The Tim Ferriss Show

Tim McGraw (@thetimmcgraw) is a Grammy Award-winning entertainer, author, and actor who has sold more than 106 million records worldwide, with 49 number-one singles and 19 number-one albums. He is one of the most-played country artists since his debut in 1992, has four New York Times bestselling books, and has acted for both film and television, including the movies Friday Night Lights and The Blind Side and Paramount Network’s Yellowstone. He recently starred alongside his wife Faith Hill and Sam Elliott in Yellowstone’s prequel—the three-time-Emmy-nominated 1883. You can find tickets for his upcoming Pawn Shop Guitar Tour at TimMcGraw.com. This episode is brought to you by:Circle complete community platform for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand: Circle.so/Tim Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/timAG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim* For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Tommy Wood (@DrRagnar) is an associate professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Washington, where his research focuses on brain health across the lifespan. This includes therapies for brain injury in newborns, prevention and treatment of adult brain trauma, and the factors that contribute to long-term cognitive function and cognitive decline. He is the author of the forthcoming book The Stimulated Mind. This episode is brought to you by: Circle complete community platform for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand: https://circle.so/tim ($1,000 off when you demo Circle Plus) Monarch track, budget, plan, and do more with your money: Monarch.com/Tim (50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with code TIM) Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim (use code TIM to get $350 off your very own Pod 5 Ultra.) Cresset family office services for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: CressetCapital.com/Tim * TIMESTAMPS:[00:00:00] Start[00:02:30] The cognition conversation commences.[00:03:11] Why human babies are chubby little brain-fuel tanks.[00:05:16] Brain injury in newborns: Cooling, caffeine, and coming home.[00:09:07] Adult concussion protocol: Fever management, ketones, and why you shouldn’t chug Powerade.[00:18:59] Washington’s 2nd Strongest Man talks omega-3s, methylation, and why your brain needs the whole orchestra.[00:29:34] Auguste Deter, Alzheimer’s mystery patient, and the 45-70% dementia prevention sweet spot.[00:39:22] From CGM monitoring to the “use it or lose it” glucose paradox.[00:55:54] VO2 max training as cardio insurance against dementia.[01:01:32] Jiu-jitsu, sleds, and the Norwegian torture method (4×4 intervals).[01:03:37] Lactate training: Forget the finger prick, embrace the misery.[01:06:40] Announcing The Stimulated Mind: Tommy’s brain-saving book.[01:07:35] Foundation supplements: Omega-3s, B vitamins, vitamin D, iron, and magnesium.[01:08:58] Polyphenols, choline, and the case for eating more liver.[01:10:40] Creatine: Tommy’s 10-gram cognitive stimulant ritual.[01:11:58] Cheap creatine temptation leads to lavatory lamentation.[01:14:16] Blood flow restriction training: High lactate, low load, maximum travel convenience.[01:21:45] Language learning, music, StarCraft, and why your brain needs to fail.[01:38:04] Sleep anxiety, air pollution, and gum disease: the overlooked dementia risk factors.[01:45:32] Air purifiers, CO2 levels, and sleep optimization hacks.[01:51:52] DORAs for sleep quality: when cognitive stimulation isn’t enough.[01:54:55] The thesis behind The Stimulated Mind: Practical, referenced, and sustainable.[01:56:32] Kelly and Juliet Starrett’s stamp of approval.[01:57:44] The beautiful compounding effect of fixing just one thing.[01:58:59] Who is Dr. Ragnar, and does he make housecalls to Valhalla?[02:01:06] Tommy’s open invitation for complaints and scientific debates.[02:02:21] Parting thoughts.* For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is part of a series called Meditation Monday. The teacher, Henry Shukman, has been on my podcast twice before. He is one of only a few dozen masters in the world authorized to teach Sanbo Zen, and now, he’ll be your teacher. In addition to my long-form interviews each week, every Monday I’ll bring you a short 10-minute or so meditation, which will help you for the rest of the week. Over this four-episode series, you’ll develop a Zen toolkit to help you find greater calm, peace, and effectiveness in your daily life. Henry’s app, The Way, has changed my life since I first started using it. Unlike other meditation apps, where you’re overwhelmed with a thousand choices, The Way is a clear step-by-step training program guided entirely by Henry. Through a logical progression, you’ll develop real skills that stick with you. I’ve been using it daily, often twice a day, and it’s lowered my anxiety more than I thought possible. As a listener of my podcast, you can get 30 free sessions by visiting https://thewayapp.com/tim and downloading the app. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Michael Levin (@drmichaellevin) is the Vannevar Bush Distinguished Professor of Biology at Tufts University and director of the Allen Discovery Center. He is primarily interested in how intelligence self-organizes in a diverse range of natural, engineered, and hybrid embodiments. Applied to the collective intelligence of cell groups undergoing morphogenesis, these ideas have allowed the Levin Lab to develop new applications in birth defects, organ regeneration, and cancer suppression. This episode is brought to you by: ShipStation shipping software: ShipStation.com/Tim AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim Our Place’s Titanium Always Pan® Pro using nonstick technology that’s coating-free and made without PFAS, otherwise known as “forever chemicals”: FromOurPlace.com/Tim TIMESTAMPS:[00:00:00] Start[00:03:18] The Body Electric: A Vancouver bookstore discovery that launched a career.[00:04:19] Bioelectricity 101: Your brain uses it to think; your body used it before you had a brain.[00:06:05] The lesson learned by scrambled tadpole faces that rearrange themselves.[00:08:51] Software vs. hardware: The genome is your factory settings, not your destiny.[00:11:43] Two-headed flatworms: Rewriting biological memory without touching DNA.[00:16:20] Seeing memories: Voltage-sensitive dyes reveal the body’s hidden blueprints.[00:20:12] Three killer apps for humans: Birth defects, regeneration, and cancer.[00:24:27] Cancer as identity crisis: Cells forgetting they’re part of a team.[00:25:40] The boredom theory of aging: Goal-seeking systems with nothing left to do.[00:30:09] Planaria’s immortality hack: Rip yourself in half every two weeks.[00:31:27] Manhattan Project for aging: Crack cellular cognition, everything else falls into place.[00:33:47] Giving cells new goals: Convince a gut to become an eye.[00:37:42] Must mammalian mortality be mandatory?[00:40:25] Cross-pollination: Why biologists would benefit from programming courses.[00:47:15] Does acupuncture actually do anything?[00:50:57] Placebo as feature, not bug: Words and drugs share the same mechanism.[00:55:06] The frame problem: Why robots explode and rats intuit what matters.[00:59:41] Binary thinking is a trap: “Is it intelligent?” is the wrong question.[01:07:46] Minimal brain, normal IQ: Clinical cases that break neuroscience.[01:08:45] Super panpsychism: Your liver might have opinions.[01:13:48] The Platonic space: Bodies as thin clients for patterns from elsewhere.[01:15:24] Keep asking “why” and you end up in the math department.[01:23:07] Polycomputing: Sorting algorithms secretly doing side quests.[01:28:24] Power scaling for the future and avoiding red herrings for understanding machine minds.[01:34:06] Sci-fi recommendations.[01:37:24] Cliff Tabin’s toast and Dan Dennett’s steel manning.[01:41:21] Parting thoughts.* For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is part of a series called Meditation Monday. The teacher, Henry Shukman, has been on my podcast twice before. He is one of only a few dozen masters in the world authorized to teach Sanbo Zen, and now, he’ll be your teacher. In addition to my long-form interviews each week, every Monday I’ll bring you a short 10-minute or so meditation, which will help you for the rest of the week. Over this four-episode series, you’ll develop a Zen toolkit to help you find greater calm, peace, and effectiveness in your daily life. Henry’s app, The Way, has changed my life since I first started using it. Unlike other meditation apps, where you’re overwhelmed with a thousand choices, The Way is a clear step-by-step training program guided entirely by Henry. Through a logical progression, you’ll develop real skills that stick with you. I’ve been using it daily, often twice a day, and it’s lowered my anxiety more than I thought possible. As a listener of my podcast, you can get 30 free sessions by visiting https://thewayapp.com/tim and downloading the app. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Steve Young (@steveyoung) is a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback who played more than 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Steve co-founded HGGC, which manages more than $6.9B in capital commitments. He’s also the founder and current chair of the Forever Young Foundation, which supports children’s charities globally. He is the author of QB: My Life Behind the Spiral and The Law of Love. This episode is brought to you by: Cresset family office services for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: CressetCapital.com/Tim AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim Wealthfront high-yield cash account: Wealthfront.com/Tim New clients get 3.25% base APY from program banks + additional 0.65% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 12/19/25 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest. Experiences will vary. Outcomes not guaranteed. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value. TIMESTAMPS:[00:00:00] Start.[00:02:34] The full circle of Josh Waitzkin.[00:05:47] The Stephen Covey plane ride that changed everything.[00:11:38] Overcoming victimization: The hole you dig, then jump into.[00:14:16] How taking ownership led Steve from rock bottom to NFL MVP in one season.[00:21:50] Interceptions and the truest truth about accountability.[00:26:09] What separates good from great quarterbacks: Adrenaline alchemy.[00:31:21] Alex Honnold and the genetics of not panicking.[00:32:14] Learning to actually throw a football at BYU.[00:35:01] Recovering from the offensive coordinator who wouldn’t coach southpaws.[00:37:00] The vulnerability prerequisite.[00:42:45] Separation anxiety: Thriving by day, terrified by night.[00:48:29] Tears in the Candlestick Park training room.[00:52:37] The diagnosis that made the puzzle pieces fit.[00:58:32] Dad’s philosophy: Dream (1%) and Plan (80%).[01:01:14] Law school between Super Bowl parades.[01:02:33] Trading locker room access for venture capital deals.[01:08:45] Mourning old identities and heeding Roger Staubach’s transition advice: “Run.”[01:11:49] Rich Lawson walks out of Morgan Stanley: “I’ll be the CEO.”[01:19:05] 30 years of partnership: Yin, yang, and existential crises.[01:23:01] HGGC: The name nobody can pronounce (and why).[01:25:19] Faith evolution: From Boy Scout theology to something deeper.[01:29:41] The Law of Love: Bill Walsh’s secret weapon.[01:32:53] Divine humanity and the irony of losing self-interest.[01:43:52] Parting thoughts.* For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to another wide-ranging "Random Show" episode that I recorded with my close friend Kevin Rose (digg.com)! This episode is brought to you by: Qlosi prescription eye drop used to treat age-related blurry near vision (presbyopia) in adults: https://Qlosi.com/Tim David Protein Bars with 28g of protein, 150 calories, and 0g of sugar: https://davidprotein.com/Tim (Buy 4 cartons, get the 5th free.) Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim (use code TIM to get $400 off your very own Pod 5 Ultra) Coyote the card game​, which I co-created with Exploding Kittens: https://coyotegame.com Timestamps:[00:00:00] Start.[00:00:52] Why Kevin concluded nearly seven months of sobriety, and the 2-2-2 Rule he now follows for alcohol consumption.[00:07:12] My recent adventures in accelerated TMS and bioelectric medicine.[00:21:09] The tragic death of Nolan Williams and funding future research through the Saisei Foundation.[00:24:23] Aphantasia vs. hyperphantasia, and Joshua Waitzkin's ability to "feel" chess.[00:33:12] DORAs for sleep and Alzheimer's prevention: Matt Walker, Belsomra, and the terrifying p-tau blood test.[00:41:21] Dale Bredesen's kitchen-sink approach to dementia and the ketogenic connection.[00:46:22] The rapid pace of AI development: Why your opinion from three months ago is already obsolete.[00:49:40] Google's full-stack advantage: TPUs, Gemini 3, and why they were built for this moment.[00:52:50] The future of venture capital: Seed rounds shift later as entrepreneurs gain leverage.[00:58:05] Kevin's three AI investment buckets: Power, data centers, and bloated companies ripe for automation.[01:02:05] Holiday gift ideas and recommended reading.[01:17:41] The Way App and meditation with Zen master Henry Shukman.[01:21:44] Kevin's AI stack: Nothing earbuds, Sandbar ring, Notion AI, and the NotebookLM podcast hack.[01:26:58] Oboe.fyi: The AI learning platform and my investment philosophy.[01:32:09] My new girlfriend, the perils of modern dating apps, and building a communication toolkit.[01:38:17] Terry Real's relationship wisdom: Why objective reality has no place in an argument.[01:47:18] Dog updates: Molly, a new puppy, and Toaster on rapamycin.[01:47:58] Parting thoughts and happy holidays.* For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This time around, we have a bit of a different format, featuring the book that started it all for me, The 4-Hour Workweek. Readers and listeners often ask me what I would change or update, but an equally interesting question is: what wouldn’t I change? What stands the test of time and hasn’t lost any potency? This episode features three of the most important chapters from the audiobook of The 4-Hour Workweek. The audiobook, produced and copyrighted by Blackstone Publishing, is available wherever audiobooks are sold. You can find it on Audible, Apple, Google, Spotify, Downpour.com, or wherever you get your favorite audiobooks. This episode is brought to you by: Gusto simple and easy payroll, HR, and benefits platform used by 400,000+ businesses: https://gusto.com/tim Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: https://livemomentous.com/Tim  Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: https://shopify.com/tim  Coyote the card game​, which I co-created with Exploding Kittens: https://coyotegame.com TIMESTAMPS[00:00:00] Start.[00:02:31] Mini-retirements: embracing the mobile lifestyle.[00:09:22] The birth of mini-retirements and the death of vacations.[00:11:03] The alternative to binge traveling.[00:16:14] Purging the demons: emotional freedom.[00:18:43] The financial realities: it just gets better.[00:24:24] Fear factors: overcoming excuses not to travel.[00:30:08] When more is less: cutting the clutter.[00:39:29] The Bora-Bora dealmaker.[00:43:11] Questions and actions.[00:44:22] Take an asset and cash-flow snapshot.[00:45:02] Fear-set a one-year mini-retirement in a dream location in Europe.[00:48:38] Prepare for your trip.[00:59:42] Adding life after subtracting work.[01:01:51] Depression and boredom: it's normal.[01:05:31] Frustrations and doubts: you're not alone.[01:12:01] The point of it all.[01:13:37] Learning unlimited: sharpening the saw.[01:17:24] Service for the right reasons.[01:20:05] Questions and actions.[01:22:46] Make an anonymous donation to the service organization of your choice.[01:24:05] Take a learning mini-retirement in combination with local volunteering.[01:28:42] The top 13 new rich mistakes.* For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ben Patrick, better known as “Kneesovertoesguy” (@kneesovertoesguy), is the founder of Athletic Truth Group (ATG), an online and brick-and-mortar training system rooted in rehabilitative strength and joint health. After years of debilitating knee and shin pain (including multiple surgeries), he rebuilt his body and performance, going from a sub-20″ vertical to a documented 42″ leap. This episode is brought to you by: Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: https://livemomentous.com/Tim (Code TIM for 35% off your first subscription.) Monarch track, budget, plan, and do more with your money: Monarch.com/Tim (50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with code TIM) David Protein Bars 28g of protein, 150 calories, and 0g of sugar: https://davidprotein.com/tim (Buy 4 cartons, get the 5th free.) My workout with Ben: https://youtu.be/xpM4V6O9f6w Timestamps:[00:00:00] Who is Ben Patrick? [00:02:32] How Ben went from Old Man Patrick to Knees Over Toes Guy.[00:06:37] Backward sled dragging for safe strength building and rehab.[00:13:14] Full range of motion squatting (deep squats vs. 90-degree limitation).[00:16:30] “Strength is gained in the range it is trained.” — Charles Poliquin[00:18:50] ATG split squat (front foot elevated split squat).[00:19:53] Heel elevation and counterbalancing techniques.[00:24:26] Ben’s mother’s transformation — from hip deterioration to sprinting at age 71.[00:27:36] Ben’s vertical jump progression — unable to grab rim in high school to dunking at 34.[00:28:14] Most effective exercises Ben’s mom might recommend.[00:29:54] Ben and I reflect on what Charles Poliquin (RIP) gave to us.[00:36:36] How backwards sled pulling became a revered exercise.[00:39:12] Mr. Universe Bob Gajda’s contributions to Ben’s regimen.[00:42:16] ATG prioritizes offering American-made products when possible.[00:43:14] Tibialis raises without equipment.[00:45:37] Why I included the ATG wrist bar in a recent 5-Bullet Friday.[00:48:32] Ben’s videos he most recommends.[00:54:48] Applying the minimum effective dose (MED) for maximum results in any endeavor.[00:59:55] What I would include in The 4-Hour Body if it were written or revised today.[01:01:13] A space-saving alternative for people who want to enjoy the benefits of sled work.[01:01:57] Real examples of high-yield workouts that require a low investment of time.[01:05:59] Ben’s basketball warmup protocols.[01:06:59] Regularly skip leg day? Try Arnold Schwarzenegger’s one simple trick.[01:08:49] Maintaining integrity in the ever-fickle world of content creation.[01:32:18] Parting thoughts.* For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.