Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Umbrella
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
31 snips
Mar 11, 2026 • 2h 2min
Amir Levine (on attachment theory)
Amir Levine, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author known for Attached and Secure. He unpacks attachment theory origins and experiments, reframes attachment as a radar for others' availability, and explains CARP (consistency, availability, responsiveness). Short stories range from a breakup that inspired his work to how tiny daily interactions and neural plasticity can shift attachment patterns.
22 snips
Mar 9, 2026 • 2h 18min
Amanda Peet Returns
Amanda Peet, actor, writer, and producer known for film and TV work, returns to talk career turns and new projects. She shares stories about dating, family history tied to New York, and childhood schools in London. Conversations touch on parenting, therapy from a young age, questions of wealth and aesthetics, and playing a character with high‑functioning mental illness in her new film.
7 snips
Mar 6, 2026 • 49min
Armchair Anonymous: First Responder II
Nicole, an air medical helicopter medic, shares a wild in-flight trauma transfer involving a severe self-inflicted genital amputation. Chuck, a former military medic/EMT, tells of a grim inter-facility transfer with massive contamination and shocking pressure wounds. Kendall, a volunteer firefighter/EMT, recounts a winter crash causing a severe scalp avulsion. Chris, a firefighter, describes a Halloween rescue of a man trapped under a classic car.
39 snips
Mar 4, 2026 • 1h 33min
Sasha Hamdani (on ADHD)
A deep dive into ADHD history, diagnosis challenges, and why there is no lab test for it. They explore overlap with trauma, anxiety, and mood disorders and why females are often underdiagnosed. Emotional dysregulation, rejection sensitive dysphoria, and practical self-care and non-stimulant strategies come up. The conversation also covers clinical assessment, parenting with ADHD, and the societal mismatch for ADHD minds.
65 snips
Mar 2, 2026 • 1h 51min
Marcus Mumford
Marcus Mumford, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and frontman of Mumford & Sons, reflects on his musical upbringing and unconventional tours. He discusses reconnecting with Carey Mulligan, the creation of Prizefighter with Aaron Dessner, and the vulnerability behind songs like Cannibal. Conversations touch on reunion dynamics, collaborative spirit, and the strange magic of readiness in recording.
9 snips
Feb 27, 2026 • 50min
Armchair Anonymous: Las Vegas
Marie: a party-goer with a chaotic Cosmopolitan stay and a balcony mishap. Riley: a teen who faked stories to get a room and narrowly escaped a dangerous fake-ID scheme. Jack: a festival climber who suffered a severe finger degloving on a LOVE sculpture. Madison: a show‑choir teen who saw drama, hair-dye antics, and a traumatic parking-garage fall. They each share wild Las Vegas misadventures.
38 snips
Feb 25, 2026 • 1h 45min
Adam Mosseri Returns (Head of Instagram)
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram and former Facebook product leader, joins to unpack product decisions and platform strategy. He discusses AI in content ranking and safety. Conversations cover creator monetization, authenticity in an AI world, and experiments like tunable algorithms and stories-first feeds. Practical takes on detection, moderation, and how people actually use the app round out the talk.
Feb 23, 2026 • 2h 2min
Sterling K. Brown
Sterling K. Brown, an Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor known for This Is Us and The People v. O.J. Simpson, reflects on childhood, family loss, and how speaking in tongues honed his craft. He recounts Stanford love, a lucky Brecht read with legends, researching Chris Darden, collaborating with Dan Fogelman, juggling fatherhood, injuries, and the pressures of representation.
8 snips
Feb 20, 2026 • 39min
Armchair Anonymous: Unique Kink
Rico, a Florida caller who reclaimed intimacy after recovery, briefly describes a lifelong toe-nibbling preference and how his fiance sometimes indulges it. David, from Rhode Island, recounts a filmed Tinder/forced-dom style hookup with an overseas director. Amanda shares a personal kink: finding her husband unexpectedly arousing when he removes his prosthetic eye.
67 snips
Feb 18, 2026 • 2h 2min
Colleen Cutcliffe (on the microbiome)
Colleen Cutcliffe, a biochemistry and microbiology PhD and CEO/co-founder of Pendulum Therapeutics, built targeted microbiome interventions. She discusses how sequencing unlocked microbiome science. She shares animal microbiome tales, why fecal transplants cure C. diff, the role of Akkermansia and gut barrier analogies, microbes that stimulate GLP-1, and why strains plus fiber matter for lasting change.
