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M. Gessen returns to our show with a true-crime story that takes place entirely within their own family. This story comes to us from the producers at Serial Productions—who invented the true-crime podcast more than a decade ago—and from The New York Times.

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• Act One: M Gessen tells Ira Glass about the surprising events that prompted them to begin reporting on their own family for their new podcast, The Idiot. They play the first episode of the series. (14 minutes)
• Act Two: Ira Glass and M Gessen continue to talk through the story of M’s cousin, Allen Gessen. They play more clips from the podcast, and we finally hear about the big, shocking thing that snapped their family apart. (20 minutes)
• Act Three: M Gessen tells Ira Glass about Allen’s trial, and we hear a recording of his conversation with the undercover agent. (21 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org

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In this wide-ranging Q&A, Tim explores reinvention, enduring skills for the age of AI, friendship, mental health, fitness, language learning, privacy, cognitive longevity, and more.

This episode is brought to you by:

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[00:00:00] Start.

[00:00:24] How to go from hyper-optimized to grounded .

[00:03:46] Reinvention in your late 40s: there are more than two options.

[00:07:45] Five meta-skills that will outlast the AI hype.

[00:16:06] Benching the golden goose, and the post-sabbatical rules that survived.

[00:21:05] Why male friendship is built shoulder-to-shoulder, not face-to-face.

[00:25:04] Live: love for women authors (and a Mary Karr plug).

[00:25:24] SAINT, TMS, and Ampa's one-day brain reset.

[00:27:32] How to build a fanbase by being your authentically weird self.

[00:28:50] Kettlebells, thrice-weekly lifting, and never getting injured.

[00:30:34] Staying fit in mind and soul via the past-year review.

[00:31:12] 4-Hour Body survivors and Occam's Protocol.

[00:35:46] Spotting the future titan hiding in an average teen.

[00:37:01] Vacation, burnout, or an outgrown life? Take a mini-retirement.

[00:41:17] Kids, phones, and Jonathan Haidt.

[00:43:40] Does AI kill language learning? What does a new language really give you?

[00:53:35] Muted movies as late-night writing company.

[00:54:13] Best sub-$100 buy — seven seasons of wholesome Pawnee.

[00:55:34] Why two hours of walking fixes almost everything.

[00:57:20] Sleep, unsexily solved: less water, more sun, more exhaustion.

[00:59:21] Privacy as the new luxury in the age of shrinking fame.

[01:02:40] Luxuries worth overspending on: massage, easy travel, and health.

[01:07:24] The best defense against cognitive decline: exercise, exercise, exercise.

[01:11:11] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

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