The James Altucher Show
James Altucher interviews the world's leading peak performers in every area of life. But instead of giving you the typical success story, James digs deeper to find the "Choose Yourself" story - these are the moments we relate to... when someone rises up from personal struggle to reinvent themselves. The James Altucher Show brings you into the lives of peak-performers: billionaires, best-selling authors, rappers, astronauts, athletes, comedians, actors, and the world champions in every field, all who forged their own paths, found financial freedom and harnessed the power to create more meaningful and fulfilling lives.
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From the Archive: Tony Hawk: Mastery, Failure, and the Trick That Changed Skateboarding
<p>A Note from James:</p><p>Tony Hawk is one of the greatest athletes of all time—but what fascinates me most isn’t just the tricks.</p><p>It’s the mindset.</p><p>Tony didn’t just become the best skateboarder in the world. He built an entire ecosystem around what he loved: competitions, companies, tours, sponsorships, and one of the most successful video game franchises ever created.</p><p>What’s interesting is that none of it was planned that way. It came from constant experimentation, falling—literally—and getting back up again.</p><p>In this episode...
Crypto's Quantum Challenges & Optical as the True Quantum-Class Winner – Martin Shkreli
<p>A Note from James:</p><p>In the last episode, we talked about whether Martin Shkreli really deserves the label “most hated man in America.” My conclusion was no, and I hope you came to the same conclusion after hearing his perspective.</p><p>In this episode, we shift gears completely. We talk about Bitcoin, crypto, AI, energy, optical computing, and what the future of technology might actually look like.</p><p>Martin has a very unusual combination of skills—finance, biotech, programming—and I always enjoy hearing how he connects ideas across different fields. That’s what this conversati...
Martin Shkreli: From Most Hated Man to Optical Computing Visionary – Curiosity & Defiance
<p>A Note from James:</p><p>Is he the most hated man in America? I don’t think so.</p><p>Martin Shkreli was notorious for various reasons that you’ll hear about in this episode—there are some crazy stories—but I’ve come to know Martin over the past few months as both a friend and business partner.</p><p>Let’s just hear his stories and explanations. I think you’ll agree with me that this is one of the smartest people I’ve ever had on the podcast.</p><p><br></p><p>Episode Description:</p><p>Martin Shkr...
Keeping the Spark Alive – Long-Term & Aging (a/k/a How to Maintain Great Sex) | Dr. Nicole McNichols Part 3
<p>A Note from James:</p><p>In the first two episodes with Dr. Nicole McNichols, we talked about chemistry, communication, anatomy, and the science of pleasure. This final episode is really about something deeper—how relationships evolve over time and what actually keeps desire alive.</p><p>Because the truth is, long-term relationships don’t stay exciting automatically. They require intention. They require curiosity. And sometimes the issue isn’t your partner at all—it’s that you’ve stopped doing things that light you up in your own life.</p><p>We also talk about novelty, sex toys, aging, hormo...
The Science & Mechanics of Pleasure (a/k/a How to Have Great Sex) | Dr. Nicole McNichols Pt. 2
<p>A Note from James:</p><p>In the first episode with Dr. Nicole McNichols, we talked about chemistry, myths, and why communication matters more than performance. This episode goes deeper—into biology, anatomy, dopamine, desire, and the mechanics of pleasure.</p><p>There are a lot of myths around sex. Some are cultural. Some are Hollywood. Some come from bad science. And some just come from silence.</p><p>This conversation gets specific. We talk about orgasm, desire, scheduling sex, the so-called “missionary problem,” novelty in long-term relationships, and why so much of what we assume about men and women...
From the Archive: Ramit Sethi on Building a Rich Life, Dream Jobs & Online Businesses
<p>Episode Description:</p><p>This archival conversation with Ramit Sethi is a masterclass in systems thinking, behavioral psychology, and building a “rich life” on your own terms.</p><p>Long before online courses were mainstream, Ramit was quietly building scalable systems—automating money, testing business ideas rigorously, and rejecting conventional wisdom around careers, housing, and passion. In this conversation, he explains why most advice fails, why willpower is overrated, and how to engineer results instead of hoping for inspiration.</p><p>They cover negotiation psychology, competence triggers, breaking into dream jobs without HR, why buying a house isn’t always t...
What is Great Sex: Myths About Sex, and What Separates Good Sex and Bad Sex!
<p>A Note from James:</p><p>This might be the most useful episode I’ve ever done. Not that the others weren’t useful—they were—but this one goes above and beyond. It was also awkward for me, and honestly a little embarrassing, to ask some of these questions. I asked them anyway, and I’m glad I did, because the answers were excellent.</p><p>This episode is with Dr. Nicole McNichols, who just released her book You Could Be Having Better Sex: The Definitive Guide to a Happier, Healthier, and Hotter Sex Life. There was so much stron...
From the Archive: Jocko Willink | Discipline Equals Freedom
<p>Episode Description:</p><p>This was one of those interviews where James thought he was talking about leadership—and realized halfway through that he was really talking about responsibility.</p><p>Jocko Willink doesn’t use buzzwords. He doesn’t soften the message. He talks about ego, blame, and why most problems—at work and in life—don’t come from bad systems but from leaders who won’t take ownership.</p><p>What struck James most wasn’t the battlefield stories. It was how calmly Jocko explained things everyone avoids: hard conversations, personal discipline, and the quiet habits that prevent dis...
From the Archive: David Goggins - Embrace the Suck
<p>Episode Description:</p><p>This was one of the most intense conversations James ever recorded.</p><p>This archive conversation captures David Goggins at the moment Can’t Hurt Me was launching — before the mythology around him fully formed. What makes this episode powerful is how grounded it is. He’s not selling inspiration. He’s explaining the mechanics of suffering, discipline, and self-reinvention in plain terms.</p><p>Goggins describes growing up with abuse, learning disabilities, fear, and self-hatred — and how those became the raw material for rebuilding himself. He explains his concept of the “40% rule,” the mental governor that...
From the Archive: Tim Ferriss on Possibility, Mentors, and the DISS Learning Framework
<p>Episode Description:</p><p>This second installment of “From the Archive” returns to James’s early, unfiltered conversation with Tim Ferriss. They unpack how to market by creating newsworthy moments (including a frigid book-launch fiasco turned lesson), how to learn anything using Tim’s DISS framework (Deconstruction, Selection, Sequencing, Stakes), and why “possibility is negotiable” when you seek outliers and test assumptions. Tim explains fear-setting, slow-play networking that leads to real mentors, and the origin story of BrainQUICKEN → BodyQuick, including direct-response tactics, offline ads, and early UFC sponsorships. The through-line: run small experiments, protect your best energy, and stack skills to rais...
