The Overexamined Life

We spend our days optimising, refining, and sanding down every rough edge, only to end up exhausted in a life that looks right but feels strangely hollow. In this conversation with Johann Hari, we unravel the illusion of “junk values” and explore Eudaimonia, a deeper, more human kind of meaning that can’t be engineered.More about Johann here! https://johannhari.com/Sick of being ruled by your emotions?Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo  WATCH THE PODCAST on YoutubeFollow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his WebsiteJonah writes on SubstackEmail Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com

A.I. is getting smarter and more intimate. People whisper secrets to glowing screens, confess fears to code, feel understood by something that isn’t conscious. I catch myself doing it too, more than I probably should.So I called in Deborah Nas, tech strategist and futurist, to talk A.I.-induced psychosis, the ethics of A.I. romance, and what it means for our brains, hearts, and society. Few conversations have felt this urgent.Check out Deborah’s TEDx talk: Why are people falling in love with ChatGPT? https://youtu.be/WWS086AY1OsSick of being ruled by your emotions?Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo  WATCH THE PODCAST on YoutubeFollow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his WebsiteJonah writes on SubstackEmail Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com

What if changing your mind wasn’t a weakness, but the most honest way to live? I am convinced (for now) that embracing the idea that you are not one rigid identity allows you to not ‘dig in’ to any one position and really frees you up to be authentic. When there’s no self to defend, hypocrisy isn’t hypocrisy at all: it’s honesty.Sick of being ruled by your emotions?Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo  WATCH THE PODCAST on YoutubeFollow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his WebsiteJonah writes on SubstackEmail Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com

The creative life can be brutal. It seems there’s endless work required for the most minimal recognition, and this endless work only begins after you finish your day job, since none of it pays anyway. At least this line of thinking is one creatives tend fall prey to. Which is not helpful, regardless of whether or not it’s true. Cue Adam Leipzig;Adam was a senior executive at Walt Disney Studios and later president of National Geographic Films. Adam has been a producer, distributor, or supervising executive on forty films including Dead Poets Society, March of the Penguins His projects have earned more than $2 billion worldwide and have won multiples Oscars, BAFTAs, Emmys, Golden Globes. Adam continues to produces films, teaches at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and is author of Fearless Persistence: Creative Life, Creative Work, and the Ten Laws of Culturenomics—a book and movement about courage, purpose, and pushing forward when the path gets tough. Adam has created tried and true methodologies for resilience and success in creative fields, some of these secrets he was kind enough to share with us today. If you do any kind of work purely out of passion, this is a must listen.Check out Adam’s Audiobook: https://adamleipzig.com/advanced-listener-editionSick of being ruled by your emotions?Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo  WATCH THE PODCAST on YoutubeFollow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his WebsiteJonah writes on SubstackEmail Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com

The voice in your head is either your ally or your enemy. And you have the power to choose. The words we use to describe ourselves our the words we begin to believe. The way you speak to yourself, really really, matters Sick of being ruled by your emotions?Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo  WATCH THE PODCAST on YoutubeFollow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his WebsiteJonah writes on SubstackEmail Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com

Today, I chat with Dr. Shannon Albarelli, a clinical psychologist, mindfulness instructor, and ketamine-assisted therapy guide. We dive into her journey through loss, and explore how science, ancient wisdom, and psychedelics can help us unlock new parts of ourselves, find peace, and actually enjoy being alive.Find out more about Dr. Shannon here: https://www.doctor-shannon.com/Sick of being ruled by your emotions?Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo  WATCH THE PODCAST on YoutubeFollow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his WebsiteJonah writes on SubstackEmail Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com

In honour of the 2026 Winter Olympics, we sit down with speed skating gold medalist Mark Tuitert to explore what actually separates an Olympic champion from everyone else—and it turns out it’s not just training harder, but mastering forgiveness, acceptance, and the messy reality of being human. Drawing on Stoic philosophy, personal loss, and hard-won perspective, this conversation is a must-listen for anyone curious about the inner chemistry of peak performance.Get your copy of "The Stoic Mindset" here: https://marktuitert.nl/en/the-stoic-mindset/Sick of being ruled by your emotions?Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo  WATCH THE PODCAST on YoutubeFollow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his WebsiteJonah writes on SubstackEmail Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com

If nobody knows, how can we trust anything? Fortunately Alan Watts weighs in to make us feel at peace. Sick of being ruled by your emotions?Join our Patreon for AD-FREE listening, bonus episodes, and mindfulness exercises that are actually fun: patreon.com/TOLclub Want to learn how to meditate? Get 30 days of the Waking Up App FREE: wakingup.com/primo  WATCH THE PODCAST on YoutubeFollow Jonah Primo on Instagram or visit his WebsiteJonah writes on SubstackEmail Jonah Primo at overexamined@jonahprimo.com