The Bounce Podcast

03/05/2024

Guy Kawasaki is a pioneering figure in Silicon Valley, celebrated marketing icon, and successful serial entrepreneur. Guy was one of the original Apple employees responsible for launching their Macintosh computer line in 1984 - and then revitalizing Apple again in the 90s when it faced market share....

29/11/2023

Recently got a text from a friend.

"Just got laid off."

That's all, waiting for my reply—and questions, which were both forthcoming. The next day I received another text from another friend.

"Got a minute? I'm leaving [xyz company]."

Both texts capture the current work-world zeitgeist, and both are examples of what Bruce Feiler calls “work quakes” - jolts shifts that transform our professional journey in significant ways.

Wondering what to do next? Give this a listen on any pod player or Spotify...

larryweeks.com/a-post-career-…

In this episode, we dive into the shifting dynamics of work, careers, and the quest for fulfillment. Bruce Feiler discusses the history of the career and how work is transforming. Bruce is a leading voice in American modern life with seven bestsellers. His newest book, "The Search: Finding Meaningfu...

04/10/2023

Clear your fog. My chat with Shane Parrish of Farnam Street who offers great advice on how to think clearly and how to transform knowledge into wisdom.

His latest book is "Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments Into Extraordinary Results" and it's the topic of this podcast. So much good stuff here; highlights include:

- Clarity criteria
- Pre-decision positioning
- Why failure is a high-quality experience
- How to use intuition in decision-making
- His favorite mental models
- Knowing vs. deep understanding
- Writing as a tool for clear thinking
- The learning loop
- How to think in reverse
- A great method for decision validation

And lots more. Give it a listen…

larryweeks.com/clearing-the-fog

In this episode I talk with Shane Parrish. Shane is a former cybersecurity expert and the genius behind Farnam Street, a site immensely popular among the elite innovator and investor class. Shane is also celebrated for his bestselling three-volume series on mental models and his latest book "Clear T...

27/08/2023

Between life and death.

Hadley Vlahos is not just a seasoned hospice nurse but also an end-of-life educator and now a New York Times bestselling author. Her journey and her experiences became the foundation for her bestselling work, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments. The book captures deep, poignant stories from her time with patients, giving insights into what life's final moments can teach us about existence itself.

- Experiences where patients state and act as if they see their deceased loved ones – and what they reveal about end-of-life encounters
- The enigma of the “in-between moments” and their interpretations
- Shared narratives on the afterlife
- Some not-so-common regrets of the dying
- How Hadley thinks about death and how she tries to live her life in its shadow
- The process of hospice, from deciding when it’s time to seek hospice care to understanding the intricacies of coverage

Hadley Vlahos is not just a seasoned hospice nurse but also an end-of-life educator and now a New York Times bestselling author. Her journey and her experiences became the foundation for her bestselling work, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments. The book captures dee...

08/07/2023

My chat with the renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on everything from aliens to Ai, and how to think more scientifically. Oh, and his favorite time-travel movie …

My guest is renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. He is the head of Hayden Planetarium in New York City and the first occupant of its Frederick P. Rose Directorship. He's a research associate of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. He is also the author of...

19/06/2023

AI. Progress or peril?

Everything you didn't know you wanted to know.

Recent developments in AI, specifically consumer-facing generative AIs, are helping people create a lot of cool content while also generating a ton of concern. A big bucket of that concern is AI alignment – what are the possible unintended consequences to humans?

Pedro Domingos is a leading AI researcher and the author of the worldwide bestseller “The Master Algorithm.” He won two of the highest honors in data science and AI and helped start the fields of statistical relational AI, data stream mining, adversarial learning, machine learning for information integration, and influence maximization in social networks.

On this episode, we run the gamut to include…

- Where are we with generative AI
- Pedro explains and demystifies LLMs (Large Language Models)
- Progress and problems with generative AIs
- Hallucination in AI – and illusion in humans
- The homunculus fallacy
- Risks, regulations, known-unknowns,
- S curve in emerging technologies like AI
- AI’s possible impact on Employment and the economy
- Artificial General IItellience or AGI
- Goals and end games, is AGI the goal?
- Does he think LLMs AI’s like ChatGPT are conscious?

Listen here...
https://www.larryweeks.com/ai-progress-or-peril-pedro-domingos-where-we-are-now-and-whats-next/

Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-66-ai-progress-or-peril-pedro-domingos-on-where/id1254440575?i=1000612537475

I have conversations with notable people to to get their stories or research on how to deal with or

10/06/2023

AI. Progress or peril?

Everything you didn't know you wanted to know.

Recent developments in AI, specifically consumer-facing generative AIs, are helping people create a lot of cool content while also generating a ton of concern. A big bucket of that concern is AI alignment – what are the possible unintended consequences to humans?

Pedro Domingos is a leading AI researcher and the author of the worldwide bestseller “The Master Algorithm.” He won two of the highest honors in data science and AI and helped start the fields of statistical relational AI, data stream mining, adversarial learning, machine learning for information integration, and influence maximization in social networks.

On this episode, we run the gamut to include…

- Where are we with generative AI
- Pedro explains and demystifies LLMs (Large Language Models)
- Progress and problems with generative AIs
- Hallucination in AI – and illusion in humans
- The homunculus fallacy
- Risks, regulations, known-unknowns,
- S curve in emerging technologies like AI
- AI’s possible impact on Employment and the economy
- Artificial General IItellience or AGI
- Goals and end games, is AGI the goal?
- Does he think LLMs AI’s like ChatGPT are conscious?

My guest on this episode is Pedro Domingos, a leading AI researcher and recipient of two of the highest honors in AI and the author of the worldwide bestseller "The Master Algorithm." Pedro is a professor of computer science at the University of Washington in Seattle, and he helped start the fields....

19/11/2022

This is your brain on depression. My chat with the distinguished Dr. John Krystal on brain chemistry, antidepressants, psychedelics, and ketamine therapy

This podcast is about what happens chemically to our brains when we are severely depressed, traumatized or anxious. And for those stuck in that state, what are the latest clinical treatments using medication that can help someone get unstuck. Dr. John Krystal's work links psychopharmacology, neuroim...

02/11/2022

Are you dealing with a high-conflict personality type? Here’s how to recognize and deal with an emotionally immature person.

Dr. Lindsay Gibson has written a best-selling series on dealing with emotionally immature people, the first of which is Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from the Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved. On this podcast, Dr. Gibson sheds light on the high-conflict personality....

06/08/2022

For profound loss, we often say we are heartbroken, but it is more accurate to say we are brain broken given the primacy of the role our brains play in how we feel about loss.

My chat with Dr. Mary-Francis O’Connor on the effects of grief on the brain.

For profound loss, we often say we are heartbroken, but it is more accurate to say we are brain broken given the primacy of the role our brains play in how we feel about loss. Mary-Francis is a professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Arizona and is the Director of the Gr...

12/06/2022

How to get out of your comfort zone.

My chat with media phenom A.J. Jacobs

A.J. is the king of self-experimentation. He is an author, journalist, lecturer, and human guinea pig; the results of which have led to some extreme field experiments like living the rules of the Old Testament for a year, thanking over a thousand people who served him coffee, reading the Encyclopedia Britannica to acquire knowledge about everything, and many more.

https://www.larryweeks.com/ep-55-an-experimental-life-a-j-jacobs-lessons-from-radical-lifestyle-changes/

A.J. Jacobs is the king of self-experimentation and participatory journalism. He is an author, journalist, lecturer, and human guinea pig; the results of which have led to some extreme field experiments like living the rules of the Old Testament for a year, thanking over a thousand people who served...

27/05/2022

How do you fit it all in - or do you?

My guest is Oliver Burkeman. Oliver is a journalist, author, and his most recent book "Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals" is the topic of the podcast.

Four Thousand Weeks explores concepts of time and time management, arguing that our modern attempts to optimize our time leave us stressed and unhappy.

On this podcast Oliver prompts us to question the very idea that time is something you use in the first place.

https://www.larryweeks.com/ep-54-life-is-short-to-do-lists-are-long-oliver-burkeman-on-time-management-for-mortals/

12/03/2022

How many friends should you have? Do Facebook friends count?

“Dunbar’s number” is the discovery that a cognitive limit exists on human groups (or friendships) of about 150. Generally, we can only maintain stable relationships within a limited number in which each individual knows who the other is and how that person relates to each other.

On the show, Robin breaks down from that upper number the smaller groups that make up our close friends and best friends, explaining how they got there – and maybe more importantly, how we can maintain and grow them.

Robin Dunbar is an eminent anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist famous for "Dunbar's Number". He is the head of the Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford. Robin is also the author of Friends — Understand...

04/02/2022

The Great Resignation can also be called The Great Reevaluation. For everyone quitting, many more are rethinking work, who they work with, and why they do it.

Some great advice here from career coach Ashley Stahl. NOW is the time to reflect on what's really possible with your career.

https://www.larryweeks.com/ep-52-the-great-resignation-ashley-stahl-on-career-design-and-how-to-get-unstuck/

The great resignation is all over the media of late; it's an economic trend born of the COVID pandemic in which employees (In the U.S. for our purposes) are voluntarily leaving jobs in huge numbers—starting around the end of 2020, ramping in 2021 and increasing now in 2022.

19/01/2022

My chat with Dr. Steven Hayes about dealing with depression with psychological flexibility. He lays out the benefits of shifting from purely focusing on what you think and feel - to how you relate to what you think and feel.

https://www.larryweeks.com/ep-51-thinking-traps-dr-steven-hayes-on-depression-and-psychological-flexibility/

This podcast is about the power of dealing with negative thoughts and emotions more obliquely. It's a central shift from focusing on what you think and feel to how you relate to what you think and feel. My guest is Steven Hayes PhD...

19/08/2021

A history of vaccines. How civilization becomes resilient against disease. My guest is Dr. Paul Offit MD., physician, professor, and medical pioneer in the field of immunology and virology. This is my remedial course on one of the greatest medical achievements of modern civilization

https://www.larryweeks.com/a-short-history-of-vaccines-paul-offit-on-skepticism-risk-and-medical-innovation/

My guest is Dr. Paul Offit, a world renowned expert and medical pioneer in the field of immunology and virology. This is my remedial on one of the greatest medical achievements of modern civilization.

11/05/2021

Attention is like a lighthouse, it’s always on; you use it either for -
or against yourself

30/03/2021

Is there a higher self? If so, how do we tap into it?
My conversation with Loch Kelly on effortless mindfulness. Learn how to live above baseline. Meditation is not what you think it is.

https://www.larryweeks.com/ep-49-tapping-a-higher-self-loch-kelly-on-effortless-mindfulness/

Your mind shapes every experience you have, and there is a minimal return on happiness effort, trying to exert more control over external forces. Time should be spent on ordering your inner world. This podcast is about doing just that. My guest is Loch Kelly. Loch is an author, meditation teacher, p...

10/02/2021

The impact of coronavirus: What went wrong, what’s going right, and our possible future.

Nicholas Christakis (M.D. Ph.D.) is a physician and social scientist who is well known for his research in network science, biosocial science, and genetics. His current work focuses on how human biology and health affect social interactions and social networks.

He crisscrosses history, medicine, social behavior, and disease math. Listen fast 🙂

This podcast is part biography of our current pandemic, and part admonishment on how to live through one. Nicholas Christakis is a physician and social scientist at Yale University who conducts research in network science, biosocial science, and behavior genetics.

27/01/2021

Why we talk to ourselves and how to improve the conversation. My chat with the brilliant Ethan Kross about his new book "Chatter, The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters and How To Harness It" Tell yourself to listen to it!

https://www.larryweeks.com/ep-46-chatter-ethan-kross-on-understanding-and-managing-the-voice-in-our-head/

On this podcast, I delve into what cognitive science is learning about the conversations we have with ourselves - and how to manage them. My guest is Ethan Kross, Ph.D. An award-winning professor and the author of the just-published book, Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Ha...

23/12/2020

My chat with comedian, actor, writer, director, activist, musician, dancer - oh, and he occasionally smokes a little bit of pot, man.
the iconic Tommy Chong

He is Mr. cosmic zen, karma and calm. A man with many lives

https://www.larryweeks.com/ep-45-high-on-life-tommy-chong-on-prison-pot-and-karma/

Tommy Chong is a grammy award-winning comedian and is legendary for his invaluable contribution to American counter-culture as part of the iconic comedy duo Cheech & Chong. During their reign, the twosome recorded six gold comedy albums. In 2003 a fully armed SWAT team raided the comedian's home, cu...

06/12/2020

What can survivors of extreme events teach us about creating a new normal?

In this podcast, I explore the mental processes that enable survivors to cope with extreme post-traumatic stress that sets in after an almost fatal event.

Stories of survival also offer much-needed perspective; we realize we are just one among many who have suffered; the world doesn’t revolve around our plight, and some have it far worse than we.

https://www.larryweeks.com/ep-45-surviving-survival-laurence-gonzales-on-trauma-and-new-normals/

What can survivors of extreme events teach us about creating a new normal? This podcast is an exploration into the mental processes that enable survivors to cope with extreme post-traumatic stress that sets in after an almost fatal event. Take, for example, Debbie Kiley. Debbie's sailboat went down....

18/11/2020

Serenity now; my chat with Massimo Pigliucci The key to much of our neurosis is not understanding what’s in our control and what’s not. Crazy making is treating outcomes as objects. Time to reallocate your focus.

On this episode, my focus is on finding peace of mind amidst persistent uncertainty. So many things that are directly affecting our lives are out of our direct control - and it can be maddening. Ancient Greeks used the term ataraxia, which means a state of serene calmness. Steven Gambardella writes....

21/10/2020

How to create your crystal ball. My chat with Annie Duke. She says being a better decision-maker means being a better predictor of possible futures. This podcast will hopefully help you sharpen that skill

What do you do when you're faced with a big decision? My guest is Annie Duke. Annie is an expert on decision fitness and is the author of two books on decision making, the bestseller Thinking In Bets, and her latest How To Decide, Simple Tools For Making Better Choices, is the topic of the show. Thi...

09/09/2020

How to bounce back from blue moods and high anxieties. My chat with Dr. David Burns on feeling great via his latest innovations on cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Most of us are still dealing with the pandemic, and if we've been lucky enough to avoid getting sick, we are still living in various stages of restriction going on six months. Add to it all the negative news and alarmist commercials that precede a national election, and you have a recipe for anxiety and depression.

What say we talk to a therapist?

https://www.larryweeks.com/ep-42-how-to-feel-great-dr-david-burns-on-what-negative-emotions-are-trying-to-tell-us/

Dr. David Burns is one of the pioneers in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and largely responsible for its widespread adoption in psychotherapy today. Dr. Burns says that our negative moods do not result from what’s wrong with us, but rather -- what’s right with us. And paradoxically, when you...

02/07/2020

My conversation with brilliant social psychologists Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson about the cognitive dissonance that happens after we make mistakes.

https://www.larryweeks.com/mistakes-were-made-carol-tavris-elliot-aronson/

On this podcast, we talk about what happens after we make a terrible mistake. What is our response to our mistakes? Do we try to brush it off? Do we say screw it and double down? Mistakes don't end with the mistake itself - it can get worse, much worse. My guests are Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson....

25/05/2020

I thought I’d short cut my research and just call James Altucher for a distillation of what he’s finding out; what after all these conversations has he concluded about what is happening now?

https://www.larryweeks.com/ep-39-coronavirus-updates-james-altucher-and-bounce-back-predictions/

James Altucher has been talking with a wide variety of experts about the Coronavirus, everyone from an immunologist, physicians, geneticist, economist to policy experts and super forecasters in the form of regular updates starting in February. He also lives in Manhattan, which is ground zero for the...

25/05/2020

Because Rory Sutherland has his finger on the pulse of consumer psychology, I wanted his take on the impact on our respective western worlds as the Coronavirus (hopefully) wanes and businesses reopen

“Human nature doesn’t change very much, but there are behaviors which require a surprising amount of upfront investment to discover the benefits. And so being forced to adopt a new behavior also has the byproduct that you suddenly notice the benefits of the alternative behavior, which were previ...

11/05/2020

https://www.larryweeks.com/william-b-irvine-on-philosophical-framing/