From The Green Notebook

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Eliot Cohen, Professor Emeritus and former Dean at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and author of The Strategist: How to Think About War and Politics , joins Joe to explore a fundamental question: What is strategy, and why is it so difficult to get right? Cohen explains why strategy is about more than military power, advanced technology...

Send us Fan Mail Ron Johnson, former Apple executive and architect of the Apple Store, joins Joe to discuss his new book, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius , and the leadership lessons he learned working alongside Steve Jobs. From helping transform Target to building one of the most successful retail concepts in history, Johnson shares what it takes to challenge conventional...

Send us Fan Mail Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel   and Prophets, Coaches, and Kings , joins Joe to explore a fundamental question: When do leaders actually make a difference, and when are their successes or failures shaped by circumstances beyond their control? Joe and Diamond discuss how luck, timing, resources, and institutional advantages influence leaders...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Thais Gibson, founder of the Personal Development School and author of Learning Love , joins Joe to discuss attachment theory and how our early childhood experiences shape our relationship patterns, communication styles, and emotional well-being throughout our lives. Joe and Dr. Gibson explore what shaped her journey into attachment work—including her own experience as a fearf...

Send us Fan Mail Lee Roberts, Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joins Joe to discuss leadership, service, and what it takes to lead a large and complex institution. Joe and Chancellor Roberts discuss the experiences that shaped his approach to leadership, beginning with growing up as the son of two journalists and continuing through a career that has included business,...

Send us Fan Mail Michael Eck, author of Strike Season , joins Joe to tell the remarkable true story of a high school football team that suddenly found itself without coaches in the middle of a championship season. When a teachers’ strike pulled the coaching staff off the field, Michael and his teammates faced the possibility of losing not only their season, but also college scholarships and opport...

Send us Fan Mail Olivia Fox Cabane, author of the international bestseller The Charisma Myth , joins Joe to explore the science and practice of charisma—what it really is, why the biggest myths about it persist, and how anyone can deliberately develop it. This episode dismantles the idea that charisma is an innate, magical quality reserved for a lucky few. Olivia shows that charisma is a set of le...

Send us Fan Mail On the fifth anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, General (Ret.) Scott Miller, the final commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, joins Joe for a candid conversation about the war, its ending, and what we owe the people who served there. General Miller reflects on watching Afghanistan collapse after he left the country, the anger he carried afterward, and...

Send us Fan Mail George Barrios, former co-president of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), co-founder and co-CEO of Isos Capital Management, and author of Sometimes Wrong, But Never in Doubt , joins Joe to explore leadership, preparation, reinvention, and what it takes to transform an organization. This episode examines George’s unconventional path from nearly failing out of high school to becom...

Send us Fan Mail Michael Kloepper, former commander of the 173rd Airborne Brigade and current Brigade Tactical Officer at the United States Military Academy, joins Joe to explore leadership, readiness, and the responsibility to pass hard-earned lessons to the next generation. This episode examines what it means for a generation of leaders shaped by more than two decades of war to “empty the rucksa...

Send us Fan Mail Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of Gates of Fire , t he War of Art , A Man at Arms , and The Arcadian , joins Joe to explore writing, resistance, and the soldier’s long search for peace. This episode examines the story behind The Arcadian , Pressfield’s latest novel featuring Telamon, a warrior cursed to live lifetime after lifetime as a soldier. Steve shares how the seed fo...

Send us Fan Mail Brooke Taylor, author of Healing the Success Wound , joins Joe to explore the hidden pain that comes from mistaking achievement, productivity, and success for self-worth. This episode examines the “success wound,” the belief that our worth is tied to what we produce, accomplish, or achieve rather than who we are. Brooke shares her own story of growing up in Silicon Valley, chasing...

Send us Fan Mail Geoffrey Cain, author of Steve Jobs in Exile , joins Joe to explore one of the most overlooked chapters in Steve Jobs’ life: the twelve years between his fall from Apple and his return to build one of the most influential companies in the world. This episode looks beyond the familiar story of the iPhone, iPod, and Apple’s second act to examine the wilderness years that shaped Jobs...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Tommy Shavers, founder of NESTRE Health & Performance, and Carlos Perez, a retired Special Forces officer, join Joe to explore a powerful idea: the brain is not fixed. It can be measured, trained, strengthened, and improved. This episode was recorded after Joe visited NESTRE’s performance center in Lake Nona, Florida, where he went through their cognitive assessment and br...

Send us Fan Mail Sam Yo, Peloton instructor, former West End theater performer, and author of The Monk’s Mindset , joins Joe to talk about discipline, mindfulness, and learning how to bring the right effort to every part of our lives. Joe and Sam explore Sam’s journey from early success on the stage to life in a Thai monastery, and eventually to Peloton. Along the way, they discuss what it means t...

Send us Fan Mail Rob Evans joins Joe for a conversation about military barracks conditions, leadership accountability, and why he created Hots&Cots to give junior service members a voice. Drawing from his own experience as a junior enlisted Soldier, Rob shares how years of seeing poor living conditions—and reading reports from organizations like the Government Accountability Office—pushed him...

Send us Fan Mail Daniel Z. Lieberman, psychiatrist and co-author of The Molecule of More , joins Joe to explore the powerful role dopamine plays in shaping our desires, decisions, and sense of fulfillment. Joe and Dan discuss how dopamine isn’t just about pleasure—it’s about possibility. It drives us to chase the future, often leading us to idealize what’s ahead while overlooking what’s right in f...

Send us Fan Mail Judd Kessler—a professor at the Wharton School and author of Lucky by Design —joins Joe to explore the hidden markets that shape our lives, careers, and opportunities. Joe and Judd discuss how many of the most important decisions we encounter—from job promotions to school admissions to performance evaluations—aren’t driven by price, but by rules we rarely see or fully understand....

Send us Fan Mail Jaron Wharton—a former brigade commander in the 82nd Airborne Division and co-editor of Bend but Do Not Break joins Joe to examine the future of the all-volunteer force and the role of professional discourse in strengthening the military.  Joe and Jaron discuss how education and self-study shape better leaders, why intellectual curiosity is essential in command, and how stepping o...

Send us Fan Mail Andy Yakulis—West Point graduate, former Army pilot, and Special Operations officer turned defense tech entrepreneur—joins Joe to talk about leadership, transition, and the rapidly changing nature of modern warfare. Recruited to West Point just days before September 11th, Andy entered the Army knowing he would serve during a generation defined by war. After flying Kiowa Warrior he...

Send us Fan Mail Randy Surles —retired Army Ranger and Green Beret turned editor, ghostwriter, and Story Grid-certified book coach—joins Joe to talk directly to veterans who feel called to tell their story but don’t know where to start. After 25 years in Special Operations, Randy transitioned from the military to the writing world, studying under Shawn Coyne and helping dozens of veterans turn the...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Guy Winch, bestselling author and psychologist, joins Joe to discuss his newest book, Mind Over Grind   to explore how job stress quietly spills beyond the office—and into our evenings, our sleep, and our relationships. What starts as a difficult meeting or looming deadline doesn’t end at 1700. It follows us home. From the “Sunday Scaries” to 2AM rumination loops, Guy explains...

Send us Fan Mail Griffin Brand and Dan Casey, co-authors of Bring Your Own Pencil: Bill Walsh’s Playbook for Winning at Anything , join Joe to explore preparation, leadership, and what separates sustained excellence from short-term success. It’s Super Bowl weekend, so football is part of the lens—but it doesn’t stay there. The discussion moves from Bill Walsh and the San Francisco 49ers to Dyson v...

Send us Fan Mail Lieutenant General Tony Hale, the Army G-2, joins Joe for a conversation on military intelligence, judgment, and decision-making in modern war. Drawing on nearly four decades of service, Hale reflects on the evolution of the intelligence profession—from red pens and acetate maps to AI-enabled platforms—and why human judgment still matters most. Hale shares his path into military i...

Send us Fan Mail On the release of his latest thriller, The Viper: A Zig and Nola Novel , Brad Meltzer joins Joe for an in-depth conversation on writing, curiosity, service, and the often-hidden moments that shape a life. From bestselling thrillers to children’s books, Meltzer reflects on how stories—both real and imagined—help us make sense of who we are, what we’ve lived through, and the paths w...