether humans will ever live on Mars, and more.

Episode 107: Matt Ridley: Infinite Innovation — Matt Ridley is a science writer. He is the author of several books, including: The Red Queen, How Innovation Works, and The rational optimist. On this episode he discusses the age-old battle between viruses and humans, rational optimism, the difference between innovation and invention, the role of trial and error, the effects of social media on seeing others’ points of view, and so much more.

Members Only Episode: John Lewis Gaddis: What History Teaches Us — Historian John Lewis Gaddis offers a masterclass in the lessons of history and why we should study it, the patterns of success and failure, grand strategy and how to use it, the value of a liberal education, and so much more.

Episode 106: Josh Kaufman: Maximizing Our Locus of Control — Author of one of the best business books of all time, The Personal MBA, Josh Kaufman chats with Shane about rapid skill acquisition, mental models, decision making, overcoming fear and so much more.

Episode 105: Seth Godin: Failing On Our Way To Mastery — Seth Godin is the author of 20 bestselling books, founder of altMBA, the Akimbo podcast and runs one of the most popular blogs in the world. Seth and Shane chat about creative work, fear, shame, trusting yourself, what it means to be a professional, how to become an observer of reality, emotional labor, how we learn and so much more.

Episode 104: Nir Eyal: Mastering Indistraction — Bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable, Nir Eyal was dubbed by The M.I.T. Technology Review as, “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology.” In this episode, Shane and Nir discuss regaining control of our attention from technology, how to get more done in less time, controlling the things you have agency over and so much more.

Episode 103: Loch Kelly: Effortless Mindfulness — Loch Kelly is an author, meditation teacher, psychotherapist, and founder of the Open-Hearted Awareness Institute. Shane and Loch do a deep dive into mindfulness, consciousness, how to not let your emotions take over, ways to access your hidden awareness, debugging your mind and so much more.

Episode 102: Sendhil Mullainathan: The Chaos Inside Us — Sendhil Mullainathan is the Professor of Computation and Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much. Sendhil reflects on lessons he learned from his father, how creativity is the marrying of ideation and filtration, direct versus associative memory, what we can do to get better, rules versus decisions, positioning over predicting, outcome over ego and so much more. Listen now for some ideas that you can put into practice that will help you become a better version of yourself.

Members Only Episode: Artificial Intelligence: The Quest for Common Sense — Welcome to a special members only edition of The Knowledge Project. This episode explores the world of artificial intelligence. Melanie Mitchell is the Davis Professor of Complexity at the Sante Fe Institute and the author or editor of six books including her latest, Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans. Melanie and Shane discuss the roots of artificial intelligence, the difference between AI and machine learning, how it works, the key players, political implications and so much more.

Episode 101: Jane McGonigal: The Psychology of Gaming — Jane McGonigal is a PhD Game Designer who advocates for the use of video games to help people learn skills that transfer to the real world, heal physical problems like concussions and improve attitudes and self-esteem in children. Shane and Jane discuss how video games help with decision making, post-traumatic growth as well as how much is too much, what to watch out for and so much more.

Episode 100: Matt Mullenweg: Collaboration Is Key — Matt Mullenweg is the co-founder of WordPress, the open platform that runs most of the sites you visit and the CEO of Automattic. In this episode Matt and Shane discuss distributed work, the 5 levels of autonomous organizations, decision making, running an organization with more than 1300 people, integrating acquisitions and so much more.

Episode 99: Kris Cordle: Releasing the Ego — For over a decade, Kris worked directly with the CEOs at Yahoo, Twitter, and Slack. She joined Twitter and Slack early and helped them scale into public companies. Most recently she was Chief of Staff at Slack but is currently launching Devenu Collaborations, a firm dedicated to helping rapid-growth CEOs scale. In this episode, Kris and Shane discuss her upbringing in a religious cult and how that shaped her world, automatic rules for success, lessons in decision making and scaling, why it’s particularly hard for founders to scale, the common patterns to success, and much more.

Episode 98: Sahil Lavingia: Observing the Present — Sahil Lavingia is the founder and CEO of Gumroad, an online marketplace for creators. In this conversation, Sahil and Shane cover building a billion-dollar business, the most critical skills for success, how he hires, his worst mistake, the patterns of success and failure and so much more.

Episode 97: Roger Martin: Forward Thinking — The former Dean and Institute Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, Roger Martin was 2017’s number one management thinker in the world. You’ll walk away from this conversation a better leader and decision-maker as he discusses patterns of good leadership, the hardest skill to transfer when decision making, self-sabotage, overcoming fear and integrative thinking.

Members Only Episode: Semiconductors: The Ultimate Bargaining Chip — Welcome to a special edition of The Knowledge Project. This episode is all about semiconductors, their key role in society and the future’s dependency on them. Investors at NZS Capital and experts in the global technology industry, Jon Bathgate and Brinton Johns explain the major players in the semiconductor world, what’s important, how things work, the complications of geopolitics and much more.

Episode 96: Randall Stutman: The Essence of Leadership — The founder and co-head of the Leadership Practice at CRA and the Admired Leadership Institute, Randall Stutman is an incredible executive coach with an impressive roster of clients. You’ll walk away from this episode with some tools to put into practice to make you a better leader, partner and parent as Randall discusses the behavioral versus psychological view of leadership, what really drives results, and the uncommon routines of the world’s best leaders.

Episode 95: Code Cubitt: Coachability Is Critical — Managing Director of Mistral Venture Partners and venture capitalist, Code Cubitt has an interesting origin story. After being kicked out of University twice he still managed to graduate and quickly climbed the VC ranks for several prominent companies before starting a venture program of his own. Hear how he evaluates founders, his decision making process, common mistakes companies make as they scale and much more.

Episode 94: Chamath Palihapitiya: Understanding Yourself — Founder and CEO of Social Capital, prominent figure in the venture capital business and part owner of the Golden State Warriors, Chamath Palihapitiya sits down with Shane Parrish to chat about what it means to be an observer of the present, how to think in first principles, the psychology of successful investing, his thoughts on the best public company CEO’s and much more.

Episode 93: Matthew Holland: Zero Day — Founder and CEO of Field Effect Security, Matthew Holland, is one of the world’s leading authorities in cyber security. He explains exploits, hacking and defending while providing insight on the mind of the attacker, Huawei, Snowden and what you should be asking your cyber security vendor.

Episode 92: Lisa Feldman Barrett: Balancing the Brain Budget — Neuroscientist, psychologist and author, Lisa Feldman Barrett discusses the complexities of the brain, our emotions, improving ourselves and our relationship with others, making good decisions and giving yourself an existential break.

Episode 91: Russ Hudson: The Pursuit of Presence — Author and co-founder of the Enneagram Institute, Russ Hudson, explains how the Enneagram was developed, how it helps us grow personally and with others, the nine interconnected personality types and what it means to be present.

Episode 90: Apolo Ohno: Process Versus Prize — 8x Olympic medalist and short-track speed skating legend, Apolo Ohno chats about his origin story, recovering from multiple failures, mental training, confidence and leaving it all of the ice.

Episode 89: Maria Konnikova: Less Certainty, More Inquiry — Professional poker player, psychologist and author of two New York Times best-sellers, Maria Konnikova discusses her mentors, making decisions in environments of uncertainty, the importance of reflection, cooling down your emotions and Sherlock Holmes.

Episode 88: Derek Sivers: Innovation Versus Imitation — Musician, speaker, writer and entrepreneur, Derek Sivers chats about creating and running CD Baby, reading, mental models, living a meaningful life and that biggest mistake he’s ever made.

Episode 87: Hannah Fry: The Role of Algorithms — Mathematician and author of Hello World and The Mathematics of Love, Hannah Fry discusses the role of maths in society, the dating world and we explore what it means to be human in the age of algorithms.

Episode 86: BJ Fogg: Create Lasting Change — Behavior scientist and author of Tiny Habits, BJ Fogg, discusses improving decision making, motivation trends, the role of emotion in sense of self and so much more.

Episode 85: Bethany McLean: Crafting a Narrative — Best-selling author of The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils are here, Bethany McLean, discusses how to write a story, the behaviors of CEO’s, visionaries and fraudsters and so much more.

Episode 84: Jennifer Garvey Berger: Creating Routine in Chaos — In a more conversational episode than our last discussion (ep. 43), Jennifer Garvey Berger opens up about coping in these uncertain times, and how we’re feeling about the current changing world that has become the new normal.

Episode 83: Brian Koppelman: What Really Matters— Writer and director Brian Koppelman discusses his career ups and downs, dealing with fear, and learning to live a meaningful life.

Episode 82: Bill Ackman: Getting Back Up — Legendary activist investor, Bill Ackman talks about lessons he’s learned growing up, raising a family, what drives him forward and back up from failure, consuming information and ideas, and facing criticism.

Episode 81: Taking Intelligent Risk with Jason Calacanis — Angel investor Jason Calacanis talks high stakes poker, how to make intelligent investing decisions, how systems enable or forbid, and demystifies the culture of Silicon Valley.

Episode 80: Developing the Leader in You with John Maxwell — Leadership expert John Maxwell breaks down the four traits every successful person possesses and how to awaken the leader within you, no matter what your job title says.

Episode 79: The “TRICK” to Raising Successful People with Esther Wojcicki — Esther Wojicki discusses the current education model and how we can fix it, and shares her powerful TRICK acronym, Esther’s secret for raising happy, resilient children.

Episode 78: Balaji Srinivasan: Exploring Covid-19 — A special pop up episode of The Knowledge Project exploring a timely issue.

Episode 77: Living in the Future with Mike Maples, Jr. — Mike Maples, partner at the VC firm Floodgate, shares how mental models shape his decision-making process, where to find the next big idea, and how to rally people to your cause.

Episode 76: Pushing the Limits of Innovation with Frank Stephenson — Renowned car designer Frank Stephenson teaches the path to mastery, innovation, and taking creative risks. He also gives us a peek into the future of automobiles and what it means for us.

Episode 75: Rewriting Relationship Narratives with Suzanne Iasenza — Sex therapist Dr. Suzanne Iasenza explains how our personal narratives determine how we grow as a couple, how we communicate, even how we make love.

Episode 74: Embracing Confusion with Jeff Hunter — CEO of Talentism, Jeff Hunter, teaches how to rewrite damaging narratives that hold us back, how to give and receive helpful feedback, and why confusion can be a good thing.

Episode 73: Exploring Curiosities with Steven Strogatz — Mathematician Steven Strogatz reveals how math is the key to exploring and understanding the beauty of our world.

Episode 72: Happy Habits with Neil Pasricha — Author Neil Pasricha shares the recipe for resilience, an antidote for anxiety, and how his two minute morning routine primes each day for success.

Episode 71: Cultivating Desire with Esther Perel — Relationship expert Esther Perel reveals her favorite strategies for “fighting” fair, rewriting stories that damage relationships, and breathing new life into our romantic partnerships.

Episode 70: Avoiding Loserthink with Scott Adams — Dilbert creator and author Scott Adams shares cognitive tools and tricks we can use to think better, expand our perspective, and avoid slumping into “loserthink.”

Episode 69: What it Takes With Stephen Schwarzman — Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman gives advice on attracting and assessing strong talent, making smart decisions, and how to press forward when the chips are down.

Episode 68: Putting Your Intuition on Ice with Daniel Kahneman — In this fascinating episode of the Knowledge Project Podcast, Psychologist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman reveals the actions we can take to overcome the biases that cripple our decision-making, damper our thinking, and limit our effectiveness. Listen and Learn from the master.

Episode 67: Keeping the Flywheel in Motion with Jim Collins — An earnest student and powerful teacher, mega best-selling author Jim Collins goes under the hood and shows what all enduring companies have in common. We talk luck, leadership, and business longevity.

Episode 66: Pleasure is the Measure with Sex Educator Dr. Emily Nagoski — Sex educator and author Dr. Emily Nagoski demystifies the science of sexuality and shows us how to shed our insecurities, connect more closely with our partner, and define pleasure on our own terms.

Episode 65: Trust, Compassion, and Shooting Friends from Cannons with Hollywood Kingmaker Shep Gordon — Legendary show-business manager, agent, and producer Shep Gordon talks sex, drugs, and rock and roll. He also shares the formula for manufacturing fame, and his unique philosophy on success, love and happiness.

Episode 64: The Big Impact of Small Interventions with Stanford University’s Greg Walton — Greg Walton, Associate Professor of Psychology at Stanford University shares the four types of interventions, how they’re used to create positive behavior change, and strategies we can use right now to improve our health, well-being, and relationships.

Episode 63: Winning at the Self-publishing Game with Hugh Howey — Hugh Howey had two dreams: to make a living from writing and sail around the world. In this interview, he describes how he did both, why traveling is so good for the soul, and how he sold millions of books on his own (even turning down a 7 figure book deal.)

Episode 62: Cracking the Code of Love with Dr. Sue Johnson — Dr. Sue Johnson is a researcher, clinical psychologist, and the developer of EFT or Emotionally Focused Therapy. In this interview, we discuss how to create, protect, and nourish fulfilling sexual and emotional relationships.

Episode 61: When Good Intentions Go Bad with Jonathan Haidt  — Jonathan Haidt is an author, social psychologist, and one of the world’s leading experts in moral psychology. On the show, we discuss helicopter parenting, the rise of the “call-out culture,” and the dangers of social media.

Episode 60: Leading Above the Line with Jim Dethmer — Jim Dethmer, founder of The Conscious Leadership Group, shares practical advice about becoming more self-aware, ditching the victim mindset, and connecting more fully with the people in our lives.

Episode 59: Following Intellectual Curiosity with Thomas Tull — Thomas Tull, founder of Tulco and former CEO of Legendary Entertainment shares valuable lessons on learning from our own mistakes, asking difficult questions, and protecting our intellectual curiosity.

Episode 58: Popping the Filter Bubble with Gabriel Weinberg — DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg discusses data privacy, protecting yourself online and shares his favorite mental models for clearer thinking.

Episode 57: Decoding Difficult Conversations with Sheila Heen — Two time NY Times best selling author, consultant, and lecturer at Harvard Law School, Sheila Heen makes the tough talks easier by breaking down the three layers that make up every difficult conversation

Episode 56: Catalyzing Success with Daniel Gross — Daniel Gross, former Y Combinator partner and founder of Pioneer, discusses how we can make our success less about luck, the powerful role we play in the lives of others, and the valuable lessons he learned about leadership.

Episode 55: Becoming a Model Thinker with Scott Page — On this episode, Scott Page, 5x Author, and Professor of Complex Systems at the University of Michigan explains the power mental models have in how we view the world, uncover creative solutions, and solve complex problems.

Episode 54: Doing the Enough Thing with Jason Fried — Basecamp CEO and co-founder Jason Fried gives us a peek behind the scenes of his company and discusses his philosophy on doing great work, making a positive difference, and learning to breathe in the fast-paced culture of today’s workplace.

Episode 53: Luck, Risk and Avoiding Losers with Howard Marks — Investor, author and co-founder of Oaktree Capital Howard Marks discusses risk assessment, thinking differently, and the three dares that separate the successful from the also-rans.

Episode 52: Peaceful Parenting with Dr. Laura Markham — Parenting expert and best-selling author Dr. Laura Markham breaks down the three keys to successful parenting, how to properly model emotions and conflict resolution, and the coveted recipe for raising happy, resilient kids.

Episode 51: The Dying Art of Conversation with Celeste Headlee — Speaker, author and radio journalist Celeste Headlee has had decades of experience fine-tuning the recipe for engaging and rewarding conversation. She shares some tips to help us instantly improve our conversational skills and meaningfully connect with others.

Episode 50: Inventing the Future with Josh Wolfe — Josh Wolfe, co-founder of Lux Capital, discusses how to unearth the unexplored ideas that will reshape our future. We also discuss parenting, decision making, and which generation has the best rap.

Episode 49: Goal Mining with Brent Gilchrist — Former NHL player turned mining executive Brent Gilchrist joins me to share the lessons he learned in the trenches of professional hockey. We discuss leadership, hard work, and what it takes to win as a team.

Episode 48: Win-winning at the Great Game with Adam Robinson (Part 2) — Author, educator, and hedge fund advisor, Adam Robinson returns for part 2 of our fascinating discussion. We talk chess, AI, handicapping horse races, and the secret to learning that nobody is teaching.

Episode 47: Win-winning at the Great Game with Adam Robinson (Part 1) — Author, educator, and hedge fund advisor, Adam Robinson shares powerful lessons on winning the game of life. He teaches us how to learn, how to fail, and his three secrets of happiness and success.

Episode 46: Authenticity, Kindness, and Self Love with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau — Television personality, activist, mother, and wife to Canada’s Prime Minister, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau discusses her battle with eating disorders, why nature and art play such a huge role in her life and what unites us as people

Episode 45: Taking Time to Get It Right with Dan Kluger — Dan Kluger, award-winning chef and owner of NYC’s Loring Place joins me on the podcast to reveal what really happens behind the scenes of a bustling restaurant, why every detail of your craft matters, and how to create the perfect experience for every guest.

Episode 44: The Kids Are Worth It with Barbara Coloroso — Parenting expert and best selling author Barbara Coloroso shares her three foundational principles of child-rearing, how to get kids to be accountable for their actions, and what we can do as parents to raise confident, happy children.

Episode 43: The Mental Habits of Effective Leaders with Jennifer Garvey Berger  — In a world that changes at a dizzying rate, effective leaders need to develop the skills to keep up. Developmental coach and author Jennifer Garvey Berger shares 3 habits to ensure continual growth, accelerated learning, and deepened relationships of trust.

Episode 42: The Path to Perpetual Progress with Atul Gawande — World-renowned surgeon, writer, and researcher Atul Gawande shares powerful lessons about creating a culture of safe learning, the critical difference between a coach and a mentor, and how to ensure constant improvement in key areas of your personal and professional life.

Episode 41: The Trust Battery with Tobi Lütke — Shopify founder and CEO Tobi Lütke weighs in on building the “biggest small company in the world,” trust batteries, and what video games are really doing to the minds of our youth

Episode 40: Thriving in a Digital World with Ben Thompson — Stratechery’s Ben Thompson visits The Knowledge Project and shares his thoughts on business in the digital age, running a one-man publishing company, and how technology will transform our future.

Episode 39: Thinking About Thinking with Tyler Cowen — On this episode, I chat with Tyler Cowen, economics professor, author, and creator of the wildly popular blog, Marginal Revolution. We tackle lots of interesting topics, including tech advances, the changing labor market, and upgrading your thinking process to accommodate the information age.

Episode 38: Thinking in Algorithms with Ali Almossawi — In this episode, I chat with Ali Almossawi, author and creator of An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments. We talk about our most common logical fallacies, learning new skills, and making better decisions without deceiving ourselves.

Episode 37: Getting Better by Being Wrong with Poker Pro Annie Duke — In this conversation, best-selling author and professional poker player Annie Duke and I discuss how to disagree without being disagreeable, spotting biases that sabotage our success, how to find signal in noise, and reliable decision-making models for high stakes, high-pressure situations.

Episode 36: The Science of Doing Good with William MacAskill — In this inspiring interview, William MacAskill, co-founder of The Centre for Effective Altruism and associate philosophy professor at Oxford University, shares how we can be better at doing good and compounding our efforts to make the world we live in a better place.

Episode 35: Alive Time vs. Dead Time with Mastery Expert Robert Greene — In this interview, I chat with Robert Greene, five-time NYT best selling author, speaker and world-renowned strategist. We discuss his famous notecard system, how to spot a bullshitter, and how to use the rules of power to get the most out of life.

Episode 34: Learning How to Suffer with Amelia Boone — In just a few short years, Amelia Boone has dominated the world of Obstacle Course Racing with over 50 podiums and two dozen victories. In this interview, we discuss habits, grit, how to read a book, and so much more.

Episode 33: Irrationality, Bad Decisions, and the Truth About Lies with Dan Ariely — Professor of behavioral economics at Duke University Dan Ariely and I discuss the power of habits, rules and rituals, and just how honest people really are.

Episode 32: Earning Your Stripes with Patrick Collison On this episode of The Knowledge Project, Patrick Collison, CEO, and co-founder of Stripe shares wise insights on success, failure, management, decision making, learning and so much more. Grab a pen…

Episode 31: Learning How to Learn with Barbara Oakley — In this interview, Barbara Oakley, 8-time author and creator of Learning to Learn, an online course with over a million enrolled students, shares the science and strategies to learn more quickly, overcome procrastination and get better at practically anything.

Episode 30: Company Culture, Collaboration, and Competition with Margaret Heffernan — On this episode, I’m joined by speaker, international executive, and five-time author Margaret Heffernan. We discuss how to get the most out of our people, creating a thriving culture of trust and collaboration, and how to prevent potentially devastating “willful blindness.”

Episode 29: Survival of the Kindest with Dacher Keltner — When Pixar was dreaming up the idea for Inside Out, a film that would explore the roiling emotions inside the head of a young girl, they needed guidance from an expert. So they called Dacher Keltner.

Episode 28: The Return of a Decision Making Jedi with Michael Mauboussin — Michael Mauboussin returns for a fascinating encore interview on the Knowledge Project. We geek out on decision making, luck vs. skill, work/life balance, and so much more.

Episode 27: The Art of Letting Other People Have Your Way from Chris Voss — Former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss teaches you the tactics and skills you need to negotiate. More than just learning the subtle art of getting what you want, you’ll learn how to listen and communicate more effectively every day.

Episode 26: Improve Your Life By Improving Your Questions with Warren Berger  — The quality of your outcome depends on the quality of your questions. In this episode, Warren Berger and I discuss the importance of asking the right questions, why they’re critical to your success, and how you may be one great question away from a major breakthrough.

Episode 25: Is Sugar Slowly Killing Us with Gary Taubes — In this interview, award-winning science writer Gary Taubes takes on Big Sugar, breaks down the sharp rise of obesity and diabetes in America, and busts the common myth that a calorie is just a calorie.

Episode 24: Leading the “Quiet Revolution” with Susan Cain — Susan Cain shares powerful insights into what it really means to be introverted and extroverted, and how to tap into your true self to find purpose and happiness in your life.

Episode 23: Life Lessons from a Self-Made Billionaire with Ray Dalio  — In this interview with billionaire investor and entrepreneur Ray Dalio, you’ll learn the principles Ray prescribes for making better decisions, fewer mistakes, and creating meaningful relationships with the people in your life.

Episode 22: Givers, Takers, and the Resilient Mind with Adam Grant — Are you a giver or a taker? (Don’t pat yourself on the back quite yet.) Listen to my interview with bestselling author Adam Grant to find out! We also discuss building resilience so you can bulldoze through any challenge, no matter how big or scary.

Episode 21: The Warrior Poet with Ed Latimore — On this episode of The Knowledge Project, professional boxer, philosopher and author, Ed Latimore and I discuss the physics of boxing, philosophy, and the secret to a happy life.

Episode 20: The Future of Transportation Marc Garneau— Former military officer, astronaut, engineer (and current Minister of Transport) Marc Garneau and I discuss the future of transportation, space, information flow in politics and what it means to be a liberal.

Episode 19: Persuasion, Beer on the Beach, Self-Driving Cars and Japanese Toilets with Rory Sutherland  — In this info-packed and entertaining interview, Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather, and I dive deep on advertising, persuasion, and why humans do some of the silly things we do.

Episode 18: Angel Philosopher with Naval Ravikant — In our most popular episode to date, AngelList CEO Naval Ravikant and I break down reading, happiness, decision making, habits, and mental models.

Episode 16/17: Field Trip (Greece), Parts one and two.

Episode 15: Future-Proofing Your Knowledge with Samuel Arbesman — Samuel Arbesman is a complexity scientist focusing on the changing nature of science and technology. We discuss learning, reading, and how to optimize both to get the best outcome.

Episode 14: Reading, Writing, and Lifelong Learning with Morgan Housel — Financial writer Morgan Housel and I discuss reading, writing, filtering information, admitting error, important qualities to have in friends and so much more.

Episode 13: The Rise of The Machine with A.I. Expert Pedro Domingos— In this interview with AI expert Pedro Domingos, you’ll learn about self-driving cars, where knowledge comes from, and the 5 schools of machine learning.

Episode 12: Wine Lessons From a World Class Sommelier with Véronique Rivest— Véronique Rivest and I explore the fascinating world of wine, including an on-air tasting, tips, and tricks for serving wine that will impress your friends and so much more.

Episode 11: The Many Hats of Ryan Holiday— In this episode, I talk with multiple best selling author, speaker, and media manipulator, Ryan Holiday about how he reads, what it means to be a stoic, and how to gracefully deal with freeloaders

Episode 9: The Architecture of Music with Maestro Alexander Shelley — In this incredible episode, I’m joined by Maestro Alexander Shelley. We dive deep into the architecture of music, the necessity of arts, and what makes Beethoven’s 5th Symphony is so popular.

Episode 8: The Art of Changing Minds with Julia Galef — On this episode of the Knowledge Project, I discuss rationality, changing minds (our own and others), filtering information, and a lot more with Julia Galef.

Episode 7: The Three Types of Decision Makers with Venkatesh Rao — In this episode, Venkatesh Rao, founder of Ribbonfarm and author of the book Tempo discusses the 3 types of decision-makers and shares how to adopt useful mental models to…

Episode 6: How to See the Future with Philip Tetlock — In this episode of the Knowledge Project, I chat with professor and New York Times best-selling author Philip Tetlock about how we can get better at the art and science of predicting the future.

Episode 5: The State of Venture Capital, Why Companies Fail and Artificial Intelligence with Chris Dixon — In this episode, a16z partner Chris Dixon and I discuss the history of venture capital, artificial intelligence, what makes a great entrepreneur, and why companies fail.

Episode 4: Elevate Your Financial IQ with Jason Zweig — WSJ columnist Jason Zweig, and I tackle important topics like how to be a smarter investor, filtering out the noise, why philosophy and history matters, and his new book, The Devil’s Financial Dictionary.

Episode 3: Why Mental Models with Sanjay Bakshi — In this episode, I chat with professor and value investing genius Sanjay Bakshi about the power of mental models, multidisciplinary thinking, reading, and acquiring worldly wisdom.

Episode 2: Leadership on the Field, in the Office and at Home with Michael Lombardi  — New England Patriots Coach Michael Lombardi and I discuss the four aspects of leadership, high stakes decision making, creating a winning culture at work and at home and much more.

Episode 1: When To Trust Your Gut with Michael Mauboussin — Multiple best selling author and financial strategist Michael Mauboussin shares his wisdom on parenting, daily routines, reading, and how to make better decisions.