- 40 minutes 55 secondsHow to Break Through Barriers (Lessons from the Sub-Two-Hour Marathon)
Not just one, but two (!) men finished this past weekend's London Marathon in under two hours, a time that has never before been beat and was once largely thought to be impossible. Today, we unpack how it happened: the advances in running shoe and fueling technology that made this moment possible, the giant elephant on the podium (the ever present question of doping), and what we can all learn about harnessing the power of belief, confidence, and competition to push past our own perceived limits.
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30 April 2026, 7:00 am - 52 minutes 35 secondsHow to Save Your Brain (with Cal Newport)
There's a good reason you can't concentrate. That's not just a statement; it's also the title of a viral piece that our friend Cal Newport (author of Deep Work and Digital Minimalism) recently wrote for The New York Times. Cal argues that we're at a precarious moment in the history of thinking. The ease and convenience of technology and digital media (think: junk food for your brain) have negatively impacted our cognition, which means we need to start taking our cognitive health as seriously as we take our physical health. So today we're talking about what that means for all of us: what this change in thinking portends for the future of society and culture, and, perhaps more importantly, how to design an effective workout program for the brains of adults and children. We think it's one of the most important episodes we've ever done.
"There's a Good Reason You Can't Concentrate" by Cal Newport: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/opinion/technology-mental-fitness-cognitive.html
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23 April 2026, 7:00 am - 45 minutes 48 secondsWhat Every Athlete Can Learn from Elite Distance Runners
Today, Clay taps into Steve's wisdom as a long-time running coach—which doesn't mean you have to be a runner to get something out of it. The episode covers the most efficient type of aerobic training for any athlete (hint: it's not Zone 2 or HIIT), the mindset and mentality that sets elite runners apart, what makes for a great coach-athlete relationship, how much mileage you need to maximize your performance, super shoes, and, yes, even running influencers. Plus: Steve talks about his truly unhinged high school treadmill workouts.
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16 April 2026, 8:00 am - 46 minutes 25 secondsHow to Change, Actually (with Eric Zimmer)
Once an addict, Eric Zimmer is now 26 years sober. He has made that one huge change through a series of many small, daily changes, or what he calls "low resistance actions done consistently over time in the same direction." His theory of behavior change is at the heart of his successful coaching practice, his wonderful podcast, The One You Feed, and his great new book, "How A Little Becomes A Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life." Today, he joins Brad and Clay to share the three practices that have most helped him in 26 years of recovery, how to pursue change without becoming self-obsessed, how to stop looking for answers on how to change and actually get down to the work, advice on updating your limiting stories and beliefs, and what healing from addiction can teach us about smartphone use.
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9 April 2026, 7:30 am - 28 minutes 57 secondsUse the “Zero-Zero Reset” to Perform Under Pressure
This past weekend, in the men's NCAA tournament, Duke led UConn by 19 points and had a 99% chance to win and advance to the Final Four. Instead, Duke improbably blew their lead, and UConn stormed furiously back to win on a last-second shot. We analyze both sides of that performance, answering two questions that apply not just to basketball but to life: How do you stay focused and maintain effort when the odds of success seem insurmountable? And how do you stay aggressive and not get defensive when you have a big lead? We detail how to actually embody a next-play mindset (easy to say, hard to do, but useful for when you're behind or up big), how to take a promote rather than a prevent mindset (or: playing to win, rather than playing not to lose), and why the "zero-zero reset" can keep you calm under pressure.
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2 April 2026, 9:00 am - 40 minutes 46 secondsHow to Coach Anyone, Including Yourself
March Madness has given us some incredible moments between coaches and their players. Today, we use one in particular — the viral moment between Maryland's coach Brenda Frese and star player Oluchi Okananwa (you can watch it at the link below) — as a jumping off point to talk about leading and motivating more broadly. What can all of us learn from the moment between Frese and Okananwa? How should we use and distribute validation? When does intensity help and when does it hurt? When might negative self-talk actually be a good tool to use? This episode is for everyone, because whether you're coaching others or simply trying to better lead yourself, you've got to know how to light a fire without burning down the house.
Link to video of Frese-Okananwa: https://x.com/sportingnews/status/2035769026308162041
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Click here for an AI-generated transcript
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26 March 2026, 12:00 pm - 43 minutes 50 secondsStop Self-Sabotaging: How to Get Out of Your Own Way
Today, we unpack one of the most universal performance problems: getting in your own way. Drawing on the "Self 1 vs. Self 2" framework from The Inner Game of Tennis, neuroscience, and child psychology, we explore why caring too much can be the very thing that tanks your performance — and what to actually do about it. From fourth-grade Turkey trots to Roger Bannister's sub-four-minute mile, we cover the many forms of self-sabotage (before, during, and the night before the big day), how to be a "good enough parent" to yourself under pressure, and how coaches can help athletes quiet the inner critic without pretending it doesn't exist.
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19 March 2026, 7:00 am - 34 minutes 53 secondsUnstuck Yourself: The Art of Building and Keeping Momentum
What do success and failure have in common? They can both trap you. Success can lead to complacency or a plateau, and failure can render you so discouraged or apathetic that you don't feel ready to try again. That's not a fun place to be! So today we're discussing how you can build and keep momentum, no matter the reason you might get stuck. Drawing on wisdom that ranges from NBA star Steph Curry to the ancient Buddhist priest Takuan Sōhō, we about talk momentum killers (and how to avoid them), the importance of knowing how to both "go where the water's fast" and stop one rep short, and the rule that will help prevent you from wallowing in failure or basking in success for too long.
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12 March 2026, 7:00 am - 49 minutes 5 secondsBeautiful Suffering: How Elite Athletes Find Joy in the Grind
How do you have fun while working really hard? For many elite athletes, figuring out how to balance joy and suffering is the key to a long and successful career. Today, we explore how they do it — and how you can, too. We dig into the psychology of "beautiful suffering," explain why joy is connected to agency, the important difference between authoritarian and authoritative coaching, and the steps you can take to shift from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation, which is the ultimate competitive advantage.
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5 March 2026, 10:00 am - 29 minutes 56 secondsBack to Work: Navigating Success, A.I., and the Unknown
Today, for our monthly round-up, each of us shares a reflection from February: Brad explains what his chaotic book launch taught him about achievement, fulfillment, responding not reacting, and putting into practice other lessons we discuss regularly; Steve discusses using A.I. to help him do his work, and whether it can ever produce something truly great; and Clay shares a tool that has helped him keep things moving on big projects even when the roadmap isn't super clear. It's a new format with the same great insights.
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26 February 2026, 10:00 am - 32 minutes 42 secondsOlympics Review: Lessons in Pressure, Courage, and Going All the Way
The Olympics are the ultimate laboratory for human performance. So today we're diving into some our favorite moments from the 2026 edition—and the lessons we can take from them. Between the bizarre "penis-gate" ski jumping scandal, Lindsey Vonn's downhill ski, and Ilia "Quad God" Malinin's ice skating performance, there are tough questions to tackle: When does dedication cross into dangerous territory? How does an athlete handle Olympic pressure — or recover from failure on the world stage? And what can we all learn for our own pursuit from these elite athletes?
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Click here for an AI-generated transcript
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