The James Altucher Show

A Note from James: Bill O’Reilly’s new book, Confronting Evil , is both a history lesson and a warning. It’s a study of the most destructive figures in human history—from Hitler, Stalin, and Mao to Genghis Khan, Caligula, and even modern evildoers like Putin and the cartels. When I first picked it up, I thought it would be about the past. But after reading it, I realized it’s really about right no...

A Note from James Miesha Tate is one of my favorite people in the world. She’s an incredible athlete—the ultimate fighting champion of the planet at one point—but more than that, she’s someone who’s turned struggle, discipline, and excellence into wisdom. I was honored when she asked me to be on her podcast, Built for Growth . We talked about surviving turbulence in life, doing hard things, and wh...

A Note from James This might be the most insane chess story I’ve ever heard—not even really a chess story, but a cult story. It’s wild, intense, and ultimately inspiring. Danny Rensch grew up in a cult in Arizona. At just 10 years old, the cult leader noticed his chess ability, took him away from his parents, and he wouldn’t see his mother again for a decade. I first heard Danny’s story when we me...

A Note from James I’m really concerned about the level of discourse in this country. It’s almost a cliché to say that now, but especially after the Charlie Kirk assassination, the division feels overwhelming. I even got invited to speak at the Oxford Union—the most prestigious debate society in the world—but ultimately declined because I didn’t like how the whole situation was being handled. I can...

A Note from James This is a crazy story. Martin Suarez holds the record for the longest continuous undercover assignment in FBI history. He went undercover as a cartel drug lord—smuggling billions of dollars’ worth of cocaine while posing as “Manny.” At one point, the story even starts with a gun to his head, convinced his cover was blown. The book Inside the Cartel: A True Crime Tale of Espionage...

Episode Description Right after wrapping up their main conversation, James and Brian hit record again for a bonus session. What came out is an unfiltered talk on humility, arrogance, and the strange mix of traits needed to achieve great things. From the wisdom of the Talmud to the Dunning–Kruger effect, they explore why even Nobel Prize winners wrestle with imposter syndrome. James shares how writ...

Episode Description James sits down once again with cosmologist Brian Keating—longtime friend of the show and author of Into the Impossible: Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner . In this candid conversation, they challenge each other’s views on focus, curiosity, and the trade-offs of staying in your lane. Brian shares behind-the-scenes lessons from interviewing Nobel Prize winners, the thinking behind...

A Note from James I’ve been on and off writing. From 2004 to 2021, I wrote one to two books a year, without fail. Since then, nothing. But I’ve been working on an idea: obsession. When I’m not obsessed, I can’t do much—sometimes not even the basics. But when I am obsessed, I can turn that energy into real outcomes: a business, a book, a skill, sometimes success, sometimes failure. This episode com...

A Note from James The man, the myth, the legend—Rick Harrison. You know him as the star of Pawn Stars , the reality show based on the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. The show has been running for over 21 seasons, and Rick himself has become the godfather of the pawn business. I even joined Rick and Chumlee on their own podcast, Pawn After Dark , which was a blast. On this episode, Rick s...

A Note from James I’m honored to have today’s guest: Tristan de Montebello, a finalist in the World Championship of Public Speaking. He also co-founded UltraSpeaking ( ultraspeaking.com/james ), where he teaches techniques to improve communication through games and real-world practice. We even played some of those games during this episode, and they surprised me with how much they revealed about m...

A Note from James What does it take to make a discovery that changes the world? Think about landing on the moon — a true moonshot. Along the way, countless technologies were invented that reshaped life back on Earth. My guest today, Astro Teller, has been part of that same kind of world-changing work. At X — Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory — he’s led projects that gave us self-driving cars, Google Bra...

A Note from James There’s always been debate about whether college is worth it. But what if there’s a better alternative—one that actually prepares you to become the person you want to be? My good friend Matt Smith just wrote a book with Doug Casey called The Preparation . It’s not theory—he’s been putting his own son through it as a real-world experiment. Instead of college, Maxim has spent the p...

Episode Description James sits down with Case Kenny, author of The Opposite of Settling and host of New Mindset, Who Dis? , to talk about how our expectations around relationships shape the way we date and commit. Case shares the research, stories, and mindset shifts that helped him go from avoiding commitment in his twenties to finding fulfillment in a relationship that amplifies his independence...

Episode Description: Hosted by James Altucher (serial entrepreneur, bestselling author of "Choose Yourself," podcaster, hedge fund manager, chess master, and investor in over 20 companies, with expertise in crypto and AI) and Joseph Jacks (founder and general partner of OSS Capital, the world's first VC firm dedicated to commercial open-source software; early-stage investor in AI and open-source t...

A Note from James: "Anatomy of a Con Artist. The 14 red flags to spot scammers, grifters, and thieves". This is a book—an amazing book—by Johnathan Walton. Check out his podcast Queen of the Con , and his new one Cocaine Air . We talk about both in this episode. But his book, Anatomy of a Con Artist , is just dead on. Johnathan shares how he got conned out of nearly $100,000 by someone posing as a...

A Note from James: I was honored to be on the Smart Humans Podcast . I’m a big fan of the show, and I was happy they asked me on—especially since I got to talk about things I don’t usually cover here. We discussed my specific predictions for investments like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tau, and stablecoin-related tokens like Curve and Aave. We also explored AI’s role across industries, habits that have hel...

A Note from James: We kept recording because the conversation wasn’t done. Part 1 was about writing and honesty. Part 2? It’s about consequences—what happens when people believe their own hype, when we confuse being loud with being right, and when storytelling gets weaponized. Ryan Holiday has written about ego, stillness, and obstacles. But this part of the conversation gets at something deeper:...

A Note from James: Ryan Holiday is one of the few writers I consider a peer—not just because of the work he’s done, but because of the choices he's made along the way. We’ve both published a lot of books. We've both dealt with audiences, platforms, and the weight of having a “point of view” in a world that increasingly wants you to pick a side. This episode wasn’t meant to be a debate or an interv...

A Note from James: When I first said that college was a scam, people thought I was joking—or worse. But I wasn’t. If you’re 18 and listening to this, don’t go to college. And if you’re a parent, don’t send your kid without doing the math. College doesn’t guarantee a better life anymore. In fact, it could cost you years of freedom, tens of thousands of dollars, and saddle you with debt you can’t es...

A Note from James: Owning a home has been sold to us as the American dream. But what if it's actually a financial nightmare? In this episode, I talk with my friend Doug Hill about why I think buying a house is a bad idea—not just a little bad, but one of the worst investments you can make. Doug and I disagree on some points, and that's the fun part. This isn't about being contrarian for the sake o...

A Note from James: So Chef Curtis Duffy—he’s won Michelin Stars, a James Beard Award. He’s been on Netflix’s Iron Chef , was a judge on Top Chef season 21, and he’s even shown up in The Bear . He runs the Chicago restaurants Ever and Grace, and he wrote this incredible memoir called Fireproof: Memoir of a Chef . I could list all the accolades, but what really got me was his story—it's one of the m...

A Note from James: Miesha Tate—at first, I’ve got to admit, I didn’t know much about UFC or MMA. But Miesha was the World Bantamweight Champion, and she fought Ronda Rousey—probably the most famous female fighter in the sport. I watched one of their fights, and honestly, I don’t know how I’d survive even a quarter of a second. But the conversation we had wasn’t what I expected. Miesha opened up ab...

A Note from James: One of the funniest guys I’ve ever spoken to—Dave Barry. I always love talking to him. He’s been America’s top humorist since the early ’80s with a syndicated column in 500 newspapers and a long list of bestselling books. This is his third time on the podcast, and his latest book, Class Clown: Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass , is out now. We get into everything—his process, hi...

Notes from James: I had no idea this conversation would go where it did. I thought we’d talk chess. Instead, we talked about life, trauma, manipulation, redemption… and how one of the world’s most popular games can be both a tormentor and a savior. Episode Description: In this raw and powerful episode, I sat down with Danny Rensch—International Master, Chief Chess Officer of Chess.com, and author...

A Note from James: Man, what a fascinating career Robert Rosenkranz has had—multi-billionaire, involved in virtually every part of finance and American industry. He wrote a book called The Stoic Capitalist , and what really stands out is how he's actively applied stoic principles to achieve immense success throughout his career. Even from a young age, stoicism played a crucial role, guiding him th...