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Podcast #1,118: Inside With the Old Breed — A Conversation With Eugene Sledge’s Son
2w agoTap to summarizeWith the Old Breed is widely considered one of the greatest war memoirs ever written. Penned by Eugene Sledge, a Marine who fought with the 1st Division — the old breed — in the Pacific campaigns of Peleliu and Okinawa, the book is unflinching, deeply human, and so vividly written that you can practically feel the heat, mud, exhaustion, and terror coming off the page. But Sledge wasn’t a professional writer. He was a biology professor who started jotting notes on scraps of paper tucked inside the New Testament he carried in his breast pocket. He wrote the book decades later, partly to process his own trauma, partly to leave a record for his sons. One of those sons is my guest today. Henry Sledge has spent years carrying his father’s legacy forward, and he’s written his own book — The Old Breed: The Complete Story Revealed — that pairs his father’s combat experience with previously unpublished material and his own perspective as Eugene’s son. Today on the show, Henry and I talk about why his dad wrote With the Old Breed, what made fighting in the Pacific uniquely hellish, and how Eugene managed to come home and live a full, honorable life despite carrying the war with him for the rest of his days. Resources Related to the Podcast China Marine: An Infantryman’s Life After World War II by E.B. Sledge HBO series The Pacific Ken Burns’ The War AoM Article: Eugene B. Sledge Puts Your Problems Into Perspective AoM Article: Are You Missing the Forbidden City? Connect With Henry Sledge Henry on IG Henry on FB Thanks to this Episode’s Sponsor! Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code MANLINESS at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/MANLINESS Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!) Listen to the episode on a separate page Download this episode Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice Transcript Coming Soon This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.
Transcribe →Podcast #1,117: How Constraints Help You Focus, Create, and Finish
3w agoTap to summarizeBack in 2019, David Epstein joined me to talk about his book Range and why generalists often thrive in a specialized world. Now he’s back with a new book that explores a seemingly opposite idea: the power of constraints. In Inside the Box, David argues that limits — deadlines, boundaries, and even setbacks — are often the very things that spark creativity, sharpen focus, and help us actually get meaningful work done. Today on the show, David shares how, in a world of endless freedom and options, constraints might actually be the thing you need most. He shares the surprising true story behind the creation of the periodic table, explains how a broken arm changed the course of his own life, and explores why giving people too much leeway can actually kill innovation. We discuss what Pixar did right that doomed companies like General Magic got wrong, why brainstorming sessions are usually ineffective, how to identify the bottlenecks holding back your work and life, and why learning to settle for “good enough” may be the key to getting more great things done. Resources Related to the Podcast David’s previous appearance on the AoM podcast: Episode #512 — Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World Pixar’s Tin Toy AoM Article: Curing Your Restlessness — Limiting Your Choices The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt David’s This American Life Episode: “Something Only I Can See” AoM Article: Via Negativa — Adding to Your Life By Subtracting Connect With David Epstein David’s website Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!) Listen to the episode on a separate page Download this episode Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice Transcript Coming Soon This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.
Transcribe →Podcast #1,116: Why Screen Time Leaves You Exhausted — And How to Reverse Its Effects
4w agoTap to summarizeYou hear a lot today about how our ample screentime is affecting our mental health. But how is it affecting our bodies, and how is that impact on our bodies affecting, well, our mental health? My guest today will unpack the ways that digital technology is sapping our vitality, and offer a simple protocol to get it back. Her name is Manoush Zomorodi, and she’s the host of the TED Radio Hour and the author of Body Electric. In our conversation, Manoush explains why a day spent sitting in front of screens can leave you exhausted, even though you haven’t really done anything, and how small bouts of movement throughout the day can counteract that drain and keep you feeling energized and focused. She shares how much activity you need to offset periods of being sedentary, and how to realistically incorporate these movement breaks into your routine. We also get into the specific effects digital technology is having on our eyes and ears — and what you can do to prevent the damage. Resources Related to the Podcast Manoush’s previous appearance on the AoM podcast: Episode #342 — Why Boredom is Good for You “I Sing the Body Electric” by Walt Whitman Keith Diaz’s studies AoM Article: The Importance of Building Your Daily Sleep Pressure Connect With Manoush Zomorodi Manoush’s website Manoush on IG Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!) Listen to the episode on a separate page Download this episode Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice Transcript Coming Soon This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.
Transcribe →Podcast #1,115: A Map for Finding Direction and Purpose in Life (Again and Again)
Apr 28Tap to summarizeWhile we often think of life as linear, my guest’s own life, along with a decade of research, has taught him that it’s anything but. In his latest book, What to Make of a Life, Jim Collins unpacks the cyclical pattern life actually unfolds in, and how to navigate it. He explains how we all go through periods of “fog” — times of disorientation and uncertainty — at least three times: in youth, after a life-changing “cliff” event, and as we move through midlife into older age. We find our way out of these fogs by what Jim calls coming into “frame” — aligning what you’re built to do with what you actually do in a way that feels enlivening and meaningful. And Jim unpacks the three elements that help you find, and re-find, this frame over the course of your life. Along the way, Jim shares case studies of these principles at work, and we explore the role of luck, the inevitability of drudgery (even in work you love), and how to keep your inner fire lit over the long haul. Resources Related to the Podcast Good to Great by Jim Collins All Rise: The Remarkable Journey of Alan Page by Bill McGrane Self-Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society by John W. Gardner Sunday Firesides: You Never Know How Many Chapters Are Still to Come Sunday Firesides: Do the Right Thing, for Right Now AoM Article: The 5 Best AoM Podcast Episodes on Finding Meaning and Purpose AoM series on finding your life’s vocation Connect With Jim Collins Jim’s website Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!) Listen to the episode on a separate page Download this episode Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice Transcript Brett McKay: Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the AoM podcast. While we often think of life as linear, my guest’s own life, along with a decade of research, has taught him that it’s anything but. In his latest book, What to Make of a Life, Jim Collins unpacks how the cyclical pattern of life actually unfolds and how to navigate it. He explains how we all go through periods of fog, times of disorientation and uncertainty, at least three times in youth after a life-changing cliff event. And as we move through midlife into older age, we find our way out of these fogs by what Jim calls coming into frame, aligning what you’re built to do with what you actually do in a way that feels enlivening and meaningful. And Jim unpacks the three elements that help you find and refine this frame over the course of your life along the way. Jim shares case studies of these principles at work and we explore the role of luck, the inevitability of drudgery even in work you love, and how to keep your inner fire lit over the long haul. After the show is over, check out our show notes at aom.is/Collins. All right, Jim Collins, welcome to the show. Jim Collins: I am really happy to be here with you, Brett. Brett McKay: So you’ve made a career for yourself researching about what makes good companies great. I’m sure a lot of our listeners have read your book Good to Great, and other ones as well. In your latest book, What to Make of a Life, you apply that same intellectual rigor you’ve used to analyze companies to figure out what makes an individual’s life feel meaningful. What kickstarted this project? Jim Collins: Well, so first, even though it looks like a departure, it is a wonderful extension from my prior work — one thing that is a thread that goes all the way back even to my earlier work is the focus and real interest in what people do and how people navigate. When I look back at what I have as themes in my what makes great companies tick work such as in Good to Great, I’ve always been fascinated with people and with leaders as people, entrepreneurs, as people, and by the sheer human drama of starting and building some of the most audacious and amazing companies in the world. And that interest in people has always been there. Companies don’t build themselves, people build companies. So my interest in people has been a pretty consistent theme in looking through that lens. But this project, of course, as you know, really takes a look at the lens of an entire life rather than say the development of a company. And the seeds of this actually predate Good to Great by a long time. Three basic seeds. The first when I was young and I realized that my father would never be a father, as you know, the opening line of the book is my first big cliff in life came quite yo...
Transcribe →Podcast #1,114: Become an Automatic Millionaire
Apr 21Tap to summarizeBuilding substantial personal wealth can feel difficult and out of reach. But my guest says that even those with modest means can, with a few simple decisions and strategies, become millionaires, and even multi-millionaires. David Bach is the author of the bestselling, newly updated personal finance classic, The Automatic Millionaire. Today on the show, we talk about the money management framework that will put you on the path to a free, secure, rich retirement. David explains his controversial “Latte Factor” principle, the astonishing power of compounding interest, how setting your finances on autopilot may be the most important financial move you can make, why he still believes in buying a home as an incomparable way to build wealth, the best way to pay down your debt, and more. Resources Related to the Podcast investor.gov compound interest calculator AoM Article: What Every Young Man Should Know About the Power of Compound Interest AoM Article: Know-Nothing Investing — Index Funds For Beginners AoM Article: Build Your Wealth — Graduate from a Paycheck Mentality to a Net Worth Mentality AoM Article: A Young Man’s Guide to Understanding Retirement Accounts — IRAs Connect With David Bach David’s website David on IG David on FB David on X David on YouTube David on LinkedIn Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!) Listen to the episode on a separate page Download this episode Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice Transcript Brett McKay: Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the AoM podcast. Building substantial personal wealth can feel difficult and out of reach, but my guest says that even those with modest means can with a few simple decisions and strategies become millionaires and even multimillionaires. David Bach is the author of the bestselling newly updated personal finance classic, The Automatic Millionaire. In the show we talk about the money management framework that’ll put you on the path to a free, secure, rich retirement. David explains his controversial latte factor principle, the astonishing power of compounding interest, how setting your finances on autopilot may be the most important financial move you can make, why he still believes in buying a home as an incomparable way to build wealth, the best way to pay down your debt, and more. After the show is over, check out our show notes at aom.is/millionaire. All right, David Bach, welcome to the show. David Bach: Thank you, Brett, it’s great to be with you. I’m really excited to do this show with you. Brett McKay: Well, it’s been two decades since the original release of your book, and I’m sure a lot of our listeners have read this or heard about it, The Automatic Millionaire. And in this book you lay out a personal finance philosophy that can help people save for retirement and have financial security automatically. But you adopted this or you figured this out when you were a young financial advisor and you had this experience early on in your career with a married couple that opened up your eyes to the fact that wealth isn’t about how much you earn, but how you manage what you earn. So what were these people doing differently from the other people you were advising at the time? David Bach: Well, so lemme tell you how I met this couple and the couple, I refer to them in the book as Jim and Sue McIntyre. I used to teach back in the day, this is like in the nineties, I taught a retirement planning course and people would come to my class. It was actually out o...
Transcribe →Podcast #1,113: Truths Your Therapist Won’t Tell You About How to Get Your Mind Right
Apr 14Tap to summarizeWhen people visit a therapist’s office for help with their depression, they often don’t find the relief they’re seeking. That’s because much of the counsel that is traditionally given doesn’t offer the context people need to make sense of and preserve their mental well-being. Here to share these missing pieces of perspective and strategy is Dr. Scott Eilers, a clinical psychologist and the author of The Light Between the Leaves: 6 Truths Your Therapist Won’t Tell You About Healing Depression and Trauma. Today on the show, Scott shares why the world of psychology doesn’t always offer the most useful explanations for why people can sometimes feel alienated from their own lives. We then talk about insights Scott has gleaned from science, nature, and lived experience as to the mindset shifts and habits that can help you stay sharp, steady, and engaged in life — whether you’re struggling with chronic depression, or just adrift in a low-grade funk. Resources Related to the Podcast AoM series on depression AoM Podcast #741: The Exercise Prescription for Depression and Anxiety AoM article and podcast on Rick Hanson’s method of “hardwiring happiness” Connect With Scott Eilers Scott’s website Scott’s YouTube channel Scott on IG Scott on FB Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!) Listen to the episode on a separate page Download this episode Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice Transcript Brett McKay: Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the AoM podcast. When people visit a therapist’s office for help with their depression, they often don’t find the relief they’re seeking. That’s because much of the counsel that is traditionally given doesn’t offer the context people need to make sense of and preserve their mental wellbeing. Here to share these missing pieces of perspective and strategies is Dr. Scott Eilers, the clinical psychologist and the author of the book The Light Between the Leaves: Six Truths Your Therapist Won’t Tell You About Healing Depression and Trauma. Today on the show, Scott shares why the world of psychology doesn’t always offer the most useful explanations for why people can sometimes feel alienated from their own lives. We then talk about insights Scott has gleaned from science, nature, and lived experience as to the mindset shifts and habits that can help you stay sharp, steady, and engaged in life. Whether you’re struggling with chronic depression or just adrift in a low grade funk. After the show’s over, check at our show notes at aom.is/leaves. All right, Scott Eilers, welcome to the show. Dr. Scott Eilers: Thanks so much for having me, Brett. I am very excited to be here. I’ve been getting value out of listening to your podcast for a long time, and I’m excited to be able to hopefully give back a little bit. Brett McKay: Well, thanks for listening. I appreciate it. So you are a clinical psychologist who specializes in helping people with conditions like bipolar disorder and severe depression, severe anxiety. You got a new book out called The Light Between the Leaves. Basically, you share insights from your career, but also from your own life. You talk about in the book, you began your career as a psychologist because you were trying to seek treatment for your own depression. Can you walk us through your history with depression? Dr. Scott Eilers: Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly right. The first time I distinctly remember feeling a deep sense of depression was in seventh grade. I think that probably wasn’t actually the first time I experienced it, but you know how childhood memories are. They can be a little bit foggy. I know I was never exactly what you would call a happy child, but there was one distinct moment. I will never forget it, and it just came out of absolutely nowhere. This was in swimming class. So I’m in a swimming pool with my buddies in school, and all of a sudden I noticed I just didn’t feel any happiness. And it wasn’t even like I was bored or disinterested. It was, it was gone. My ability to connect with anything resembling a positive emotion was just shut down and it came out of nowhere and it didn’t seem to be about anything. I felt like someone I loved had just died, but nothing had happened. And I was baffled and scared, and I remember I kind of crawled out of the pool and just sat on the edge with my head in my hands and I could hardly even talk. And my friends were like, did something happen? What’s wrong? And I didn’t even know how to answer them. And I remember I just went home and just laid in bed all day and I had no idea what was happening at the time. Only with the benefit of hindsight am I able to say, oh, that was a depressive episode, and it didn’t go away th...
Transcribe →Podcast #1,112: You’ve Been Pooping Wrong — Here’s How to Do It Better
Apr 7Tap to summarizePooping. Everybody does it, but a lot of people are embarrassed to talk about it. That’s a shame, my guest says, not only because your digestive health is incredibly linked to your overall health, but simply for the fact that there is much happiness to be found in an easy, worry-free constitutional. Harvard gastroenterologist Dr. Trisha Pasricha is the author of You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong: How to Make Your Bowel Movements a Joy. Today on the show, Trisha and I have a fun and frank conversation about the art and science of bowel movements, including the color of healthy stools, how often you should be pooping, if laxatives are safe to use, the food to eat that’s even better than prunes for getting things going, why you feel the urge to go poop at Barnes and Noble, the wonders of the bidet, the danger of using your smartphone on the toilet, how to get more comfortable pooping in a public restroom, and more. Resources Related to the Podcast AoM Article: The Top 10 Toilet Books AoM Article: Be a “Regular” Guy — Tips for Improving Your Daily Constitutional The Squatty Potty “Mariko Aoki phenomenon” — where individuals feel an urgent need to use the bathroom when entering a bookstore AoM Article: You Need to Eat More Fiber Connect With Trisha Pasricha Trisha’s website Trisha on IG Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!) Listen to the episode on a separate page Download this episode Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice Transcript Brett McKay: Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the AoM podcast. Pooping: everybody does it, but a lot of people are embarrassed to talk about it. That’s a shame, my guest says. Not only because your digestive health is incredibly linked to your overall health, but simply for the fact that there’s much happiness to be found in an easy, worry-free constitutional. Harvard gastroenterologist, Dr. Trisha Pasricha, the author of You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong: How to Make Your Bowel Movements a Joy. Today on the show, Trisha and I have a fun and frank conversation about the art and science of bowel movements, including the color of healthy stools, how often you should be pooping, if laxatives are safe to use, the food to eat that’s even better than prunes for getting things going, why you feel the urge to go poop at Barnes and Noble, the wonders of the bidet, the danger of using your smartphone on the toilet, how to get more comfortable pooping in a public restroom, and more. After the show’s over, check out our show notes at aom.is/poop. All right, Dr. Trisha Pasricha, welcome to the show. Dr. Trisha Pasricha: Thank you so much for having me, Brett. Glad to be here. Brett McKay: So you are a medical professor of gastroenterology. That’s a hard word to say. I had to look up how to pronounce it. You specialize in gut health and a big part of your work involves researching and talking a lot about poop. How’d you end up doing what you do? Dr. Trisha Pasricha: Well, I am a second generation gastroenterologist. I grew up as the daughter of a gastroenterologist. When you grow up like that, you think that talking about poop every day is perfectly normal and you think that that’s what everyone else is doing. It was delightful. My father was, and still is a gastroenterologist, but he was also a researcher. He was just so excited to tell me and my siblings about the cool stuff he was discovering in his lab every day after he came home from work and he was describing how colonoscopies worked and all of this. I know now that sounds really bizarre, but at the time it was just what we talked about at the dinner table and how cool science was and specifically when it came to our gut. So I loved it and it was kind of what I grew up thinking was the coolest thing in the world. So I knew I wanted to be a gastroenterologist since I was a little girl. I had never imagined wanting to be anything else. But then when I came to medical school and then I started doing my own training, I really started to realize what a weird gap there was between what other people seem to have learned about poop and their bowel movements and how their gut works and what I learned. And people, for the most part, it seems like, didn’t really talk about their guts and their poop after they turned three or four, and it was something everyone just stopped bringing up at the dinner table. And so I kind of went on this mission and it just started with me talking to my patients about trying to normalize these conversations and having them out loud. And ultimately that led to writing the book. But I really do think that people need to have conversations more loudly because 40% of Americans are suffering from bowel habits that disrupt their daily lives. But you wouldn’t know that because we’re so quiet about them. Brett McKay:<...
Transcribe →Podcast #1,111: The Mystery of Courage
Mar 31Tap to summarizeCourage is one of our most prized and celebrated virtues. But once you really start exploring it, the nature of courage is surprisingly hard to pin down. Here to help us explore the fascinating complications of courage is William Ian Miller, a historian, professor of law, and the author of The Mystery of Courage. Today on the show, Bill explains how centuries of philosophers, soldiers, and storytellers have approached courage and the hard-to-answer questions its manifestations raise. We discuss why courage has long been ranked among the highest virtues, the relationship between fear and courage, the fuzzy line between courage and cowardice, the association of courage and manhood, whether or not courage is domain specific, the difference between offensive and defensive courage, whether martyrs are courageous, whether deeds with evil ends are courageous, how fear, shame, and honor shape brave action, and more. Resources Related to the Podcast The Road to Richmond: The Civil War Memoirs of Maj. Abner R. Small If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home by Tim O’Brien Good-Bye to All That by Robert Graves The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant AoM Article: Developing Manly Courage AoM Article: 9 Ways to Become More Courageous AoM Article: Courage Vs. Boldness — How to Live With Spartan Bravery AoM Podcast #380: How to Increase Your Courage and Bravery AoM Article: The 54 Best Quotes on Courage AoM Article: The Cardinal Virtues — Courage AoM Podcast #763: The Perils and Powers of Cowardice AoM series on honor Connect With William Ian Miller Bill’s faculty page Version 1.0.0 Thanks to This Week’s Podcast Sponsor Incogni. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code MANLINESS at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/manliness Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!) Listen to the episode on a separate page Download this episode Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice Transcript Brett McKay: Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the AoM podcast. Courage is one of our most prized and celebrated virtues, but once you really start exploring it, the nature of courage is surprisingly hard to pin down. Here to help us explore the fascinating complications of courage is William Ian Miller, a historian, professor of law, and the author of The Mystery of Courage. Today on the show Bill explains how centuries of philosophers,...
Transcribe →Podcast #1,110: The Mental Skills for Becoming an Everyday Genius
Mar 24Tap to summarizeWe tend to think of genius as something you’re born with — a rare trait possessed by the Einsteins and Teslas of the world. But what if many of the abilities we associate with genius — a great memory, quick problem-solving, mental math, creative insight — are actually trainable skills? My guest today says that’s exactly the case. His name is Nelson Dellis, and he’s a six-time USA Memory Champion and the author of the book Everyday Genius. In our conversation, Nelson explains why memory is the foundation of thinking well and why having information stored in your head still matters in the age of ChatGPT. He shares a practical technique for improving your memory, how to read with greater focus and retention, and how to study to actually make information stick. We then talk about the importance of developing “number sense” and how to convert imperial measurements to metric in your head, strategies for solving problems more effectively, and even how to gain an edge in the games of Monopoly and Connect Four. At the end of the conversation, we get into more esoteric territory, including intuition, dreams, and the idea of remote viewing. Resources Related to the Podcast Nelson’s previous appearance on the AoM podcast: Episode #546 — How to Get a Memory Like a Steel Trap AoM Article: 10 Ways to Improve Your Memory AoM Article: How to Speed Read Like Theodore Roosevelt AoM Podcast #385: Learning How to Learn AoM Article: Study Tactics of the Successful Gentleman Scholar The CIA’s remote viewing program Connect With Nelson Dellis Nelson’s website Nelson on YouTube Thanks to This Week’s Podcast Sponsor Incogni. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code MANLINESS at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/manliness Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!) Listen to the episode on a separate page Download this episode Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice Transcript Brett McKay: Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the AoM podcast. We tend to think of genius as something you’re born with; a rare trait possessed by the Einsteins and Teslas of the world. But what if many of the abilities we associate with genius — a great memory, quick problem solving, mental math, creative insight — are actually trainable skills. My guest today says that’s exactly the case. His name is Nelson Dellis and he’s a six time USA memory champion and the author of the book, Everyday Genius. In our conversation, Nelson explains why memory is the foundation of thinking well and why having information stored in your head still matters. In the age of ChatGPT, he shares a practical technique for improving your memory, how to read with greater focus and retention and how to study to actually make information stick. We then talk about the importance of developing number sense and how to convert imperial measurements to metric in your head, strategies for solving problems more effectively and even how to gain an edge in the games of Monopoly and Connect Four. At the end of our conversation, we get into more esoteric territory, including intuition, dreams, and the idea of remote viewing. After the show’s over, check out our show notes at aom.is/genius. All right, Nelson Dellis, welcome back to the show. Nelson Dellis: Thank you for having me. How you been? Brett McKay: I’ve been great. Thank you for asking. It has been a while. We had you on the podcast way back in 2019 to talk about memory sport because you are a USA memory champion and we talked about what that involves and how we can improve our memories. For those who aren’t familiar with memory competitions and they haven’t listened to that episode we did, what do they typically look like? What sorts of events do you encounter as a memory athlete? Nelson Dellis: Yeah, it’s a super fascinating competition. When I first saw it, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing people do and it definitely wasn’t something I thought, Hey, I could do that. I had to lear...
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