
Smart People Podcast
Smart People Podcast is a biweekly, interview-based podcast that features today's most well respected thought leaders engaging in authentic, insightful conversation for the benefit of the listener. The host, Chris Stemp, and his co-host/producer Jon Rojas, utilize their insatiable curiosity and relatable charm to provoke their guests into giving the interview of a lifetime. Every single guest has achieved a high level of recognition within their arena and in doing so has collected a wealth of experiences and insights that are brought to life in this top ranked podcast. Show topics include: psychology, leadership, education, technology, entrepreneurship, relationships, and much more.
Latest episodes

Apr 23, 2019 • 54min
Lori Gottlieb - We Need to Talk
Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author who writes the weekly “Dear Therapist” advice column for The Atlantic. She has written hundreds of articles related to psychology and culture, many of which have become viral sensations all over the world. A contributing editor for the Atlantic, she also writes for The New York Times Magazine, and appears as a frequent expert on relationships, parenting, and hot-button mental health topics in media such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Dr. Phil, CNN, and NPR.Learn more at LoriGottlieb.com or by following @LoriGottlieb1 on Twitter!Lori's book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed is available now!We discuss:
How difficult was it to write about your relationship and how vulnerable did you feel?
How do you handle self-doubt and how do you handle it with patients?
What are the recommendations for helping someone that "just wants to be heard"?
Become a Patron!Help us grown and become a Patron today: https://www.patreon.com/smartpeoplepodcastSponsor:
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Apr 9, 2019 • 51min
Sandy Rogers - Invest in Building Loyalty
Sandy Rogers is the leader of FranklinCovey’s Loyalty Practice, a FranklinCovey offering which helps organizations increase customer and employee loyalty. Prior to FranklinCovey, he was a senior vice president at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Before making his way to Enterprise, Sandy worked in marketing at Apple and brand management at P&G. Sandy has a bachelor’s degree from Duke and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.Sandy's book, Leading Loyalty: Cracking the Code to Customer Devotion is available on April 16th. You can pre-order it now!We discuss:
What are the three pillars of loyalty and how was it built into the culture at Apple?
What is it about a customer that 'proves' loyalty? How is customer loyalty defined?
What is your favorite example of a company that embodies loyalty and has created loyal customers?
Sponsor:BetterHelp - Get 10% off your first month - https://betterhelp.com/smartDonate:Donate here to support the show!
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Mar 26, 2019 • 1h 5min
Safi Bahcall - Nurture Crazy Ideas
Safi is a physicist, a biotech entrepreneur, and an author... just to name a few! Safi has presented at approximately 130 banking conferences, investor events, and medical meetings around the world, as well as at leading academic institutions. He was a Miller Fellow in physics at UC Berkeley AND in 2011, he worked with President Obama’s council of science advisors (PCAST) on the future of national research.Safi's book, Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries is available now. Pick it up today!Learn more about Safi: https://www.bahcall.com.We discuss:
Why did you leave you profession in Physics to "start over?"
How do you marry the idea of learning new things, with your employers desire for you to be a specialist?
What is the difference between focusing on culture versus structure?
Sponsor:BetterHelp - Get 10% off your first month - https://betterhelp.com/smartDonate:Donate here to support the show!
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Mar 12, 2019 • 1h 24min
Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath - How Your Stories Change Your Reality
Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath has a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Melbourne and an MEd in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard University. He has worked as a teacher, curriculum developer, brain researcher, and is currently an educational researcher at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education.Jared's new book, Stop Talking, Start Influencing: 12 Insights From Brain Science to Make Your Message Stick is available on March 12th. Check it out!To learn more about Jared and his work, visit: https://www.scienceoflearning.com.au.Check out Jared's amazing TEDx talk, "Your Brain, Your Life."We ask:
What are our "dozens of mini-brains?" What exactly are they?
Are we limiting our experience because of the mental maps we create?
How do you identify a story to determine if it's serving us or not serving us?
Recommended shows on Himalaya:Context with Brad HarrisDownload the Himalaya App!
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Feb 27, 2019 • 1h 10min
Dave Birss - Great Ideas, You've Got Them
Dave Birss is a creative at heart and he's one of our favorite creatives to have on the show. Dave is the author of the bestselling book, A User Guide to the Creative Mind: Understanding Where Ideas Come From and Helping You Have More of Them. In addition to writing, Dave's credits are many. He runs RIGHT Thinking, which shows organizations a more effective way to generate more effective ideas. Dave was also the founder and editor of Open for Ideas; an online magazine that focused on creativity. Before that, he spent the majority of his career in the world of advertising, both as a copywriter and an art director.Dave's newest book, How to Get to Great Ideas: A system for smart, extraordinary thinking is phenomenal. You need to go get it and read it!To learn more about Dave, visit his website at: davebirss.comWe discuss:
How do we embrace diversity more in the creative process?
Why do we need to put a definition on creativity?
How do we go about being creative and adding value to the world?
This episode is sponsored by:
Blinkist - To start a 7 day trial, head to blinkist.com/smart
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Feb 15, 2019 • 58min
Annie McKee - Find Happiness at Work
Annie McKee is is a best-selling author, PhD, speaker and advisor. She is a coach to executives in Fortune 500 companies and organizations all over the world. She is also a Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and teaches the PennCLO Executive Doctoral program and the MedEd Master’s program.Annie's book, How to Be Happy at Work: The Power of Purpose, Hope, and Friendship is a must read and is available now!To learn more about Annie, visit her website at: www.anniemckee.com.We discuss:
Why does executive coaching exist? Why do so many executives need coaching?
What are the "happiness traps?" How do they weigh on us at work?
How can we offer "purpose" to everyone across all jobs?
This episode is sponsored by:
Blinkist - To start a 7 day trial, head to blinkist.com/smart
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Jan 29, 2019 • 57min
Sean McFate - The Future of War
Sean McFate is an author, novelist, and foreign policy expert. To expand on his already awesome background, Sean is a professor of strategy at the National Defense University and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He is also an Advisor to Oxford University's Centre for Technology and Global Affairs.Sean's book, The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder is available now!To learn more about Sean, head over to: www.seanmcfate.com.We discuss:
When it comes to the topic of war, why can't we all just get along?
What or who is the biggest threat to our civilization?
What is an example of someone yielding wealth and taking power for their individual gain?
How is America doing when it comes to the 'future of war'?
This episode is sponsored by:Blinkist - To start a 7 day trial, head to blinkist.com/smart
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Jan 15, 2019 • 54min
Cheryl Heller - Higher Purpose Through Social Design
Cheryl Heller is a strategist and designer, who has had an amazing career. She is the Founding Chair of the first MFA program in Design for Social Innovation at the School of Visual Arts. She was awarded a Practitioner Fellowship in the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Program. This only scratches the surface!Cheryl's most recent book is The Intergalactic Design Guide: Harnessing the Creative Potential of Social Design.To learn more about Cheryl, head over to: heller.commonwise.design.We discuss:
What is social design?
How does social design help put structure to complexity?
What is the most foundational aspect of social design?
Links mentioned:
https://workingnarratives.org/article/public-narrative
http://marshallganz.usmblogs.com/files/2012/08/Public-Narrative-Worksheet-Fall-2013-.pdf
This episode is sponsored by:
Professor Dave Explains YouTube Channel - professordaveexplains.com
Blinkist - To start a 7 day trial, head to blinkist.com/smart
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Jan 8, 2019 • 1h 35min
2018 End of Year Special
2018 is over and we sit down to reminisce about the year that has passed... and drink a little whiskey while doing it! We have a whiskey tasting (listen to the end of the episode!), answer some listener questions, and take some time to reflect. Enjoy!Don't worry! We return to your regularly scheduled interview next week.
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Dec 31, 2018 • 53min
Mark Manson - Experience Growth and Fulfillment
This week, we speak with Mark Manson. Mark is a New York Times bestselling author, a blogger, and internet entrepreneur. He often writes about what he considers to be life's most important topics: happiness, self-knowledge, habits, and relationships.Mark's book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life is a must read!To learn more about Mark, check out his website: markmanson.net.We discuss:
How did you make your transformation into the self-help genre?
How do I figure out what I want to do with my life?
Where is Mark now in his life (this was 2 years ago!)?
What would you tell a 21 year old to figure out what will work for them?
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