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.
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Ep. 390: What Happens When You Ditch Your Smartphone? + Assessing the Internet’s Latest Self-Help Sensation (01:11:28)
Everyone knows that excessive smartphone use can be harmful. But the question we don’t ask enough is what the advantages are of not using these devices. In the ideas segment, Cal examines the testimon...
Ep. 389: Is the Internet Hijacking Ambition? + Escaping Messaging Hell (01:48:26)
It’s natural to feel ambition, as we’re wired to find great satisfaction in accomplishing hard goals. But what impact has the internet had on this instinct? To help explore this question, author Brad ...
Ep. 388: What’s Worrying Jon Haidt Now? + Should You Buy a Landline? (Cal just did…) (01:23:44)
Despite some initial skepticism, Jonathan Haidt’s crusade against kids using smartphones has been more or less completely vindicated. Which got us thinking: what’s he worried about next? In the ideas ...
Ep 387: Can Substack Save Journalism? + Viral Advice for Ignoring Your Phone (01:24:51)
Last year, when columnist Paul Krugman left the NYT, it seemed like yet another example of the traditional media crumbling. But Krugman, as it turns out, is doing great. His popular substack now reach...
Ep 386: Was 2025 a Great or Terrible Year for AI? (w/ Ed Zitron) (02:23:07)
Ep 386: Was 2025 a Great or Terrible Year for AI? (w/ Ed Zitron) 2025 was a year that was saturated in AI news, from Deep Seek, through claims of economic “bloodbaths,” to GPT-5, Sora, and Chatbot gir...
Ep 385: Single-Purpose Notebooks (REPLAY) (01:09:11)
In this replay of a classic episode from March 2024, Cal discusses his transformative experience using a small analog notebook to tackle a complicated problem in his life. He makes the broader argumen...
Ep 384: What Should I Read for a Deeper New Year? (01:16:55)
In our annual holiday episode, Cal tackles one of the questions he’s asked most often: What should I read? But with a twist. He recommends six books that are not from the self-help or advice genre tha...
Ep 383: Why Is Everyone Talking About “Against the Machine”? (w/ Tyler Austin Harper) (01:35:25)
Earlier this fall, the activist, novelist, and essayist Paul Kingsnorth published an anti-technology polemic called “Against the Machine.” To say it hit a nerve is an understatement. In the months tha...
Ep. 382: Is the Internet Becoming Television? (01:19:16)
Last month, Derek Thompson published an intriguing essay that made waves in technology criticism circles. It was titled: “Everything is Television.” In today’s episode, Cal takes a closer look at this...
Ep. Ep 381: Life Advice from Legendary Writers (01:38:29)
In today’s episode, Cal reviews some of his favorite advice from legendary writers (plus a bonus piece of advice from his own craft). Within each suggestion, he finds a general idea that can apply to ...
Ep. 380: ChatGPT is Not Alive! (01:18:50)
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 argu...
Ep. 379: The Flexibility Myth (01:55:27)
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 fle...
Ep. 378: The Lost Art of Long Thinking (01:28:53)
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 epis...
Ep. 377: The Case Against Superintelligence (01:31:14)
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, C...
Ep. 376: The Lincoln Protocol (01:23:51)
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 a...
Ep. 375: Did OpenAI Just Kill Social Media? (01:36:12)
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 med...
Ep. 374: This is Your Brain on Phones (01:38:17)
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 phys...
Ep. 373: The Internet’s Best Advice for Reinventing Your Life (01:36:45)
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. ...
Ep. 372: Decoding TikTok’s Algorithm (01:26:39)
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 contro...
IN-DEPTH: Focus like a Nobel Prize Winner (w/ Brian Keating) (01:04:57)
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 ...
Ep. 371: Is it Finally Time to Leave Social Media? (01:25:55)
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...
Ep. 370: Deep Work in the Age of AI (01:10:46)
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 st...
Ep. 369: Why Are We Getting Dumber? A Debate. (01:33:24)
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 ...
IN-DEPTH: The Game of Life (w/ Tim Ferriss) (01:57:01)
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 generat...
Ep. 368: I Want Work-Life Balance. Am I Doomed to Mediocrity? (01:27:58)
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 a...
