Airplane Mode

Steven Johnson's made a career of cracking complicated topics, having written 11 (!) books that unpack everything from neuroscience to the origins of good ideas. In this episode, he and Clay dig into Johnson's most recent, Farsighted , which deep-dives into the secrets of making long-term decisions—the type that will affect your life 5 (or 25) years from now. Their conversation covers all the big...

Comedian Pete Holmes—creator and star of HBO show Crashing , podcaster ( You Made It Weird ), and new author ( Comedy Sex God)— has survived some existential crisis and come out the other end with a plan for living joyously. It just takes some work. He also explains why expectations can get in the way of all that joy, why “everything happens for a reason” is B.S., and what he means when he says yo...

Aminatou Sow is the smart-as-hell, wildly successful multi-hyphenate super-person we all dream of being—she's a strategist, a podcast host ("Call Your Girlfriend"), a soon-to-be-published author, a network-builder (Tech LadyMafia), and, yes, an influencer.  But she's one who uses her clout for good. (“I am definitely a capitalist sellout,” she says. “But also, I’m doing it with a purpose.”) In thi...

Being wrong sucks, but not only for the reasons you think. Guest Annie Duke, former pro poker player and author of "Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts," has built a life on embracing uncertainty and making the "wrong choice"...and come out the other side with some important advice. She explains how you can make peace with being wrong, why we listen to over...

Get ready for Airplane Mode, GQ's new podcast. Each week, host Clay Skipper digs deep into conversation with successful, thoughtful people like former pro poker player Annie Duke, director Bing Liu, and businesswoman/strategist/"good influencer" Aminatou Sow. Subscribe to make sure you hear the first episode of Season 1 as soon as it launches.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choi...