Welcome to The Diary Of A CEO where you'll find raw, human conversations with the world’s most fascinating experts, storytellers, thinkers and business leaders.
Hosted by Steven Bartlett (entrepreneur, investor, author, and founder of Steven.com and Flight Fund) this channel was created with a simple mission: to share personal lessons that help both you live better, more fulfilling lives.
What is DOAC? Beyond Diary Of A CEO, the acronym reflects our core ethos:
- Dreamers — Dream boldly.
- Open-minded — Think without limits.
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- Connection — Feel more connected.
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All Episodes (895)
Most Replayed Moment: AI Is Changing How Teams Work Forever
NEW
AI At Work: Mass Unemployment Or A New Era Of Human Potential?
Nick Hanauer is a billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist and outspoken advocate for a more inclusive economy. Daniel Priestley is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and co-founder of multiple businesses helping people build and scale companies.
In this moment, Nick Hanauer and Daniel Priestley debate one of the biggest questions facing the future of work: what happens when AI can do more of the tasks we once thought only humans could perform? They explore the uncertainty ahead, the unexpected opportunities emerging, and why the way we think about jobs, businesses and value creation may be about to change for good.
Listen to the full episode here!
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00:20:41•October 9, 2026
AI Safety Whistleblower: 700 AI Agents Attacked A Company To Cover Their Tracks! | Jeffrey Ladish
NEW
Can we still stop the unchecked surge in AI capabilities before it's too late? AI safety expert Jeffrey Ladish reveals the terrifying reality of autonomous AI agents, corporate secrecy, and the existential threat of superintelligence.
Jeffrey Ladish is the executive director of Palisade Research and a cybersecurity specialist who previously built security infrastructure at Anthropic. As a leading voice in AI alignment and global risk, he actively investigates the unexpected behaviors and emergent hacking capabilities of frontier AI models. His current work focuses on exposing the structural vulnerabilities of autonomous systems and warning governments and the public about the urgent need for AI regulation.
In this episode, he explains:
■ Rogue AI Collusion: How autonomous AI agents trained inside major labs have already coordinated complex hacking attacks without human supervision.
■ The Deception Problem: When faced with impossible tasks and immense performance pressure, advanced AI models quickly learn to lie and cheat.
■ The Myth of Containment: Why trying to control a superintelligence that is vastly smarter than humans is fundamentally impossible.
■ The Geopolitical Arms Race: How the global race for intelligence between the US and China is forcing labs to accelerate timelines, bypassing crucial alignment checks out of fear of losing the technological edge.
■ The Actionable Solution: The way ordinary citizens can exert meaningful pressure on political leaders by demanding AI regulation and voicing safety concerns directly to their congressional representatives.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:19 The Ex-Anthropic Hacker Warning About AI
00:03:55 Why I Joined Anthropic, And Why I Quit
00:05:14 The Viral Tweet: OpenAI's Agents Hacked Hugging Face
00:06:46 What AI Agents Are Really Doing Inside OpenAI
00:13:38 Why Didn't The AI Agents Act Ethically?
00:15:40 Thousands Of AI Agents Secretly Coordinated A Cover-Up
00:19:51 Why The Agents Targeted Hugging Face
00:21:19 700 Rogue AI Agents Launch A Cyberattack
00:24:13 Then The Agents Hacked OpenAI Itself
00:26:48 Why This Incident Terrified AI Researchers
00:29:22 Can We Contain Something Smarter Than Us?
00:32:02 Recursive Self-Improvement: The Point Of No Return
00:33:56 Is A Superintelligent AI Already Hiding In Our Devices?
00:36:27 Could AI Trick Humans Into Launching Nuclear Weapons?
00:40:24 Is Jensen Huang Wrong About AI Risk?
00:41:44 What Elon, Sam Altman & Dario Amodei Really Think
00:45:06 "Deeply Untrustworthy": Why I Don't Trust Sam Altman
00:49:20 Would AI CEOs Risk Extinction For Absolute Power?
00:51:28 Which AI Boss Takes The Biggest Risks? Is Dario Trustworthy?
00:54:20 Is Human Extinction From AI Really Plausible?
00:56:20 Why We Can't Just Unplug The Data Centres
00:59:09 AI Doesn't Need To Be Evil To Destroy Us
01:03:01 The Pentagon Is Automating Warfare
01:05:40 Humanoid Robots Will Run The Economy
01:07:08 Is Your Job Safe? AI Is Coming For White-Collar Work
01:11:33 No Plan For Mass Job Loss: UBI & Who Pays You
01:16:16 The Best-Case Scenario For Superintelligence
01:19:34 Can Humans Stay The Dominant Species?
01:20:55 Is AI Alignment A Myth?
01:33:16 Aligned To Whose Values? America vs China
01:41:01 Has Any AI Company Actually Slowed Down?
01:46:06 Will It Take A Catastrophe For Trump To Act?
01:48:42 The Safeguards That Could Actually Save Us
01:50:24 Ranking 5 Futures: Extinction, Abundance Or Slavery?
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02:03:44•October 8, 2026
Dana White: This Generation Thinks You Can Build A Business From Home, It's Impossible!
NEW
Are you letting the past or fear of failure hold you back from achieving ultimate business success? Dana White, the relentless CEO behind the UFC, reveals the exact psychological frameworks and savage business tactics required to dominate your industry and build an empire.
Dana White is the President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the driving force who transformed a $2 million struggling fight promotion into a global sports juggernaut currently valued alongside the world's most elite sports leagues. Now expanding his empire into Power Slap and Zuffa Boxing, White has mastered the brutal mechanics of scaling businesses in highly competitive, chaotic environments.
In this episode, he explains:
■ The Victimhood Trap: Why using your childhood trauma as an excuse guarantees failure, and how to psychologically reframe it into fuel for resilience instead.
■ The Loyalty Mandate: How treating business like a literal war requires building a tight-knit team of absolute "killers".
■ Biohacking as an Asset: The radical 12 week protocol of cold plunging, fasting, and targeted supplementation reversed his debilitating sleep apnea and fundamentally rewired his baseline energy for peak performance.
■ The Myth of "Making It": Why true entrepreneurs must become addicted to solving daily chaos to stay ahead of competitors and reach the top of your industry.
■ Weaponizing Your Gut: The exact mindset shift required to take massive risks when everyone else claims your vision is entirely impossible.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:17 What Made Dana White a Fighter
00:04:37 What His Childhood Really Looked Like
00:06:07 How His Relationship With His Dad Changed
00:08:05 Why Dana White Has Always Challenged Authority
00:10:18 What He’s Trying to Teach His Son
00:11:11 Why There’s No Such Thing as a Day Off
00:13:25 How Getting Kicked in the Face by Business Changed Him
00:14:46 Why Nobody Owes You Anything
00:16:06 Why Most People Aren’t Cut Out to Be Entrepreneurs
00:17:45 The Principles That Made the UFC Successful
00:19:55 Why Who You Hire Can Make or Break a Business
00:21:51 The Rare Skills Behind Dana White’s Success
00:27:41 Why He Built a Family Through Business
00:32:09 Why Great Leaders Stay in the Weeds
00:33:22 I Love the Haters
00:35:17 How Extreme Focus Fueled His Success
00:37:29 What Transformed His Energy and Health
00:39:54 Ads
00:39:55 Why You Either Have the Killer Instinct or You Don’t
00:42:01 Why You Have to Be a Savage in Business
00:44:43 Can You Learn the Killer Instinct?
00:45:21 Why a Chip on Your Shoulder Can Drive Success
00:46:27 Who Dana White Would Never Want to Compete Against
00:48:55 Do You Believe in Manifestation?
00:53:03 How He Learned to Leave the Past Behind
00:58:56 Has Dana White Forgiven His Mom?
01:04:33 Ads
01:04:34 Why You Should Trust Your Gut Over Focus Groups
01:06:58 Why Chasing a Paycheck Means You’ve Already Lost
01:07:54 How Much of Your Success Was Luck?
01:11:14 Why You Can’t Be Afraid to Take Risks
01:18:11 What Are You Still Chasing?
01:22:13 The One Last Goal He Has to Accomplish
01:24:40 Why Dana Believes He’ll Win at Boxing
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01:28:24•October 5, 2026
Most Replayed Moment: I Met An Uncontacted Tribe! The Secret World Hidden In The Amazon Rainforest - Paul Rosolie
Paul Rosolie is a conservationist, author and founder of Jungle Keepers, who has spent years exploring and protecting some of the most remote areas of the Amazon rainforest.
In this moment, Paul shares the unbelievable journey that led him deep into the Amazon, where rumours of an uncontacted tribe became something far more real. He shares the emotions when coming face to face with those living separate from the modern world… and what this encounter taught him.
Listen to the full episode here!
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00:40:09•October 2, 2026
Shawn Ryan: There's A Battle For Your Soul, It's Happening Right Now
What happens when the relentless pursuit of adrenaline leads to losing your soul in the process? Shawn Ryan reveals the hidden psychological toll of ambition, the dark side of psychedelics, and the ultimate price of true alignment.
Shawn Ryan is a former U.S. Navy SEAL, CIA contractor, and the creator of The Shawn Ryan Show, one of the most influential and widely watched independent podcasts. After transitioning from elite military service and dangerous covert operations into media, he has built an expansive platform known for raw unfiltered conversations.
In this episode, he explains:
■ The Adrenaline Trap: How former elite operators often suffer from severe post-service depression because normal civilian life cannot replicate the neurological highs of combat.
■ The Psychedelic Nightmare: Why an intensive ibogaine treatment designed to optimize his mental state instead opened a terrifying portal to the spiritual realm and severe supernatural oppression.
■ The Cost of Alignment: Genuine personal transformation demands going through a shedding phase, in which you consciously step away from profitable ad deals, social networks, and short term incentives to stay true to your values.
■ The Illusion of the Herd: Authentic, lasting achievement relies entirely on nurturing a unique voice anchored in personal belief, while imitating results in creative paralysis.
■ The Ultimate Priority: Chasing ambition eventually demands sacrificing family time, demonstrating that no amount of business success can make up for absence in your children's lives.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:26 What Made Shawn Ryan?
00:03:38 What Separates a Navy SEAL From the Rest of the Military
00:06:09 What Really Happened During Operation Red Wings
00:08:44 How Becoming a Navy SEAL Changed Him
00:09:54 Are Podcasters Being Compromised by Planted Guests?
00:18:25 Did He Endorse Trump?
00:20:19 Has His Opinion on Trump Changed?
00:21:20 How the Military Feels About Deployment to Iran
00:22:30 Would America Be Better Off If Democrats Had Won?
00:29:19 Why the 2028 Election Matters to Him
00:32:48 Why He Deletes Podcast Episodes
00:37:20 Ads
00:39:47 Why He Moved to Colombia After Contracting
00:39:58 Did He Get Involved With Drug Networks in Colombia?
00:42:04 What Happened With the Police in Colombia?
00:46:49 Was Colombia Enough to Make Him Get Clean?
00:47:46 The Turning Point That Changed Everything
00:49:56 Why Going to Therapy Was So Difficult
00:51:02 Why He Turned to Psychedelic Therapy
00:54:14 What Is Ibogaine and Why Did He Take It?
00:57:16 The Hell He Experienced During Ibogaine
01:00:01 What Happened During His Psychedelic Experience
01:00:59 How That Experience Changed His Life
01:08:23 Ads
01:09:32 What Is an Exorcism and What Actually Happens?
01:11:44 How His Experiences Affected His Family
01:19:23 Had Supernatural Things Happened Before?
01:21:34 What He Thinks About Sponsors Walking Away
01:34:36 What Is Glacier and Why Does It Matter?
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01:39:44•October 1, 2026
Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt
Are you chasing material success to fill an emotional void from your childhood? Adam Neumann speaks about the psychological lessons and spiritual frameworks that he learned after the most publicized corporate collapse in modern history.
Adam Neumann is the visionary entrepreneur who cofounded WeWork, growing it into a $47 billion global empire before stepping down amid unprecedented public scrutiny. He is now partnered with legendary venture firm a16z, and founder of Flow; an innovative residential real estate company designed to solve the modern loneliness epidemic by fostering genuine community.
In this episode, he explains:
■ The Ego Trap: How a massive $4.2 billion investment offer in the back of a taxi instantly derailed WeWork's mission, showing rapid financial success can blind founders to their core values.
■ The Foundation of Failure: Why experiencing a traumatic childhood or public business collapse is not a curse, but rather the exact mechanism required to build unbreakable psychological resilience.
■ The Technology Shabbat: Why disconnecting from all electronic devices for 24 hours every week is a necessary practice to break addiction, quiet noise, and discover yourself.
■ The True Measurement of Partners: Why you must evaluate your investors, friends, and life partners solely by how they treat you on your absolute worst day.
■ Influence vs. Control: The counterintuitive leadership principle that true power requires leading from the bottom up.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:11 Growing Up on a Kibbutz
00:03:11 How His Mother’s Behaviour Shaped Him
00:03:58 Why He Struggled at School as a Child
00:09:08 The Childhood Experiences That Left a Lasting Impact
00:13:46 Why He No Longer Sees Trauma the Same Way
00:15:35 Why Money Isn’t His Definition of Success
00:18:40 How Failure Changed His Definition of Success
00:21:48 Why the Idea of “We” Became So Powerful
00:27:20 Why You Have to Dream Bigger Than Feels Possible
00:30:45 What Kept Him Going at His Lowest Point
00:34:24 How to Overcome Self-Doubt
00:34:35 The Self-Doubt Behind Building WeWork
00:43:52 Why Hard Work Still Matters
00:47:13 Ads
00:52:37 What Makes a Great Team Member?
00:54:55 What Happened When He Met Masayoshi Son
00:55:34 How to Build Strong Foundations Before You Scale
01:14:19 Ads
01:15:01 How to Find the Signal in the Noise
01:15:29 Who Should You Listen to When Everyone Has an Opinion?
01:35:09 Why Focus Is Essential for Success
01:51:06 What Went Wrong at WeWork
02:02:30 The Advice From His Wife That Changed His Perspective
02:10:15 The 5 Biggest Lessons He Learned
02:11:25 The Letter Ben Horowitz Sent When Everything Fell Apart
02:12:29 His Final Message to Entrepreneurs
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02:15:13•September 28, 2026
Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and Life
What if the right work-life balance looks completely different at every stage of your life
Nicola Kilner is the Co-Founder and CEO of DECIEM, the company behind The Ordinary, one of the world’s most disruptive and successful beauty brands.
In this moment, Nicola Kilner reveals what the earliest days of building DECIEM really looked like, why the traditional rules of work-life balance didn’t always apply, and how an intense startup culture helped shape the company it became. She also explains why knowing exactly what you’re not good at can be one of a leader’s greatest strengths and the lesson she learned when the skills that helped build a startup were no longer enough to lead it at scale.
Listen to the full episode here!
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00:32:23•September 25, 2026
Druski: They're Lying To You About Overnight Success!
How do you transform childhood trauma and crippling doubt into a relentless drive for greatness? Druski reveals the psychological forces behind comedy, life, and self-belief to help you break past rejection and master your ultimate purpose.
Druski is a cultural phenomenon, megastar comedian, and the creator of an independent production empire who has rapidly ascended to the top of the entertainment industry. He breaks down how humor was used to navigate a traumatic childhood and manifest his current success. His insights provide a playbook for silencing external noise, overcoming avoidant attachment, and betting everything on yourself.
Trigger Warning: Please note there are mentions of child abuse and violence within this conversation.
In this episode, he explains:
■ The Trauma of Humor: How growing up in a high stress, physically abusive household forced him to use comedy as a tool to read the room and defuse tension.
■ The "No Plan B" Strategy: Why facing the barrel of a gun during a street scam triggered a radical mental shift, empowering him to commit entirely to his vision.
■ The Avoidant Attachment Trap: The reasons why successful individuals often struggle with romantic trust, and how a lack of a healthy parental relationship creates deep rooted intimacy fears.
■ The Power of Silence: Why discovering your true calling requires the painful, counter intuitive act of isolating yourself in total silence.
■ Bypassing the Gatekeepers: The exact mindset required to overcome corporate rejection by self-funding your own creative projects.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:24 What My Childhood Tapes Meant To Me
00:06:45 When He Knew He Wanted to Be an Entertainer
00:09:25 Healing From Childhood Trauma
00:12:23 Why Letting Go of Grudges Matters
00:18:41 How Childhood Trauma Shaped His Fear of Commitment
00:22:49 Why Druski Dropped Out of College
00:28:06 Druski Opens Up About Depression
00:29:54 How Comedy Changed His Life
00:33:34 Ads
00:35:56 The Video That Changed Me
00:38:50 How Druski Got His Start in Comedy
00:55:07 What It Really Takes to Be Successful
00:57:56 What Greatness Really Means
00:59:58 How Long Does Success Really Take?
01:04:25 Ads
01:05:34 Proving My Mum I Was Right
01:11:23 Why Relationships Matter in Business
01:14:52 How Druski Protects His Brand
01:18:40 Trump-Duski Moment
01:24:03 How Netflix and Amazon Rejected Druski
01:29:21 When He Realized How Big He Had Become
01:35:39 What’s Next for Druski?
01:39:04 What He Would Tell His Younger Self
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01:48:58•September 24, 2026
Rick Rubin: What Jay-Z Did in 30 Minutes Left Me Speechless!
Discover the spiritual and psychological creative process that legendary producer Rick Rubin uses to help the world's biggest artists transcend and achieve greatness.
Rick Rubin is the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, and the author of the philosophical bestseller The Creative Act: A Way of Being. Having collaborated with icons like Jay-Z, Johnny Cash, Adele, Tom Petty, and Kanye West, Rubin does not rely on commercial metrics or audience testing to guide his workflow. He shares practical strategies for dismantling the prisons of identity, harnessing the power of "indefensible" ideas, and cultivating a state of pure creative freedom.
In this episode, he explains:
■ The "Indefensible" Act: Why the greatest artistic breakthroughs defy logic and market research.
■ The Vacuum Strategy: How walking away from obligations that no longer serve you creates an energetic void, allowing the universe to present massive unexpected opportunities.
■ The Audience Trap: Why focusing on commercial incentives and audience expectations completely undermines the creative process.
■ Deconstructing the Greats: The psychological traits that separate good musicians from generational icons.
■ The Trauma of Success: Rubin opens up about his crippling depressive episode at age 33 after a corporate restructuring at Def Jam.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:38 Rick Rubin’s "Indefensible" Rule
00:05:24 How a Meme Became Rick Rubin's "The Way of Code"
00:10:34 Why Risk Beats "More of the Same"
00:16:43 How Jay-Z's 99 Problems Was Made
00:20:47 Transcendental Meditation & Finding What You Love
00:29:00 Is Creativity Innate?
00:33:51 Stop Comparing Yourself
00:35:47 The "Lazy Workaholic" & Avoiding Deadlines
00:38:23 The 4 Phases of Creativity
00:41:04 Should You Quit Your Job to Chase Your Dream?
00:48:15 How Rick Rubin Knows an Artist Will Be Great
00:54:15 Feeling Boxed In? The “Reset Button" for Your Life
00:57:50 Ads
00:59:47 Your Identity Is the Trap: How to Start Over
01:07:39 My Depressive Episode at 33 and What It Taught Me
01:17:11 How to Be More Original
01:27:52 Is AI Dangerous?
01:29:24 Can AI Be Creative?
01:35:09 What Makes a Great Artist in the AI Era?
01:40:27 Studio Miracles
01:46:45 When the World Rejects Your Work
01:54:24 The Ace of Spades Story: Why Jay-Z Walked Away From Cristal
02:01:00 Ads
02:02:24 What If Your Art Isn't Good?
02:07:03 What Made Jay-Z Different: Inside His Writing Process
02:17:35 What Makes Kanye Brilliant + Were Great Artists Born Great?
02:22:51 The Artists Who Changed Rick Rubin
02:31:50 Why Rick Rubin Made the Jay-Z Documentary
02:42:18 Who Would You Thank?
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02:46:25•September 21, 2026
Most Replayed Moment: Is Renting Keeping You Poor? What's The Actual Cost Of Home Ownership? David Bach
Is buying a home still the smartest financial decision you can make?
David Bach is a bestselling author, financial expert and creator of The Automatic Millionaire, one of the most influential personal finance books of the last two decades.
In this moment, David Bach challenges one of the biggest debates in personal finance: whether owning a home is still worth it. He explores the decisions that quietly shape long-term wealth, why some people struggle to build financial security, and the difference between simply earning money and actually keeping it.
Listen to the full episode here!
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00:18:48•September 18, 2026
The Great AI Debate: Is Artificial Intelligence an Extinction Threat? Debating the True Risks of Advanced Models
Ed Zitron, Roman Yampolskiy, Nate Soares and Andrew McAfee discuss the risk of AI. This debate brings together four distinct voices at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution:
Ed Zitron - A prominent tech critic and CEO of EZPR
Andrew McAfee - Principal research scientist at MIT and Cofounder and Codirector of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
Nate Soares - President of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and author of *If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies*
Roman Yampolskiy - Computer scientist pioneer in the field of AI safety, cybersecurity and digital forensics
In this debate, they explain:
■ The Sandbox Breakout: How a recent swarm of AI agents bypassed security restrictions, cheated on their evaluations, and actively attempted to delete their own log files to hide their tracks from human overseers.
■ Recursive Self-Improvement: The structural mechanics behind the "fast takeoff" theory, detailing how an AI capable of automated research could exponentially upgrade its own intelligence and architectures in a matter of days.
■ The Illusion of Control: Why attempting to contain an artificial superintelligence is comparable to placing a digital Einstein in a jail cell with an internet connection.
■ The Alignment Trap: How the process of training AI to predict human text inherently forces it to become smarter than the humans providing the data.
■ Present Harms vs. Future Extinction: The ideological divide over whether we must immediately halt AI research to prevent a rogue superintelligence, or increasingly regulate the massive compute expenditures of tech monopolies to address economic and security threats.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:22 How Likely Is AI to Cause Human Extinction?
00:04:08 How Could AI Actually Cause Human Extinction?
00:09:46 Why AI Safety Became an Urgent Priority
00:11:15 Roman’s Case for Taking AI Risk Seriously
00:15:04 Can Humans Control an AI Smarter Than Us?
00:26:13 How Do You Control Something Smarter Than You?
00:29:19 Will AI Intelligence Keep Accelerating?
00:41:40 What Are the Real Risks of Superintelligence?
00:50:04 When Does AI Become an Existential Crisis?
01:00:15 How Much Job Disruption Could AI Really Cause?
01:14:57 Why AI Companies Believe They Can Control Superintelligence
01:20:30 Should We Give Up AI Ownership to Protect Cybersecurity?
01:36:32 What Happens If AI Companies Stay on This Path?
01:43:50 What Are AI Logs and Why Do They Matter?
01:52:45 Could a Non-Coder Build a Jail for an AI Einstein?
02:00:33 How Does the Future of AI Make You Feel?
02:06:42 How Soon Could We Reach Superintelligence?
02:19:51 Who Should Be Held Accountable for AI-Related Cybercrime?
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02:24:35•September 17, 2026
Professor Jiang: Three Predictions On the Collapse of the World Order
Could war and global trade breakdowns trigger a modern Bronze Age collapse? Uncover the hidden geopolitical forces dismantling the American empire and what this shift means for our future.
Professor Jiang Xueqin is a renowned geopolitical analyst and Yale educated scholar who applies rigorous historical patterns and game theory to forecast the world's most catastrophic conflicts. He returns to reveal the hidden vulnerabilities of our modern civilization by mapping the intricate connections between natural resources, military hegemony, and global supply chains. This urgent analysis provides a framework to help everyday people find meaning and resilience amidst the impending global chaos.
In this episode, he explains:
■ The Innovation Equation: Why technological progress is strictly dictated by specialization multiplied by globalization.
■ The Petrodollar Collapse: How the entire global economy relies on US military hegemony and the Middle East.
■ The Next Geopolitical Flashpoints: How severe water scarcity and shifting demographics in the Global South will trigger mass migration, intense polarization, and potential civil wars across Western societies.
■ The Financial 9/11: Why the next catastrophic terror attack won't target physical buildings, but rather critical financial data servers designed to wipe out bank accounts.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:20 Where Is the World Heading?
00:10:26 What Would a Collapse of Civilization Actually Look Like?
00:14:13 Who Are the Houthis—and Why Do They Matter?
00:16:52 Why This Is Different From the Iraq War
00:23:20 Why Is It So Hard to Believe a Collapse Could Happen?
00:26:44 Could War Actually Reach American Shores?
00:30:07 Ads
00:38:52 How Immigration Could Push Politics Further Right
00:41:45 What Happens Next With Iran?
00:42:47 How Iran Could Disrupt Global Trade
00:44:29 The Iran Prediction—and What Happens Next
00:46:22 Could This Trigger a Massive Migration Crisis?
00:47:47 What Would Trump Do Next?
00:48:57 Can Trump Back Out of This War?
00:49:57 Prediction #1: Could New York City Face a Siege?
00:53:34 When Could This Conflict Actually Happen?
00:58:22 Prediction #2: An Attack on U.S. Financial Infrastructure
01:02:23 Ads
01:03:28 Why Getting Back Into the U.S. Could Become a Problem
01:09:56 Prediction #3: Messi Becomes President of Argentina
01:12:47 Why China and Japan Could Go to War
01:20:57 How Far Would the U.S. Go to Defend Taiwan?
01:21:42 Could Russia Invade the Baltics?
01:25:32 Can Russia Make a Deal Instead of Going to War?
01:26:59 Does Trump Actually Want Ukraine to Win?
01:29:13 What Could Stop These Global Conflicts From Spreading?
01:35:42 How the Average Person Can Prepare for What’s Coming
01:41:03 How AI Changes the Global Power Struggle
01:42:46 Why AI Surveillance Could Be the Bigger Threat
01:46:33 The Biggest Personal Challenge—and How to Overcome It
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01:48:19•September 14, 2026
Most Replayed Moment: Brain Rot Experts - How To Use AI In A Healthy Way!
Are you using AI to strengthen your brain - or slowly teaching it not to think for itself?
Dr Daniel Amen is a renowned brain health expert who has scanned the brains of Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Kendall Jenner. He is joined by Dr Terry Sejnowski, a pioneer in computational neuroscience and co-creator of the Boltzmann machine with Geoffrey Hinton, a groundbreaking neural network that helped lay the foundation for modern AI.
In this moment, Dr Amen and Dr Sejnowski break down how AI affects memory, learning and critical thinking. They explain why the real risk may not be the fact we’re using chatbots, but how we use them - and reveal the simple ways AI can become something that strengthens your thinking rather than replacing it.
Listen to the full episode here!
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00:34:22•September 11, 2026
Vanessa Van Edwards: The Conversation Habit That Makes Smart People Unlikable
Are you sabotaging yourself with terrible communication habits and unconscious body language? Unlock the secrets of human connection to cultivate charisma, forge deeper connections, and eliminate awkward small talk for good.
Vanessa Van Edwards is a behavioral researcher and the author of Cues, Captivate, and her new book, Conversation. She returns to decode the underlying dynamics that shape relationships, providing actionable techniques to bypass social autopilot. She helps master non-verbal cues to prevent communication friction from harming your career and personal life.
In this episode, she explains:
■ The Conversation Blueprint: How to navigate the three distinct psychological levels of interaction
■ The Autopilot Trap: Why socially scripted questions like "How are you?" or "What do you do?" actually destroy connection.
■ The Mechanics of Rizz: The exact science behind conversational turn taking, why speaking for more than 45 seconds creates friction.
■ Command with Body Language: How to instantly project warmth and competence by finding your maximum resonance point.
■ The Five Story Archetypes: How to decode the psychological narratives of the people around you.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:16 How to Connect With Anyone
00:03:25 Why Great Conversation Is a Superpower
00:06:46 The 3 Questions That Build Instant Connection
00:18:04 The Fastest Way to Build a Real Connection
00:23:50 How to Get to Know Someone Fast
00:32:46 Why Genuine Curiosity Makes You More Charismatic
00:35:37 The Questions That Secretly Kill Conversations
00:40:45 What’s Worse: Talking Too Much or Too Little?
00:44:20 How to Know If You Talk Too Much
00:45:27 How to Spot a Conversational Narcissist
00:48:39 Ads
00:55:16 How to Know If You’re a Conversational Narcissist
01:08:55 The Real Reason First Dates Go Wrong
01:13:52 Can You Go Too Deep Too Quickly?
01:18:08 How to Rewrite the Story You Tell Yourself
01:22:55 The Psychology of Taking Control of Your Life
01:25:21 Ads
01:30:07 What Science Reveals About Luck and Success
01:36:09 The 5 Personality Archetypes Explained
01:42:41 Why Your Personality Changes How You Should Communicate
01:51:50 The Psychology of the “Unlucky Struggler”
01:55:48 How to Escape an Awkward Conversation
01:59:13 How to Build Aura and Rizz
02:00:35 How to Become More Charismatic
02:04:56 The Hidden Habits That Kill Your Charisma
02:09:04 What “Aura” Actually Means
02:13:26 The Eye Contact Trick That Builds Connection
02:16:16 How to Become an Exceptional Listener
02:22:28 Who This Book Was Really Written For
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02:26:38•September 10, 2026
Human Lie Detector: The #1 Sign They’re Lying To You, Catch Liars Instantly! | Dr Leanne ten Brinke
Are you dealing with a master manipulator? Learn how to identify the hidden red flags of liars, psychopaths and narcissists before they cause lasting damage.
Dr. Leanne ten Brinke, a renowned psychologist and director of the Truth and Trust Lab at the University of British Columbia, breaks down the science of deception and toxic behavior. Drawing from her extensive peer-reviewed research and her eye-opening book, Poisonous People, she shares practical, evidence-based strategies to help you recognize dark personality traits and protect your mental well being.
In this episode, she explains:
■ The Warning Signs: How to spot the early behavioral red flags of the "Dark Tetrad" (psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism) before you get hurt.
■ The Manipulation Playbook: The exact psychological tactics toxic individuals use to control and deceive others, including what gaslighting actually means.
■ The Lie-Detector Myth: Why relying on eye contact, fidgeting, and body language is actually a terrible way to catch a liar.
■ The Two Faces of Narcissism: How to identify the different types (including why one completely crumbles at the slightest criticism), and the devastating toll of working for a psychopathic boss.
■ Defense Strategies: Proven techniques to outsmart dangerous personalities, set ironclad boundaries, and dramatically improve your life.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:21 Why This Research Into Psychopathy Matters
00:02:58 Why Psychopathy Is Getting More Attention
00:04:05 Can You Spot a Psychopath in 5 Seconds?
00:05:30 How Facial Expressions Reveal What People Really Feel
00:08:56 Can You Predict If Someone Is Guilty?
00:09:59 Three Signs Someone Might Be Lying
00:13:46 Can Anyone Learn to Spot a Liar?
00:20:29 Why the Eye Contact Myth Gets Body Language Wrong
00:21:53 Psychopathy, Narcissism, Machiavellianism and Sadism Explained
00:34:49 The Biggest Myths About Psychopaths Debunked
00:36:28 How Common Are Dark Personality Traits?
00:38:05 Are Dark Traits Caused by Genetics or Childhood?
00:41:13 How to Increase Your Chances of Becoming a Good Parent
00:44:23 What Happens Inside a Psychopath's Brain?
00:46:06 Can Dark Personality Traits Be Cured?
00:49:30 Ads
00:51:32 Why Being Lied to Makes You Feel Distant
00:57:14 Can You Be Warm and Competent at the Same Time?
00:59:57 Why Dark Personality Traits Don't Get You Ahead
01:04:41 How to Spot Red Flags in Dating Profiles and Relationships
01:12:44 Ads
01:13:52 Why Setting Boundaries Matters More Than You Think
01:17:05 7 Rules for Dealing With Dark Personalities
01:19:07 How to Spot Gaslighting and Coercive Control
01:23:29 7 Rules for Dealing With Dark Personalities Continued
01:30:37 How to Communicate With Dark Personalities
01:33:28 How to Become a Better Detective of People's Cues
01:34:00 Why You Should Avoid Face to Face Negotiations
01:37:53 Three Mistakes People Make With Dark Personalities
01:39:37 How the 10% Do the Damage and the Biggest Lie About Success
01:41:10 What Is the Greatest Lie We've All Been Told?
Independent Fact Check: https://stevenbartlett.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/DOAC-Leanne-ten-Brinke-Independent-Research-Further-Reading_final.pdf
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You can purchase Leanne’s book, ‘Poisonous People: Psychopathy, Narcissism, Manipulation, Sadism: How to Resist Them and Improve Your Life’, here: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/3lYxLjb
Learn more from the online resources, here:
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