Best David Kadavy Podcasts (2025)

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308. Why I Quit Podcasting 11:12

1+ y ago11:12

11:12

After nearly eight years of the Love Your Work podcast, I’m quitting. Here’s why, and What’s Next. Podcasting is a bad business This is not the immediate reason I’m quitting, but it is at the root: Podcasting is a bad business. When the indirect benefits of an activity run out, it’s hard to keep doing it if it’s not making money. I realized long ag…

1
307. A.I. Can't Bake 9:21

2y ago9:21

9:21

You’ve probably heard that, in a blind taste test, even experts can’t tell between white and red wine. Even if this were true – and it’s not – it wouldn’t matter. I was in Rome last month, visiting some Raphael paintings to research my next book, and stopped by the Sistine Chapel. I’ve spent a good amount of time studying what Michelangelo painted …

1
306. Summary: The Triumph of Doubt by David Michaels 17:30

2y ago17:30

17:30

We trust the food we eat, the drinks we drink, and the air we breathe are safe. That in case they’re unsafe, someone is working to minimize our exposure, or at least tell us the risks. In The Triumph of Doubt, former head of OSHA David Michaels reveals how companies fight for their rights to sell harmful products, expose workers to health hazards, …

1
305. Hedgehogs and Foxes 12:07

2y ago12:07

12:07

According to philosopher Isaiah Berlin, people think in one of two different ways: They’re either hedgehogs, or foxes. If you think like a hedgehog, you’ll be more successful as a communicator. If you think like a fox, you’ll be more accurate. Isaiah Berlin coined the hedgehog/fox dichotomy (via Archilochus) In Isaiah Berlin’s 1953 essay, “The Hedg…

1
304. Too Many Ideas, Must Pick One 12:03

2y ago12:03

12:03

Many creators and aspiring creators struggle not because they don’t have enough ideas, but because they have too many. Their situations, in summary, are “Too many ideas, must pick one.” Embedded in this belief are assumptions that, if challenged, can help you feel as if you have just enough ideas. In my recent AMA, I got a question I’m asked about …

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303. Livestream/AMA: Publishing Outside Amazon, Focusing Curiosity, and Mind Management 54:32

2y ago54:32

54:32

Today I have a special episode for you. If you missed last month’s AMA/Livestream, I’m delivering it right to your ears. In this AMA, I answered questions about: What’s the best self-publishing platform, and how did I publish 100-Word Writing Habit, non standard-sized, outside of Amazon? Buenos Aires versus Medellín, which is better for mind manage…

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302. The Four Sources of Shiny Object Syndrome 9:00

2y ago9:00

9:00

Shiny object syndrome can be evidence of a problem, or it can be a normal part of the creative process. If you can identify the four sources of shiny object syndrome, you can tell the difference between being lost, or simply exploring. Three first three sources are problems The first three of the four sources of shiny object syndrome hold you back …

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301. 1,500 Words on Writing a 5-Word Tweet 12:37

2y ago12:37

12:37

Writing a tweet is a microcosm of writing a book. If you think deeply and carefully about every word in a tweet, and what the tweet as a whole communicates, you can extend those skills to all your writing. In this article, I’ll break down how to think about every word in a tweet, nearly tripling its performance. Step 1: The first-impression tweet T…

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[Bonus Patreon Preview]: Coffee w/ Kadavy #4 41:38

2y ago41:38

41:38

Here's a bonus preview of a new podcast I've brewed just for Patreon supporters. It's Coffee w/ Kadavy. In this episode, #4, I talk about: I talk with special guest ChatGPT about why we will (or won't) see another AI winter An inventory of things I believe (at least more than 50%) A cool thing that makes reading paper books way more comfortable! A …

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300. The Mechanics of Media 19:08

2y ago19:08

19:08

Every message is shaped by the mechanics of media. Whether it’s a tweet, a TikTok video, a news article, or a movie, the characteristics of the medium determine how it’s made, how it’s consumed, and whether it spreads. If you understand the mechanics of media, you can more effectively communicate in a wide variety of mediums, and protect yourself f…

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[NOTE] Submit your questions for the upcoming AMA/Livestream! (kdv.co/ama) 1:28

2y ago1:28

1:28

Submit your questions and mark your calendars for my upcoming AMA/Livestream.

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299. Why Make Predictions? (and How) 15:28

2y ago15:28

15:28

Making, recording, and evaluating predictions is a simple way to improve your thinking and decision-making. But the way to properly make and record predictions isn’t obvious. In this article, I’ll share some predictions I’ve made, what I’ve learned, and how you can improve your thinking by making predictions. Making predictions has grown my busines…

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298. Kellogg's 6-Hour Day 15:43

2y ago15:43

15:43

In the midst of the Great Depression, cereal manufacturer Kellogg’s switched to a shorter, six-hour day. This continued a trend that seemed inevitable: people would work less and less. But economic policies, management strategies, and cultural attitudes changed. The story of the rise and fall of Kellogg’s six-hour day is a microcosm of these change…

1
297. Desire Paths 9:55

2y ago9:55

9:55

Desire paths are trails left on the ground, by anything that frequently travels along a route. There are subcultures fascinated by desire paths as symbols of collective wisdom, disregard for authority, or mere evidence of existence. Desire paths are also celebrated as a design technique. Desire paths in their pure form are about what you can see, b…

1
296. Beyond Vulnerability 12:55

2y ago12:55

12:55

The term, “vulnerability” has spread into realms where it’s not an accurate description of what’s going on. The case for being vulnerable often doesn’t make sense. In the creative realm – and possibly in others – we should pursue something beyond vulnerability. When I wrote about vulnerability to my Love Mondays newsletter, saying some of what I’m …

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295. Summary: The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli 16:34

2y ago16:34

16:34

The Prince is a political treatise, written by Niccolò Machiavelli, first distributed in 1513. It’s infamous for its apparent advice to political leaders to lie, murder, and manipulate. It’s still a fascinating read today, and is thought-provoking when considering any context where the true motives of actions may not be what they seem. Here, in my …

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294. Sure Bets and Wildcards 10:29

2y ago10:29

10:29

Which would you rather have? Mild success, or wild success? Most of us would prefer wild success. But we pursue mild success. And you can’t have one when you’re going for the other. The struggle of an aspiring novelist A more specific version of the scenario I mentioned in episode 253: Imagine you’re working at Starbucks during the day, and at nigh…

1
293. Carrots, Sticks, and Blinders 12:30

2+ y ago12:30

12:30

You can’t get through a project on momentum alone. But there are mechanisms you can use to tweak your motivation and make better use of what momentum you have. These motivation mechanisms aren’t one-size-fits-all – you have to choose which ones work for you. Motivation requires self-mastery As I talked about on episode 291, getting through a creati…

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292. Summary: The Network: The Battle for the Airwaves and the Birth of the Communications Age, by Scott Woolley 21:22

2+ y ago21:22

21:22

The Network, by Scott Woolley, tells the history of wireless communications, and the stories of the characters that were a part of it. It’s the first book strictly about media history that I’m summarizing and adding to my best media books list. Wireless communications start with wired communications Wireless communications today of course include c…

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291. The Project Halfpipe 8:26

2+ y ago8:26

8:26

A creative project is like a halfpipe. The depth of the halfpipe from which you must ascend to finish a project is equal to the height of the optimism that prompted you to begin. But there’s a way to build your project halfpipe so the project itself keeps you moving forward. The gravity of optimism pulls you into a project When you begin a project,…

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290. Leonardo Mind, Raphael World 15:11

2+ y ago15:11

15:11

The world expects us to be Raphaels, but some of us are Leonardos. Don’t hold your Leonardo mind to Raphael standards, because this Raphael world would be nothing without Leonardo minds. There’s an inscription in the Pantheon in Rome that says, “Here lies that famous Raphael by whom Nature feared to be conquered while he lived.” In other words, Rap…

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289. Livestream/AMA: Book Marketing, Motivation, Language Learning, Picking a Project, and Selling Foreign Rights 58:38

2+ y ago58:38

58:38

Today I have a special episode for you. If you missed last month’s AMA/Livestream, I’m delivering it right to your ears. In this AMA, I answered questions about: How should I start marketing my books? How can you cope with burnout that gets in the way of creative work? How can you market your books when it doesn’t come naturally? How did you build …

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288. Summary: Old Masters and Young Geniuses, by David W. Galenson 11:37

2+ y ago11:37

11:37

The book, Old Masters and Young Geniuses shows there are two types of creators: experimental, and conceptual. Experimental and conceptual creators differ in their approaches to their work, and follow two distinct career paths. Experimental creators grow to become old masters. Conceptual creators shine as young geniuses. University of Chicago econom…

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287. David Perell: Being a Hedgehog When You're a Fox, Living With the Twitter Algorithm, Learning from Tyler Cowen, and Building Mass for Leverage 46:51

2+ y ago46:51

46:51

Do you want to build an audience online, but have such a wide variety of interests, you don’t know what to focus on? I think you’ll like this interview with David Perell. David Perell (@david_perell) calls himself “The Writing Guy.” He runs the cohort-based online writing school, Write of Passage (I love that name). His marketing is very specific, …

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[NOTE] Ask Me Anything Livestream (kdv.co/ama) 1:29

2+ y ago1:29

1:29

Submit your questions and mark your calendars for my upcoming AMA/Livestream.

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286. Nobody Knows Anything 9:32

2+ y ago9:32

9:32

In 1977, Richard Bachman published his first novel. In an unusual move for a first-time author, Bachman made his publisher promise to release his books with hardly any marketing. Bachman stacked the dice against himself Bachman’s books were to skip the hardcover format and go straight to bargain-bin paperback – the kind you’d find mixed in with oth…

1
285. Crumb Time 8:48

2+ y ago8:48

8:48

“Crumb time” is the little pieces of time that get lost throughout the day. Instead of giving away your crumb time to unproductive distractions, build systems that complete big projects with small actions. Today, I’ll tell you how. Crumb time is everywhere throughout our days. Whenever we do something substantial with our time, little chunks of tim…

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284. Curiosity Management 12:02

2+ y ago12:02

12:02

Do you ever feel like you don’t have the time and energy to learn about everything you want to know? Is it hard to stay focused on reading one book, when there’s ten others you want to read? You need curiosity management. Curiosity management is the management of your thirst to know things. In a world with unlimited access to information, and finit…

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283. Fifteen Years as a Creator. (I'll Never Make It.) 14:14

3y ago14:14

14:14

Five years ago, I wrote about how - after ten years as a self-employed independent creator - I hoped to "make it." I now realize, I never will. Five years ago, I sat at my keyboard to have a serious conversation with myself. It had been ten years since I had woken up to a day with nothing scheduled, and wondered how I was going to fill it with some…

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282. How I Put My Book on a Times Square Billboard (What Did It Cost, & Did It Work?) 11:42

3y ago11:42

11:42

I recently advertised my book on a billboard in Times Square. It was cheaper than you think, and was up for less time than you might expect. But it’s still paying dividends. Times Square is a big deal (duh) Times Square is the epitome of mainstream success. The biggest brands have locations there, and any big brand you can name advertises there. 35…

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281. E.R.A.S.E. F.E.A.R. and Finish Your Creative Projects 9:40

3y ago9:40

9:40

In fifteen years as a self-employed creator, I’ve learned how to finish what matters. I follow a nine-step process that makes an easy-to-remember acronym, that also describes what this process does: E.R.A.S.E. F.E.A.R. Fear is Resistance Fear is at the root of most struggles to finish creative projects. Even when you think you’re merely getting int…

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280. Surround and Conquer (Your Biggest Dreams) 11:26

3y ago11:26

11:26

When Facebook was first expanding, they used a timeless military strategy to win their most-crucial first users. You can use this strategy to attack your toughest projects, by leveraging hidden complexity to lend devastating power to simple actions. Facebook faced tough competitors When Facebook was starting, in the mid-aughts, it was only availabl…

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279. Summary: Industrial Society and Its Future (The Unabomber Manifesto) 16:59

3y ago16:59

16:59

Industrial Society and Its Future, is otherwise known as “The Unabomber Manifesto,” written by Ted Kaczynski. Kaczynsnki is a terrorist who killed three people, and injured twenty-three others, by sending bombs through the mail, between 1978 and 1995. He used his terror campaign to exploit the negativity bias of media and pressure the Washington Po…

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278. Summary: The Elements of Eloquence: Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase 11:48

3y ago11:48

11:48

There are some invisible structures in language, and using them can be the difference between your message being forgotten or living through the ages. These are The Elements of Eloquence, which is the title of Mark Forsyth’s book. I first picked this up a couple years ago, and have read it several times since then. I think it’s one of the best writ…

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277. Summary: Trust Me, I'm Lying – by Ryan Holiday 18:11

3y ago18:11

18:11

In Trust Me, I’m Lying, Ryan Holiday reveals the media manipulation tactics he used as Marketing Director of American Apparel, and for his PR clients. Meanwhile, he exposes the inner workings of a modern media machine in which incentives make it impossible for the version of reality depicted in the media to come close to resembling the truth. I thi…

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276. How Matthew Walker Ruined My Sleep (& How I Fixed It) 15:24

3y ago15:24

15:24

In 2018, Matthew Walker was on a media blitz, promoting his book, Why We Sleep. I was one of the many people who picked up the book. It slowly ruined my sleep. But recently, I fixed it. No, this is not a takedown Before I go further, this is not a “takedown” of Why We Sleep, like the one that’s been floating around. I’ve read that takedown, and I d…

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275. Finish What Matters (Forget the Rest) 11:20

3y ago11:20

11:20

One thing I hear from a lot from readers of The Heart to Start, is that many people have no problem starting new projects. They instead struggle with finishing them. I can relate. Like many creative people, I once struggled to finish projects. I always had new ideas, I left books half-read, projects half-finished. I had done lots of creative work, …

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274. Summary: Balaji Srinivasan – Centralized China vs Decentralized World – The Tim Ferriss Show #547 21:36

3y ago21:36

21:36

What will the future look like? In his most recent November appearance on the Tim Ferriss Show, entrepreneur and investor Balaji Srinivasan presents a cohesive explanation of the current world, and plausible scenarios of how things will play out. I found Balaji’s theories so mesmerizing, I listened to the four-and-a-half-hour podcast several times,…

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273. Write on a Typewriter 8:53

3y ago8:53

8:53

It seems even the most devout techno-utopiasts carry around a Moleskine notebook. They appreciate the way writing longhand on paper alters their thought processes. Yet the same people think writing on a typewriter is absurd, performative, pretentious, or a deliberate troll. Over the past year, I’ve grown to love writing on a typewriter. I didn’t wr…

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272. Ode to the Unfinished 11:51

3y ago11:51

11:51

There’s a reason the expression, “unfinished business” has such provocative power. Unfinished projects stack up like skeletons in our cluttered mental closets. We know if we crack open that door, we’ll be reminded of our failed intentions, our foolish optimism, and our broken promises – to others and to ourselves. But unfinished business doesn’t ge…

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271. How to Be Somebody 19:01

3y ago19:01

19:01

There’s something I want to talk about, but frankly, I’m a little embarrassed to do so. However, I write with my former self in mind, and my former self would want to know about this. So here I go. I want to talk about how to be somebody. What do I mean by “somebody?” To be somebody is to be known for your work. To have your name synonymous – or ev…

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270. My Cooking System 14:11

3+ y ago14:11

14:11

Systems save energy. Especially if the system helps you with something you do every day. This is why I have a system for cooking. When you’re hungry, you make bad decisions, such as grabbing the quickest food you can find – which often happens to be unhealthy food. My cooking system ensures I never have to think about what to eat, or how to prepare…

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269. Farm What You Forage 12:29

3+ y ago12:29

12:29

Many people think our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived short and miserable lives. In fact, that’s what most anthropologists thought. Until the 1960s, when they looked more closely at how foragers got by. The way foragers “worked” can tell us a lot about the way we, as creators, work. Farming gets a lot of output with little effort No one can be exac…

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268. The Void 8:33

3+ y ago8:33

8:33

There’s a story I think of every time I’m in the throes of a difficult project. It’s from the movie, Catch Me if You Can, about the infamous con artist, Frank Abignale, Jr. Frank’s Father, Frank Senior, tells him a story: Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse wouldn’t quit. He strug…

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267. The Finisher's Paradox 9:25

3+ y ago9:25

9:25

When Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, he designed and built his own scaffolding. But, it only covered half of the ceiling. So he painted the first half of the ceiling, then removed the scaffolding. When he finally got to view his work from the floor, seventy feet below, it was as if he were seeing it with new eyes. After two ye…

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10 - Baking With Purpose ft. Kevin Masse 43:38

3+ y ago43:38

43:38

DESCRIPTION"When you start to walk the path, things just happen." As someone who always wants to have a Plan B, life took a different turn for Kevin Masse when he realized he wasn't getting any happier at his 9 to 5. He quit his job, not knowing what he would do instead. He stayed open to opportunities, pursued his passions, and surrounded himself …

1
266. The Foundation Effect 12:54

3+ y ago12:54

12:54

On October 10th, 1901 – 120 years ago, almost to the day – the grandstand was full at the horse track in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. But not to see horses. There was a parade of more than 100 of these new things called automobiles, and several other events, including races of automobiles with electric engines and with steam engines. But the main event…

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09 - Live Your Truth ft. Autumn Janelle 45:13

3+ y ago45:13

45:13

DESCRIPTION Autumn and her husband live on an idyllic 20-acre piece of land, where their closest neighbor is miles away. They both have their own businesses, make their own hours, living on their own little piece of paradise. It was a rocky road to get there, but Autumn's story shows us that any of us can live the lives we dream of. Be a fly on the…

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265. Shipping is a Skill 13:30

3+ y ago13:30

13:30

Leonardo da Vinci is easily the most-accomplished procrastinator who ever lived. He finished hardly any projects at all. He was great at many things, but he wasn’t great at shipping. The world would have been better off if Leonardo da Vinci had treated shipping as a skill. Far be it for me to criticize anything Leonardo da Vinci did. Despite his re…

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08 - Purposeful Work ft. David Kadavy 53:49

3+ y ago53:49

53:49

DESCRIPTION People sometimes find themselves leaving behind familiar jobs, people, and places to pursue the dreams that tug at their souls. For David Kadavy, he went on a mission to discover what his "big idea" was. Now, years later, he has found a way to make money that "feels good". In this interview, he shares the difference between taking "risk…

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