The Rich Roll Podcast

This mid-week episode of the podcast is a fun, dynamic Q&A session from our Plantpower Australia event in Melbourne, Australia, recorded March 2017.Big gratitude to everyone who helped produce and support our Australia events, including Mel Nahas, Andrew & Claire Davies of New Normal Project, Claire Jennifer and Gary Gorrow of Conscious Club, Mark Maloney and Luke Baylis of Sumo Salad, Lucy Stegley of Raw Events Australia, Andrew “SpudFit” Taylor, photographer / musician Maclay Heriot, Remedy Kombucha, Loving Earth, photographers Nathan Dunn, Noah Hannibal and Lauren Gray and of course the unnamed dozens who volunteered. These events would not have been possible without all of your hard work and supportIn further celebration of the 300 episode milestone, I am giving away 9 #BuildTheHouse t-shirts (I only have men's size large unfortunately). To be eligible to win, simply take a screen shot of your favorite RRP episode and share it on social media with a brief explanation of why you found that particular episode meaningful. Tag your post with #RRPFAVE and we will select the winners one week from today (July 26, 2017). Just a small way for me to say thank you — because without you, this beautiful thing would not exist.I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.Peace + Plants,Rich

Addiction doesn't discriminate. It doesn't care how smart you are or how much money you have. Left unchecked, it will destroy your career, decimate your relationships, asphyxiate your aspirations and ultimately bankrupt your soul until you are but a shell of a human being — totally lost, devoid of hope and utterly alone.I've been there. Tommy Rosen has been there too.By the grace of a power greater than ourselves, both Tommy and I found a way out. A solution for sobriety that slowly pieced us back together, made us whole and gave our lives purpose.That solution is the focus of today's conversation.With over twenty-four years of continuous sobriety, Tommy is an addiction recovery expert who has spent the last two decades immersed in yoga, recovery and wellness.He is the author of Recovery 2.0: Move Beyond Addiction and Upgrade Your Life*, and the founder and host of the Recovery 2.0: Beyond Addiction Online Conference. In addition, he holds certifications in both Kundalini and Hatha Yoga and leads Recovery 2.0 retreats and workshops internationally and presents regularly at yoga conferences and festivals.This is a conversation about Tommy's remarkable path to recovery.It's an intense and at times profound discourse on the ravages of addiction and alcoholism.And it's a master class on the healing journey to becoming whole through the lens of Tommy's expertise, which is utilizing yoga and meditation to empower people to free themselves from the prison of addiction and ultimately build purposeful, fulfilling lives.If you are suffering from some form of addiction, this episode is a must listen. Even if you're not an addict, I encourage you to embrace this conversation as a means to better understand the affliction, as chances are you probably know someone in need of help,I sincerely hope you enjoy this powerful exchange.Peace + Plants,Rich

If you want provoke change — real change – it's imperative to take a stand outside the echo chamber of the converted.That's the ethos of professional race car driver and environmental activist Leilani Münter.Named one of the top ten female race car drivers in the world by Sports Illustrated, Leilani races in NASCAR's ARCA Series and is the fourth woman in history to race in the Indy Pro Series (the development league of IndyCar). She has logged impressive performances at both Daytona and Talladega and set the record for the highest finish for a female driver in the history of the Texas Motor Speedway when she finished fourth in 2006.But what’s most intriguing about Leilani — beyond the inherent intrigue of being one of the only female drivers in her sport — is her singular commitment to leveraging her profile to educate, inspire and raise awareness around environmental issues.Winning isn't everything. Change is the goal.Putting her money where her mouth is, Leilani has foregone traditional sponsorship opportunities to race cars draped in oversized logos promoting the documentaries The Cove and Blackfish. At Daytona in February 2017, she raced a car displaying Vegan Powered bills across the hood and sides. And since 2007, she adopts one acre of rainforest for every race she runs.Leilani has presented before the UN in Geneva in 2015 and has appeared on Capitol Hill to speak on behalf of clean energy legislation. In addition, she was one of the first activists to arrive at the 2010 Gulf oil disaster and traveled to Taiji, Japan three times to document the dolphin slaughter depicted in the Academy Award winning documentary The Cove. She sits on board of the Oceanic Preservation Society and on the advisory board of The Solutions Project, a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the transition to 100 percent renewable energy.Leilani appears in the 2015 documentary Racing Extinction and her accomplishments have been profiled in USA Today, Italian Vogue, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Reader's Digest, Esquire, and Newsweek. Discovery’s Planet Green named Münter the No. 1 eco-athlete in the world, she is a recipient of ELLE Magazine's 2012 Genius
Award, and Glamour Magazine named her an “Eco Hero.”This conversation explores Leilani's upbringing, what motivated her to become a race car driver, and what its like to be one of the only females in her male dominated sport.It's a discussion about the intersection of activism and sport — how Leilani infuses performance with her strident commitment to principles.But mostly this is a conversation about the why behind Leilani's drive. A strong, powerful female role model committed to positively impacting culture, shifting consumer habits and catalyzing beneficial environmental policy change, I aspire to her level of dedication to a better world.As Leilani is fond of saying, never underestimate a vegan hippie chick with a race car.After this conversation, you won't either.I love this exchange and sincerely hope you do too.Peace + Plants,Rich

Four and a half years ago, I hit record and spoke my first words on this podcast from a cavernous warehouse on Kauai's North Shore. An experiment without much forethought, it was at best a simple creative outlet. Without attachment or any expectations whatsoever, I wasn't sure there would even be an episode 2.Today I celebrate 300 episodes. About 500 hours spent going deep with the most compelling minds I could find. It's a catalog I am extremely proud of. A catalog I wish I had access to guide my younger years. A catalog I hope has brought you guidance, perspective, inspiration and education to inform your journey we call life.Today I celebrate by taking a moment to reflect back on the journey with my audio producer Jason Camiolo.Then we launch into a Q&A that was recorded before a small live audience on July 14, 2017 at Sacred Space in Miami at Julie's This Cheese Is Nuts! book launch event.In recognition of the 300 episode milestone and to honor you, the listener, I am giving away 10 signed copies of Finding Ultra as well as a handful of #BuildTheHouse t-shirts. To be eligible to win, simply take a screen shot of your favorite RRP episode and share it on social media with a brief explanation of why you found that particular episode meaningful. Tag your post with #RRP300 and we will select the winners one week from today (July 14, 2017). Just a small way for me to say thank you — because without you, this beautiful thing would not exist.I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.Peace + Plants,Rich

Imagine yourself growing up around the wrong people. Because it's easy, you fall into the wrong crowd. Blink, and you’re in. Deep. A victim of impossible circumstances, it’s not long before you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the reflexive moment — impulsively and without thought – you do the wrong thing. A thing so terrible, it forever alters the trajectory of your life. A thing so unimaginably horrible, you dedicate the rest of your life in service to atonement.This is the story of Shaka Senghor. At the age of 19, Shaka shot and killed a man. Convicted of second-degree murder, Shaka would spend the next 19 years in different prisons, seven of which were spent in solitary confinement.While inside, Shaka made a decision. A decision to fully own his circumstances. A decision to transcend victimhood, understand his past, free his mind and expand his thinking. When he wasn't voraciously reading, he wrote. And it was through this relentless commitment to knowledge, self-understanding and compassion that he ultimately pulled himself out of the anger that led to his incarceration and prevented him from reaching his full potential.Released in 2010, Shaka did not return to a life of violence. Instead, he committed himself to one singular idea: that our worst deeds don’t define who we are, nor do they prohibit our contribution to a better world. Fidelity to this ideal transformed Shaka's utterly broken life into one of meaning, purpose and advocacy. Now a leading voice in prison reform, he is a powerful public speaker, a Senior Fellow with the Dream Corps, a 2014 TED Prize finalist, a former MIT Media Lab Director’s Fellow, a former University of Michigan lecturer, a current Fellow in the inaugural class of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Community Leadership Network and the founder of The Atonement Project. In addition, he recently launched Mind Blown Media, a new media company that aims to create high-impact content focused on the criminal justice system and mass incarceration.Shaka’s memoir, Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death and Redemption in an American Prison* debuted on The New York Times Best Seller List as well as The Washington Post Best Seller List. He has been interviewed by Oprah and his TED Talk, which received a standing ovation, has been viewed more than 1.4 million times and was featured by TED as one of the most powerful TED Talks of 2014. Shaka has appeared on CNN, CBS This Morning, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Good Day New York, and he has been a guest on numerous radio programs, including NPR’s All Things Considered. And if all that isn't impressive enough, Shaka is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2016 EBONY Power100, the 2016 Ford Man of Courage, the 2016 NAACP Great Expectations Award, the 2015 Manchester University Innovator of the Year, and the 2012 Black Male Engagement Leadership Award.I’m honored to share Shaka’s powerful story with you today.Enjoy!Rich

Meditation master Sharon Salzberg redefines love as an ability to create connections. She discusses cultivating real love, navigating divisive situations with compassion, and the transformative power of self-compassion. The podcast delves into her personal journey, the foundation of Insight Meditation Society, embracing imperfection, setting boundaries, and starting a meditation practice.

Chris Hauth, a former Olympic Swimmer and endurance coach, joins Rich Roll for a discussion on training and overall wellness. They cover topics such as training for the Ötillö Swimrun World Championships, getting race fit at 50, balancing training with personal life, trust in building fitness, the significance of long runs, and the importance of recovery tools and equipment.

Last week we discussed the how behind ditching dairy. This week we discuss the why.Right now the average American eats more than 33 pounds of cheese a year. Packed with calories, loaded with saturated fat and teeming in highly addictive casomorphins, it's a habit that's intimately linked to obesity and a litany of chronic illnesses, including heart disease and type-2 diabetes. It's a habit that wrecks significant havoc on the environment, polluting our skies and poisoning our water table. And it's a habit that perpetuates unspeakable cruelty on the sentient animals it relies upon to serve its unabating appetite.Nonetheless, the U.S. continues to produce more cheese and dairy products than any other country in the world. Relentless, well-funded dairy industry lobbying efforts have entrenched government subsidies that not only incentivize production but even quietly fund corporate product development and marketing efforts, such as Pizza Hut's infamous grilled cheese stuffed crust pizza, McDonald's McCafé products and even Starbucks smoothies — all products specifically produced, developed and marketed to increase consumer dairy consumption courtesy of the federal funded and USDA regulated dairy checkoff program.It's time to stop the insanity.So let's talk about it. I can think of no better steward to facilitate a conversation on this subject than my good friend Neal Barnard, M.D.A pre-eminent authority on diet and nutrition and its impact on illnesses such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s, Neal is the founder & president of The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), where he leads programs advocating for preventive medicine, good nutrition, and higher ethical standards in research, and the Barnard Medical Center, a ground-breaking non-profit primary care medical practice where board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners, and registered dietitians help patients prevent and reverse serious health problems, leveraging a holistic approach that involves tackling the actual causes of illness, with extra attention on nutrition.Neal is also an adjunct associate professor of medicine at George Washington University and has authored over 70 scientific publications as well as 18 books, including the New York Times best-sellers Power Foods for the Brain*,21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart*, the USA Today best-seller Dr. Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes* and the subject of today’s conversation...

“I would totally go vegan but there’s no way I can give up cheese.”If this is you, then today's episode is required listening.This week my wife and creative partner Julie Piatt returns to the podcast to discuss the hows and whys of ditching dairy in celebration of her brand new book, This Cheese Is Nuts! Delicious Vegan Cheese At Home, hitting bookstores everywhere Tuesday, June 13.Equal parts mother, author, yogi, musician, and doyenne of vegan cuisine, Julie spent the last two years ensconced in her kitchen lab, dutifully pushing plant-based culinary boundaries to create an extraordinary new work to empower each and all with the required tools and techniques to prepare over 75 facile vegan cheese recipes for home and family.Introducing Cheese 2.0. As her taste-tester in chief, take it from me — it doesn't mimic dairy cheese. It's better. Way better – for you, your family, the planet and of course the animals.If you loved The Plantpower Way, then you're going to flip for This Cheese Is Nuts — a next level nutritional primer designed not just for vegans but for everyone and anyone looking to live better and more sustainably. So whether you are paleo, lactose intolerant, plant-curious or just looking for healthier options for your kids, this book is a must for your and loved ones.This week I sit down with Julie to talk about why she wrote this book and what she hopes it will accomplish.This is a conversation about creative exploration, the power of self-expression and the hidden strengths of naiveté. It's about why and how you should finally ditch dairy. And it's about food choice as a powerful political act to improve personal health and sustainably preserve our collective ecological resources for future generations and our animal friends alike.I'm so proud of Julie and I couldn't be more excited about the impact her new book will no doubt have on positively transforming countless lives in the years to come. The recipes forever changed our lives and I promise they will change yours too. So pick it up for yourself. Pick it up for a loved one. Pick it up for the animals. Pick it up for the planet. Because time is running out. Because good food truly is the first portal to self-actualization. And more than ever, we need everybody to be who they really are.I sincerely hope you enjoy the discussion. This Cheese Is Nuts!Peace + Plants,Rich

Back by popular demand, my good friend, podcast favorite and provacateur-at-large John Joseph returns for an unprecedented 5th appearance on the show to share more of his extraordinary story. A story that lays bare the indelible power of the human spirit to face and transcend unimaginable, seemingly insurmountable obstacles and ultimately transform one's life wholesale.If you're a longtime listener, Johnny Bloodclot needs no introduction. For the uninitiated, John is a sui generis American original. The very definition of hardcore. A survivor. A spiritual warrior spouting straight talk directly from the streets of the Lower East Side with one singular, driving purpose:getting people to wake the f&*k up.Conceived and raised in abuse, deprived of opportunity and left to his own devices, John turned to violence and drugs on the rough and tumble streets of New York's Lower East Side in the 1970’s. It's a path that predictably led to violence, crime, addiction and incarceration. Spending his teens as a drug mule led to a series of unsavory foster care homes, culminating in unimaginably horrific stints in juvenile detention.Then things went downhill.To avoid long-term incarceration, he enlisted in the Navy, only to go AWOL after a fight. Fleeing the law and rudderless, John found redemption in the hardcore punk rock scene flourishing on Manhattan's Lower East Side in the early 1980's. Taken in by the Bad Brains' frontman H.R., John began to explore not just his musicianship, but his spirituality. It's a journey that birthed the Cro-Mags – one of the era's most iconic and influential hardcore punk bands. Later, he found his spiritual salvation living in a Hare Krishna monastery, birthing a life-long love of meditation, yoga, the vegan lifestyle, racing Ironman triathlons, and most importantly, his profound devotion to service.Renown for his straight talk, no BS approach to living and the power of PMA — positive mental attitude — John continues to tour as frontman for both Cro-Mags and his new band Bloodclot. He also just released a 2nd edition of his memoir Evolution of a Cro-Magnon* and is the author of nutrition primer Meat Is For Pussies*, with a foreword by yours truly.A man who truly walks his talk, every conversation with John leaves me better than before. Today's conversation proves that just when I think we’ve covered it all, new layers emerge. So even if you've enjoyed all of John's previous appearances on the podcast, this episode will find you riveted by a stream of mind-blowing, never previously told stories that are certain to incite, provoke, educate and inspire.LANGUAGE ADVISORY: John drops more f-bombs in this conversation than I could count. John is John, and editing was out of the question. So if you're queasy about foul language, consider yourself warned and make sure the kiddos are out of earshot.Enjoy!Rich