Dark Squares: Danny Rensch on Chess, Cults, and Finding Purpose
A Note from JamesThis might be the most insane chess story I’ve ever heard—not even really a chess story, but a cult story. It’s wild, intense, and ultimately inspiring. Danny Rensch grew up in a cult...
24 Sep 20252h
Finding Connection in a Divided World with 'Super Communicator' Charles Duhigg
A Note from JamesI’m really concerned about the level of discourse in this country. It’s almost a cliché to say that now, but especially after the Charlie Kirk assassination, the division feels overwh...
20 Sep 202537min
Inside the Cartel: The Longest Undercover FBI Operation with Martin Suarez and Ian Frisch
A Note from JamesThis is a crazy story. Martin Suarez holds the record for the longest continuous undercover assignment in FBI history. He went undercover as a cartel drug lord—smuggling billions of d...
17 Sep 202556min
[Bonus] Brian Keating on Humility, Chutzpah, and the Arrow of Time
Episode DescriptionRight after wrapping up their main conversation, James and Brian hit record again for a bonus session. What came out is an unfiltered talk on humility, arrogance, and the strange mi...
12 Sep 202515min
How to Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner with Prof. Brian Keating
Episode DescriptionJames sits down once again with cosmologist Brian Keating—longtime friend of the show and author of Into the Impossible: Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner. In this candid conversation...
11 Sep 20251h 10min
From Deep Blue to Bittensor — Why Subnets Are the Next Internet Boom
A Note from JamesI’ve been on and off writing. From 2004 to 2021, I wrote one to two books a year, without fail. Since then, nothing. But I’ve been working on an idea: obsession. When I’m not obsessed...
9 Sep 20251h 23min
Rick Harrison: The Pawn Business, Hidden Histories, and the Best Model in Banking
A Note from JamesThe man, the myth, the legend—Rick Harrison. You know him as the star of Pawn Stars, the reality show based on the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. The show has been running for ...
4 Sep 202527min
From Zero to World-Class: Tristan de Montebello on the Art of Public Speaking
A Note from JamesI’m honored to have today’s guest: Tristan de Montebello, a finalist in the World Championship of Public Speaking. He also co-founded UltraSpeaking (ultraspeaking.com/james), where he...
29 Aug 20251h 54min
