Cal Newport

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport is a computer science professor and a New York Times bestselling author who writes about the impact of technology on society, and the struggle to work and live deeply in a world increasingly mired in digital distractions. On this podcast, he answers questions from his readers and offers advice about cultivating focus, productivity, and meaning amidst the noise that pervades our lives.

Author

Cal Newport

Category

Technology

Podcast website

www.buzzsprout.com

Latest episode

Jul 9, 2026

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Episodes

Ep. 14: Habit Tune-Up: Publishing Strategies, Surviving Side Hustles, Productivity for Support Roles, and Cultivating Balance in the Pursuit of Depth 29.07.2020

In this mini-episode, I take "calls" from listeners asking for advice about how best to tune-up their productivity and work habits in a moment of increased distraction and disruption. You can submit your own audio questions at speakpipe.com/calnewport. Here are the topics we cover: * Figuring out where to publish different types of writing [1:29]* Balancing two careers [7:08]* On productivity in s...

Ep. 13: Where I Work, Convincing Students to Disconnect, and Applying Deep Work to Deep Social Problems | DEEP QUESTIONS 27.07.2020

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions on where I work (hint: an absurd number of different places), convincing students to disconnect, and applying deep work to deep social problems, among many other topics. I need more audio questions for my habit tune-up mini-episodes. You can submit your audio questions at https://www.speakpipe.com/CalNewportI will be sending out a new req...

Ep. 12: Habit Tune-Up: Office Hours, Rabbit Holes, Perfectionism, Phones as Escape, and Making Deep Work Deeper 23.07.2020

In this mini-episode, I take "calls" from listeners asking for advice about how best to tune-up their productivity and work habits in a moment of increased distraction and disruption. Here are the topics we cover: * Advice on using "office hours" to reduce email [1:51] * Random thoughts and internet rabbit holes [11:18]* Fear of mistakes crippling productivity [16:27]* Escaping to phone when tried...

Ep. 11: Work Resistance, Techno-Criticism, Tales from MIT, and the Depth-Destroying Power of Children | DEEP QUESTIONS 20.07.2020

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions on work resistance, the state of techno-criticism, tales from the MIT theory group, and the depth-destroying power of children. I also play some question roulette and tackle the audio question of the day. (Hint: it’s about my reading habits.) To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.com (I send a survey to t...

Ep. 10: Battling Email, Online Learning, and a Game Plan for Escaping a Shallow Life | DEEP QUESTIONS 13.07.2020

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions on battling email, online learning, and a game plan for escaping a shallow life. I also play some question roulette and answer the audio question of the day. To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.com (I send a survey to this list soliciting questions on a semi-regular basis.)Full list of topics tackled in...

Ep. 9: Habit Tune-Up: Dumbing Down Smartphones, Deep Habits, Progress on Non-Urgent Projects and Training Focus 09.07.2020

In this mini-episode, I take "calls" from listeners asking for advice about how best to tune-up their productivity and work habits in a moment of increased distraction and disruption. Here are the topics we cover:  [1:30] Making an iPhone less distracting. [9:08] Keystone habits to help deep work stick. [12:45] Making progress on a non-urgent big project. [17:29] Training your ability to focus. Th...

Ep. 8: Fleeing a Collapsing Career, Taking Notes on Books, Building a Deep Life | DEEP QUESTIONS 06.07.2020

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions on fleeing a collapsing career, taking notes on books, and building a deep life. I also play some question roulette and answer the audio question of the day. To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.com (I send a survey to this list soliciting questions on a semi-regular basis.) Full list of topics tackled i...

Ep. 7: Habit Tune-Up: Time Blocking, Document Collaboration, Protecting Time and Doing Too Much 03.07.2020

In this mini-episode, I take "calls" from listeners asking for advice about how best to tune-up their productivity and work habits in a moment of increased distraction and disruption.(Going forward, I plan to occasionally augment my standard full length weekly episode, where I go deep on many different topics, with these shorter mini-episodes, where I can focus on specific themes and experiment wi...

Ep. 6: Balancing the Personal and Professional, Unreasonable Email Expectations, and Avoiding Hard Creative Work | DEEP QUESTIONS 28.06.2020

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions on balancing the professional and the personal, unreasonable email expectations and using the internet to escape hard creative work. I also play some question roulette and attempt a lightening round in which I answer as many question as possible in a single minute. To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.co...

Ep. 5: Tackling Procrastination, Building a Productivity System from Scratch, and the Intellectual Shallowness of Social Media | DEEP QUESTIONS 21.06.2020

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions on tackling procrastination, building a productivity system from scratch, and the intellectual shallowness of social media. I also play some question roulette, and in a new segment, provide an update on what I'm up to in my own deep life at moment. To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.comFull list of top...

Ep. 4: Promoting Books without Social Media, Facebook's Fatal Flaw, and Escaping Soul-Crushing Jobs | DEEP QUESTIONS 14.06.2020

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader questions on book publicity without social media, Facebook's fatal flaw, and escaping soul-crushing jobs. I also try out a new segment where I answer on the fly randomly selected questions I have not previously seen (to interesting effect). To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.comFull list of topics tackled in tod...

Ep. 3: Origin of my Productivity Obsession, Analog Relationships, and Detaching from Digital Judgment | DEEP QUESTIONS 09.06.2020

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader queries on the origin of my productivity obsession, how digital minimalists can form relationships in a distracted world, and how to care less about what people thing about you (hint: stop using social media).To submit your own questions, sign up for my mailing list at calnewport.comFull list of topics tackled in today’s episode: * Ideal length of...

Ep. 2: Improving Concentration, Influential Books, and Figuring Out What to Focus On | DEEP QUESTIONS 01.06.2020

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader queries on how to improve your ability to concentrate, books that proved influential on my thinking (including the origin of the term “deep work”), the complex process of figuring out what to devote your limited attention toward, and so much more. For more about me about my writing: www.calnewport.comThis episode features the Swoosh 1 sound effect,...

Ep. 1: My New Task System, Deep Work with Kids, and Finding Purpose in Distracted Times | DEEP QUESTIONS 28.05.2020

In this episode of Deep Questions I answer reader queries on how I manage my tasks, the conflict between deep work and kids, moving beyond fairy tale messages when seeking purpose in difficult times, and so much more. For more about me about my writing: www.calnewport.comThis episode features the Swoosh 1 sound effect, used under a Sampling Plus 1.0 license (see here for details: http://soundbible...

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