Smart People Podcast

McKenzie Funk - Almost everyone is aware that climate change is slowly but surely destroying our planet, however very few know that you can get rich off of it! Want to know how? Or at least know what kind of individual would profit from the destruction of our planet?  McKenzie Funk has spent the last six years reporting around the world on how we are preparing for a warmer planet. Funk shows us that the best way to understand the catastrophe of global warming is to see it through the eyes of those who see it most clearly—as a market opportunity. Global warming’s physical impacts can be separated into three broad categories: melt, drought, and deluge. Funk travels to two dozen countries to profile entrepreneurial people who see in each of these forces a potential windfall.  McKenzie is the author of Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming. A National Magazine Award finalist and former Knight-Wallace Fellow, he won the Oakes Prize for Environmental Journalism for a story about the melting Arctic and was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists for his interview in Tajikistan with one of the first prisoners released from Guantanamo Bay. His writing has appeared in Harper’s, National Geographic, Outside, Rolling Stone, Bloomberg Businessweek, and The New York Times. Mac is a founding member of Deca, a global journalism cooperative. "People are looking at climate change and saying, 'What's in it for me?"' - McKenzie Funk Quotes from McKenzie:  What we learn in this episode: Why are their wars over the northern regions of the globe? How do you profit from climate change? Is it evil to profit from destruction? Resources: Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming http://www.mckenziefunk.com/ Twitter @McKenzieFunk -- This episode is brought to you by: 99Designs: Go to 99designs.com/SMART to get a $99 Power Pack of services for FREE today! Squarespace: Squarespace, the all-­in-­one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website, portfolio, and online store. For a free trial and 10% off your first purchase, go to squarespace.com/smartpeople and use promo code expert.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Navarro - Not many can say they were personally approached to join the FBI, but this is exactly what happened to Joe Navarro while he was working as a police officer at the tender age of 23. He accepted their offer and became one of the youngest agents ever to join the renowned investigative agency. Joe is quite literally a human lie detector. Having spent over 25 years as a counterintelligence officer with the FBI, Joe has mastered the art of reading non-verbal communication in order to catch spies, convict felons, and thwart terrorist attacks.  In this episode we will learn what to look for in a liar, which body parts "give away the secret", and how you can use your body language to get people to like you, hire you, and trust you.  Joe is the author of What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People. "Neck covering is one of the most accurate behaviors that lets you know when someone is worried." - Joe Navarro Quotes from Joe:  What we learn in this episode: What is the truth behind recognizing non-verbal cues? Is there a silver bullet to detect lying? What is the science behind human non-verbal communication? Did you know our fear response is freeze, flight, and fight, in that order? How should you stand with someone during an intimate conversation? Resources: What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People http://joenavarro.net/ Forbes Interview with Joe Navarro Twitter @navarrotells -- This episode is brought to you by: 99Designs: Go to 99designs.com/SMART to get a $99 Power Pack of services for FREE today! Personal Capital: With Personal Capital, you’ll finally be able to see all your accounts in one place and get a clear view of everything you own. To sign up for free go to personalcapital.com/smartpeople. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roger Hamilton - We promise you will be buzzing with excitement after this episode.  Roger is perhaps best known as 'Asia's leading wealth consultant', but in our opinion, he is more of a career and life mentor with a talent for story telling.  Roger is the Founder of Entrepreneurs Institute and creator of the Wealth Dynamics, Talent Dynamics & Genius Test profiling systems, used by over 250,000 entrepreneurs and leaders around the world. His newest book, The Millionaire Master Plan: Your Personalized Path to Financial Success takes you on an amazing journey to help you make a living doing what comes most naturally to you. Roger has designed nine steps - from barely surviving - all the way to the highest level of ultimate wealth for life - and he lays out his nine steps in an easy-to-understand color-coded manner that ranges from red (barely living paycheck-to-paycheck) all the way to ultra-violet (where generating income is simply no longer a worry). Along the way, the reader first takes a quick test to determine where one is on the financial spectrum, and then Hamilton provides key insights and practical tips as to how one can progress to the next level. You track your progress by ascending from one color to the next. "Even Superman has to be Clark Kent some of the time." - Roger Hamilton Quotes from Roger: What we learn in this episode: How to nurture your natural talents and focus less on what is difficult and more on what comes easy to you. What is your natural question? Who, What, When, or How. What is a learning cycle and why is it the most important part of mastering any skill? Resources: The Millionaire Master Plan: Your Personalized Path to Financial Success www.rogerjameshamilton.com www.millionairemasterplan.com www.geniusu.com Twitter: @rogerhamilton Other Resources: The I Ching, or, Book of Changes (as mentioned by Roger) The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance -- This episode is brought to you by: 99Designs: Go to 99designs.com/SMART to get a $99 Power Pack of services for FREE today! ting: mobile that makes sense. For $25 off your first device or a $25 credit, use smartpeople.ting.com and save money on your cell phone bill today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Nestor - The ocean is the final, unseen, untouched, and undiscovered wilderness. In fact, we know more about other planets and stars lightyears away than we do about our oceans, which cover more than 2/3 of our planet. Join us this week as we follow author James Nestor on an amazing journey to the depths of the ocean. James is the author of Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves which is ranked as one of Amazon's best non-fiction books of 2014. The book follows clans of extreme athletes, adventurers, and scientists as they plumb the limits of the ocean's depths and uncover weird and wondrous new discoveries that, in many cases, redefine our understanding of the ocean and ourselves. James has written for Outside Magazine, Dwell Magazine, National Public Radio,The New York Times, Men's Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, and more.  Nestor’s first book, Get High Now (without drugs) humorously explores the worlds of neurology, biology, and physiology through meditations, illusions, household herbs, and some bizarre anthropological discoveries. The accompanying website, gethighnow.com, was awarded in Time Magazine’s Top 50 Websites of 2009 and receives about 200,000 hits per month. "Our bodies are equipped with reflexes that allow us to withstand the incredible pressures of a deep dive - our bodies completely transform.  It is the most profound transformation that we can naturally experience." - James Nestor Quotes from James:  What we learn in this episode: How does someone make a living as an author? What is the "Master Switch of Life"? What is the sport of freediving? How can the human body withstand the pressure imposed on it at 300+ feet below sea level where lungs shrink down to the size of baseballs? Resources: Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves http://mrjamesnestor.com/index.html Performance Freediving International Twitter: @MrJamesNestor -- This episode is brought to you by: 99Designs: Go to 99designs.com/SMART to get a $99 Power Pack of services for FREE today! Personal Capital: With Personal Capital, you’ll finally be able to see all your accounts in one place and get a clear view of everything you own. To sign up for free go to personalcapital.com/smartpeople. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon Sinek - This week we talk to one of our favorite speakers and personalities, Simon Sinek. Simon is a popular author who is best known for his book, “Start with Why”. Not only is he an amazing speaker, but he has one of the most popular TEDx videos ever released (How great leaders inspire action). The video is so popular, it ranks in the top 3 TED list with over 17 million views! Simon’s latest book is Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t, which focuses on the idea that leaders who are willing to “eat last” are rewarded with loyal colleagues. “I did what anybody who finds something beautiful does. We share it with our friends and the people we love.” - Simon Sinek Quotes from Simon: What we learn in this episode: What went wrong in Simon's TEDx video How to move people and organizations A quick and FREE way to discover your why Resources: Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action https://www.startwithwhy.com/ http://www.ted.com/speakers/simon_sinek Twitter: @simonsinek -- This episode is brought to you by: 99Designs: Go to 99designs.com/SMART to get a $99 Power Pack of services for FREE today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russ Roberts - Our guest this week is the host of the extremely popular EconTalk podcast.  In this episode talk economics, education, passion, and more! Although sometimes Economics can seem dry and boring, Russ has made a living out of making it understandable and bringing it to the masses. Russell Roberts is the John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He tries to make economics understandable to a general audience. Roberts hosts the weekly podcast EconTalk--hour-long conversations with authors, economists, and business leaders. Past guests include Milton Friedman, Nassim Taleb, Christopher Hitchens, Jimmy Wales, Joseph Stiglitz, and John Bogle. EconTalk was named podcast of the year in the 2008 Weblog Awards. His latest book is The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity. " I believe the power of Economics is to help provide a unique lens for looking at the world." - Russ Roberts Quotes from Russ: What we learn in this episode: How does economics play a role in our daily lives? What is spontaneous order? How is it explained by traffic? What does Russ believe is the problem with the modern American university? How did Russ get one of the coolest jobs on the planet? Resources: http://www.econtalk.org/ http://www.invisibleheart.com/ http://cafehayek.com/ http://www.hoover.org/fellows/russell-roberts Twitter: @econtalker -- This episode is brought to you by: 99Designs: Go to 99designs.com/SMART to get a $99 Power Pack of services for FREE today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shamus Khan - What is it really like to be the 1%? The income gap is a hot topic these days, but rarely do we learn what it is truly like to grow up in a world where money is no object. This week we get a behind the scenes look at how the American elite are raised and what it's like to be part of 'high society'. Shamus Khan teaches in the sociology department at Columbia University.  He writes on elites and inequality in America.  He is the author of Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul's School. He recently served as an opinion columnist for Time Magazine and continues to write about sociology in popular press.  With Dorian Warren, he is the director of a Russell Sage Foundation working group on “The Political Influence of Economic Elites” (which is very cool!). " The reality of the American condition is that we are one of the most unequal of the developed nations." - Shamus Khan Quotes from Shamus: What we learn in this episode: What exactly is inequality? What is the tie between money, value, and self worth? How do wealthy people think through the experience of wealth? Do the rich truly earn their money, or is it often just a set of lucky circumstances? Resources: Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul's School http://shamuskhan.wordpress.com/ The Political Influence of Economic Elites (Russell Sage Foundation) Twitter: @shamuskhan -- This episode is brought to you by: 99Designs: Go to 99designs.com/SMART to get a $99 Power Pack of services for FREE today!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Buettner - Do you want to live to 100+? Of course you do, as long as you don't have to wear a diaper! Our guest this week has figured out the key to living to the ripe old age of 100 and beyond and he's here to share it with you.  National Geographic writer and explorer Dan Buettner studies the world's longest-lived peoples, distilling their secrets into a single plan for health and long life. He is the author of the New York Times best selling book, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest.  His TED Talk “How to live to be 100+” has been viewed over 2 million times and his New York Times Sunday Magazine article, “The Island Where People Forget to Die” was the second most popular article of 2012. Dan has Keynoted speeches for Bill Clinton’s Health Matters Initiative, Google Zeitgeist, TEDMED and many more nationally renowned conferences.  He has been featured twice on Oprah and has received an Emmy award for television production. "Money does buy happiness to a certain extent. You need to be able to buy the necessities. However, after you obtain a certain amount, the effect of an added dollar does not buy you an added dollar of happiness. - Dan Buettner Quotes from Dan: What we learn in this episode: One of the keys to fitness and health is moderate exercise throughout the day, not spurts of intense activity. What are the secrets to living a long and healthy life? What factors play the biggest role of someone being truly happy? Resources: The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest http://www.bluezones.com/speaking/dan-buettner/ Dan Buettner - Ted Talk: How to live to be 100+ Twitter: @BlueZones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel Burrus - What if you could see into the future? Our guest this week is considered one of the World’s Leading Futurists on Global Trends and Innovation.The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker. He is a strategic advisor to executives from Fortune 500 companies helping them to develop game-changing strategies based on his proven methodologies for capitalizing on technology innovations and their future impact. He is the author of six books, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal best seller Flash Foresight: How to See the Invisible and Do the Impossible. Daniels' accurate predictions date back to the early 1980s where he became the first and only technology futurist to accurately identify the  twenty technologies that would become the driving forces of business and economic change for decades to come. Since then he has established a worldwide reputation for his exceptional record of predicting the future of technology driven change and its direct impact on the business world. "Life is a journey.  Part of that journey is not just using your talents, but trying to decide what is your gift and then directing your talents to support your gift so you can soar to new heights." - Daniel Burrus Quotes from Daniel: What we learn in this episode: How to spot potential future trends Where is technology going? Why? Can you scientifically forecast the future? Hard trends versus soft trends Resources: www.burrus.com/magazine - GET free stuff :) Flash Foresight: See the Invisible to Do the Impossible http://www.burrus.com/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-burrus/ Twitter: @DanielBurrus This episode is brought to you by: Stamps.com: Anything you can do at the Post Office, you can now do right from your desk with Stamps.com. Buy and print official U.S. postage for ANY letter or package using your own computer & printer. Use our promo code smart for this SPECIAL OFFER: A no-risk trial & a $110 Bonus Offer – includes a digital scale and up to $55 FREE postage! Remember, go to Stamps.com and use promo code smart. Squarespace: Squarespace, the all-­in-­one platform that makes it fast and easy to create your own professional website, portfolio, and online store. For a free trial and 10% off your first purchase, go to squarespace.com/smartpeople and use promo code expert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Branko Milanovic - Income inequality in the United States has been increasing since the early 1980's, and it's only getting worse. Perhaps even more worrisome is the continuing growth in the income gap on a global basis. The wealth gap between the richest and the poorest countries is becoming so large that our entire economic system is in danger. This week we are joined by Branko Milanovic, the former head economist in the World Bank's research department as we discuss income inequality around the world and his most recent book, The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality. The Globalist selected The Haves and the Have-Nots as number one on its "top books of 2011". Branko is also a professor at the University of Maryland and often writes for publications such as the Harvard Business review and The Economist. "The system that is currently in place clearly benefits the people who are rich. But those individuals are not willing, nor are they motivated to change this system." - Branko Milanovic Quotes from Branko: What we learn in this episode: An astounding 60 percent of a person's income is determined merely by where that person was born. Although income inequality is often thought of in terms of the relationship between rich and poor individuals in a country, the gap becomes increasingly more worrisome as you look at it from a global perspective. As technological advances continue, the income gap will very likely continue to grow because cheap labor is replaced by technology and wealth goes straight to the company owners. Resources: The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality http://blogs.hbr.org/branko-milanovic/ Twitter: @BrankoMilan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices