The Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author, Human Guinea Pig
Tim Ferriss is a self-experimenter and bestselling author, best known for The 4-Hour Workweek, which has been translated into 40+ languages. Newsweek calls him "the world's best human guinea pig," and The New York Times calls him "a cross between Jack Welch and a Buddhist monk." In this show, he deconstructs world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, chess, pro sports, etc.), digging deep to find the tools, tactics, and tricks that listeners can use.
Episodes
Mentioned books
1,331 snips
May 6, 2026 • 39min
#864: How to Simplify Your Life in 2026 — New Tips from Anne Lamott, Claire Hughes Johnson, David Yarrow, and Diana Chapman
Anne Lamott, beloved novelist, joins leadership coach Diana Chapman, former Stripe COO Claire Hughes Johnson, and wildlife photographer David Yarrow. They swap sharp ideas on saying no, shrinking your circle, people-first decisions, relationship agreements, letting go of obligation, and making more room for curiosity, breath, and family.
1,823 snips
Apr 29, 2026 • 1h 52min
#863: Elad Gil, Consigliere to Empire Builders — How to Spot Billion-Dollar Companies Before Everyone Else, The Misty AI Frontier, How Coke Beat Pepsi, When Consensus Pays, and Much More
Elad Gil, startup operator and investor behind bets on Airbnb, Stripe, and OpenAI, dives into AI talent wars, why most AI startups may not last, and how billion-dollar companies get spotted early. He also gets into founder patterns, board choices, distribution moats, consensus investing in AI, and surprising detours into longevity, brain tech, and 10-year thinking.
402 snips
Apr 23, 2026 • 1h 36min
#862: Cathy Lanier, Chief Security Officer of the NFL — From 9th-Grade Dropout to DC's Longest-Serving Police Chief, Protecting the Super Bowl, and Resilience Under Extreme Pressure
Cathy Lanier, NFL Chief Security Officer and former Washington, D.C. police chief, traces her rise from food stamps, school fights, and teen motherhood to leading security for the league. They explore the Mount Pleasant riots, standing up to harassment, building post-9/11 counterterror systems, modernizing policing with tech, and what it takes to secure the Super Bowl war room.
630 snips
Apr 16, 2026 • 1h 2min
#861: 4-Hour Workweek Success Story Brian Dean — From Dad’s Basement to Selling Two Companies
Brian Dean, founder of Backlinko and co-founder of Exploding Topics, went from broke in his dad’s basement to selling two companies. He gets into SEO loopholes, a 200-site AdSense empire, Google updates that forced a reinvention, and the content strategy behind Backlinko’s breakout rise. They also dive into selling a company, chasing freedom abroad, and why success can still feel strangely empty.
1,046 snips
Apr 7, 2026 • 3h 10min
#860: Daredevil Michelle Khare — How to Become a YouTube Superstar, Open Impossible Doors (FBI, Secret Service, etc.), Craft Jedi-Level Cold Emails, and Use Fear-Setting to Change Your Life
Michelle Khare, a YouTuber, producer, and fearless creator behind Challenge Accepted, gets into building blockbuster nonfiction videos, taking TV-scale risks, and turning failure into compelling stories. She also talks about cold emails that unlock places like the FBI, fear-setting for big career moves, leadership, creative decision-making, and the wild challenges that changed her most.
2,599 snips
Mar 26, 2026 • 1h 24min
#859: Q&A with Tim — The Upcoming AI Tsunami and Building Offline Advantage, Book Recommendations, Spotting Psychedelic Red Flags, Courage as a Learnable Skill, and More
AI upheaval, offline edge, and the fight to stay human in a sea of sameness. There is talk about career pivots, smart ways to use AI, and what skills to protect at all costs. It also jumps into community rules, book picks, psychedelic warning signs, deep relationships, and why courage can be trained.
1,692 snips
Mar 18, 2026 • 1h 37min
#858: The Random Show, Couch Edition! — Supplements, Hummingbirds, Cock Rings, Optimizing Mitochondria, Breathing and Balance Training, Cool Grip Strength Tools, and More
Kevin Rose, Digg founder and longtime tech commentator, joins a wildly eclectic chat on Zen retreats, DIY vagus nerve gadgets, balance training, and finally naming years of back pain. They also roam through grip tools, mitochondrial health and Alzheimer’s theories, blood flow restriction workouts, and AI hummingbird feeders with squirrel drama.
1,884 snips
Mar 10, 2026 • 43min
#857: How to Simplify Your Life in 2026 — New Tips from Maria Popova, Morgan Housel, Cal Newport, Craig Mod, and Debbie Millman
Debbie Millman, branding designer and Design Matters creator, Craig Mod, Japan-based writer and photographer, Cal Newport, Deep Work author and computer science professor, and Morgan Housel, money writer and investor, explore life simplification. They touch on priorities, saying no by default, reading history over forecasts, sobriety and therapy, committing to one craft, and choosing purpose over status.
3,812 snips
Mar 5, 2026 • 2h 49min
#856: Jim Collins — What to Make of a Life and How to Maximize Your Return on Luck
Jim Collins, author and researcher behind Good to Great, talks about his new book and lifelong research on meaning, energy, and choice. He shares razor-sharp routines like 4 a.m. mornings and naps. They explore encodings, how cliffs and fog reshape purpose, and the idea of maximizing your return on luck through preparation and commitment.
2,105 snips
Feb 24, 2026 • 1h 18min
#855: Tim Ferriss — How to Quiet the Ruminative Mind, Avoid Traps of Self-Help, and Focus in a World of Promiscuous Overcommitment
Tim Ferriss, bestselling author and self-experimenter behind The 4-Hour Workweek, shares practices for mental health and optimization. He discusses meditation, accelerated TMS for OCD and rumination, and rebuilding social life after isolation. He talks about metabolic psychiatry, practical testing, saying no with The No Book, and designing resilient projects like the Coyote game.
