The James Altucher Show

James Frey is a controversial writer. On purpose. He wanted to be "the most notorious writer in the world." He ran off to Paris to be a writer when he was 21. He published a bestseller 12 years later ("A Million Little Pieces"). That's 12 years of failure. He told me about those 12 years, his writing style, how he developed a voice, rehab, addiction, depression... but mostly about learning how to...

Charlemagne got kicked out of two high schools. He was a class clown and his teachers said he was "disruptive." Now he gets paid to be disruptive and a class clown... on radio. "I took those so called flaws and made them my strength." And now he's the number one radio personality out there. He told me how he got there. And the anxiety he suffered from getting there. He just came out with a book ab...

Howard Marks is #374 on the Forbes richest list. He co-founded Oaktree Capital Management and is worth $1.9 billion. I asked, "Do you hate being introduced as a billionaire?" He said, "I do. I don't think that how much money I have sums me up and I don't think it's the greatest thing about me." And he's right. He can't teach you how to be a billionaire. He can only teach you what he knows: investi...

John C. McGinley has been in 80+ movies, he's been in six Oliver Stone movies and all nine seasons of "Scrubs." And now, he's celebrating the 3rd season of "Stan Against Evil," where he's acting AND writing. We talked about acting, improving, auditioning. We talked about the pressure and who should not get into acting... But then about 45 minutes in, I asked him about his experience parenting a ch...

I talk to Noam Dworman, owner of the Comedy Cellar about censorship, starting and running a small family-owned business, freedom of information vs. freedom of speech (which is more important?) and... Louis C.K.'s return to the stage. Some background: a few weeks ago, Louis C.K. showed up at the Comedy Cellar. Noam wasn't there. He got a text. "Louis's here." He saw it the next morning. Now everyon...

Robert Greene is one of my all-time favorite authors and brilliant thinkers. He just came out with a new book, "The Laws of Human Nature." And I can already tell you this going to be one of my top recommended reads for the next 10, 20, 30 years. It's the type of book that makes me feel like my IQ is actually going up while reading it. It explains all of this hidden science behind human behavior. I...

Jocko Willink and Leif Babin are both Navy SEALS. They just came out with a new book "The Dichotomy of Leadership" where they break down all the mistakes leaders do, all the ways they get lost in ego, all the ways they forget to gain trust from their teams and lose. They do they so you can win. People fail at leadership everyday. I fail at leadership everyday. I needed this book because it showed...

Chip Conley is the Head of Hospitality for Airbnb. He started working there at age 52. And quickly realized he was double the age of everyone in the room, didn't understand the tech lingo, and was not there for the reasons he thought he was. "So I decided, 'Gosh the only way I'm going to survive here is to be as much of a curious learner as the wise sage," Chip said. And that's what he did. Six an...

400 episodes = 400 "yes's" from my heroes. "Yes's" from Tony Robbins, Richard Branson, Tyra Banks, Tiffany Haddish, Garry Kasparov, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Tony Hawk, Arianna Huffington and the list goes on (by #392). But first, I had to say "yes." And I'm glad I did. I hope this episode helps you find your next "yes." --- Part 2 features clips from my interviews with Tony Rock, Sherrod Small, Jocko...

I'm celebrating my 400th podcast episode. With a GIANT episode. I took clips from the last 100 podcasts and talk about what I learned from each one. It was so hard to pick which clips to do. There was over 12,000 hours of audio to pick from. So it was hard. But I got it down to 20-something clips. Thanks for celebrating 400 with me. And keep an eye out for when you start to see me get close to 500...

"If the world ends it's because people in power didn't listen to the warnings of physicists," Neil deGrasse Tyson said. Neil is the world's window into physics. And he just came out with a new book "Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military." He told me how physicists think. And this kind of thinking can be used to make you a better communicator, help you to avo...

Links and Resources Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue by Ryan Holiday The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living & The Daily Stoic Journal The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work That Las...

Links and Resources Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue by Ryan Holiday The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living & The Daily Stoic Journal The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work That Las...

My favorite movies wouldn't exist without Michael Ovitz. Think: Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters, Schindler's List! But he believes "great projects always surface." So I had him tell me about all the projects he worked with. And the talent (Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd and more). He told me how he left the mailroom of one talent agency to start his own. Which THEN became the biggest talent...

Tucker Max sold 3 million books to people who don't read. He's the first to go from blog to book to screenplay. And now that method of publishing is dead. But Tucker knows so many people want to write a book. And get it out there. So he started Scribe Media. So in this special part 2 of my podcast with Tucker Max, I ask him for his top 3 Rules of Writing. Links and Resources  Scribe Media - scribe...

I've known Tucker Max for 2 decades now. 20 years ago, he emailed me for advice. I told him to quit his job. And he did. He's the bestselling author of "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell." And I always tell people that if they want to study good writing, go read 10 pages of Tucker's books. "My stuff blew up... All I did was stand up and use my real name and tell my real stories about my real life." S...

Beth Comstock was the Vice President of General Electric. And before that, she was President of Integrated Media at NBC. Both of those titles are proof that she figured out how to rise up in the most competitive corporate environments. She had to figure out how to spot trends, generate ideas, speak up, and so on. And she recently wrote about it all in her book, "Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creati...

Captain Kirk has always been one of my heroes. So when Steve told me I'd get to interview the intergalactic legend, I immediately teleported back to my 11-year-old self. Star Trek made it possible for people to look up at the stars and wonder what else is out there. So I brought William Shatner on and asked him everything. He told me about the brief period in his career when he lived out of his tr...

This interview is probably the most thought-provoking interview I've ever aired. Essentially, Yuval Harari is the expert on human evolution. I've recommended his book "Sapiens" more than any other book in the past 5 years. And not only me: Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg's say it's their favorite book, too. And now Yuval has a brand new book, "21 Lessons for The 21st Century," which covers so many...

Everything in history has either a good or bad connotation. The Agricultural Revolution: good. The Rise of Big Data: bad. But what if we're wrong? Yuval gave me an example. And showed me just how wrong we might be about our own human evolution. (Also, if you like what you hear, make sure to check out the full episode with Yuval Noah Harari. Thanks - James).   I write about all my podcasts! Check o...

This is a clip from my full interview with Yuval Noah Harari, a brilliant author and expert in human evolution. In this clip, Yuval talks about the 3 major threats to humanity. But he also says it's not all bad. "I mean there are some very positive scenarios ahead of us..."   I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/podcast.   Links & Res...

"Right now, there is somebody out there who is trying to hack you. And not just one," Yuval said. "Amazon is trying to hack you, Google is trying to hack you, Coca-Cola is trying to hack you, and the Russians, and the American government, and the Chinese, they are all trying to hack you right now." In this clip, Yuval explains the threat and what he says is "the best defense."    If you like this...

Dan Roth is the Editor and Chief at one of the largest social media platforms: LinkedIn. We talk about using LinkedIn to reinvent yourself, skill development, how to become a published writer, etc. Dan also knows the most obscure facts about people and the workplace that you'll want to hear.    I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/pod...

Brandon is a Navy SEAL. He's experienced some of the most terrifying, life-threatening situations you can imagine. He's also been through a divorce. So I like talking to him about that. And he also runs his own business (a media to commerce called the Hurricane Group). He's not getting shot at anymore. But he still has to deal with fear: business fears, family fears, money fears, etc. "Fear is som...

This is a clip from my interview with Brandon Webb, Navy SEAL and author of "Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL's Guide." I like the book because the premise is really powerful. It's not about getting rid of fears. It's about learning practical tools to be able to handle fear... which is just part of life.  ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a...