Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Latest Episodes:

James Marsden Feb 03, 2025

Show notes

James Marsden (Paradise, Jury Duty, X-Men) is an Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor. James joins the Armchair Expert to discuss paying the price for such a dominant chin, the reality of being an Oklahoman in Los Angeles, and still feeling like every job is his last job. James and Dax talk about the story of meeting after Dax lost a role to James, sharing an enduring appreciation for mens’ bodies, and comparing notes on starring in shows that trick people. James explains that being a middle child is the sweet spot of siblingry, learning that he was the subject of a Corny Collins fantasy, and how acting in Jury Duty really was the tight rope of all tight ropes.

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Armchair Anonymous: Nurses II Jan 31, 2025

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Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us their craziest nurse stories.

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Reid Hoffman Returns (on an optimistic AI) Jan 29, 2025

Show notes

Reid Hoffman (Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right With our AI Future) is an internet entrepreneur, author, and co-founder of LinkedIn and Inflection AI. Reid returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss Socrates’s musing on the failings of writing, an argument for pushing back on confirmation bias, and why you can’t have science or the middle class without the printing press. Reid and Dax talk about why AI is different from other technologies that have changed our lives, how powerloom weaving in England was the original small business, and ChatGPT being an accidental mic drop. Reid explains the way we get more toward a healthy society is by establishing networks of trust, runs through some fun AI prompts, and discusses why as biological creatures we first go through what could go wrong instead of right in any given situation.

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Josh Gad Returns Jan 27, 2025

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Josh Gad (In Gad We Trust, Frozen, Book of Mormon) is a Grammy Award-winning actor. Josh returns to Armchair Expert to discuss why he believes he would be the Unsinkable Molly Brown on the Titanic, the unthinkable bravery and precision of LA firefighters, and questions whether Dax thinks he would’ve ended up as an Ira Glass or a Howard Stern. Josh and Dax talk about having permission to send Kumail Nanjiani shirtless pics, growing up without his emerald kingpin father, and how his comedy was born out of the despair from his parents’ divorce. Josh explains bombing his audition to Juilliard, how Disney became the salve to soothe loss in his life, and the acknowledgment of being your own worst enemy as long as you come out the other side.

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Armchair Anonymous: Dated a Criminal Jan 24, 2025

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

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Sunita Sah (on defiance) Jan 22, 2025

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Sunita Sah (Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes) is an author, award-winning, tenured professor at Cornell University, and expert in organizational psychology. Sunita joins the Armchair Expert to discuss living up to the Sanskrit meaning of her name, why Milgram’s electric shock experiment pushed her to pursue psychology, and how some of the wildest and offtrack people she knows are doctors. Sunita and Dax talk about how speaking up when you see something happening to someone else is a communal act, how Dax goes straight from tension to defiance, and whether defiance is evolutionarily maladaptive. Sunita explains the five elements that define a true yes, how we can reduce stress by clarifying and acting in alignment to our values, and tells the story of her mother’s defiance that surprised her and taught her hope.

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Adam Scott Returns Jan 20, 2025

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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 new season episodes. Adam explains sleeping through his first call time on set with John Turturro and Christopher Walken, not knowing where to put what he does to impress his mom once she was gone, and how sharing your insides is a credibly important way to make a difference in the world.

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Armchair Anonymous: Unauthorized Evacuation Jan 17, 2025

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

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Jenny Taitz (on stress resets) Jan 15, 2025

Show notes

Jenny Taitz (Stress Resets, How to Be Single and Happy) is a licensed clinical psychologist, best-selling author, and assistant clinical professor in psychiatry at UCLA. Jenny joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the initial modalities that inspired her to become a psychologist, turning knots in our stomach into bows, and tells a true tragedy of spilt milk that drives her therapeutic practices. Jenny and Dax talk about the most effective formula for saying no, how we can manage our emotions by noticing how we co-create them, and why singing your anxieties to the tune of “Do You Believe in Magic” is a great mind reset. Jenny explains how stress can actually be an incredibly useful tool, how to turn Dax and Monica into world-class ex-ruminators, and her goal to widen the space Victor Frankel suggests in "Man’s Search for Meaning."

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Josh Brolin Returns Jan 13, 2025

Show notes

Josh Brolin (From Under the Truck, No Country For Old Men, Dune) is an Academy Award-nominated actor. Josh joins the Armchair Expert to discuss his infiltration of Dax’s algorithm, the fact that Monica has only half-seen The Goonies, and how his hand-me-downs always yielded greater returns than his top dogs. Josh and Dax talk about Dax’s anger and forgiveness recognizing himself reading From Under the Truck, how not fighting is just another form of fighting, and the inescapability of the high octane volley. Josh explains why the smallest act of bravery makes him cry, why his memoir is really about surviving nurture to learn how to thrive in nature, and the notion that you never know what being put through the meat grinder can sculpt your life into.

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