Matt Best

The Best Podcast

Society EN ↓ 1007 episodes

Conversations worth having and topics worth discussing. Tune in to find out more. For additional information and comments, see mattbest.net or email me at matt@mattbest.net . Much Love ❤️.

Author

Matt Best

Category

Society

Latest episode

Oct 5, 2026

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Episodes

Episode 980: The Secret Agent 25.05.2026

My wife and I watched The Secret Agent the other night. We really enjoyed it, and we were also a bit puzzled by it. The acting performances were impressive, leaving us with a clear impression that this wasn’t just another movie. And yet, we also noticed that the meaning of the movie wasn’t necessarily easy to grasp for anybody stepping into the experience of watching it. I share more about this he...

Episode 979: Recall 20.05.2026

Today’s podcast comes out of a recent experience of mine in my Italian learning journey. Frankly, I’m not investing the time needed to really learn effectively, and I’m far from consistent. I explore why this has become the case, along with the background for the system I aspire to use to learn vocabulary. It’s a challenge, but talking it out here helped me quite a bit. I’m hopeful it’s insightful...

Episode 978: Harshness 16.05.2026

Today, I spend some time discussing a Terry Real quote that has sat with me since hearing it. “There is no redeeming value in harshness. There is nothing harshness does that loving firmly doesn’t do better.” I couldn’t agree more, although it is incredibly tempting to act out of line with this for a number of reasons. I share some of my thoughts about it here, which I hope you find useful. Thanks...

Episode 977: Tears 12.05.2026

This weekend was a nonstop onslaught of activities. It felt like I was running from the time I left my door in NYC to the time I returned to it over the course of four days. Many emotions ran through me, and I was happy with the way I dealt with them when I had a second to be with them. I share my experience here, which I hope you find valuable. Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and pl...

Episode 976: A Couple of Weeks Away 07.05.2026

Uncharacteristically, I have missed 2 weeks of uploading a new podcast episode. I could make up many excuses, some of which I share in this recording, but at the end of the day, we all make choices. Each day, there was an opportunity to record. There always is. Everyone has ten minutes, whether they want to admit it or not. And yet, here we are. Today, I made a different choice. I’m happy with tha...

Episode 975: Better Relationships 20.04.2026

Today’s podcast is a broad reflection on Terry Real’s How Can I Get Through to You . He offers such a compelling framework and set of insights about how to have better relationships. The main focus is on romantic relationships, but the principles are generalizable across all types of relationships we have. I summarize some of the principles and ideas he shares here, which I hope you find valuable....

Episode 974: How We Start Our Days 16.04.2026

Today’s podcast was seeded by some observations I had this morning on the subway. My eyes were opened in a pretty strong way about the ways even the smallest of choices and behaviors can affect us, so I wanted to share my experience here. Perhaps you’ll hear some passion in my voice in a way you might not often hear on this podcast, so I hope you enjoy that little twist. Thanks for listening. As a...

Episode 973: Focus and Simplify 10.04.2026

Today’s podcast is short and sweet, just like its central topic. Living life simply, in a more disciplined, focused, and consistent manner, over the last 3 months has brought me so much. Challenge, learning, satisfaction, and more. I discuss the experience and what I’ve learned along the way thus far, which I hope you find valuable. Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take car...

Episode 972: A Conversation with My Mom 05.04.2026

Today’s podcast is a special one. I take some time to sit with my mom and talk about a wide array of topics. We discuss her childhood, parenting, her career, her marriage, her perceptions of me, her parents, and much more. It pulled some tears out of both of us, and I imagine it may for you as well. Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take care.

Episode 971: Integrating Masculine and Feminine 03.04.2026

Today’s podcast pulls from a book I’m currently reading by Terry Real. In it, he tries to build a bridge for men and women to better understand each other in their relationships to one another. It’s a powerful read. One passage jumped out to me that I wanted to share, which serves as the focus of today’s episode. I’m sure it will bring you something worth chewing on. Thanks for listening. As alway...

Episode 970: FOMO and JOMO Return 31.03.2026

I return to a topic today that I discussed over 6 years ago. We often experience a fear of missing out when there are many joys that also come along with it. I share some of my thoughts on this, in addition to sharing a current example of this. I hope you enjoy it and find some value in what I share here. Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take care.

Episode 968: Common Knowledge 29.03.2026

This was a fun episode for me. It allowed me some space to reflect on an area of significant personal evolution over the past decade or so. Communication is complicated, but opening ourselves to be fascinated by it and to study its nuances is a powerful act. I describe my personal journey with that here, offering what I’ve learned and its implications. I hope you find value in it. Thanks for liste...

Episode 969: The Problem of Evil 26.03.2026

Today’s podcast is inspired by a singular paragraph from Carl Jung’s autobiography in which he discusses the relationship between self-knowledge and understanding evil. It brings so much to unpack, which is why I dedicate an entire episode to it. I’m sure it will bring you something worthy of reflection and feeling throughout your being. Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please tak...

Episode 967: Getting Tactical 14.03.2026

Today’s podcast gets into the tactical weeds of how I stay organized and systemize the things I need to get done in life, whether they are personal or professional tasks. I walk through how I plan my week, the tools I use, and how I capture the things I need to get done. As philosophical as I may get, I am a big believer in the value of strong processes to keep ourselves organized in our daily liv...

Episode 966: My Thoughts on Attacking Iran 07.03.2026

Today’s podcast is an extensive one, but it needs to be. I’ve taken my time to think about where we are with our attack on Iran, and I lay that thinking out here. I organize it into two sides, but each side introduces several variables in their own right. I hope it helps you to understand the situation more clearly and that it can help you to make a more informed assessment of where we are and wha...

Episode 965: Easing the Pressure 01.03.2026

Today’s run reminded me of a very useful lesson about performance . For those who are like me, the pressure we impose on ourselves can often make our performance worse, even if it feels like it’s supposed to improve it. Easing off and focusing on my breathing, staying steady, and being in the moment led me to a much faster pace than I expected, in addition to a more positive experience of the run...

Episode 964: Simplifying Life 26.02.2026

Today’s podcast puts a microscope on what a typical day looks like for me during the week. This professional phase has demanded a lot from me, and my approach to meet those demands has been one of simplicity. As I’ve said many times before, simple doesn’t mean easy. Executing on simple over these last several weeks has made a big difference for me, so I wanted to share a bit about that here. I hop...

Episode 963: Quarter Four 2025 22.02.2026

Today’s podcast is a recording of my latest Substack post, where I compiled my key learnings from the final quarter of 2025: www.mbest.substack.com/p/quarter-four-2025 . There’s a lot here, so I’m sure some of the points will be insightful or at least get you thinking. Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take care.

Episode 962: A Rough Time 18.02.2026

Today’s podcast is a wandering one. It starts out a little gory, with details of an unpleasant recent experience of mine, but it ties into quite a beautiful thing on the other side. I hope you enjoy the reflection and that it brings you come value. Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take care.

Episode 961: A Stopped Watch 12.02.2026

As I ran yesterday, my watch missed a mile and a half due to a technical glitch. In the moment, I was immediately a little upset because it didn’t record that stretch of the run and I might not be able to fix it on the back end. Shortly after that initial thought, I realized something much more important, which I take some time to share here. I hope it brings you some inspiration and quality refle...

Episode 960: 30 Years of Tim Best 09.02.2026

My brother returns to the podcast today for our second recorded conversation. To commemorate his 30th birthday, we reflect on the 30 years he has spent on this earth, talking through his personal highlights. Knowing Tim, we had to mix in a lot of conversation about sports as well. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take care.

Episode 959: Little Steps 07.02.2026

Today’s podcast starts with a reflection on a small change I have recently made in my life. Despite how small it seems, I have felt its effects more broadly in my life in an outsized way compared to how small of a change it appears to be. I reflect on this process, along with its many impacts of which we benefit a great deal from remaining aware. Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and p...

Episode 958: A Powerful Combination 04.02.2026

Today’s podcast is a reflection on some challenges I’ve been working through over the past week. There are a couple of key pieces that have helped me deal with them in a productive way. They may seem obvious, but I know that the obvious is often hard to put into practice, so I wanted to take some time to talk them through as an incentive for you to put it into practice, too. Thanks for listening....

Episode 957: A Friendly Reminder 01.02.2026

Today’s podcast is meant to pull us out of the craziness that the world can throw at us, with the intention of turning us back in toward what is within our reach. When it feels like so much is going on, it is most important to not forget the essentials of our individual existences. To leap out into the world, we need a solid foundation, and in this episode I share a bit about what comprises that f...

Episode 956: Story Time 28.01.2026

Something I haven’t done in a while here is tell a story. I had quite an eventful experience a couple of weeks back that I think is worth sharing here, so I wanted to take some time to talk it through. It’s a story I’m sure I’ll carry with me for years to come. Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take care.

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