StarTalk Podcast: A Conversation with Tim Ferriss

Teacher or professor: StarTalk
Subject: Astronomy
Content of the Lesson: To kick of our 11th orbit around the podcast sun, Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down for a one-on-one interview with author and entrepreneur Tim Ferriss. Tim is a well-known author with his works including The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef as well as being an early-stage technology investor in top companies like Facebook, Uber, Duolingo, Alibaba, and more. Tim also has his own podcast aptly titled The Tim Ferriss Show. To start, we investigate Tim’s geek upbringings. You’ll hear about his fascination with sharks that led to his love for marine biology. We discuss his connection to Jaws. You’ll learn about Tim’s love for science fiction. We dive into the books Dune and Stranger in a Strange Land and explore how science fiction helps us think in different ways. Find out about Tim’s interest in neuroscience and how his family tree led him to explore more. Neil and Tim ponder the societal impact of psychedelics and why they might have been much more helpful if they weren’t made a Schedule 1 drug under the Nixon administration. Discover more about the writing process as Neil and Tim break down the creation of Tim’s books The 4-Hour Workweek and the 4-Hour Body. Tim tells us how he dealt with getting rejected by over 25 publishers. We also discuss the advantages of testing ideas and how Tim tested ideas for the titles of his books. You’ll hear about life hacking. Tim shares with us the value of meta learning. Lastly, get a glimpse of Tim’s inspirations as he shares who inspired him growing up, and in college, and who continues to inspire him today. All that, plus, we discuss Tim’s most recent book Tribe of Mentors which offers “short life advice from the best in the world.”


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