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Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

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 advice about cultivating focus, productivity, and meaning amidst the noise that pervades our lives.

6 DAYS AGO

Ep. 380: ChatGPT is Not Alive!

There has been a lot of loose talk online recently about the capabilities of existing AI tools. In this episode, Cal reacts to a specific recent clip from the Joe Rogan podcast in which the guest argues that language models are like a child’s brain, and ma...

Nov 17

AI Ready

Ep. 379: The Flexibility Myth

When companies began instituting return-to-office plans after the pandemic, a disproportionate number of women chose instead to leave the workforce. Why? The obvious answer is that they wanted the flexibility of remote work. But in this episode, Cal draws ...

Nov 10

AI Ready

Ep. 378: The Lost Art of Long Thinking

We often talk on this show about how digital devices undermine our ability to consume more complicated and meaningful ideas. But what about our ability to produce such ideas from scratch? In this episode, Cal identifies a key productive skill – long think...

Nov 03

Ep. 377: The Case Against Superintelligence

Techno-philosopher Eliezer Yudkowsky recently went on Ezra Klein's podcast to argue that if we continue on our path toward superintelligent AI, these machines will destroy humanity. In this episode, Cal responds to Yudkowsky’s argument point by point, conc...

Oct 27

Ep. 376: The Lincoln Protocol

How do you escape a world where constant digital distractions and darkness threatens to pull you down? Maybe take a page out of Abraham Lincoln’s life. In this episode, Cal argues that Lincoln faced analog versions of many of the same issues we face in our...

Oct 27

AI Ready

Ep. 376: The Lincoln Protocol

How do you escape a world where constant digital distractions and darkness threatens to pull you down? Maybe take a page out of Abraham Lincoln’s life. In this episode, Cal argues that Lincoln faced analog versions of many of the same issues we face in our...

Oct 20

Ep. 375: Did OpenAI Just Kill Social Media?

Ep. 375: Did OpenAI Just Kill Social Media? OpenAI has been making waves recently with their release of their Sora 2 video generation model, which they have launched alongside a TikTok-style social media sharing app. The internet is usually pretty excited...

Oct 13

AI Ready

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 precise neural mechanisms at play that make the physical act of looking at your phone irresistible. Then arm...

Oct 06

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 YouTubers have done their own videos on the same theme. In today’s episode, I extract the best ideas from five s...

Sep 29

AI Ready

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 was in national interests for us to take over control of TikTok’s fabled “algorithm.” But what is this algor...

Sep 25

AI Ready

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 prolific popularizers of science around (you may have seen him recently chatting about cosmology with Joe Roga...

Sep 22

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 motivation to bother to leave. In today’s episode, motivated by the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Cal pu...

Sep 15

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 productive. In this episode, Cal dives deep into the study and argues that when it comes to efforts that requir...

Sep 08

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 this episode, Cal gets into the common theories for why this is true before offering his own take, which lea...

Sep 04

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 Hour WorkWeek” which basically redefined a generation’s relationship with work, meaning, and the possibili...

Sep 01

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 brag about how sleeping less than 4 hours a night and gaining 80 pounds helped him become a millionaire. In...

Aug 25

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 lackluster GPT-5 launch, a new, almost heretical-seeming question has emerged: what if progress on AI is stalled w...

Aug 18

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 strategies for cultivating a deeper life. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their ...

Aug 11

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 the difference between additive and extractive technologies, telling a story that weaves old technology wi...

Aug 04

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 pointed toward the deep life. And they failed. Hard. In this episode, Cal dissects why metrics matter, why the...