Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Sharon Horgan (The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, Bad Sisters, Catastrophe) is an Emmy Award-nominated actor, writer, and producer. Sharon joins the Armchair Expert to discuss being one of three middle children, growing up with a tough publican father that went into the turkey trade, and an early approach by a famous director in a café to audition for one of his films. Sharon and Dax talk about having great recall for lines but basically no other information, the joy-filled buzz of her first time taking something from the page to the screen, and the sometimes tricky transition from s...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy moving story.

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.

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Toby Stuart (Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World) is an organizational theorist, professor of business administration at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and author. Toby joins the Armchair Expert to discuss attending Harvard Business School before knowing what business school was, the role of sanctioning mechanisms in a social hierarchy, and how circles of status can affect the value of works of art by millions of dollars. Toby and Dax talk about the ‘cool’ experiment he conducted on dating apps, the observation that anything of status plays out in Hollywood or among ten-ye...

On this week’s episode of Mom’s Car, we welcome longtime pal and Nobody Wants This supporting star Jackie Tohn. Jackie, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through comparisons between the smells of broccoli and feet, being a part of the most streamed comedy of all time, getting hit on at the podiatrist, the story of how Jackie ended up with Dax and Kristen’s dog, invoking Esther Perel to settle a write-in question about sexual intimacy, and the gang try to out-Andrew Dice Clay each other.

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Charlie Sheen (The Book of Sheen, Two and a Half Men, Platoon) is a Golden Globe Award-winning actor. Charlie joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the lore of having not one but two of his cars stolen and pushed into a ravine, a two-decades-delayed apology to Dax, and why hiring a ghostwriter for his memoir was a dealbreaker. Charlie and Dax talk about how much of his story is impacted by being the little brother of Emilio Estevez, the math of time required in the attempt to work sustainably as an addict, and his patented ice cube trick. Charlie e...

Matt Friend (Grace Period, The Simpsons, Family Guy) is a stand-up comedian, impressionist, and actor. Matt joins the Armchair Expert to discuss exploring whether he’s enough beyond his voice in a new stand-up hour, his sister’s characterization of him as a glorified parrot, and roasting Trump to his face at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Matt and Dax discuss whether there might be a neurodivergence component to his impression skills, doing celebrities to themselves on the Golden Globes red carpet, and humoring the team by welcoming a few yet-to-be friends of the pod. Matt explains where he beli...

On this week’s episode of Mom’s Car we welcome actor extraordinaire and Timothy Simons. Tim, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through the full day of testing he underwent in the 90s to diagnose him with ADHD and how a comorbidity is a heightened sensitivity to injustice. The team hit a two-banger order while Tim discusses seeing behaviors in his kids that are really just reflections of his own, having a contrarian streak in the beginning stages of his career, and finding a backdoor into comedy acting through casting commercials.

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Kristen Bell & Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This) join the Armchair Expert to discuss the incredibly involved, long-game prank pulled on set, how this season of their show is a love story between her their characters, and why wanting to evolve into a better person is so aligned with wanting to become a better actor. Justine, Kristen, and Dax talk about Justine coming to a place in her life where it feels good to not deliver a counterpoint, having a penchant for justice in accordance with her name, and her harrowing journey to audition for Juilliard. Justine explains feeling a...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy valet story.

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.

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Steven Pinker (When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life) is a cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, and author. Steven returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss how in general things have gotten better, that tracking the data can make one more optimistic than reading headlines, and the differences between private knowledge and common knowledge. Steven and Dax talk about how evolved language generates common knowledge, the role of conventions and ritual in human coordination, and the power of Super Bowl advertisements. Steven explains the counterintuitive fact that announcing one’s philanthropy ac...

On this week’s episode of Mom’s Car we welcome none other than the Duchess of Duluth, Monica Padman. Dax, Monica, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through the most tempted they’ve been to sample their own wares, a definitely real, meet-cute write-in question that could have been a full-circle big twist, why Monica’s kink is sick men and tasty food, a historic review of pubic hair styles, and whether there’s something unattractive or scary about a partner being totally immersed in a new pursuit.

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Dominic Fike (Euphoria, Rocket, What Could Possibly Go Wrong) is a singer, musician, and actor. Dominic joins the Armchair Expert to discuss growing up around high-functioning relationships in Florida, how being raised by addicts factors into having a big heart, and wanting to cry when he thinks about the points of departure he’s found with his family. Dominic and Dax talk about having that friend in his head that never lets him be different, how somatic therapy has helped him give form and a voice to his shadow, and starting to make his own music under house arrest. Do...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a time they got arrested.

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.

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Bobbi Brown (Still Bobbi: A Master Class in Leading an Authentic Life) is a make-up artist, entrepreneur, and author. Bobbi joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why the motto "the less I do, the more I’m me” is her secret to happiness, realizing she wasn’t stupid but that things that are boring don’t interest her, and her tips to a happy 37-year marriage. Bobbi and Dax talk about learning how to design make-up looks by working for film and theater departments in college, making her first lipstick after accidentally meeting a chemist, and that make-up is really a...

On this week’s episode of Mom’s Car, we welcome friend of the pod, Erick Richardson. Erick, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through making a deal with God on a catamaran, the fruitful strategy of taking stock as payment from clients, the former fun of having an unexpected dark side, how Erick came to own 11 rare giant tortoises, and the instability of the market for a cut-off toe.

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Timothy Olyphant (Alien: Earth, Deadwood, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) is an Emmy Award-nominated actor. Timothy joins the Armchair Expert to discuss whether he gives middle child vibes, the benefits of being a skills generalist, and why his smile always designated him as the “talk-to-the-cops guy.” Timothy and Dax talk about how knocking things off balance a little bit can create a lovely vulnerable moment, invoking Lou Reed and Bob Dylan as interview inspiration, and being the favorite co-star of so many talented actors. Timothy explains that there’s a judo to rejecting someone while giving them something, asking...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about an unauthorized evacuation.

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.

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Seth Harp (The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces) is an investigative reporter, foreign correspondent, and war veteran. Seth joins the Armchair Expert to discuss being called out of college even though he was anti-war to serve in Iraq, the key differences between Green Berets and other covert special forces, and his circuitous path to becoming an investigative journalist. Seth and Dax talk about whether he believes there are secret military operations that are justifiable, the Fort Bragg murders that kicked off his investigations which became this book, and the massive corruption of the...

On this week's episode of Mom's Car, we welcome actor and Dax's on-screen wife Joy Bryant. Joy, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through high stakes three-way matching tattoos, BFAW’s entertaining story involving a thong and a 20-year full circle moment, digging into the morality of a hypothetical brother-sister scenario, a Vulnerboys write-in question, Joy’s top-five dream stoner list, and the crew invent a brand new moral dumbfounding about dolphins.

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Alicia Silverstone (Irish Blood, Bugonia, Clueless) is an award-winning actress, writer, and activist. Alicia joins the Armchair Expert to discuss her incidence of disassociation when remembering entertainment business adjacent meetings, how her mom was a proto-environmentalist without even knowing it, and connecting to the deep, juicy inner lives of older teenagers in her first acting class. Alicia and Dax talk about how she truly could not have been more dissimilar to Cher Horowitz as a person, learning how to use that the funniest element about her was how seriously she took things, and the incredible working relationship she cultivated...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy divorce story.

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.

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Mark Ronson (Night People: How to be a DJ in 90s New York City) is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning producer, songwriter, and DJ. Mark returns to Armchair Expert to discuss feeling the full circle moment returning to vinyl after coming up as a DJ in the 90s, the tangible difference between experiencing the sounds of records versus digital media, and not playing his own records because he wants to earn the crowd on merit. Mark and Dax talk about having a vague memory of Robin Williams waking him up as a child during one of his parents’ parties, la...

On this week’s episode of Mom’s Car, we welcome actor Karan Soni. Karan, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through Karan’s first Kristen connection when he was still working out his identity, his dad working for John Deere tractors which are made in India, remembering all gay storylines on TV being shame based, at what age discovering he was funny, a write-in question about possible levels of happiness moving back to one’s hometown, finally accepting that he couldn’t change his family with nagging, and BFAW & Dax's relationship throughout their sobriety journeys.

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Jason Aldean (Full Throttle, My Kinda Party, Night Train) is a Grammy Award-winning country music artist. Jason joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the chameleonic effects of not spending more than two years at any school growing up, teaching himself guitar via cassette player, and how big the gap feels between his real-life and performance personas. Jason and Dax talk about the eye-opening experience of playing bars while in high school, how he puts his fingerprint on a song he hears promise in, and his adjustment from desert dwelling to sudden chart-topping success. Jason explains learning how to tour...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy subway experience.

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.

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Amanda Uhle (Destroy This House, McSweeney’s) is a journalist, publisher, and author. Amanda joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the east meets west hodgepodge decor cultivated by her eccentric parents, her job as a child to not make her mother’s hoarding a problem, and her dad’s increasing involvement with a motivational tape MLM. Amanda and Dax talk about navigating the subculture of being a pastor’s kid, her mom obsession with death taking shape in a vocation as a hospice nurse, and her father’s pulpit mental breakdown and subsequent stroke. Amanda explains investigating her mysterious parents be...

On our first ever episode of Mom’s Car we welcome Mom herself, award-winning actress and beloved spouse Kristen Bell. Kristen, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through sim sizes of the Chevrolet Bolt and why Kristen loves hers so much she wanted multiple backups, BFAW describes the experience of receiving Dax’s big heart for the first time, the gang get their first delivery while processing assumptions about those who order food to their home, field a write-in question from a concerned impending empty nester, and debate one of Jonathan Haidt’s moral dumbfoundings.

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Remember borrowing your mom’s car and driving around with your friends? Us too. It was the greatest. Dax and Best Friend Aaron Weakley missed it so much that they borrowed Kristen’s (America’s Mom) car and started filming a show in it. Each week they invite a guest to join them as they serpentine through Los Angeles, delivering food for a popular app (that you likely use). The guests include actors, spouses, lawyers, producers, directors, and old friends. With 39 years of best-friendship under their belts, Dax and Aaron have a rare knack for shame-free candor. The food is hot...

Amanda Knox (The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox) is an exoneree, author and producer. Amanda joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the human urge to find fault in others to exonerate ourselves, coming of age in the era of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and the personal journeys undertaken while studying abroad. Amanda and Dax talk about how people still have a hard time distinguishing when media is sensationalized, the vital distinction between an interview and an interrogation, and the deep, cartoonish misogyny endemic to her case. Amanda explains how comforting it is when people find her story relatable...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy first day of school.

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.

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Nancy Segal (Deliberately Divided: Inside the Controversial Study of Twins and Triplets Adopted Apart) is an evolutionary psychologist, behavioral geneticist, and author. Nancy joins the Armchair Expert to discuss whether there’s anything predictable about a twin who comes out first, why in twin studies differences are not deficits, and her work with the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart. Nancy and Dax talk about the unexpected reason identical twins are more alike that any other pair of people, the concept of inclusive fitness to explain differential genetic behavior, and why doppelgängers can be an effective test for cri...

Luke Combs (Back in the Saddle, Fathers & Sons, What You See Is What You Get) is an award-winning songwriter, singer, and musician. Luke joins the Armchair Expert to discuss Garth Brooks gifting him a surprise truck, why buying a plane is akin to flushing money down the toilet, and still feeling lazy despite everything he’s achieved. Luke and Dax talk about his high school music teachers that still come to his shows, assuming that life was getting a job that you hate because he didn’t know any different, and that being thankful for what you have and help...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy summer camp story.

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.

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Chris Feistl and David Mitchell (After Escobar: Taking Down the Notorious Cali Godfathers and the Biggest Drug Cartel in History, with Jessica Balboni) are former DEA agents. Chris and David join the Armchair Expert to discuss the Miami Vice dream of being stationed in 1980s Florida as a DEA agent, the mechanics of providing transport for drug cartels, and how they became involved in the pursuit of the Cali cartel in Colombia. Chris, David, and Dax talk about the true magnitude of Pablo Escobar as the world’s first narcoterrorist, how Cali cartel’s approach to power differed from Mede...

Shaquille O'Neal (Shaq's Scholars Campus Scholarship and Mentorship Program) is a 4x NBA champion, sports analyst, and philanthropist. Shaquille joins the Armchair Expert to discuss discovering his love languages, how he learned to tame his inner bully with silliness, and why a nuclear physicist is who taught him how to accept criticism. Shaq and Dax talk about the incredible highs that followed the lows of his life, how he unwinds now by going to a hookah bar, and navigating the fine line between pain relief and addiction. Shaquille explains how beating Michael Jordan was a teaching moment, learning early...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy substitute teacher story.

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.

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Caroline Fraser (Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Caroline joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why Christian Science churches and parishioners are disappearing, consequences of healthcare ideologies and practices defined by religious exemption, and tracing her interest in writing about violence to growing up in the 70s. Caroline and Dax talk about why the Pacific Northwest is so associated with serial killers, women’s relationships to and the ethics of true crime, and her argument that violent crime is a human health issue. Caroline explains Missing White Woman Syndrome, why ma...

Ramy Youssef (Mountainhead, Number One Happy Family USA, Ramy) is an award-winning comedian, director, and actor. Ramy returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss how shooting Mountainhead was akin to a play, his subway take that everyone is inherently good and evil is just a virus, and why the US Constitution is dope. Ramy and Dax talk about likening his experience making TV to the national integrity crisis, who can throw a Molotov cocktail, and why the best things in life often emerge in spite of us. Ramy explains his initial understanding that at its core Poor Things is...

Carter Sherman (The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation's Fight Over Its Future) is an Emmy Award-nominated reporter covering reproductive health and justice. Carter joins the Armchair Expert to discuss being a nosy babysitter, writing an early piece on the sex lives of millennial girls, and covering reproductive health during the 2024 election. Carter and Dax talk about her explanation behind the trend of elective celibacy, how she was able to elicit honest feedback from young people about their sex lives, and the societal consequences of exclusively abstinence-only sex education. Carter explains why we need a study that tracks...

Seth Meyers (Dad Man Walking, Late Night with Seth Meyers, SNL) is an Emmy Award-winning comedian, writer, and talk show host. Seth returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss the most satisfying celebrity interaction he’s ever had, a mutual worry that he’s not sentimental enough, and his milquetoast performance on Finding Your Roots. Seth and Dax talk about knowing his good side as host versus guest, the sanctuary of a desk being no small thing, and the turning point in his life marked by his dad’s disappointment. Seth explains embracing pettiness and talking about things he’s bad at...