Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

David McWilliams (The History of Money: A Story of Humanity) is a journalist, writer, and economist. David joins the Armchair Expert to discuss having an unusually calm Irish family upbringing, being practically prescribed to study economics, and the impact that his father being screwed by the system had on him as a kid. David and Dax talk about his early, life-changing realization that no one actually has control over the economy, why economics should be seen as a form of communication about the world, and how the human advent of fire helps us to understand money. David explains the idea that the technology of trading money was an alternative to war, how money amplifies the trust necessary to function in complex societies, and why the reason that money is weird is because we are weird.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kumail Nanjiani (Night Thoughts, Eternals, The Big Sick) is an actor, writer, and comedian. Kumail returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss working out his foot trauma, addressing the plastic surgery rumors, and why the Schwarzenegger pump is better than sex. Kumail and Dax talk about the benefit of going towards what we perceive to be our limits, why the gym is the only place many men feel comfortable being physically intimate with one another, and wrestling with if he contributes to the discourse around men’s bodies that affected him as a kid. Kumail explains why learning to like himself has been more important than anything else, his belief that taking yourself too seriously is the death of comedy, and how long it took him to realize how sensitive he is.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a party gone wrong.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Walter Isaacson (The Greatest Sentence Ever Written) is a biographer, historian, and Professor of History at Tulane University. Walter returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss why he embeds himself into the lives of his subjects to write about them, how empathy can get in the way of success, and discovering the secret sauce of Elon Musk. Walter and Dax talk about his interest in people that try to learn as much as possible about everything knowable, the belief that growing up as a misfit can instill the drive seen in innovators of the modern age, and why an understanding of engineering is crucial to the political and philosophical conversations taking place today. Walter explains evaluating truths in the original draft of the Declaration of Independence, the struggle and strategy to create common ground throughout American history, and his assertion as a historian that even heroes have great flaws and villains have backstories.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cher (Cher: The Memoir, Moonstruck, Believe) is a multi-platinum recording artist, Academy Award winning actor, TV personality, author, and icon. Cher joins the Armchair Expert to discuss earlier versions of trying to write her memoir and why this one worked, accidentally falling into her first acting job with Robert Altman, and memories from the Burlesque set with Kristen Bell. Dax and Cher talk about identifying not as an icon but as a woman who has always worked, the best piece of advice her mom gave her, and growing up with strangers as a young child. Cher explains how her music career began with singing background in Phil Spector’s studio, rediscovering how powerful she was in a controlling relationship, and why she believes that a not insignificant part of her success has to do with luck.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.