Deep Questions with Cal Newport
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Deep Questions with Cal Newport
Cal Newport is a computer science professor and a New York Times bestselling author who writes about the impact of technology on society, and the struggle to work and live deeply in a world increasingly mired in digital distractions. On this podcast, he answers questions from his readers and offers...
Nedávné epizody
384 epizod
Ep. 374: This is Your Brain on Phones
It’s hard to cultivate a deep life when you cannot go more than a few minutes without checking your phone. In this episode, Cal looks closer at the pr...
Ep. 373: The Internet’s Best Advice for Reinventing Your Life
In 2023, I published an episode about resetting your life that became one of my most popular. In the years since, multiple major podcasters and YouTub...
Ep. 372: Decoding TikTok’s Algorithm
Last week, it was announced that Oracle would take over operation of TikTok in the US. One of the primary reasons proposed for this deal is that it wa...
IN-DEPTH: Focus like a Nobel Prize Winner (w/ Brian Keating)
In this episode of IN-DEPTH, Cal is joined by Dr. Brian Keating, the Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Physics at UCSD, and one of the most prol...
Ep. 371: Is it Finally Time to Leave Social Media?
We seem to be stuck in a purgatory when it comes to the worst of the social media platforms. We know they’re not great, but it’s hard to muster enough...
Ep. 370: Deep Work in the Age of AI
A recent study called into question a core assumption about the generative AI revolution: that these tools, at the very least, will make us more produ...
Ep. 369: Why Are We Getting Dumber? A Debate.
IQ scores had been steadily rising since WWII. But, more recently, this phenomenon has stopped. Since 2010, we’ve actually been getting dumber. In th...
IN-DEPTH: The Game of Life (w/ Tim Ferriss)
In this episode of IN-DEPTH, Cal is joined by bestselling author and podcaster, Tim Ferriss. Tim rocketed to prominence with his 2007 book, “The Four...
Ep. 368: I Want Work-Life Balance. Am I Doomed to Mediocrity?
A 22-year-old made a splash recently when he published a Wall Street Journal op-ed claiming that work-life balance makes you mediocre. He went on to b...
Ep. 367: What if AI Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This?
In recent years, it’s been hard not to react to the possibilities of generative AI without a mixture of euphoria or dread. But after OpenAI’s lacklust...
Ep. 366: How to Reinvent Your Life in 4 Months (Classic Episode from August, 2023)
In this replay of one of the more popular episodes from the Deep Questions archives, originally aired in August ,2023, Cal explores some of his early...
Ep. 365: What Technology Wants (and How to Push Back)
Why do we end up entangled with tools that don’t have our best interests in mind? How can we fix this situation? In this episode, Cal dives deep into...
Ep. 364: Metrics 101
When Cal recently returned home from his time spent up in New England he set up a whole new set of daily metrics to track in the fall to keep him poin...
Ep. 363: Escaping the Digital Doldrums
What does Walt Disney’s malaise in the 1940s have to do with our current struggles with our screens? In this episode, Cal uses a little-known story fr...
Ep. 362: The Texting Dilemma
When we think about unhealthy phone usage, we think about the flashing apps, like TikTok and Instagram, in which billions of dollars have been spent t...
Ep. 361: Do You Need an App Blocker?
Are you worried that you’re using your phone too much? An app blocker might make sense. But how do they work, and which one is right for you? In this...
Ep. 360: One-Page Productivity
Trying to stick to complicated time management systems without any breaks can eventually lead to burn out. But if you stop organizational efforts alto...
Ep. 359: Should We Fear Cognitive Debt?
A blockbuster new study out of MIT takes a closer look at the impact of writing with the help of AI. In today’s episode, Cal breaks down this paper wi...
Ep. 358: Are Parents (Finally) Ready to Fight Smartphones?
Back in 2023, Cal gave a detailed deep dive that described the three phases of scientific understanding of smartphones, social media, and kids. In tod...
Ep. 357: What Worries the Internet’s Favorite Philosopher?
Few philosophers in recent memory have enjoyed as much attention as Byung-Chul Han. His mix of profundity and pithiness in tackling some of the big is...
IN-DEPTH: The Art of Non-Conformity (w/ Chris Guillebeau)
In this episode of IN-DEPTH, Cal is joined by Chris Guillebeau, the author of the new book, TIME ANXIETY, and creator of the beloved Art of Non-Confor...
Ep. 356: How Much Should We Work?
The data shows knowledge workers really are more exhausted and more prone to burnout than ever before. But why? In this episode, Cal draws inspiration...
Ep. 355: Quit Social Media (For Real This Time)
A common complaint about social media skepticism is that we’re falling into a classic moral panic. We’ve been concerned about many past mass media tec...
Ep. 354: The Workload Fairytale
A few years ago, in a spirit of post-pandemic experimentation, multiple countries ran formal trials to test a radical idea: shortening the workweek. I...
Ep. 353: Summer Schedules
Summer is here. It’s time to slow down. In this episode, Cal discusses his radically simplified summer schedule and then suggests you similarly inject...
Ep. 352: It’s Okay to Slow Down
When we think about important accomplishments, we think about grinding through long hours of work. But is this really necessary? In this episode, Cal...
Ep. 351: Making the Internet Good Again
Tyler Cowen recently wrote an article arguing that spending lots of time online is in fact a good thing. In this episode, Cal looks deeper at Cowen’s...
Ep. 350: Is Inbox Zero Possible?
The white whale of modern productivity discourse is achieving an empty email inbox; a goal state that’s often referred to simply as “inbox zero.” In t...
Ep. 349: Sam Altman On Productivity
Cal talks a lot about his ideas for producing meaningful work in a distracted world. But how do other people tackle this goal? To help better under th...
IN-DEPTH: Architecting a Deep Life (w/ David Dewane)
In this episode of IN-DEPTH, Cal is joined by David Dewane, the architect responsible for the “eudaimonia machine” featured in DEEP WORK. In this wide...
Ep. 348: Manage Your Time in 5 Minutes a Day
Cal has been writing about time management for a *long* time. In this episode, he returns to a chapter from a book he wrote twenty years ago that is t...
Ep. 347: The Forgotten Phone Harms
Phones have been receiving a lot of criticism recently, but what if these concerns are missing the mark? In this episode, Cal introduces the differenc...
Ep. 346: Getting Smarter in a Dumb World
In last week’s episode, Cal discussed data that indicate that the rise of the smartphones is making humans measurably dumber. Here he discusses aggres...
Ep. 345: Are We Getting Dumber?
Multiple listeners recently sent in a Financial Times article that asks whether humans have passed “peak intelligence.” In this episode, Cal looks clo...
Ep. 344: You Are Not a Cog
Modern knowledge work jobs should be cushy gigs. Fixed hours, air conditioning, no hard manual labor, flexibility. So why are we so often burnt out an...
Ep. 343: A Minimal Protocol for Taking Control of Your LIfe
One of the most commonly recurring themes on this show is the conflict between too much versus not enough productivity. In this episode, Cal attempts...
IN-DEPTH: Greatness on Trial (w/ Brad Stulberg and Clay Skipper)
In this episode of IN-DEPTH, Cal is joined by the writers Brad Stulberg and Clay Skipper to talk about the topic of “greatness.” They attempt to pick...
Ep. 342: The Good Life Algorithm
How do escape a life of shallowness and distraction to cultivate something deeper and more meaningful? In this episode, Cal draws from both algorithm...
Ep. 341: Drowning, Treading, or Swimming
Tim Ferris is working on a new book about saying “no” and has posted the introduction online. In this episode, Cal reads an excerpt from this introduc...
Ep. 340: Productivity Rain Dances
Sometimes the quest for productivity can seem like the embrace of activity for the sake of activity, a prospect that inevitably leads to exhaustion. I...