The Cal Newport Show

The Cal Newport Show

A podcast about human flourishing in a technological world. Hosted by Cal Newport, an MIT-trained computer professor and bestselling author of numerous books on technology and its impacts, including DEEP WORK, DIGITAL MINIMALISM, A WORLD WITHOUT EMAIL, and SLOW PRODUCTIVITY. New episodes weekly.

Episodes

October 26, 2026 • 66 mins
What happens when neat theoretical ideas about productivity are deployed in the messy real world? In this episode, Cal is joined by Haley Pulli, a productivity coach from the company DoneDaily, to discuss case studies of clients who initially struggled with some of Cal’s ideas and how they ultimately fixed the issues. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by...
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Tesla’s recent demo of a rocket-powered Roadster doing a kick-flick over a parked car touched a nerve in me. It seemed to epitomize changes to the tech sector in recent years that have been largely negative. In this short episode, I jump on the mic to explain some of my developing thoughts surrounding these ideas. More from Cal Download Cal’s FREE guide to cultivating a deeper life: calnewport.com/ideas Learn more ab...
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A lot of attention has been paid recently to examples of AI going “rogue.” What’s missing from this discussion, however, is a more detailed explanation of what specific types of systems are causing problems. Taking a closer look at this problem reveals an issue that’s much more narrow and much more avoidable than some of the frontier labs would like you to believe. Below are the questions covered in today...
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October 12, 2026 • 65 mins
How do we stop from becoming so reliant on LLMs that we lose our ability to think. A new paper explores answers based on an unlikely source: rigorous mathematical models. In this episode, Cal explains the paper and its conclusions, arguing that once you cut through its complexity it yields a useful way of thinking about our current AI moment. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your qu...
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October 8, 2026 • 77 mins
Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News. Cal interviews Emile Torres who provides a stark warning about AI. Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia (0:00) A stark warning from a former AI doomer (2:01) Interview with Emile Torres (1:13:57) Cal recaps the interview with Emile Links: Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow  Thanks to J...
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One of the more debilitating experiences in our current digital world is the sense of being trapped in relentless, reactive, busyness. This “whirlwind” can separate you from both ambition and presence, leaving you feeling flat and fried. In this episode, Cal discusses a simple trick he deploys when he finds himself in this state. It requires only a single sheet of paper. More from Cal Download Cal’s FREE guide t...
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October 1, 2026 • 28 mins
The conversation around AI harms has become incredibly heated in recent weeks. But it's also incredibly confusing. In this short explainer episode, Cal walks through the three major categories of beliefs around AI in the current moment and helps explain who belongs where and how they all relate to each other. If you're trying to keep up with AI news you have need to learn this framework. Chapters: (0:00) Intro (1:01) Why the d...
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With all the recent discussion of the potential catastrophic impacts AI might cause in the future, we’re losing track of the significant harms it is already causing right now. In this episode, Cal goes deep into a serious and tragic topic that he recently learned about in a panel discussion about children and technology. He has an urgent warning for parents that has implications for all of us as well. Below are the questio...
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September 21, 2026 • 52 mins
A recent New York Times op-ed reveals the true nature of “brain rot,” and in doing so reveals a much larger problem affecting us all. In this episode, Cal explores this broader problem then draws from an unlikely source from his childhood to help identify a dramatic solution. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://...
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After a week spent debating AI’s impact on humanity, Cal wants to turn his attention back to AI’s impact on humans. To support this shift, he brings on the writer Brad Stulberg who recently decided that he was “done” with AI. They explore whether this is a resistance movement in the making… Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia More from Cal Download Cal’s FREE...
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Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News. Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia (0:00) How Worrisome is GPT-6’s “Stealth Thinking”?  (8:58) Reasoning models (15:30) Astra (21:02) The Good (24:48) The Bad (28:28) The Hype Links: Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QNsdr-...
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It’s that time of year again when Cal tunes up his organizational systems for the onslaught of the fall. In this episode, Cal walks through the exact system he’s personally adopting for the next few months. He also discusses why such systems are key to thriving in our current frenetic technological world, why it’s important to continue to tweak your systems, and best practices for constructing your own setup. B...
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Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News. Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia (0:00) Does OpenAI create “secret AI civilizations”? (1:59) What’s the deal with “agent swarms”? (8:54) Should we be worried that the agents are plotting? (17:39) How should we be thinking about all of this? Links: Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” a...
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Back in 2023, Cal released an episode on a lifestyle design strategy I called the Deep Life Stack. Today, almost three years later, Cal revisits this idea and replaces it with a more robust concept that he calls “The Deep Life Map.” Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo Video from today’s e...
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Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News. Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia (0:00) Has AI “Gone Rogue” (2:25) Observation #1 - Most Superhuman AI is well behaved (4:28) Observation #2 - A specific type of AI system is causing these problems (9:59) Observation #3 - This specific type of system is a bad idea (21:25) Observation #4 - The AI companies are negligent (27:04) O...
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In the world of physical health, we use so-called “key performance indicators” (KPIs) to help measure and improve our fitness. In today’s episode, Cal proposes a collection of three KPIs for measuring and improving your *cognitive* capabilities – a small step toward his larger vision of a cognitive fitness revolution.   Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get yo...
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The best way to kick your scrolling habit is to introduce more “high quality leisure” into your life. But how do you accomplish this goal? In this replay of a classic episode from February, 2024, Cal walks through six new habits – what he calls a “high quality leisure toolkit” – for rebuilding your life around more meaningful activities.    Below are the questions covered in today's e...
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Only 8% of people finish their yearly goals. At the same time, the percentage of people feeling a sense of meaning of purpose in their life is falling. These two numbers are connected: the more we struggle to accomplish meaningful projects, the less meaningful our lives might feel. In this episode, Cal looks back to a classic article he wrote nearly twenty years ago to both better understand why this problem is getting worse and ho...
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Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News. Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia (0:00) Does Open AI’s Astra mean AGI has arrived? (3:07) What actually happened? (11:35) What does this mean for mathematics? (21:35) What does this mean for OpenAI?  Links: Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow  https://x.com/polynoamial/s...
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In this replay of a classic episode from January 1st, 2024, Cal walks through the process of learning hard things. The good news is that most people can learn most things. The bad news is that learning is harder than we think. This advice has never been more relevant for those looking to move past the easy dopamine hits offered by their devices and find something deeper.    Below are the questions covered in today's epi...
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