Smart People Podcast

If you could rewind your life to the very beginning and then press play, would everything turn out the same? Or could making an accidental phone call or missing an exit off the highway change not just your life, but history itself? And would you remain blind to the radically different possible world you unknowingly left behind?In our episode this week, myth-shattering social scientist Brian Klaas dives deeply into the phenomenon of random chance and the chaos it can sow, taking aim at most people’s neat and tidy storybook version of reality. The good news is, we can USE this understanding of randomness and chaos to our advantage, to see the world more clearly, and to focus on the things that matter.Brian's book, Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters, is available now!Learn more about Brian at brianpklaas.com.Support the Show - Become a Patron!Help us grow and become a Patron today: https://www.patreon.com/smartpeoplepodcastSponsors:Rocket Money - Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/SMARTBabbel - Get 55% off your Babbel subscription at babbel.com/spp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guy Kawasaki is a marketing legend and the first Chief Evangelist Officer at Apple in 1984 when he helped launch and market the first Macintosh computer. In this episode, Guy brings us back to the early days of Apple and tells us what it was truly like working alongside Steve Jobs. He explains his rise and fall at Apple, and what he learned from the best entrepreneur of our generation. He then explains how he has taken his professional experience and put it into his new book, Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference. Guy delivers a practical, tactical, and sometimes radical discussion of how to make a difference in the world and live a fulfilling life.Guy's book, Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference, is available now.Learn more about Guy at guykawasaki.com.Support the Show - Become a Patron!Help us grow and become a Patron today: https://www.patreon.com/smartpeoplepodcastSponsors:Rocket Money - Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/SMARTFactor - use code smart50 to get 50% off at factormeals.com/smart50Babbel - Get 55% off your Babbel subscription at babbel.com/spp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The real estate market is the topic of many conversations these days. Are we in a bubble? Is Real Estate still a good investment? Is AirBNB destroying communities? What is the future of real estate agents after the recent lawsuit? In this week's episode we sit down with Dave Liniger, the Founder and President of Re/Max, the worlds largest Real Estate firm, to discuss all of these questions and more.Dave is the chairman of RE/MAX, the Denver based global real estate company that he cofounded with his wife, Gail, in 1973. RE/MAX is the leading franchisor of real estate offices throughout the world and has expanded to more than 9,000 offices in over 110 countries, with over 140,000 sales agents. He is highly respected internationally for his vast knowledge of the real estate and franchising industries. Although he retired as the CEO in 2018, he continues to lead the company as chairman of the board.Dave's book, The Perfect 10: 10 Leadership Principles to Achieve True Independence, Extreme Wealth, and Huge Success, is available now.Learn more about Dave at daveliniger.com.Support the Show - Become a Patron!Help us grow and become a Patron today: https://www.patreon.com/smartpeoplepodcastSponsors:Rocket Money - Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/SMARTFactor - use code smart50 to get 50% off at factormeals.com/smart50Babbel - Get 55% off your Babbel subscription at babbel.com/spp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we are living through a revolution in biology. Giant strides are being made in understanding why we age—and why some species live longer than others. Could we eventually cheat disease and death and live for a very long time, possibly many times our current lifespan?Venki Ramakrishnan, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and former president of the Royal Society, takes us on a riveting journey to the frontiers of biology, asking whether we must be mortal. Covering the recent breakthroughs in scientific research, he examines the cutting edge of efforts to extend lifespan by altering our physiology.Venki's book, Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality, is available now.Support the Show - Become a Patron!Help us grow and become a Patron today: https://www.patreon.com/smartpeoplepodcastSponsors:Rocket Money - Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/SMARTFactor - use code smart50 to get 50% off at factormeals.com/smart50Babbel - Get 55% off your Babbel subscription at babbel.com/spp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Renowned author Charles Duhigg discusses his new book on communication. Discover the three types of conversations for better connections. Learn about the power of effective communication and the art of storytelling in connecting with others.

Memory isn't just a passive recollection—it's a transformative force that subtly influences our world.Dr. Ranganath, a leading memory researcher, unveils the powerful influence memory has on our lives, from recalling faces and names to shaping learning, decision-making, and even trauma and healing. He reveals how our brains record the past, shaping our present and guiding our future.Join us as we explore practical applications of this knowledge, from daily tasks like finding keys to addressing memory challenges as we age. Dr. Ranganath also shows how leveraging our brain's ability to reinterpret past events can lead to healing trauma, shedding biases, and fostering self-awareness.Charan's book, Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters, is available now.To learn more about Charan, go to charanranganath.com.Support the Show - Become a Patron!Help us grow and become a Patron today: https://www.patreon.com/smartpeoplepodcastSponsors:Hims - Start your free online visit today at Hims.com/SMART.The Optimistic Outlook - Dive into The Optimistic Outlook and join a community of listeners who are enthusiastic about big, transformative ideas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonnie Wan is a Partner and Head of Brand Strategy at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, one of Fast Company’s 2021 Most Innovative Companies In The World. As a career brand strategist she has been celebrated as an Ad Age Leading Woman for 2023 and 2022’s Chief Strategy Officer of the Year.We all have moments when we doubt the path we’re on. Is this the career for me? Am I in the right relationship? Is this as good as it gets? These questions can feel uncomfortable without a method for uncovering the answers. Enter The Life Brief, a simple yet effective playbook for navigating life’s decisions, crossroads, and curve-balls.Modeled after the creative brief, a tool used by the most innovative companies in the world to unlock clarity and unleash action, The Life Brief carves a path for living with intention and imagination. Designed by leading brand strategist Bonnie Wan, The Life Brief is a practice in three parts: The first phase, Get Messy, is a set of open-ended writing prompts that cut through limiting beliefs and false assumptions about what’s possible. The second phase, Get Clear, offers prompts for finding clarity around what you truly, deeply want. The third phase, Get Active, catapults you into the steps to making those desires a reality.Bonnie's book, The Life Brief: A Playbook for No-Regrets Living, is available now.To learn more about Bonnie, go to thelifebrief.com/bonnie.Support the Show - Become a Patron!Help us grow and become a Patron today: https://www.patreon.com/smartpeoplepodcastSponsors:Hims - Start your free online visit today at Hims.com/SMART.The Optimistic Outlook - Dive into The Optimistic Outlook and join a community of listeners who are enthusiastic about big, transformative ideas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Stephen Porges, founder of Polyvagal Theory, discusses the impact of feeling safe on well-being, social bonds, and self-regulation. He explores stress responses in mammals, social cues, and autonomic regulation. The conversation delves into creating safe protocols for calmness, understanding reflex responses in the body, and reactions to blood loss.

Paul Millerd is an author, consultant, and podcaster.In this episode we talk about what it’s like to find yourself in the wrong life, and then how to get into the real work of figuring out how to live. Our guest pieces together a set of ideas and principles that brought him from unfulfilled and burned out to his good life. Hopefully you can take some things away from this conversation to start living a more intentional, energizing, and passionate life for yourself.Paul's book, The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story For Work and Life, is available now.To learn more about Paul, go to think-boundless.com.Support the Show - Become a Patron!Help us grow and become a Patron today: https://www.patreon.com/smartpeoplepodcastSponsors:Babbel - Get 55% off your Babbel subscription at Babbel.com/SPP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Alex Tapscott, an entrepreneur and author focusing on the intersection of blockchain and AI, as he dives into transformative technologies. He discusses the evolution from Web 1 to Web 3, emphasizing the democratization of digital ownership. The conversation touches on individual freedom in the metaverse, the impact of decentralized transactions, and how blockchain and augmented reality are redefining digital art. Alex also highlights the creative industry's challenges and the inclusivity of the Web3 movement, urging everyone to engage with this digital frontier.