Best Chess.com Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 66: Just Do It - And Thank Me Later 17:19

Play Pause

1d ago17:19

17:19

Subscribe to my free Newsletter: https://nextlevelchess.blog/newsletter Learn what and how to train and stop wasting time on things that don't matter: https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/simplified-chess-improvement-system Reach 1200 Chess.com (1400 Lichess) thanks to my all-in-one course: https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/beginne…

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Jeff Pearlman on Tupac Shakur: The Myths, the Music, and the Man Behind the Legend 52:26

3d ago52:26

52:26

A Note from James Tupac Shakur—one of the greatest rap artists ever—was shot and killed almost two decades ago. What else is there left to say about him? What new things can be said? Well, Jeff Pearlman’s new book, Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur, takes on that challenge. In our conversation, we talk about what Jeff uncovered …

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The woman behind Canva shares how she built a $42B company from nothing | Melanie Perkins 1:06:10

4d ago1:06:10

1:06:10

Melanie Perkins is co-CEO and co-founder of Canva, currently valued at over $42 billion, generating over $3 billion in annual revenue, with more than 240 million monthly active users and, incredibly, eight consecutive years of profitability. But the journey was far from smooth. Melanie was rejected by over 100 investors during her first fundraising…

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Former FBI Agent, Eric O’Neill on Spies, Lies, and the Cyber Wars We’re Already Losing 57:47

10d ago57:47

57:47

A Note from James Oh my gosh—I was scared after this one. In this episode, I learned about what’s really on the dark web… and the even scarier stuff on what’s called the deep web. Eric O’Neill—who, by the way, is the former FBI agent who brought down Robert Hanssen, the biggest double agent in U.S. history—joined me for this conversation. Hanssen w…

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Unlocking Human Limits: Nick Thompson’s Journey Through Running, Family, and Journalism 1:14:35

11d ago1:14:35

1:14:35

In today’s episode, host Mike Sarraille sits down with Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, accomplished marathon runner, and author of the new book, Running: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports. Nick opens up about his extraordinary journey – from growing up in Boston and attending Stanford, to tackling the challenges of competitive running…

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How Block is becoming the most AI-native enterprise in the world | Dhanji R. Prasanna 1:26:41

11d ago1:26:41

1:26:41

Dhanji R. Prasanna is the chief technology officer at Block (formerly Square), where he’s managed more than 4,000 engineers over the past two years. Under his leadership, Block has become one of the most AI-native large companies in the world. Before becoming CTO, Dhanji wrote an “AI manifesto” to CEO Jack Dorsey that sparked a company-wide transfo…

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Al Engineering 101 with Chip Huyen (Nvidia, Stanford, Netflix) 1:22:35

14d ago1:22:35

1:22:35

Chip Huyen is a core developer on Nvidia’s Nemo platform, a former AI researcher at Netflix, and taught machine learning at Stanford. She’s a two-time founder and the author of two widely read books on AI, including AI Engineering, which has been the most-read book on the O’Reilly platform since its launch. Unlike many AI commentators, Chip has bui…

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I Know that She Knows that I Know that She Knows: Steven Pinker on the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life 1:07:50

16d ago1:07:50

1:07:50

A Note from James I first got really impressed with Steven Pinker when he wrote The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. He basically shows that over the past 10,000 years, every single century has been less violent than the one before it. You might think, “That can’t include the 20th century,” right? We had World War I, World Wa…

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Episode 65: The Four Stages of Chess Improvement 23:59

15d ago23:59

23:59

"Mastery", by George Leonard: https://www.amazon.com/Mastery-Keys-Success-Long-Term-Fulfillment/dp/0452267560 Subscribe to my free Newsletter: https://nextlevelchess.blog/newsletter Learn what and how to train and stop wasting time on things that don't matter: https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/simplified-chess-improvement-system Reach 120…

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Building Greatness: Lessons from Bodybuilding Champion Branch Warren 57:32

16d ago57:32

57:32

Mike Sarraille sits down with legendary bodybuilder Branch Warren. From humble beginnings on a Texas cattle ranch to becoming a two-time Arnold Classic champion and runner-up at Mr. Olympia, Branch shares his remarkable journey of grit, discipline, and unyielding work ethic. Follow Branch Warren: www.thebranchwarren.com www.instagram.com/thebranchw…

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How to measure AI developer productivity in 2025 | Nicole Forsgren 1:07:48

18d ago1:07:48

1:07:48

Nicole Forsgren created the most widely used frameworks for measuring developer productivity—DORA and SPACE. She wrote the foundational book Accelerate and is about to release her newest book, Frictionless, a practical guide for helping teams move faster in the AI era. She’s currently Senior Director of Developer Intelligence at Google. We discuss:…

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Figma’s CEO: Why AI makes design, craft, and quality the new moat for startups | Dylan Field 1:26:49

21d ago1:26:49

1:26:49

Dylan Field is co-founder and CEO of Figma, a beloved tool used by every modern product team. Founded in 2012, Figma has expanded from a single design tool to a comprehensive platform including FigJam, Slides, Dev Mode, and, most recently, Figma Make. After a $20 billion acquisition by Adobe fell through due to regulatory pushback, Dylan led the co…

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Obsession, Secrets, and Sleight of Hand: Inside the Hidden World of Modern Magicians with Ian Frisch 1:26:14

23d ago1:26:14

1:26:14

A Note from James I’ve always loved books where a journalist gets so deep into a subculture that they become part of it. Magic Is Dead by Ian Frisch is one of those. He starts out covering a secret society of magicians—“The 52,” named for the cards in a deck—and ends up becoming one of them. It reminded me of other favorites like Word Freak (Scrabb…

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Episode 64: Annoyed by Clickbait Videos? Do this. 9:25

24d ago9:25

9:25

Subscribe to my free Newsletter: https://nextlevelchess.blog/newsletter Learn what and how to train and stop wasting time on things that don't matter: https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/simplified-chess-improvement-system Reach 1200 Chess.com (1400 Lichess) thanks to my all-in-one course: https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/beginne…

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Inside Google's AI turnaround: The rise of AI Mode, strategy behind AI Overviews, and their vision for AI-powered search | Robby Stein (VP of Product, Google Search) 1:21:37

27d ago1:21:37

1:21:37

Robby Stein is VP of Product at Google, where he oversees the core products of Google Search—including the new AI Overviews, AI Mode, search ranking, Google Lens, and more. Previously, he led consumer products at Instagram, where he and his teams built Stories, Reels, Close Friends, and other key features now used by billions. — What you’ll learn: …

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First interview with Scale AI’s CEO: $14B Meta deal, what’s working in enterprise AI, and what frontier labs are building next | Jason Droege 1:24:01

1M ago1:24:01

1:24:01

Jason Droege is the CEO of Scale AI, a company that provides foundational training data to every major AI lab. He previously co-founded Scour with Travis Kalanick and built Uber Eats from idea to $20 billion in revenue. In this conversation, Jason shares lessons from getting sued for $250 billion, discovering restaurant economics by weighing sandwi…

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Morgan Housel on The Art of Spending Money and Why Independence Is the Real Luxury 1:06:30

1M ago1:06:30

1:06:30

A Note from James I’m such a fan of this guy. I loved The Psychology of Money — it felt like he was writing directly about me. I’ve made a lot of money, lost it all, made it again, lost it again. Over and over. And Morgan gets it. His new book, The Art of Spending Money, hits even deeper. It’s not just about being rich; it’s about freedom, simplici…

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Episode 63: How to Train Chess When Real Life Things Happen 14:11

1M ago14:11

14:11

Link to the blog post "How to Stick to Your Goals When Life Gets Crazy" by James Clear: https://jamesclear.com/plan-for-chaos If you haven't read it already, here is his book "Atomic Habits": https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299 Subscribe to my free Newsletter: https://nextlevelchess.blog/newsletter Learn what and h…

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Dark Squares: How Chess and Adversity Helped Danny Rensch Escape a Cult and Build Chess.com 1:45:03

1M ago1:45:03

1:45:03

By Sports Illustrated

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Confronting Evil with Bill O’Reilly 40:14

1M ago40:14

40:14

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How to find hidden growth opportunities in your product | Albert Cheng (Duolingo, Grammarly, Chess.com) 1:25:25

1M ago1:25:25

1:25:25

Albert Cheng has led growth at three of the world’s most successful consumer subscription companies: Duolingo, Grammarly, and Chess.com. A former Google product manager (and serious pianist!), Albert developed a unique approach to finding and scaling growth opportunities through rapid experimentation and deep user psychology. His teams run 1,000 ex…

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Built for Growth with Miesha Tate: James Altucher on Ideas, Obsession, and Fulfillment 1:40:49

1M ago1:40:49

1:40:49

A Note from James Miesha Tate is one of my favorite people in the world. She’s an incredible athlete—the ultimate fighting champion of the planet at one point—but more than that, she’s someone who’s turned struggle, discipline, and excellence into wisdom. I was honored when she asked me to be on her podcast, Built for Growth. We talked about surviv…

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Episode 62: Use Technology - Don't Let It Use You 30:06

1M ago30:06

30:06

Subscribe to my free Newsletter: https://nextlevelchess.blog/newsletter Learn what and how to train and stop wasting time on things that don't matter: https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/simplified-chess-improvement-system Reach 1200 Chess.com (1400 Lichess) thanks to my all-in-one course: https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/beginne…

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A 4-step framework for building delightful products | Nesrine Changuel (Spotify, Google, Skype) 1:24:22

1M ago1:24:22

1:24:22

Nesrine Changuel helped build Spotify, Google Chrome, and Google Meet. Her work has helped her discover the importance of emotional connection in building successful products. At Google, she served as a dedicated “delight PM,” a role specifically focused on making products more delightful. She recently published Product Delight, a book that provide…

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Why AI evals are the hottest new skill for product builders | Hamel Husain & Shreya Shankar (creators of the #1 eval course) 1:46:33

1M ago1:46:33

1:46:33

Hamel Husain and Shreya Shankar teach the world’s most popular course on AI evals and have trained over 2,000 PMs and engineers (including many teams at OpenAI and Anthropic). In this conversation, they demystify the process of developing effective evals, walk through real examples, and share practical techniques that’ll help you improve your AI pr…

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Episode 61: Why You Shouldn't Copy Random Success Stories 18:13

2M ago18:13

18:13

Subscribe to my free Newsletter: https://nextlevelchess.blog/newsletter Learn what and how to train and stop wasting time on things that don't matter: https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/simplified-chess-improvement-system Reach 1200 Chess.com (1400 Lichess) thanks to my all-in-one course: https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/beginne…

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Dark Squares: Danny Rensch on Chess, Cults, and Finding Purpose 2:01:18

2M ago2:01:18

2:01:18

A Note from James This might be the most insane chess story I’ve ever heard—not even really a chess story, but a cult story. It’s wild, intense, and ultimately inspiring. Danny Rensch grew up in a cult in Arizona. At just 10 years old, the cult leader noticed his chess ability, took him away from his parents, and he wouldn’t see his mother again fo…

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From managing people to managing AI: The leadership skills everyone needs now | Julie Zhuo (Facebook VP, Sundial CEO, The Making of a Manager author) 1:36:24

2M ago1:36:24

1:36:24

Julie Zhuo is the former VP and Head of Design at Facebook (now Meta), author of the bestselling book The Making of a Manager, and co-founder of Sundial, an AI-powered data analysis company. Also, my first-ever podcast guest over 3 years ago! In our conversation, we discuss: 1. The three core manager skills that translate directly to managing AI ag…

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Finding Connection in a Divided World with 'Super Communicator' Charles Duhigg 41:04

2M ago41:04

41:04

A Note from James I’m really concerned about the level of discourse in this country. It’s almost a cliché to say that now, but especially after the Charlie Kirk assassination, the division feels overwhelming. I even got invited to speak at the Oxford Union—the most prestigious debate society in the world—but ultimately declined because I didn’t lik…

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Why experts writing AI evals is creating the fastest-growing companies in history | Brendan Foody (CEO of Mercor) 1:06:39

2M ago1:06:39

1:06:39

Brendan Foody is the CEO and co-founder of Mercor, the fastest-growing company in history to go from $1M to $500M in revenue (in just 17 months!). At 22, he is also the youngest American unicorn founder ever. Mercor works with 6 of the Magnificent 7 and all top 5 AI labs to help them hire experts to create evaluations and training data that improve…

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Episode 60: The Best Books for Chess Improvement (That Aren’t About Chess) 23:34

2M ago23:34

23:34

If you want to dive deeper into the books I recommend on the podcast, here are the links: Mindset (by Carol Dweck) Chop Wood, Carry Water (by Joshua Medcalf) Essentialism (by Greg McKeown) The One Thing (by Gary Keller) The Power of Less (by Leo Babauta) Hell Yeah or No (by Derek Sivers) Deep Work (by Cal Newport) Digital Minimalism (by Cal Newport…

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Inside the Cartel: The Longest Undercover FBI Operation with Martin Suarez and Ian Frisch 59:30

2M ago59:30

59:30

A Note from James This is a crazy story. Martin Suarez holds the record for the longest continuous undercover assignment in FBI history. He went undercover as a cartel drug lord—smuggling billions of dollars’ worth of cocaine while posing as “Manny.” At one point, the story even starts with a gun to his head, convinced his cover was blown. The book…

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The ultimate guide to AEO: How to get ChatGPT to recommend your product | Ethan Smith (Graphite) 1:11:55

2M ago1:11:55

1:11:55

Ethan Smith is the CEO of Graphite—the leading SEO growth agency—and my go-to expert on SEO. After 18 years of mastering traditional SEO, Ethan has been at the forefront of what is called AEO: answer engine optimization, or, more simply, getting your product to show up in ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini/Perplexity answers. He’s discovered that ChatGPT traffi…

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[Bonus] Brian Keating on Humility, Chutzpah, and the Arrow of Time 18:39

2M ago18:39

18:39

Episode Description Right after wrapping up their main conversation, James and Brian hit record again for a bonus session. What came out is an unfiltered talk on humility, arrogance, and the strange mix of traits needed to achieve great things. From the wisdom of the Talmud to the Dunning–Kruger effect, they explore why even Nobel Prize winners wre…

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$46B of hard truths from Ben Horowitz: Why founders fail and why you need to run toward fear (a16z co-founder) 1:37:59

2M ago1:37:59

1:37:59

Ben Horowitz is the co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, Silicon Valley’s largest and most influential venture capital firm, with over $46B in committed capital across multiple funds. He took Loudcloud public with just $2 million in revenue (dubbed “the IPO from hell”), sold it for $1.6 billion, and has backed companies from Facebook to Stripe to Air…

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How to Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner with Prof. Brian Keating 1:13:13

2M ago1:13:13

1:13:13

Episode Description James sits down once again with cosmologist Brian Keating—longtime friend of the show and author of Into the Impossible: Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner. In this candid conversation, they challenge each other’s views on focus, curiosity, and the trade-offs of staying in your lane. Brian shares behind-the-scenes lessons from inte…

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Episode 59: What If Being Smart Was The Problem? 23:14

2M ago23:14

23:14

Subscribe to my free Newsletter: https://nextlevelchess.blog/newsletter Learn what and how to train and stop wasting time on things that don't matter: https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/simplified-chess-improvement-system Reach 1200 Chess.com (1400 Lichess) thanks to my all-in-one course: https://courses.nextlevelchess.blog/courses/beginne…

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From Deep Blue to Bittensor — Why Subnets Are the Next Internet Boom 1:27:49

2M ago1:27:49

1:27:49

A Note from James I’ve been on and off writing. From 2004 to 2021, I wrote one to two books a year, without fail. Since then, nothing. But I’ve been working on an idea: obsession. When I’m not obsessed, I can’t do much—sometimes not even the basics. But when I am obsessed, I can turn that energy into real outcomes: a business, a book, a skill, some…