Two Percent with Michael Easter
Lessons from the frontiers of health, psychology, thought, and human experience. Hosted by Michael Easter—New York Times bestselling author of The Comfort Crisis and Scarcity Brain. New episodes are released twice each week.
Episodes
October 22, 2026 • 52 mins
Up to half of Americans say their sleep is bad, and the rules for fixing it keep piling up. Michael speaks with David Samson, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Toronto and author of The Sleepless Ape, about why modern people sleep longer and better than hunter-gatherers yet worry about it far more, why our body clocks are the real mismatch, top sleep myths, and which sleep advice is worth following. They discuss:
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October 20, 2026 • 68 mins
Most of us avoid anything we might fail at. Michael speaks with Dr. Marcus Elliott about Misogi, his yearly challenge with about a 50 percent chance of failure, and why we overestimate the cost of failing, the benefits of Misogi, and what the data on elite athletes still can't measure. In addition to creating the modern Misogi, Marcus founded P3, the world's top sports science lab. They discuss:
(00:00) Cold open(00:41) The Comfor...
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October 15, 2026 • 86 mins
Brian Driscoll became acting director of the FBI through what he believes was a clerical error in 2025. He was then asked to hand over the names of thousands of FBI employees who worked the January 6 investigations, which would have placed their careers and safety in jeopardy. He resisted and became a legend in the bureau. Brian told Michael what pushing back cost him, and why he calls "it is what it is" the most accepted form of s...
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October 13, 2026 • 68 mins
Michael speaks with Harvard evolutionary biologist Dan Lieberman, author of Fed Up. They talked about how humans didn't evolve to think about what to eat, the history of food and humans, what Dan learned trying popular diets for the book, biggest diet myths, and where Dan lands on exercise and weight loss. They covered:
(00:00) Cold open(01:15) Humans never evolved to choose food(09:59) What the paleo diet gets wrong(14:32) Why we...
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October 8, 2026 • 52 mins
A lot of us think of quitting as a path to failure. Michael speaks with Lindsay Crouse, the former New York Times writer, editor and producer, lifelong distance runner and author of The Case for Quitting, about when perseverance backfires, how to tell meaningful suffering from the pointless kind, and the signs it's time to walk away. They discuss:
(00:00) Cold open(00:54) Good sisu and bad sisu(06:30) The Olympic Trials goal she m...
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October 6, 2026 • 60 mins
Michael speaks with Tim Wu, the Columbia law professor and author of The Age of Extraction, about how media and tech platforms learned to harvest our attention, why convenience is among the most powerful forces of our time, and what the easy option can take from us. They discuss:
(00:00) Cold open(01:12) Selling attention, from 1833 to now(07:46) Why phones are changing human evolution(16:20) Why ads adapt to every backlash(18:00)...
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October 1, 2026 • 51 mins
Michael speaks with Brady Holmer, the exercise scientist and 2:24 marathoner behind the Substack Physiologically Speaking, about which fitness trends hold up. Brady explains why he stopped taking creatine, which numbers on your wearable to ignore, and why endurance athletes now eat the carbs of three Cokes an hour. They discuss:
(00:00) Preview(00:35) Why Brady stopped taking creatine(03:26) Creatine is oversold for the brain(09:1...
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September 29, 2026 • 60 mins
Heather Gay, star of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and author of Bad Mormon, tells Michael why she left the Mormon faith, what that decision cost, and how she rebuilt a sense of self and community. They also discussed her role on the show, and:
(00:00) Preview(00:46) Why Heather left her faith(03:01) The choice that changed her life(05:35) Why she stayed Mormon for so long(11:15) The cost of trying to be perfect(15:52) Fin...
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September 24, 2026 • 59 mins
Michael speaks with Tamar Haspel, The Washington Post's Unearthed columnist and author of To Boldly Grow, about her case for why we should stop eating lettuce. Starting with the explosive diarrhea story behind her column, they examine lettuce's food-safety risks, the healthy reputation of salads, and how to eat well when nutrition advice conflicts. They discuss:
(00:00) Preview(00:52) Lettuce and foodborne illness(05:11) Lettuce, ...
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September 22, 2026 • 45 mins
Michael speaks with Jessica Tarlov, co-host of The Five on Fox News and author of I Disagree, about how to argue without losing friends. Outnumbered four to one on the most-watched show in cable news, Jessica explains how she makes the truth safe to hear, why she argues with averages instead of anecdotes, and how to decide whether a disagreement is worth having. They discuss:
(00:00) Preview(00:40) Her biggest conversion on The Fi...
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September 17, 2026 • 55 mins
Michael speaks with Christian Craighead, a former SAS soldier and author of One Man In, about the afternoon he singlehandedly fought off a major terror attack in Nairobi and what it teaches about acting while afraid, leading people, and being ready before anything happens. They discuss:
(00:00) Preview(00:38) Entering a terror attack with no backup(07:11) How a hard childhood shaped Christian's resolve(12:34) Why the top Special F...
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September 15, 2026 • 61 mins
Michael speaks with Jim Kwik, brain coach and author of the new book Limitless Daily, about how to learn faster, remember more, and use AI to get smarter instead of dumber. They discuss:
(00:00) Cold open(01:30) Jim's early learning struggles(05:32) The question that changed Jim's approach to learning(17:30) Problems with school systems and tech use(23:00) Using AI to get smarter, not dumber with the BUILD framework(29:56) Memory,...
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September 10, 2026 • 54 mins
Michael speaks with FDNY Chief Joseph Pfeifer, who led the first fire units into the North Tower on 9/11 and later gave the order to evacuate the towers. Chief Pfeifer later served as the FDNY Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency preparedness, is a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and wrote Ordinary Heroes, which examines what 9/11 taught him about crisis leadership, resilience, and the ordinary acts of heroism. ...
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September 8, 2026 • 56 mins
Michael sits down with Elizabeth Smart, who was abducted at 14, survived nine months of captivity, and spent the decades after building her own path to recovery. She is the Founder of the Elizabeth Smart foundation and host of The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart, a true-crime podcast where she speaks with survivors of violent crimes about healing. Michael and Elizabeth discuss: (00:00) Cold open(07:28) The Science of Downward C...
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September 3, 2026 • 63 mins
Michael speaks with Dr. John Delony, host of The Dr. John Delony Show and author of Building a Non-Anxious Life. They discuss: 00:00 Preview00:54 Mental Health and Relationship Lessons from Thousands of Callers09:09 Why The Problem People Describe is Never the Real Problem 12:45 What People Are Really Calling About25:51 Lessons from a Homicide Detective28:28 Why Punk Rock Teaches Stewardship32:09 What Dave Ramsey Taught John37:43 T...
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September 1, 2026 • 60 mins
Michael sits down with trial lawyer Jefferson Fisher, author of The Next Conversation, on why hard conversations are some of the most uncomfortable things we do and how to handle them with strength. They discuss: 00:00 Preview01:41 The hardest conversation he's ever had05:30 What to do before having a hard conversation 14:57 Don't win the argument, understand it17:02 Let your breath be the first word24:16 Stop over-apologizing26:31...
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August 27, 2026 • 55 mins
Michael speaks with physician and competitive powerlifter Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum about what peptides are, why they suddenly seem to promise everything, and what the human evidence actually shows.
They discuss:
0:00 Preview0:45 Michael FaceTimes Foster Kamer about peptides8:28 What is a peptide?13:00 BPC-157 and the evidence problem19:40 Why pain relief doesn't prove peptides work24:19 Promising peptides and unknown risks35:29 Where...
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August 25, 2026 • 45 mins
Michael speaks with Eric Frohardt about his twelve years on SEAL Team 6 as a sniper and assaulter—and what you can learn from it. They discuss:
0:00 Preview0:39 How to stay calm under pressure6:09 How farm work built resilience9:17 The bet that started a SEAL career17:02 How adults can train courage19:45 Watching 9/11 from Guam22:20 From the SEAL Teams to DEVGRU26:13 Why preparation cannot guarantee the outcome30:56 Rebuildin...
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August 20, 2026 • 60 mins
Michael speaks with Ellen Langer, the first woman tenured in Harvard’s psychology department and author of The Mindful Body, about how our thoughts and expectations shape aging, health, and performance. They discuss:0:00 Preview0:45 The experiment that changed how we see aging4:29 How beliefs change the body10:52 Placebo, nocebo, and imagined exercise12:16 Mindfulness without meditation17:31 Why certainty makes us mindless24:...
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August 18, 2026 • 52 mins
Michael speaks with economist Tyler Cowen, author of The Complacent Class, about how AI is changing our lives and what still matters for health, happiness, and ambition. They discuss:
0:00 Preview0:48 Should we panic about the future?6:04 How AI makes you smarter or stupider7:36 Mental health, antidepressants, and young men16:26 Why America stopped taking risks19:33 The case for free-range kids21:47 What hard travel teaches about ...
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