Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks

Something happens. The tire goes flat, the layoff comes, test results come back. And then a sentence starts running in the back of your head. That shouldn't have happened. I should weigh less. They shouldn't have fired me. You barely register it. It plays like a radio in another room, and it produces a feeling, and the feeling produces a behavior, and the behavior produces the day you are having....

You know what you should do. You're just not doing it. The gym bag is by the door. The draft is open on your screen. The email's been sitting there for three days. And somewhere underneath all of it is the same quiet assumption running the show: that you have to feel like it first. That motivation comes before action.  What if that's backwards? That's the premise behind Morita therapy, and it's th...

The AI fallacy is thinking the transformation is only in the tool. AI is already transforming education and work; not just because of what it can do, but because of what people believe it can do. Students, workers, managers, universities, and companies are all changing their behavior around AI, sometimes rationally, sometimes badly, and often before they even fully understand it. The AI paradox is...

Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky is one of the world's leading researchers on happiness, human flourishing, and what actually helps people feel connected. A Professor of Psychology at UC Riverside, she is the bestselling author of The How of Happiness and The Myths of Happiness, published in 39 countries. Her latest book, written with Harry Reis, is How to Feel Loved. Sonja's work has shaped the modern scien...

You make hundreds of decisions a day. Most of them invisibly. A few of them under real pressure, with incomplete information and no clear right answer. So how do the people who do this for a living like firefighters, surgeons, military commanders, and get it right when the stakes are highest? That's the question Dr. Gary Klein has spent his entire career answering. Not in a lab. In the field. With...

Prof. Philip Goff is a British philosopher, author, and professor at Durham University whose research focuses on philosophy of mind and consciousness. He was an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Central European University and the Department of Philosophy, University of Birmingham. Philip is also the author of Galileo's Error: A New Science of Consciousness, Consciousness and Fundamental Realit...

My guest on this podcast asserts that a huge chunk of our psychological stress isn't caused by what's happening but by the demands one quietly places on reality. In this episode, Dr. Walter Matweychuk teaches me about Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), which focuses on identifying and disputing irrational, self-defeating beliefs to reduce emotional distress and change negative behaviors. Wa...

Society views time as a fixed commodity, yet modern theoretical physics and cognitive neuroscience suggest otherwise. If the linear flow of time is truly an illusion, then time isn't just a resource to be managed; it's a perception to be mastered. My guest on the podcast today, Prof. Steve Taylor, argues that time isn't experienced evenly. He suggests that where you place your attention and how yo...

We've been taught that success comes from setting goals, defining purpose, and executing a plan. But what if those very habits—the linear drive for certainty—are what keep us stuck? Dr. Anne-Laure Le Cunff, neuroscientist, founder of Ness Labs, and world-leading expert on mindful productivity, has an alternative: treat your life like a series of tiny experiments. In her new book Tiny Experiments,...

In a world increasingly dominated by AI and computational thinking, we've been taught that logic is the ultimate form of intelligence. But what if an over-reliance on pure reason is making us more fragile and less equipped to navigate uncertainty? Angus Fletcher is a professor at Ohio State's Project Narrative and the author of the best-selling book, Primal Intelligence. Angus's has had an extraor...

In this episode, I'm digging into the messy reality of business turnarounds, the kind where survival isn't guaranteed and leadership is more about doing the hard, boring things than dazzling with big ideas. My guest is Tony Stubblebine, CEO of Medium, whose recent post "Fell Into a Hole and Got Out" made the rounds for being one of the most honest and actionable stories about company rescue I've e...

There's something strangely reassuring about knowing people were wrestling with the similar issues we struggle with over 2,000 years ago — even if they wore togas and wrote with a chisel.   Donald Robertson is a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, acclaimed author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor , and one of the world's leading voices on Stoicism. He's also the founder of the Plato's Academ...

People think happiness comes from getting everything you want. But the science shows, it's the absence, the novelty, and the change that bring joy back - Tali Sharot  Ever wonder why lasting happiness can feel so elusive? This episode delves into the neuroscience of habituation, and why our brains, despite achieving desires, tend to filter out positive experiences. We'll explore this phenomenon an...

Does the richness of your world expand or shrink in direct proportion to how much of your life is digitally mediated? My guest argues that by defaulting to digital mediation—where technology filters and facilitates our interactions—we are trading away the richness of real, embodied experience. And in doing so, we risk losing—without even noticing—the very moments that make us happy and resilient....

In this episode, we explore the human mood system and the origin of depression.  My guest is Dr. Jonathan Rottenberg, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Better Outcomes Laboratory at Cornell University. His work examines long-term functioning and well-being after depression and related conditions, with a particular focus on explaining why some people achieve good outcomes. He received his...

In this episode, we explore the fascinating world of the brain's hemispheres and their profound impact on how we perceive and engage with reality.  My guest is Dr. Iain McGilchrist. Iain is a true polymath—a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, philosopher, and literary scholar. He's been a Fellow of All Souls College at Oxford and an Associate Fellow at Green Templeton College. He's also a Fellow of the...

A.J. Jacobs is a renowned writer and participatory journalist, best known for his immersive, experiment-driven projects that push the boundaries of immersive learning. From living according to the Ten Commandments to exploring radical honesty, A.J. dives headfirst into his experiments, bringing humor and insight into everything he does. His latest endeavor? An exploration of the U.S. Constitution,...

In this episode, we dig into FOMO and the temptations of quick wins and the importance of psychologically sustainable, long-term work.   My guest is Nat Eliason. Nat is a writer and the author of Crypto Confidential: Winning and Losing Millions in the New Frontier of Finance. Since he started publishing his writing in 2013, his work has been read by millions of people and spun out multiple busines...

Christof Koch is a pioneering computational neuroscientist and neurophysiologist best known for his groundbreaking work on the neural basis of consciousness. He collaborated with Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, to establish a neurobiological framework for understanding consciousness. Christof served as the President and Chief Scientist of the Allen Institute for Brain Sci...

Guy Kawasaki is a pioneering figure in Silicon Valley, celebrated marketing icon, and successful serial entrepreneur. Guy was one of the original Apple employees responsible for launching their Macintosh computer line in 1984 - and then revitalizing Apple again in the 90s when it faced market share challenges from Microsoft and IBM. His role at Apple popularized the term evangelism in marketing an...

Outside of the purely physical and physiological, nothing is more challenging than the world of entrepreneurship and business, especially when facing customer indifference and figuring out market demand—the delicate balance between innovation and market reality.  How do you do that?  Professor Merrick L. Furst runs commercialization and new venture creation and directs undergraduate programs and f...

My guest is Derek Sivers. Derek proves that an unconventional background can be the perfect foundation for a wonderfully interesting life and groundbreaking success.  Originally a professional musician and circus clown, Derek founded CD Baby in 1998. It became the largest seller of independent music online, with $100 million in sales for over 150,000 musicians. In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby for $22...

"To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom." - Socrates   This podcast is about understanding ourselves a bit better. We'll be exploring insights into what makes us happy as it relates to self-perception, and the various intricate connections between our minds, bodies, and social interactions.   My guest on the show is social psychologist David Myers, known for his extensive work in communicating...

On this episode of our podcast, we delve into the fascinating world of hypnosis, with a focus on demystifying this phenomenon and separating myths from scientific reality. We explore its role in modern therapy and personal well-being. Dr. David Spiegel is one of Stanford University's leading psychiatrists, with more than 45 years of clinical experience, and has pioneered over 400 research papers o...

In this episode, we dive into the shifting dynamics of work, careers, and the quest for fulfillment. My guest discusses the history of "career" and how work is undergoing transformations due to technology, social change, and pivotal global events. He has gathered a lot of data to discern patterns in people's work trajectories to expand the definition of what we call work.  Bruce Fieler is a leadin...