<p>Hi, I’m Dax Shepard, and I love talking to people. I am endlessly fascinated by the messiness of being human, and I find people who are vulnerable and honest about their struggles and shortcomings to be incredibly sexy. I invite you to join me as I explore other people’s stories. We will celebrate, above all, the challenges and setbacks that ultimately lead to growth and betterment. What qualifies me for such an endeavor? More than a decade of sobriety, a degree in Anthropology and four years of improv training. I will attempt to discover human “truths” without any laboratory work, clinical trials or data collection. I will be, in the great tradition of 16th-century scientists, an Armchair Expert.</p><p>Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting <a href="http://wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/">wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/</a> now. </p>
Sasha Hamdani (Too Sensitive: Rejection, Resilience, and the Science of Feeling Deeply) is a board-certified psychiatrist and ADHD clinical specialist. Sasha joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the classroom insurrection she started which led to her ADHD diagnosis, how her residency rebuilt the confidence that medical school degraded, and that symptoms known today as ADHD first showed up in the 1700s. Sasha and Dax talk about her beef with diagnostic labels and how often trauma is misdiagnosed as ADHD, how liberating it was to understand the way her brain functions, and neurological reasons why grief is so destabilizing for someone with ADHD. Sasha explains the importance of being able to emotionally regulate before conflict, her hot take on self-diagnosis, and non-stimulant, skills-based approaches that work well to treat ADHD.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Marcus Mumford (Prizefighter, Sigh No More, Wilder Mind) is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer, and producer. Marcus joins the Armchair Expert to discuss enjoying occupying the liminal space between his kids and his parents, being born into the church attended by Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, and becoming pen pals with his wife Carey Mulligan at bible camp when they were 10 years old. Marcus and Dax talk about finally feeling able to embrace being an artist with his new record, forming Mumford & Sons from childhood friends, and not understanding ahead of time how performing at the Grammys would impact their career. Marcus explains loving to tour in weird ways like on a boat and a train, releasing a weight with his song Cannibal, and the magical experience of readiness on his new album Prizefighter.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy Las Vegas story.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Adam Mosseri (Instagram, Facebook, Fortune’s 40 Under 40) is the CEO/Head of Instagram at Meta. Adam joins the Armchair Expert to discuss being the suit in a family of artists and designers, how we build up emotional affinities for particular brands, and why his approach to design is based in problem solving. Adam and Dax talk about using intelligent technology to evaluate safety at scale, how the Instagram algorithm actually works, and the arms race of the ability to detect when something was made by AI. Adam explains the process of rolling out new features and dealing with mistakes, the implications of how power has been shifting from institutions to individuals, and his prediction that authenticity is becoming infinitely reproducible.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Sterling K. Brown (Paradise, The People v. O.J. Simpson, This Is Us) is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor. Sterling joins the Armchair Expert to discuss learning from his father not to allow what he does for a living to dictate who he is, the benefits of having a good stubbornness, and how speaking in tongues as a child was good acting training. Sterling and Dax talk about meeting his wife as a student at Stanford, his lucky break as a reader for a Brecht play, and developing empathy for Chris Darden while playing him in The People v. O.J. Simpson. Sterling explains his mantra that you can’t be a fan and in the game at the same time, the fun of doing his second project with Dan Fogelman, and why he wouldn’t change anything that brought him to this point.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a unique kink.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Colleen Cutcliffe (Pendulum Therapeutics) is a doctor of biochemistry and microbiology and CEO and co-founder of Pendulum Therapeutics. Colleen joins the Armchair Expert to discuss starting a microbiome supplement company inspired by her premature daughter who had to take antibiotics, applying hyenas' evolved ability to digest rotting meat to study gut bacteria, and how fecal transplants reliably help treat C. diff. Colleen and Dax talk about the real linkages between microbiome and depression, obesity, and more, how the body’s natural GLP1s function, and why a healthy gut is a resilient gut. Colleen explains her wooden fence analogy to illustrate leaky guy syndrome, remarkable results from experiments giving mice Akkermansia, and that the beauty of the microbiome is that everything is recoverable.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Charlie Puth (Whatever’s Clever, Voicenotes, Nine Track Mind) is a Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning songwriter, recording artist, and producer. Charlie joins the Armchair Expert to discuss his opinion that standup is the scariest job, how everyone in New Jersey is their own local celebrity, and that what’s most important about recording is capturing the air in the room. Charlie and Dax talk about the photographic memory-like way he approaches sound, learning he wanted to write his own music after discovering 70s pop and R&B, and making a Christmas album that he sold door-to-door at age 11. Charlie explains why his history with his wife is like a country song, the realization that he had to remove fraudulence from his life, and embracing the beauty of imperfection in being human.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a meet cute.
Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Justin Garcia (The Intimate Animal: The Science of Sex, Fidelity, and Why We Live and Die for Love) is an evolutionary biologist, researcher on sex and relationships, and Executive Director of the Kinsey Institute. Justin joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the unique quality that human sex is so tied to our social behavior, the physiological constraints on mating in other animals, and how sexually we are like magpies. Justin and Dax talk about why gorillas have really small testes, how the pandemic resulted in couples weathering the storms of relationship conflict, and an evolutionary explanation for how difficult it is to choose mates on a dating app. Justin explains how collecting hormone samples at a brothel in Las Vegas led him to write his book, why there’s no requirement to enter a relationship fully healed, and the social science behind love, partnership, fidelity, and heartbreak.
Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Kaley Cuoco (Vanished, The Big Bang Theory, The Flight Attendant) is an actor and producer. Kaley returns to discuss whether she’s on the slippery slope to getting a tiger, her recent obsession with near-death experiences, and being blessed with the gift of the ability to sleep anywhere, anytime. Kaley and Dax talk about the manager-facilitated meet-cute with her now-fiancé, her hosting pitch for an NFL Honors gig, and how she has such a healthy attitude towards rejection as an actor. Kaley explains what was most memorable about walking onto Season 8 of Charmed as a new cast member, the game-changing decision to sleep in different bedrooms, and playing an archeologist in Albania on her new show Vanished.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.