The Best Podcast

“With nothing as its useful purpose, how could it experience hardship?” This quote brought me a whirlwind of reflection when I read it a few weeks ago. I found it to be quite relevant to the current moment and thus wanted to dive into it. I hope that you find this to be an interesting monologue that makes you reflect deeply as well. Instead of describing my thoughts here, I will leave that to the...

Today’s podcast was really enjoyable for me to record, as I got to talk about things that I love - food and good cooking. Cooking has become such a fundamental part of my life over the past few years, and it has brought me so much joy. In this episode, I talk through the reasons why, along with why I think that what it takes to cook well serves as a great analogy for what it takes to live well. I...

The topic of today’s episode arises out of the current situation in which the world finds itself. With great uncertainty and challenge, we need affirmations for us to fall back on as we push forward through the difficulties. In this episode, I talk through why I believe this and some affirmations that I fall back on myself. I hope you find value in this during these trying times. As always, Much L...

Today’s episode is a reading of a quote by Carl Sagan, which he wrote in his book “Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space”. I personally find this quote to be brilliant, as it invokes a much deeper perspective than we often experience in our everyday lives. I hope you resonate with the quote and that it invokes some deep reflection for you. As always, I deeply appreciate you listenin...

Today’s podcast is a short manifesto on an error I’ve seen in our education system and our general societal system of raising people. The topic of human dynamism is something I believe that we do not highlight enough in the education of youth and in life in general. With that in mind, I wanted to break down the reasons why and the potential significant benefits it could have on individuals and soc...

Today’s podcast is a recording of a new articles on my blog titled “2020”, which you can find at mattbest.net/theplatform/2020. To sum it up, it is an articulation of the process I used to set my goals for 2020 and the actual goals I have set for myself. As I say in the podcast, I hope that this inspires you and that this holds me accountable to achieve the goals myself. As always, thanks so much...

I’m back! After 2 weeks of disconnecting and turning my focus elsewhere, I’m excited to return to the podcast and to have a fresh headspace to embark on the episodes that are to come. This episode serves as a transition out of that disconnection, as I preview what is to come and what I am envisioning for future episodes. I hope you enjoy it and that you stick around for the episodes to come! It’s...

This episode is a brief update on where things are for me at the moment. It’s a bit of a throwaway by my standards, but I do believe that it’s a fair one. There’s a lot I could have said here in reaction to what has been going on in my life recently, but those reactions will come in the future as I make better sense of them. I also throw out two key asks at the end, so please stick around for thos...

Today’s podcast is a reading of my newest article on my blog, which you can find at mattbest.net/theplatform . This article is undoubtedly the most significant one I’ve written to date. I hope you enjoy listening. As always, I hope you find some value in this. And specifically for this episode, I hope you take the final remarks into serious consideration. Much Love ❤️.

Today’s podcast is a recording of a poem I wrote when I was seventeen which I recently revisited. Through the poor audio quality, I hope that you find some value in the message inherent in the poem. It brought me joy and insight when I read it again. I wish this same effect for you. As always, Much Love ❤️. I’ll be back with a new and quite meaningful episode in a few days.

Today’s podcast is a brand new topic for me. Loneliness is something I never dealt with much when I was young, as I seemed to be always connected with others in one way or another. Whether it be my family, classmates, or sports, I seemed to always be with others. But recently, this has changed significantly. In today’s episode, I talk about this change, how I deal with loneliness, and the way I ma...

Today’s podcast is centered on one of my favorite quotes. It is Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena.” This is admittedly a selfish episode. In recording it, the sole purpose was to reinforce the value of my day-to-day efforts and the path I have chosen to walk. Nevertheless, I think that this quote can be so useful for anyone who is putting in the efforts, experiencing the toils, and active...

Today’s podcast is a brief, stream of consciousness narrative on siblings. If you have a sibling or see someone in your life as a sibling, you will undoubtedly resonate with this. I hope you enjoy it and that is inspired reflection and gratitude. As always, Much Love ❤️. PS - Happy birthday, Tim. I love you unconditionally.

Today’s podcast is a reflection on a short journal entry I wrote last week. I got to thinking quite a bit about parenting, passing lessons down, and the best ways to do so. In this episode, I expand on that brief reflection with some thoughts on the ever changing world in which we live, and our capabilities of adapting to it to guide others to living well. I hope you find this to be valuable. Than...

Today’s podcast is quite raw, but I really enjoyed recording it. I discuss the importance of understanding our world and having mental frameworks. To discuss this, I engage in an exercise of thinking through the way in which I see myself and the world and the frameworks I use to do so. I found this to be quite a fun, intriguing, and challenging exercise which has already proved to be valuable for...

Today’s podcast is a recording of my new blog article, which you can find at mattbest.net/theplatform/reflection . It’s distinct from other articles and podcasts in that it’s a very personal reflection on where I think my life and my deeper happiness is right now. I ask that you please try asking yourself these questions that I reference in the episode. I will be so grateful for it, and I think th...

Today’s podcast is particularly meaningful for me, as it cuts deep into both my work and my personal life. Mental health is a critical topic, and the way in which we understand it and conceptualize it carries great weight for all of us. In this episode, I talk through how the field of psychology discusses mental health and the ways in which I think it’s most adaptive and pragmatic to understand it...

Today's podcast is a reflection on my experience doing a full-day dopamine fast. A dopamine fast is a day in which you avoid that which produces an increase in dopamine in the brain. That means no phone, no TV, no computer, no food, no exercise. Just you and your mind. This dopamine fast was totally unique from anything I have ever experienced before, and I discuss the details of the experience in...

Today’s podcast is about a topic that has been floating around my head for some time now. The distinction between intimacy and romance is quite a nuanced and challenging one to break down. Nevertheless, it is an ever present topic in almost all of our lives. We all have experienced intimacy to some degree, and most of us are pursuing or cultivating deeper intimacy and romance in our relationships....

“Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” - Yoda | Today’s podcast is deep. In it, I discuss and reflect on this quote from Yoda in Episode III of Star Wars, which I believe carries an incredi...

Today’s podcast was a fun one for me. The topic of personality tests and types is one that comes up frequently in our everyday lives. Tests that come up on social media of “What The Office character are you?” and comments we hear in conversation like “I’m an introvert” are quite common. However, are we talking about personality the right way? I tackle this question in today’s episode, along with p...

Today’s podcast is a personal reflection, mostly for myself. I’ve realized that in certain situations and contexts, I am significantly less productive and efficient in my work and personal projects. As strong as my personality factors may be in determining my output, the environment is clearly a very strong influence. In this podcast, I talk through my experiences with my environment shaping my “l...

Today’s podcast is a continuation of the last episode about my social media detox. Instead of focusing on the outcomes, this episode focuses on the more qualitative learnings that I had. Of those learnings, the biggest and most salient ones had to do with what truly matters. I hope you find value in this dialogue. This experience was very meaningful for me, and I hope that comes out clearly in the...

Today’s podcast is a deep reflection on my time away from social media. Spending the past 4 and a half months away has been one of the most impactful decisions I’ve ever made in my young life. My life changed significantly in my time away from social media, and this episode is dedicated to that experience and the learnings I have taken from it. I hope you find value in this and that it makes you t...

Today’s podcast is a recording of my newest article on my blog. You can find the article at mattbest.net/theplatform/judgement. This topic of judgement is one that is enthralling for me. Instead of discussing the judgement of others, I devoted this article and podcast to how we judge ourselves. I sincerely believe that this is an area in which we all would benefit from additional reflection. I hop...