The James Altucher Show

A Note from James:

One of the funniest guys I’ve ever spoken to—Dave Barry. I always love talking to him. He’s been America’s top humorist since the early ’80s with a syndicated column in 500 newspapers and a long list of bestselling books. This is his third time on the podcast, and his latest book, Class Clown: Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass, is out now.

We get into everything—his process, his adventures, and his signatu...

Notes from James:

I had no idea this conversation would go where it did. I thought we’d talk chess. Instead, we talked about life, trauma, manipulation, redemption… and how one of the world’s most popular games can be both a tormentor and a savior.

Episode Description:

In this raw and powerful episode, I sat down with Danny Rensch—International Master, Chief Chess Officer of Chess.com, and author of the upcoming memoir Da...

A Note from James:

Man, what a fascinating career Robert Rosenkranz has had—multi-billionaire, involved in virtually every part of finance and American industry. He wrote a book called The Stoic Capitalist, and what really stands out is how he's actively applied stoic principles to achieve immense success throughout his career. Even from a young age, stoicism played a crucial role, guiding him through critical business deci...

Notes from James:

When I turned 40, I was depressed. I checked the top 50 chess players and saw only one person around my age: Viswanathan Anand. That moment gave me hope.

Episode Description:

I met one of my lifelong heroes—five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand—and got to sit down with him at the Norway Summit to unpack what it really takes to stay at the top… for four decades. We didn’t just talk about chess—we t...

A Note from James:

So I’ve been doing this podcast for a long time—over 1500 episodes—and I’ve spoken to everyone from billionaires to best-selling authors, athletes to entrepreneurs. But there are a handful of episodes that still ring in my ears years later. One of them was Episode 156 with Gary Vaynerchuk.

I was just re-listening to it while pulling together notes for a potential book, and I realized this conversation is t...

A Note from James:

So the question is, I really feel that in order to get not good at something, but great at something, you have to be obsessed. You can't just wake up and decide to be obsessed—it has to be deep, almost irrational. Obsession is like addiction. It throws your life off balance, and yet... there’s this insane joy when you enter the subculture of your obsession and get better at it.

I’ve seen this recently in c...

A Note from James:

Michael Dell. Founder of Dell. I remember in college, hearing about this kid who was building computers in his dorm and making millions. I thought it was a myth. It wasn’t. He’s the real thing—and he just kept going.

I wanted to understand what drove him, what it felt like to deal with Carl Icahn trying to wrestle his company from him, and what success feels like after decades of being in the game. Also: I...

Notes from James:

Most people get stuck at the idea stage. That’s why I’m sharing frameworks—so you’re not staring at a blank screen. These techniques have helped hundreds of people (including me) go from idea to published book in just 30 days.

Episode Descriptions:

In Part 5 of my 30-day writing series, I unveil four of the most powerful book-writing frameworks I’ve ever used or taught—and they’ve helped hundreds of people w...

Episode Description:

James reconnects with entrepreneurs Michael and Kass Lazerow, whose journey spans selling Golf.com for $24 million, launching and pivoting Buddy Media into a $700 million Salesforce acquisition, and now investing in breakout brands like Liquid Death. This episode isn’t about startup clichés—it’s about emotional resilience, firing with kindness, how marriage can (barely) survive co-founding, and how to s...

Notes from James:

Let’s be honest: most people who write a book never make money from it. Why? Because they stop at the last page. I want you to go further. In this episode, I show you how I turned my books into speaking gigs, consulting work, investment deals, and more. You don’t need a big publisher or a massive budget—just the right strategy.

Episode Descriptions:

In Part 4 of my 30-day writing series, I tackle one of the ...

A Note from James:

Well, you can't get more information about tariffs and the economy than what I just got and you're about to listen to. Wilbur Ross, who was Secretary of Commerce under the first administration of Trump, just came on the podcast. I got to ask any question I wanted—about tariffs, the economy, everything.

Don't forget, in Trump’s first administration, we saw steel and aluminum tariffs, and there were all the ...

A Note from James:

So I’ve been podcasting for, gosh, 11 years—over 1500 episodes. And through that whole journey, PodcastOne always stood out to me. They recently went public, and today I’ve got Rob Ellin and Kit Gray joining me. What’s the future of podcasting? If you're thinking about starting a podcast—or wondering how to grow one you already have—this episode's for you. These guys helped shape the entire industry, and ...

Notes from James:

This is where a lot of people quit—but you won’t. This episode is about pushing through the dip that comes when writing gets tough. I give you tools I’ve used across 25+ books to keep going, stay motivated, and write better.

Episode Descriptions:

This is Part 3 of my 30-day writing series—and we’re getting into the real tools that will make your writing not just better, but publishable. If you’ve ever stared...

Notes from James:

The biggest lie about writing is that it takes years. I’ve written multiple books in less than a month—including bestsellers. With the right system, anyone can do this.

In this episode, I break down how to structure your first book and why your life experience, not your grammar, is your superpower. You’ll also hear my take on AI writing, and why your personal story is something no algorithm can ever replica...

Notes from James:

I’ve written 25 books—some huge hits, some total flops—and what I’ve learned is this: anyone can write a book, but not everyone gives themselves permission to start. This episode is the foundation. I break down the mindset, motivation, and structure you need to go from blank page to published book—even if you’ve never written a word before.

So you want to write a book. Where do you even start? In this kicko...

A Note from James:

Sunny Ray is working on an incredible project involving Bitcoin and his company, Matador. They’re digitizing gold—turning it into crypto—and he’s a Bitcoin maximalist. That’s different from my stance: I think there are many crypto tokens that are useful for specific purposes. But Sonny’s view is clear—Bitcoin is the foundation.

We talk about what digital gold really means, why tokenization is so important,...

A Note from James:

So Dr. Oz—television personality turned government official—this is such an interesting thing. He's going to be the new administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS. He’s going to be in charge of all Medicare and Medicaid. What does he know or think about these parts of our government?

Medicare and Medicaid, combined with Social Security, make up the biggest part of government spendi...

A Note from James:

Marty Makary is the new head of the FDA, but he is also an old friend of the podcast. He's been on several times, and it's really important to know how this is going to be a new and different FDA, and it's going to be molded by Marty's very specific opinions about healthcare and the medical industry—and here they are.

Episode Description:

In this episode, James reconnects with Dr. Marty Makary, now head...

A Note from James:

The Data Republican—it almost sounds like a superhero name. And in a way, she is. She’s been single-handedly uncovering massive amounts of government waste and inefficiency. It’s honestly unbelievable. And regardless of whether you're a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or anything else, I think we can all agree: there shouldn’t be waste or fraud in the government.

You’ve heard the old stories—like the mi...