The Best Podcast

Today’s podcast is about identity. We often hear discussions from varied perspectives in the news and on social media about how we should see ourselves and what our identities are. I offer a different perspective here, which I would venture to say will be new for you in the way I’m articulating it. So please give it a listen and let me know what you think at matt@mattbest.net. I’d love to hear fro...

When I ran the half marathon two weeks ago, I felt a pain in my foot after getting through 11.5 miles. Since then, the pain has persisted and has left me unable to run. When I started running one year ago, I would have called you crazy if you told me that right now I would miss running. But here I am. Missing running. This episode is about why. I hope you enjoy it! As always, Much Love ❤️ and plea...

In today’s podcast, I discuss a quote from Daniel Kahneman’s book - Thinking, Fast and Slow - about cognitive psychology and how important it is to be aware of in today’s world. I find Kahneman’s work to be absolutely revelatory, and I hope that this podcast can serve as a good example of that. I hope you enjoy it and find it to be valuable. Thanks for tuning in! As always, Much Love ❤️ and please...

Today’s podcast is a reflection I had after a conversation with my aunt and uncle about my parents’ upbringings and why they are the way they are. It was an eye-opening conversation, and it seems like similar conversations would be very eye-opening for most people. For that reason, I wanted to expand on it here. I hope you find it to be a valuable exercise. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take...

A few weeks ago, I heard a wonderful quote from a psychologist named Lisa Feldman Barrett. She said, “You can’t change your past, but you can change your present, which becomes your past.” This quote really moved me, so I wanted to take some time to discuss it here and share it with you. Perhaps it will have as much of an impact on you as it did for me. Thanks for tuning in! As always, Much Love ❤...

Humans have struggled with valuing their own opinions of themselves over the opinions of others for millennia. While we have advanced on societal and individuals levels in so many ways, we have not evolved in others. In today’s podcast, I elaborate on why I think that this is a fundamental area in which we have not yet evolved but could tremendously benefit from improving. I hope you find this man...

Today’s podcast is a description of my half marathon run yesterday. It was an incredibly impactful experience for me, both physically and mentally. I used this episode to reflect on the highlights and lowlights, along with it’s meaning to me in the end. I hope you find this to be interesting and valuable, whether you’re a runner or not. Thanks for tuning in as always. I really cannot thank you eno...

Today’s podcast is a reflection on and expansion of a quote that I recorded to myself over just over two years ago, in which I told myself to be conscious of the end of life and to make the most of what is in my hands. Many times, we feel like life is happening to us and that there’s not much we can do about it. I get it. That feeling is real and pervasive. It’s tough to overcome, too. Yet I encou...

Today’s podcast stems from my experience driving back to my apartment, in which I decided to spend the first part of my drive without listening to anything. Although it may seem trivial, deciding to just sit with myself and my thoughts as I drove was a very positive experience. I recommend it to you in this episode and I hope rang you find the reasons why to be interesting and thought provoking. A...

Our feelings can bring us to many different thoughts and actions. They can drive us to tears and elation, along with moving us to action and inaction. However, perhaps pressing pause and sitting with it could teach us something. Perhaps it could help us to better know ourselves and what the sensations we experience actually feel like and mean. I discuss this idea at length in today’s podcast and I...

Today’s podcast is a discussion about our toolbox for life and the processes in which we can improve the quality of those tools. It’s a discussion that is critical for life in my estimation, which I hope you thoroughly enjoy and find meaningful. As always, thanks so much for listening. It means a lot to me. Much Love ❤️ and please take care.

Today’s podcast comes on the back of a lot of reflection and deep thinking this week. In order to make sense of our world, we often simplify things so that we can feel confident of the way we’re processing what happens both inside and outside of us. However, I think this is a bit of an illusion. In this episode, I hash out this thought and dive deep into why it’s probably more complicated than we...

Today’s podcast is a repetition of a message which I’ve found myself voicing frequently on the podcast over the last few months. I don’t want to say much here in the description, as I’d prefer you to listen to get the whole message (yet again). I hope you find it valuable and that it sinks in for you. Thanks so much for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take care.

Today’s podcast is a brief one, but I hope it’s powerful. I read some lyrics from a song called “Conversations with Myself” by Bazzi. At the end of the song, he says something that’s quite profound which I feel is relevant to share with you here. I hope the message resonates and means something to you as it does for me. Thanks so much for your attention. I do not take it lightly. As always, Much L...

One of Plato’s most renowned ideas was that of the “philosopher king”. It is an ideal conception of a leader who carries himself in accords with temperance, justice, courage, and wisdom, qualities which I’ve realized we could use more of in the leadership of governments across the world. For that reason, I chose to discuss the idea at length in today’s podcast. I hope you find it to be an interest...

Today’s podcast is a recording of the newest article I posted on my blog called “Determinism” - you can find it at mattbest.net/theplatform/determinism . I’ll leave you to check it out. It’s one of the topics that means the most to me right now. I hope you can see why. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you liked the podcast, feel free to give it a rating and recommendation on whatever platform y...

The way we spend our time is a great indicator of who we are as people, what we value, and what we prioritize. This podcast is meant to encourage you to reflect on how you spend your time, especially when it comes to the way you treat yourself and address problems. I hope you enjoy the message of this episode and found it to be a good investment of your own time. Your attention means so much to me...

Today’s podcast is a piece of advice from my mom that came from a conversation we had on a walk. I often get so caught up with thinking about the future and the different paths that lie ahead of me, which can be a bit overwhelming. I talked about what’s been going through my head and she offered some really helpful thoughts, which I share here in this episode. I hope you find it to be valuable, to...

We’ve all got shit, despite how it may appear at first glance. Every single one of us. This episode is a reminder of that. That’s all I’ve got to say here. I hope you’re enjoying this podcast journey as much as I am. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take care.

This is a podcast about something that ALL of us do - getting caught up in one side of an argument / perspective. It’s inevitable to a degree, but it’s something that we can most certainly work on and improve tremendously. I discuss some of those strategies here, along with an elaboration on some different situations in which we might find ourselves getting frequently caught up. I hope you enjoyed...

Today’s podcast explores my current thoughts on the meaning of life, a topic which has surprisingly not come up explicitly in any episodes up to this point. I hope you enjoy these reflections and find them to be valuable in your own thoughts on the meaning of life. Thanks so much for listening. It means so much to me. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take care.

As I have been observing the dialogue in the US around politics with the election looming, I have realized that we’re totally missing the boat (what a surprise, right?). Today’s podcast is aimed at pointing out exactly what we’re missing and how I think we should be going about these conversations. This episode comes off as fairly calm, yet it is strong, direct, and necessary. I hope you find valu...

This conversation with Nick, Nico, and Mark is wide ranging. We talk about long term fasting, religion / Christianity, travel, where we see ourselves living, friendship, and a host of other topics in between. I really enjoyed it, and I hope you do as well. Thank you so much again for tuning in. It means so much to me. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take care.

The final synthesis episode of my Stoicism mini-series is ties together the topics we’ve discussed so far and also discusses the four cardinal virtues of stoicism: wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.

The seventh and final full episode of my Stoicism mini-series is focused on the value of focusing on the present and that which is in our control.