Smart People Podcast

Karan Girotra - Any system that we use to accomplish a task can be made better with some simple improvements. If you're talking about the system you use to brush your teeth, this might not be a big deal. But what about the way in which a company builds a product, or the way a doctor analyzes a patient? These systems can have enormous effects on society, and it is imperative that we understand how...

McKenzie Funk - Almost everyone is aware that climate change is slowly but surely destroying our planet, however very few know that you can get rich off of it! Want to know how? Or at least know what kind of individual would profit from the destruction of our planet?  McKenzie Funk has spent the last six years reporting around the world on how we are preparing for a warmer planet. Funk shows us th...

Joe Navarro - Not many can say they were personally approached to join the FBI, but this is exactly what happened to Joe Navarro while he was working as a police officer at the tender age of 23. He accepted their offer and became one of the youngest agents ever to join the renowned investigative agency. Joe is quite literally a human lie detector. Having spent over 25 years as a counterintelligenc...

Roger Hamilton - We promise you will be buzzing with excitement after this episode.  Roger is perhaps best known as 'Asia's leading wealth consultant', but in our opinion, he is more of a career and life mentor with a talent for story telling.  Roger is the Founder of Entrepreneurs Institute and creator of the Wealth Dynamics, Talent Dynamics & Genius Test profiling systems, used by over 250,000 e...

James Nestor - The ocean is the final, unseen, untouched, and undiscovered wilderness. In fact, we know more about other planets and stars lightyears away than we do about our oceans, which cover more than 2/3 of our planet. Join us this week as we follow author James Nestor on an amazing journey to the depths of the ocean. James is the author of Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Oc...

Simon Sinek - This week we talk to one of our favorite speakers and personalities, Simon Sinek. Simon is a popular author who is best known for his book, “Start with Why”. Not only is he an amazing speaker, but he has one of the most popular TEDx videos ever released (How great leaders inspire action). The video is so popular, it ranks in the top 3 TED list with over 17 million views! Simon’s late...

Russ Roberts - Our guest this week is the host of the extremely popular EconTalk podcast.  In this episode talk economics, education, passion, and more! Although sometimes Economics can seem dry and boring, Russ has made a living out of making it understandable and bringing it to the masses. Russell Roberts is the John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He tries to make e...

Shamus Khan - What is it really like to be the 1%? The income gap is a hot topic these days, but rarely do we learn what it is truly like to grow up in a world where money is no object. This week we get a behind the scenes look at how the American elite are raised and what it's like to be part of 'high society'. Shamus Khan teaches in the sociology department at Columbia University.  He writes on...

Dan Buettner - Do you want to live to 100+? Of course you do, as long as you don't have to wear a diaper! Our guest this week has figured out the key to living to the ripe old age of 100 and beyond and he's here to share it with you.  National Geographic writer and explorer Dan Buettner studies the world's longest-lived peoples, distilling their secrets into a single plan for health and long life....

Daniel Burrus - What if you could see into the future? Our guest this week is considered one of the World’s Leading Futurists on Global Trends and Innovation. The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker. He is a strategic advisor to executives from Fortune 500 companies helping them to develop game-changing strategies based on hi...

Branko Milanovic - Income inequality in the United States has been increasing since the early 1980's, and it's only getting worse. Perhaps even more worrisome is the continuing growth in the income gap on a global basis. The wealth gap between the richest and the poorest countries is becoming so large that our entire economic system is in danger. This week we are joined by Branko Milanovic, the fo...

Brad Stone - Amazon.com has revolutionized the way humans around the world shop AND read.  From teapots to toilet bowls and everything in between, anything you want is now just a click away.  But how did they do it? Many say that amazon.com is a bully, utilizing unfair practices and harsh working conditions to create an advantage, while others tout their genius.  This week on the show, Brad Stone...

Adam Bryant - Don't you wish you could get inside the minds of the top CEO's in the world to learn the secrets of their success? That's exactly what our guest this week has done. Adam is the author of Quick and Nimble; Lessons from Leading CEOs on How to Create a Culture of Innovation. His book is a summation of many of the lessons and anecdotes he has learned through hundreds of interviews with t...

Joe De Sena - CEO and co-founder of the Spartan Race and author of Spartan Up!: A Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Peak Performance in Life. Joe is a legend in endurance and adventure racing.  He completed the 135-mile Badwater Ultra-marathon, raced the 140.6 miles of Lake Placid Ironman, and finished a 100-mile trail run in Vermont....all within one week! This week we...

Suzanna Walters - Gay rights. Recent years have ushered in a whole new meaning to the idea.  Many believe that with gay marriage becoming legal and more gay role models we are becoming much more tolerant. But what about the idea that they need to be tolerated in the first place? Do any of us have the right to simply tolerate someone? This week we speak with Suzanna Walters, Director of Women's, Ge...

Gerald Chertavian - How and why does a Wall Street millionaire start a company to help troubled young adults move from poverty to professional careers in a single year? This week we interview Gerald Chertavian, CEO of Year Up, one of the most incredible non-profit organizations we have ever come across. "You can't give until you have. " - Gerald Chertavian Year Up provides intensive professional e...

Sam Rashkin - Author of Retooling the U.S. Housing Industry: How It Got Here, Why It's Broken, and How to Fix It. He is currently the Chief Architect of the Building Technologies Office in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Sam also managed the Energy Star for Homes since its start in 1996.  Sam knows everything there is to know about renewable energy and "zero energy homes". "O...

Tony Stubblebine - CEO and co-founder of Lift, a life changing app that helps you form habits. More than that, Tony is a fanatic about human potential, creativity, and the power of action! Tony is also a "serial entrepreneur", having worked on a number of tech startups, including working with the guys who founded Twitter. Tony often blogs here, on Medium. "It takes 10 years to become an overnight...

Kevin Roose - Bestselling author of Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Post-Crash Recruits. Kevin spent more than three years shadowing eight entry-level analysts at leading investment firms. He chronicled their stories, triumphs, and disappointments in this unprecedented (and unauthorized) story. Kevin currently writes for New York magazine and previously for The New York Times...

Andrew Yang - Author of Smart People Should Build Things: How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs, and Create New Jobs in America. Andrew is the Founder and CEO of Venture for America, an organization dedicated to connecting promising recent graduates with startups with the hope of fostering a generation of entrepreneurs who can create economic value. Venture for...

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz - President of the Charles Schwab Foundation, Senior Vice President at Charles Schwab & Co., and the daughter of Charles Schwab! Her newest book is The Charles Schwab Guide to Finance After Fifty: Answers to Your Most Important Money Questions. This week we discuss what it was like for Carrie growing up, how finance was in her blood, her deep understanding of the tough fina...

Dr. Michio Kaku - He is the face (and mind) of science! Dr. Kaku is a theoretical physicist, the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the City College of New York, a futurist, and a communicator and popularizer of science. He has written two New York Times Best Sellers: Physics of the Impossible and Physics of the Future. His most recent book was released in February and is titled, The...

Corinne Woods - Director of the UN Millennium Campaign, which supports citizens’ efforts to hold their governments accountable for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and leads the outreach to citizens and stakeholders to get their voices and concerns to feed into the Post-2015 global development agenda. Previously, she served in a variety of roles at UNICEF, including as Senior Adviser on...

Olof Dallner - WINNER of the Quintuple Ironman. The 12 mile swim, 560 mile bike, and 131 mile run is the distance of 5 Ironmans! WTF? Olof explains what it is like to sleep 6 hours over 4 days while completing (and winning) the worlds toughest endurance event. Olof also has his PhD in Molecular Physiology and is currently a postdoctoral scientist at Rockefeller University, researching the genetics...

Carmine Gallo - "Talk Like Ted: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds", Former anchor and correspondent for CNN and CBS, communications coach for the world's most admired brands, best-selling author, columnist for Forbes and Monster.com. Carmine has worked with Coca-Cola, Intel, LinkedIn, Stanford, Cisco, and many more. Learn the secrets of how these companies communicate! What we...