
Not Overthinking
The weekly podcast about happiness, creativity, and the human condition. It's us, Ali and Taimur Abdaal, occasionally joined by guests, talking about things to help us think, do, and be better.
Things like social interaction, lifestyle design, mental models... Things that are hard to examine, but important to explore. And hopefully, things that make for a fun and interesting chat every week.
We'd love for you to join us.
Latest episodes

37 snips
Jul 26, 2024 • 1h 27min
The Correct Way to be Human
Delve into the fascinating insights gained from a DEXA scan that reveals muscle mass and fat levels. Discover the understated benefits of walking as a simple yet powerful tool for fitness and longevity. Enjoy the therapeutic joys of maintaining a fish tank, while also exploring shifting perspectives on politics and civic engagement. The importance of critically engaging with societal issues and nurturing a personal worldview highlights the significance of empathy and community responsibility. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation!

41 snips
Feb 3, 2024 • 1h 35min
Decoding Political Science and Ideology with Jason Blakely
Associate professor of political science, Jason Blakely, critiques treating social sciences like natural sciences, explores the concept of 'Psi-ops' in social sciences, and emphasizes the importance of storytelling and interpretation in understanding human behavior and social dynamics.

5 snips
Jan 22, 2024 • 52min
Navigating Work During Illness
The podcast explores the effects of illness on motivation and productivity, with Ali and Taimur sharing their experiences with COVID-19. They also discuss the satisfaction of achieving career milestones, like making it onto the New York Times bestseller list. Ali introduces the concept of Productivity Club, an online community aimed at enhancing productivity. The conversation touches on DIY projects, setting up a studio, and the growth of a YouTube channel.

11 snips
Dec 25, 2023 • 56min
Taimur's New Startup Idea
The hosts discuss the value of experience and misconceptions about being an ideas person. They reflect on their impressions of fundraising, sales, marketing, delegation, outsourcing, brand deals, gifting, and book writing. They highlight the importance of gaining experience and understanding intangibles. They also discuss the discovery of Zotero and the gap in the market for business coaching content. The conversation covers the value of zoom screen shares, internal dashboards, hands-on experience, learning from founders, book promotion, dealing with negative reviews, and upcoming book promotional activities.

26 snips
Dec 18, 2023 • 57min
Catching Up and Talking Podcasts
Ali and Taimor discuss their recent activities and plans, including brunch and attending a carol service. They talk about the popularity of a certain podcast and changing the format of another podcast they host. They explore the concept of tier ranking and discuss 'The Second Mountain' by David Brooks. They comment on a podcast episode featuring Louise Perry and discuss the influence of social science theory. They touch upon challenges in interpreting scientific studies and cover recent activities, book discussions, and a Tony Robbins event.

14 snips
Jun 12, 2023 • 1h 5min
Why did we stop posting?
In this episode, we talk about the last five-or-so months of not posting any podcast episodes. Enjoy xx

26 snips
Dec 25, 2022 • 48min
What does Taimur actually do?
In this episode, we catch up (and firmly put all the book highlight reading behind us). Merry Christmas! Enjoy xx

18 snips
Dec 18, 2022 • 25min
Why Love Hurts - Part 3
In this episode, we carry on our discussion of the book 'Why Love Hurts' once more. Enjoy xx

11 snips
Dec 11, 2022 • 49min
Why Love Hurts - Part 2
In this episode, we continue our discussion of the book “Why Love Hurts” by Eva Illouz. Enjoy xx

37 snips
Dec 4, 2022 • 24min
Why Love Hurts - An Introduction
In this episode, we discuss a few highlights from “Why Love Hurts” - a book which argues that our relationships go wrong due to 'institutional forces', rather than our dysfunctional childhoods or our insufficiently self-aware psyches (which is the more commonly accepted modern belief).