Two Percent with Michael Easter

#57: Stop Trying to Sleep Perfectly | David Samson

Up to half of Americans say their sleep is bad, and the rules for fixing it keep piling up. Michael speaks with David Samson, an evolutionary anthropologist at the Univer

#56: Misogi Is a Challenge You're Supposed to Fail Half the Time | Marcus Elliott

Most of us avoid anything we might fail at. Michael speaks with Dr. Marcus Elliott about Misogi, his yearly challenge with about a 50 percent chance of failure, and why w

#55: The Accidental FBI Director on Moral Courage | Brian Driscoll

Brian Driscoll became acting director of the FBI through what he believes was a clerical error in 2025. He was then asked to hand over the names of thousands of FBI emplo

#54: A Harvard Professor Tested Popular Diets on Himself | Dan Lieberman

Michael speaks with Harvard evolutionary biologist Dan Lieberman, author of Fed Up. They talked about how humans didn't evolve to think about what to eat, the history of

#53: Your Mind Lies About How Much You Can Take | Lindsay Crouse

A lot of us think of quitting as a path to failure. Michael speaks with Lindsay Crouse, the former New York Times writer, editor and producer, lifelong distance runner an

#52: What Convenience and Your Phone Are Costing You | Tim Wu

Michael speaks with Tim Wu, the Columbia law professor and author of The Age of Extraction, about how media and tech platforms learned to harvest our attention, why conve

#51: Creatine, Wearables, Carbs: What's Hype and What's Real | Brady Holmer

Michael speaks with Brady Holmer, the exercise scientist and 2:24 marathoner behind the Substack Physiologically Speaking, about which fitness trends hold up. Brady expla

#50: The Mormon Missionary Who Became a Real Housewife | Heather Gay

Heather Gay, star of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and author of Bad Mormon, tells Michael why she left the Mormon faith, what that decision cost, and how she reb

#49: Why We Should Stop Eating Lettuce | Tamar Haspel

Michael speaks with Tamar Haspel, The Washington Post's Unearthed columnist and author of To Boldly Grow, about her case for why we should stop eating lettuce. Starting w

#48: A Fox News Host’s Formula for Winning Arguments | Jessica Tarlov

Michael speaks with Jessica Tarlov, co-host of The Five on Fox News and author of I Disagree, about how to argue without losing friends. Outnumbered four to one on the mo

#47: Lessons from Singlehandedly Fighting Off a Terrorist Attack | Christian Craighead

Michael speaks with Christian Craighead, a former SAS soldier and author of One Man In, about the afternoon he singlehandedly fought off a major terror attack in Nairobi

#46: How to Learn Faster and Remember More | Jim Kwik

Michael speaks with Jim Kwik, brain coach and author of the new book Limitless Daily, about how to learn faster, remember more, and use AI to get smarter instead of dumbe

#45: Inside the North Tower on 9/11 | Chief Joseph Pfeifer

Michael speaks with FDNY Chief Joseph Pfeifer, who led the first fire units into the North Tower on 9/11 and later gave the order to evacuate the towers. Chief Pfeifer la

#44: How to Recover From Trauma and Come Back Stronger | Elizabeth Smart

Michael sits down with Elizabeth Smart, who was abducted at 14, survived nine months of captivity, and spent the decades after building her own path to recovery. She is t

#43: Avoiding Anxiety Makes it Stronger & Relationship Rules | Dr. John Delony

Michael speaks with Dr. John Delony, host of The Dr. John Delony Show and author of Building a Non-Anxious Life. They discuss: 00:00 Preview00:54 Mental Health and Relati

#42: A Trial Lawyer’s Rules for Hard Conversations | Jefferson Fisher

Michael sits down with trial lawyer Jefferson Fisher, author of The Next Conversation, on why hard conversations are some of the most uncomfortable things we do and how t

#41: Should You Take Peptides? A Doctor’s Evidence-Based Answer | Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum

Michael speaks with physician and competitive powerlifter Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum about what peptides are, why they suddenly seem to promise everything, and what the human

#40: A Navy SEAL’s Case for Being Humble and Obsessed | Eric Frohardt

Michael speaks with Eric Frohardt about his twelve years on SEAL Team 6 as a sniper and assaulter—and what you can learn from it. They discuss: 0:00 Preview0:39 How to st

#39: A Harvard Psychologist on Mindset and Not Following the Rules | Ellen Langer

Michael speaks with Ellen Langer, the first woman tenured in Harvard’s psychology department and author of The Mindful Body, about how our thoughts and expectations shape

#38: How to Use AI, Kill Complacency, Think About Health, and More | Tyler Cowen

Michael speaks with economist Tyler Cowen, author of The Complacent Class, about how AI is changing our lives and what still matters for health, happiness, and ambition.