Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

David Sussillo (Emergence: A Memoir of Boyhood, Computation, and the Mysteries of Mind) is a technologist, neuroscientist, and professor at Stanford University. David joins the Armchair Expert to discuss growing up with two parents that were addicts, experiencing extreme poverty throughout his childhood, and the joy of finding a best friend during that time. David and Dax talk about how the immersion and rules of video games amid the chaos of his life became the precursor to his research today, ending up in a series of group foster homes for several years, and his dream of going to college...

Nate Bargatze (The Breadwinner, Hello World, Your Friend) is a standup comedian, writer, and actor. Nate joins the Armchair Expert to discuss growing up with a father who was a preacher/clown/teacher/magician/motivational speaker, working as a water meter reader before finding his way into comedy, and what it’s like reentering reality after being celebrated on an arena stage. Nate and Dax talk about how his decision to always be a clean comic affected his career trajectory, the time he was heckled by a parrot, and realizing that his comedy tribe were all the dirtiest standups. Na...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a funny pregnancy story.

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Kathryn Paige Harden (Original Sin On the Genetics of Vice, the Problem of Blame, and the Future of Forgiveness) is a psychologist, professor, and behavioral geneticist. Kathryn joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why psychology is not a solved problem, studying the essential question of why we do things we don’t want to do, and how her religious upbringing was fundamentally at odds with her desire to study psychology. Kathryn and Dax talk about what living in a culture that embraces the concept of original sin means for our morality, genetic predictors of misdemeanor versus felony behavior, and ou...

Zach Braff (Scrubs, Garden State, Bad Monkey) is an actor, writer, and director. Zach joins the Armchair Expert to discuss his storied doppelgänger switcheroo, coming up with a special camera rig to shoot the game play scenes in Ted Lasso, and the responsibility he feels directing seasoned actors. Zach and Dax talk about how exciting it was for both of them to play rare dramatic roles in Bad Monkey, his belief that longevity in show business is dependent on how you ride the wave, and the fun of returning to direct the first episode of the Scrubs revival 25 y...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a remodeling disaster.

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Amir Levine (Secure: The Revolutionary Guide to Creating a Secure Life, Attached) is a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author. Amir joins the Armchair Expert to discuss dispelling myths and misconceptions about attachment theory, how the love he has for his dog helped him to understand his relationship with his father, and the test experiments that showed how attachment styles develop in early childhood. Amir and Dax talk about why attachment is really just a radar of availability for other people, the reasons secure adult attachment is linked to our exploratory drive, and how a breakup was the catalyst that led...

Amanda Peet (Fantasy Life, Your Friends & Neighbors, The Whole Nine Yards) is an actor, writer, and producer. Amanda joins the Armchair Expert to discuss being a serial monogamist during her dating years, what relation she has to the designer of Radio City Music Hall, and going from a hippie Quaker school in Manhattan to a stuffy private school in London. Amanda and Dax talk about recognizing a pattern of existential thinking when her kids turn seven, undergoing psychoanalysis at age 13, and contending with the cultural mores of Something’s Gotta Give. Amanda explains relishing the opportunity to play a hi...

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

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Sasha Hamdani (Too Sensitive: Rejection, Resilience, and the Science of Feeling Deeply) is a board-certified psychiatrist and ADHD clinical specialist. Sasha joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the classroom insurrection she started which led to her ADHD diagnosis, how her residency rebuilt the confidence that medical school degraded, and that symptoms known today as ADHD first showed up in the 1700s. Sasha and Dax talk about her beef with diagnostic labels and how often trauma is misdiagnosed as ADHD, how liberating it was to understand the way her brain functions, and neurological reasons why grief is so destabilizing for...

Marcus Mumford (Prizefighter, Sigh No More, Wilder Mind) is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer, and producer. Marcus joins the Armchair Expert to discuss enjoying occupying the liminal space between his kids and his parents, being born into the church attended by Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, and becoming pen pals with his wife Carey Mulligan at bible camp when they were 10 years old. Marcus and Dax talk about finally feeling able to embrace being an artist with his new record, forming Mumford & Sons from childhood friends, and not understanding ahead of time how performing at the Grammys would impact...

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

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Adam Mosseri (Instagram, Facebook, Fortune’s 40 Under 40) is the CEO/Head of Instagram at Meta. Adam joins the Armchair Expert to discuss being the suit in a family of artists and designers, how we build up emotional affinities for particular brands, and why his approach to design is based in problem solving. Adam and Dax talk about using intelligent technology to evaluate safety at scale, how the Instagram algorithm actually works, and the arms race of the ability to detect when something was made by AI. Adam explains the process of rolling out new features and dealing with mistakes, the...

Sterling K. Brown (Paradise, The People v. O.J. Simpson, This Is Us) is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor. Sterling joins the Armchair Expert to discuss learning from his father not to allow what he does for a living to dictate who he is, the benefits of having a good stubbornness, and how speaking in tongues as a child was good acting training. Sterling and Dax talk about meeting his wife as a student at Stanford, his lucky break as a reader for a Brecht play, and developing empathy for Chris Darden while playing him in The...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a unique kink.

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Colleen Cutcliffe (Pendulum Therapeutics) is a doctor of biochemistry and microbiology and CEO and co-founder of Pendulum Therapeutics. Colleen joins the Armchair Expert to discuss starting a microbiome supplement company inspired by her premature daughter who had to take antibiotics, applying hyenas' evolved ability to digest rotting meat to study gut bacteria, and how fecal transplants reliably help treat C. diff. Colleen and Dax talk about the real linkages between microbiome and depression, obesity, and more, how the body’s natural GLP1s function, and why a healthy gut is a resilient gut. Colleen explains her wooden fence analogy to...

Charlie Puth (Whatever’s Clever, Voicenotes, Nine Track Mind) is a Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning songwriter, recording artist, and producer. Charlie joins the Armchair Expert to discuss his opinion that standup is the scariest job, how everyone in New Jersey is their own local celebrity, and that what’s most important about recording is capturing the air in the room. Charlie and Dax talk about the photographic memory-like way he approaches sound, learning he wanted to write his own music after discovering 70s pop and R&B, and making a Christmas album that he sold door-to-door at age 11. Char...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a meet cute.

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Justin Garcia (The Intimate Animal: The Science of Sex, Fidelity, and Why We Live and Die for Love) is an evolutionary biologist, researcher on sex and relationships, and Executive Director of the Kinsey Institute. Justin joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the unique quality that human sex is so tied to our social behavior, the physiological constraints on mating in other animals, and how sexually we are like magpies. Justin and Dax talk about why gorillas have really small testes, how the pandemic resulted in couples weathering the storms of relationship conflict, and an evolutionary explanation for how difficult...

Kaley Cuoco (Vanished, The Big Bang Theory, The Flight Attendant) is an actor and producer. Kaley returns to discuss whether she’s on the slippery slope to getting a tiger, her recent obsession with near-death experiences, and being blessed with the gift of the ability to sleep anywhere, anytime. Kaley and Dax talk about the manager-facilitated meet-cute with her now-fiancé, her hosting pitch for an NFL Honors gig, and how she has such a healthy attitude towards rejection as an actor. Kaley explains what was most memorable about walking onto Season 8 of Charmed as a new cast member, the gam...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a cooking disaster.

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Claudia Rowe (Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care) is a decorated journalist, advocate, and author. Claudia joins the Armchair Expert to discuss making the shift from using long-form journalism to a book to tell a story, touching off a five-year correspondence with a confessed serial killer, and confronting why she became fixated on what causes a person to commit murder. Claudia and Dax talk about her harrowing experience writing a true-crime memoir, realizing that this trial of a teenager in foster care actually corresponded to all the reporting she’d done, and how the fa...

Anderson .Paak (K-Pops!, Oxnard, Malibu) is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, music producer, and filmmaker. Anderson joins the Armchair Expert to discuss people discovering him through his wide-ranging collaborations, how his dad and uncle were like the hood version of Freaky Friday, and feeling grateful that he took the opportunity to repair with his father before he passed. Anderson and Dax talk about how his mom turned a strawberry stand into a multimillion dollar business into a prison stay, why the best musicians come out of church bands, and staring at Dr. Dre’s feet while playing him songs for th...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a crazy story about finding a foreign object in a patient's butt.

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Ellen Huet (Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult) is a journalist, startup founder, and author. Ellen joins the Armchair Expert to discuss must-haves versus most-haves in terms of cult sexuality requirements, her hot tips for avoiding cults that are too extractive, and her dealings with Silicon Valley and venture capitalists. Ellen and Dax talk about when she began covering orgasmic meditation startup OneTaste, the OM course to cult pipeline, and the intricacies and systems of manipulation concocted by OneTaste’s leader. Ellen explains unpacking potential power dynamics of sexual abuse, how much status ga...

Marcello Hernández (American Boy, SNL, Happy Gilmore 2) is a stand-up comedian, sketch performer, and actor. Marcello joins the Armchair Expert to discuss unsponsored gift selections from Marshalls, why Dominican kids are 12 years old but they’re also 40, and thinking he may have finally found his writing process. Marcello and Dax talk about the influential character he adopted during Model UN, leaving his first wife (soccer) for his mistress (stand-up), and how a depressive episode amid Covid lockdown led to a full-time job in comedy. Marcello explains his uncertain fate at SNL following an initial sit-down with Lorne Michaels, the...

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

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Elizabeth Smart (Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart) is a child safety advocate and founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation. Elizabeth joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why advocacy became her opportunity to let other victims and survivors know they’re not alone, growing up not thinking her life would be in any way extraordinary, and details she remembers of her kidnapping at knifepoint in the middle of the night at age 14. Elizabeth and Dax talk about how her perspective on her experience has evolved now being a parent herself, the twisted, manipulative history of her abductors, and the ways her brain gr...

Chris Stapleton (Traveller, Higher, Starting Over) is a multiple Grammy award winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Chris joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why he looks for silence, his unpreparedness for the academics at Vanderbilt University, and wanting to make a record his father would like after his passing. Chris and Dax talk about the formative folks that gave him a shot as a young, no-name songwriter, following the motto that ‘terms are better than money,’ and the potential blindspots that can exist when you’re very competent in one thing. Chris explains why there’s no such thing as a cou...

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

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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...

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 li...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a party gone wrong.

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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...

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...

Walton Goggins (White Lotus, Fallout, Hateful Eight) is an Emmy-nominated actor. Walton joins the Armchair Expert to discuss no longer being willing to perpetuate cultural stereotypes of the south, being raised by the real Steel Magnolias, and sharing attraction to volatility on the edge of chaos. Walton and Dax talk about having wives that can walk with kings, the humiliation of poverty, and how an application for an American Express card changed the trajectory of his life. Walton explains loving lunatics, why time with his kid is worth more than any amount of money or success, and approaching his...

Nikki Glaser (Alive and Unwell, Someday You’ll Die, Not Safe with Nikki Glaser) is a comedian, actor, and television host. Nikki joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why Dax’s name has good joke texture, her plea for people not to have veneers during the apocalypse, and feeling embarrassed that her name had to take up space in Ralph Feinnes’ brain. Nikki and Dax talk about growing up resentful that she wasn’t born as pretty as she could have been, wanting the approval that comes with being extraordinary, and why Dax thinks Nikki is the Taylor Swift of comed...

Adam Scott (Severance, Parks and Recreation, Stepbrothers) is an Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor and comedian. Adam joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why the era of movies that produced ET, The Goonies, and Temple of Doom means so much to him, how Severance was in such apt alignment with the grief for his mother’s death, and the reason playing “fan at bar” is way more embarrassing than “guy at bar.” Adam and Dax talk about a call of the void by licking lead, rebranding artisanal nicotine delivery systems, and the ethical dilemma of whether to sneak a peek at ne...

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On this special episode, we revisit some of our favorite moments from Wednesday episodes in 2025. Scott Payne gets stripped for a wire while undercover, Mark Ronson recalls his rockstar-studded childhood, Blaise Aguirre defines the difficulties of BPD, Mary Claire Haver assembles a toolkit for menopause, Malala Yousafzai struggles to make friends in high school, Michael Lewis laments male anger generated by the gambling industry, Seth Harp tracks stolen cash and corruption in the military, James Kimmel, Jr. advises on a landlord conflict, Dave Mitchell & Chris Feistl infiltrate a Colombian drug cartel, and Andy Roddick mythologizes his serve.

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