The Knowledge with David Elikwu
On The Knowledge Podcast, you’ll hear from the best and brightest minds in business, entrepreneurship, and beyond. Hosted by writer and entrepreneur David Elikwu, each episode features in-depth interviews with makers, thinkers, and innovators from a variety of backgrounds. The Knowledge is a weekly newsletter for people who want to get more out of life. In every issue, David shares stories, ideas and frameworks from psychology, philosophy, productivity and business. With insights that are both practical and thought-provoking, The Knowledge will help you think more deeply and get more done. Follow David's newsletter at: theknowledge.io / Keep the conversation going on Twitter at @Delikwu using the hashtag #TheKnowledge
Episodes
Is Modern ADHD a Crisis of Environment? An Exploration of Attention in the Digital Age
I confess to having been sceptical about the rising ADHD diagnoses, suspecting it to be a fad. However, after watching people describe their everyday distractions, my view shifted. The explosion of ADHD-like behaviours seems more about the environment we've created rather than individual faults. This episode explores whether our digital societ...
In this episode, David explores why modern life feels so complicated, how our quest for optimisation can make us fragile, and what it means to rediscover simplicity and practical wisdom. Through personal anecdotes, historical stories, and philosophical insights, David unpacks the hidden costs of complexity and offers a path back to clarity.
Key Topics & Timestamps:
- [0:00] Introduction: The Complexity of Modern Life
- Why life fe...
(Embracing Total Engagement: Overcoming Life's Hesitations) –
In this episode, David Elikwu explains the pervasive state of hesitation many people experience in life. Drawing upon philosophers Henry David Thoreau and Soren Kierkegaard, David explores the concept of living in a foggy state of quiet desperation, paralysed by the fear of finality and the countless possibilities life offers. He discusses the modern parallel of FOMO...
Going deep: The Battle Between Horizontal and Vertical Work
In this episode of 'The Knowledge,' host David Elikwu dives into the dichotomy between horizontal and vertical models of engaging with the world. Using Donald Knuth's drastic life decision to quit email in 1990 as a starting point, David explores the philosophical implications of being either on top of things or at the bottom. The episode draws on historical and...
In this episode, David Elikwu speaks with Ed Latimore, exploring his remarkable journey from growing up in the projects of Pittsburgh to becoming a professional heavyweight boxer. Latimore discusses overcoming challenges such as a tough upbringing, alcohol dependency, and setbacks in his boxing career. Key highlights include his recent decision to come out of retirement at 40, his experiences with training and fighting, and his ref...
Hey, welcome back. I have missed you all. We took a bit of a break from the podcast for a month and a bit for a number of reasons. One of them is that I have been working on announcing a book that I've been writing for the past year called 'Sovereign'. It's out for pre-orders now at becomesovereign.com.
I've had tons of great feedback from advanced readers, and I’m excited to share it with you. I'm also thril...
David speaks with Christine Carrillo, an executive coach for early-stage CEOs and founder of The 20-Hour CEO. Christine has built three companies generating over $200M in revenue and now helps founders build lean, profitable businesses without burnout.
They talked about:
🏚 Growing up in poverty and becoming head of household at 14
🛠 Navigating trauma, burnout, and building resilience
💡 Why freedom, not money, was her ultimate defini...
David speaks with with Alex Fefegha, a creative technologist who currently works as a creative coder at Google's Arts & Culture Lab. Previously, Alex founded COMUZI, a design studio he started at 19. He also runs The Office of Art & Technology, creating games and interactive experiences.
They talked about:
💻 How Alex got into tech after growing up in South London
⚽ Getting kicked out of a football academy put him on a...
David speaks with Taylor Pearson, an author, investor, and principal at Mutiny Fund. Taylor wrote The End of Jobs, a book about how work is changing and what that means for people building their careers today. These days, he focuses on decision-making, risk, and helping investors think about uncertainty through his work at Mutiny Fund.
They talked about:
📚 How ditching plans to become a lawyer changed Taylor's life
⚠️ How "sa...
David speaks with Colin Landforce, a serial entrepreneur who started his business journey as a teenager and went on to build successful ventures across multiple industries, from tech to cannabis. Colin is the founder of LTRMN, a multi-million dollar consumer cannabis product company, and creator of Cut30, a 30-day bootcamp that has helped over 1,000 creators and brands improve their short-form video skills for Instagram, TikTok, an...
David speaks with Neville Medhora, an expert copywriter, best-selling author of "This book will teach you how to write better", and founder of Copywriting Course and SwipeFile.com.
Copywriting has evolved dramatically since its beginnings, and in this episode, Neville and David explore this transformation. Neville breaks down the AIDA formula - a 4-step approach that can instantly improve your writing. We discuss how to set ...
David speaks with Brandon Pindulic, President of Spacebar Ventures, a digital business incubator and investment firm. He also previously founded OpGen Media, which he sold in a 7-figure exit at age 21.
They talked about:
🏢 Building OpGen Media and leading it to a 7-figure exit
🤝 Surrounding yourself with successful people
🐋 Landing big clients and growing the business
🚫 Learning from failed business ventures
🚀 The importance of ...
David speaks with Sondre Rasch, Co-founder and CEO of SafetyWing, a global social safety net for remote workers and companies.
A natural entrepreneur, Sondre started selling server space in his early teens whilst playing MMORPGs. While most kids were focused on high school, at 14 he was already planning to build a Silicon Valley company, something he'd eventually do twice as a Y Combinator founder with Superside and later Safety...
David speaks with Neville Medhora, an expert copywriter, best-selling author of "This book will teach you how to write better", and founder of Copywriting Course and SwipeFile.com.
Neville never set out to be a copywriter - it just kind of happened. He started out messing around with online businesses with his friends in the 2000s, got hooked on findings ways to optimise sales, and realised that the right words could make pe...
David speaks with Michael Ashcroft, a writer and Alexander Technique teacher who previously spent 10 years consulting on clean energy innovation.
A lot of Michael's work centres around helping people expand their awareness. He's written several essays and posts I've loved, particularly about the concept of grinding, and how paying attention to our awareness can help us maximise our creativity, productivity, posture and p...
David speaks with entrepreneur and writer Jonathan Goodman. Jon built the Personal Trainer Development Center ($35M+ rev), hosts the Obvious Choice podcast, and is the author of several books, including Viralnomics, and his latest book, The Obvious Choice: Timeless Lessons on Success, Profit, and Finding Your Way.
They talked about:
💡 Standing out in a crowded industry
🔄 Developing leapfrog skills
⏳ Playing the long game in b...
David speaks with Thatcher Wine, a creative entrepreneur, writer and book curator. He is the Founder & CEO of Juniper Books, a company that creates custom book collections and designs special book sets. He is the author of The Twelve Monotasks: Do One Thing at a Time to Do Everything Better that provides a clear and accessible plan for life in the 21st century and also the coauthor of For the Love of Books: Designing and Curati...
David speaks with Jason Shen, a three-time founder, writer, executive coach, and NCAA gymnastics champion. Jason Co-founded RideJoy, a ridesharing platform backed by Y Combinator, and later built Midgame, an AI gaming company that was bought by Meta. As CEO of Refactor Labs, he helps founders and teams build successful companies. He wrote The Path to Pivot and Weirdly Brilliant, sharing lessons on resilience, leadership, and reachi...
David speaks with Luca Dellana, an author, business consultant, and lecturer who helps companies increase their revenue through better people and risk management. Luca has been featured at Nudgestock, the largest behavioural sciences conference, as well as on Econtalk, among other platforms. More than 25,000 people around the world read Luca regularly. He’s the author of over ten books, with his latest being Winning Long-Term Games...
David speaks with Jonathan Goodman, an author, entrepreneur, host, and a leading expert helping people grow and simplify their businesses. He is the creator of the Personal Trainer Development Center ($35M+ rev) and host of the Obvious Choice podcast, a top show for coaches, entrepreneurs, and small business owners. He is the author of multiple fitness and business development books, including Viralnomics, and has sold tens of thou...
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