I Dare You Podcast

What if eating better started with what you ADD—not everything you have to give up? If you’re tired of conflicting nutrition advice, tracking every bite, or starting over every Monday, this conversation is for you. My special guest, EC Synkowski , has spent her career helping people cut through nutrition confusion and build habits that last. She’s the founder of OptimizeMe Nutrition , host of The...

You’ve thought about everything that could go wrong. Have you given the other possibility the same attention? Maybe you want to ask for a bigger opportunity, go back to school, reconnect with someone, or finally start something that matters to you. But before you’ve tried, you’ve already decided how it will turn out. What if you’re treating a prediction like a decision? In this solo episode of I D...

You have BIG IDEAS worth saying. Let’s make sure people hear it. I am SO excited to share this conversation with you—because if you’ve ever frozen when someone asks for your opinion, rambled through a presentation, or thought, “I’m just not a good communicator,” this episode is for you. My guest, Salvatore Manzi, is a leadership communications coach and the author of Clear and Compelling, a proven...

Andrea Chalupa is a Brooklyn-based journalist, author, and filmmaker who believes deeply in the power of unreasonable women. She is the author of A Reasonable Guide for Unreasonable Women: 20 Steps to Find Your Purpose and Power in a World on Fire.(Out November 10, 2026 - preorder!) As the host and producer of the acclaimed podcast Gaslit Nation - a Webby Award Honoree - Andrea is a powerful advoc...

You’re not stuck because you don’t know what to do. You’re stuck because you’re terrified of getting it wrong. You keep waiting for certainty. A sign. A crystal-clear answer from God. But what if clarity comes after you move? Today, my special guest is Doug Wekenman, author of What Does God Have Planned for Me Next?: Experience All of It. Miss None of It. Doug is the Teaching Pastor at Red Rocks C...

Happy New Year! Yes — right now. January is so overrated. In this solo episode of I Dare You , I’m challenging you to stop waiting for January 1 to start building the life you say you want. Because January doesn’t create your results. January reveals them. In this episode, I share why fall is better than the new year to reset, refocus, and get moving. While everyone else is waiting for a clean cal...

If your calendar is packed, your inbox is overflowing, and you still end every day feeling behind, you need this episode. I’m thrilled to welcome Roy Schwartz , co-founder of Axios and Axios HQ, former Chief Revenue Officer at Politico, executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning Axios on HBO , and co-author of the bestseller Smart Brevity . His new book, Simplify: Do 50 Percent More with 50 Perc...

What if your 5:00 p.m. food spiral isn’t a discipline problem? What if you’re simply asking the most exhausted version of yourself to make one more decision? In this episode of I Dare You , my special guest is Cassy Joy Garcia , New York Times bestselling author of The Protein Meal Prep Plan, Cook Once Dinner Fix, Cook Once Eat All Week, and Fed & Fit —and the creative force behind the popular...

Stop living your life on a dimmer switch. In this episode of I Dare You , I’m calling out the trap that catches so many of us in midlife: having a full calendar, but feeling completely flat inside.  While the wellness world obsesses over lifespan (how long you live) and healthspan (how long your body works), I share why the missing metric we’re all starving for is SOULSPAN —the years you refu...

Stop letting broken workplace rules hijack your day. In this episode of I Dare You , I’m joined by award-winning psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Ron Friedman to tear down the myths keeping you and your team stuck in survival mode.  Backed by the largest study of high-performing teams ever conducted in his new bestselling book, Superteams: The Science and Secrets of High-Performing Tea...

Why growth feels lonely — and why you can’t keep shrinking to belong. What if the people closest to you love you deeply… but still struggle when you start to change? In this episode of I Dare You , Darrin Johnson explores one of the most uncomfortable truths about growth: becoming a better version of yourself can disrupt the relationships, routines, and rooms that were built around the old you. Wh...

What if the secret to being unforgettable isn’t being more impressive — but making other people feel more seen? In this episode of I Dare You , I’m sharing a simple, practical framework I call The Connection Code — five habits that will help you build stronger connection in every conversation: at home, at work, with your team, with your friends, and even with people you just met. Because connectio...

In this solo episode of I Dare You, I’m breaking down one of the most powerful paradoxes for building the life you say you want: The disciplined life is an easier life. And the right sacrifices create more freedom. This episode is not about suffering for the sake of suffering. It’s about choosing what matters most over what feels good right now. If you feel like you’re working hard but not moving...

What do you do when life doesn’t go according to plan? In this deeply personal episode of I Dare You , I sit down with my daughter, Hannah Johnson — the first-ever third-time guest on the podcast — for an honest conversation about starting over after painful change. Recorded outside on the shore of a Minnesota lake during a family vacation, this unscripted conversation explores divorce, grief, rel...

If you’ve been running hard, holding everything together, and quietly wondering, Is this really the life I want? — this episode is for you. Today, I sit down with DJ DiDonna, Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer, founder of The Sabbatical Project, and author of Big Time Off: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals and How to Take One . DJ has spent more than a decade studying what happens when...

What if the reason you’re not following through has nothing to do with being lazy? What if you’re not broken, unmotivated, or undisciplined? What if you just need a better way to get yourself started? In this must-listen episode of I Dare You , I sit down with Dr. Russell Ramsay , one of the world’s leading experts on adult ADHD. Dr. Ramsay is a psychologist specializing in the assessment and psyc...

If you’re a woman at midlife and your body suddenly feels different — even though you’re doing “all the right things” — this episode will help you understand why. In this episode, Cynthia Thurlow, nurse practitioner, host of the Everyday Wellness podcast, international speaker, and bestselling author of the Menopause Gut: Balance Your Microbiome to Reclaim Your Health in Midlife and Beyond. With m...

If you started the year with big goals but your habits have started to slip, this episode is your mid-year check-in. You don’t need to wait for January to begin again. You don’t need to tear your life apart or make some massive dramatic change. You need a Mid-Year Resolution — a simple waypoint to pause, check your coordinates, and ask: Am I still becoming the person I said I wanted to become? In...

In this episode of I Dare You , I’m joined by author, keynote speaker, and executive educator Adam Kingl —co-author of the wildly fresh new book, EXECUTIVE EATS: The Cookbook for a Better Working Life . Here’s the big idea: your leadership doesn’t start with what you know—it starts with how you feel. Your energy. Your focus. Your mood. Your ability to stay steady under pressure. And Adam makes the...

Stop trying to do it all. This Father’s Day episode is your wake-up call—how to be the kind of dad, spouse, and leader who shows up when it matters .   My special guest is Jay Bilas. You know Jay as one of ESPN’s most trusted basketball voices. He joined ESPN in 1995 and has spent decades on the biggest stages in the sport, from College GameDay to the top men’s college matchups every week, pl...

Summer is where routines go to die. Later nights. More travel. More “we’ll get back on track Monday.” And then it’s Labor Day… and you feel worse than you did in June. In this episode, I’m giving you a Summer Fundamentals Reset—a simple, no-drama way to stop drifting and get back to basics without turning your life into a giant self-improvement project. Because the truth is: when life gets loud (a...

What does it really mean to win in life—and why do so many high-achievers still feel like they’re falling short? In this episode of I Dare You , I’m joined by Chip Pugh , Team Chaplain for the Tennessee Titans and author of Made to Win: Six Practices of Jesus for Life on Mission .  Exclusive for I Dare You Podcast listeners, you can get your FREE copy of Made To Win and you only cover the cos...

You’re doing “pretty well”… so why do you still feel restless? In this solo episode, I go straight at the quiet ceiling that keeps high performers from becoming who they know they’re capable of being—not more famous, not more followers… bigger in your leadership, health, relationships, impact, and purpose. I break down two traps that shrink your thinking without you noticing: The Doable Trap (I st...

Recording artist and Broadway sensation Kelsie Watts joins The I Dare You Podcast for a candid conversation about what it really takes to build a career that lasts—onstage and online. Kelsie is making waves again with new original music, including her latest release “Made for Your Love,” and has become a viral singing phenomenon with 250M+ views and 3.5M+ followers across TikTok and Instagram. In...

Scott Scovill’s story is what happens when you stop negotiating with fear. He’s the founder of Moo TV (a global live-event video powerhouse), a creative force behind massive tours and TV specials, and the author of Tenacious: The Art of Relentlessly Pursuing Your Wildest Dreams —but this conversation isn’t a highlight reel. It’s the real roadmap: flunking out, rebuilding confidence, taking bold sw...