Best Interactive Distractions Podcasts (2025)

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Democrats Need to Care About Getting Attention 1:08:39

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4d ago1:08:39

1:08:39

Chris Hayes, MSNBC host and author of The Siren’s Call, returns to Offline to talk about Democrats’ posting problem…they’re too afraid of controversy, too stingey with their appearences, and too focused on fundraising. Have the content firehoses diluted cancel culture? What’s the secret to Zohran Mamdani’s press strategy? Is John Fetterman the Demo…

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Introducing: Runaway Country with Alex Wagner 1:10:03

5d ago1:10:03

1:10:03

Being an American right now is a wild ride. Every day brings a new controversy, with breathless media narratives and the same loud voices rushing in to score political points. Then another Truth Social post drops and the circus moves on. But all that noise is drowning out the actual story. On Crooked Media’s new podcast Runaway Country, veteran jou…

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Itamar Marani: How to Turn Setbacks into Secret Weapons 1:10:24

6d ago1:10:24

1:10:24

When everything is on the line, ever wonder why some otherwise incredible athletes choke spectacularly? Why did Michael Jordan consistently sink game-winning jump shots at the buzzer when everyone else was throwing up bricks? Today we’re here with a veteran coach who’s cracked the code on peak performance. Itamar Marani has lived through the kind o…

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Are Men Okay? 1:14:31

13d ago1:14:31

1:14:31

53% of American men are now dying before the age of 75—and that trend is getting worse. Clinical psychologist Zac Seidler, Director of Men's Health Research at Movember, joins Offline to delve into how men misconstrue wellness in an increasingly digital world. Zac's work exposes how male influencers, podcasters, and cultural and political figures …

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Dr. Ann Shippy: Fertility, Longevity and Mold Detoxification 1:00:31

20d ago1:00:31

1:00:31

Have you considered how the choices you make today shape the health and destiny of your children before they’re ever born? What if the most important gift you could ever give your future child is the health and resilience you build in yourself today? As rates of chronic health conditions in children—including autism, anxiety, diabetes, obesity, and…

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Is America Still a Liberal Nation? 1:10:10

20d ago1:10:10

1:10:10

Cass Sunstein, Harvard professor and author of the new book On Liberalism: in Defense of Freedom, joins Offline to examine whether small-l "liberal" values like freedom, human rights, and the rule of law will be able to survive an illiberal president. Cass compares and contrasts what Trump and Vance are doing with the actions of the Bush and Reagan…

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Dramatize the Injustice 1:17:11

27d ago1:17:11

1:17:11

Should protests be about expression or persuasion? What makes for an effective protest? And is it still possible for protests to effect change in a fractured, algorithmic media environment? Jon talks to Dr. Omar Wasow, a professor at UC-Berkeley, about his famous study on the effectiveness of civil rights protests in the 1960s. They discuss why the…

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Dr. Sabine Hazan: How Microbes Shape Memory, Mood, and the Mind 58:35

1M ago58:35

58:35

What if the secret to unlocking the mysteries of our minds, our health, and even our happiness is hiding in the most unexpected place—our own gut? Could the answers to our most stubborn health mysteries—and maybe even the secret to a longer, happier life—be found in the microbes we’ve spent a lifetime trying to avoid? How does our microbiome affect…

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How Trump, Memes, and Algorithms Transformed The Way We Speak 1:02:29

1M ago1:02:29

1:02:29

Skibidi rizz Labubu Dubai matcha. The internet—and its algorithms—have reshaped the words we use and the way we speak—but are those changes also affecting our politics? Adam Aleksic, known online as Etymology Nerd, joins Offline to talk to Jon about his new book “Algospeak” in which he makes sense of our new, internet-optimized linguistic landscape…

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Inside the MAGA Reaction to Charlie Kirk’s Assassination 55:49

1M ago55:49

55:49

Charlie Kirk’s assassination has rattled people on both sides of the aisle and terrified those whose jobs, like Charlie’s, involve talking about politics on the public stage. Jon reflects on the aftermath of the killing, what he finds most alarming, and his disappointment with leaders on the right and followers on the left. Then, the Bulwark’s Will…

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Season 4 Ep. 2 // “The Power of Words: Speaking Life Instead of Tearing Down” 34:41

1M ago34:41

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This week felt heavy. With everything going on in the world and the sudden loss of Charlie Kirk, we wanted to sit down and talk honestly about something that every single one of us wrestles with: how do you actually disagree well? Not just in politics or online arguments, but in your marriage, your friendships, and your faith. We didn’t come into t…

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David Page of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Eating Nose-To-Tail 55:18

2M ago55:18

55:18

What’s the secret to shedding fat as a foodie who refuses to sacrifice joy or flavor? This week’s guest changed the way we think about food and mom and pop businesses in America. He’s a legend in journalism and beloved in the food world, saving countless independent restaurants from certain destruction. As the creator of the beloved TV series Diner…

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Can The Left Reclaim America's Story? 1:02:38

2M ago1:02:38

1:02:38

Democrats need to defend democracy without undermining it—but how? John Ganz, author of When the Clock Broke and the "Unpopular Front” substack, joins Offline to interrogate why Democrats have ceded nostalgia about the past to Republicans, how they should be resisting the America's autocratic slide, and what it says about our political moment that …

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JD Vance and the Post-Liberal Right's War on America 59:51

2M ago59:51

59:51

As the U.S. slides into autocracy, Americans need to be reminded that liberalism can still solve the problems that Trump uses to fear monger. Jerusalem Demsas, founder and editor in chief of “The Argument,” joins Offline to explain what solutions for immigration and the economy would look like, her beef with the post-liberal left, and why she’s sta…

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Season 4 Ep. 1 // “When Marriage Starts to Drift: How to Stay Close on Purpose” 31:58

2M ago31:58

31:58

Most marriages don’t blow up with yelling; they drift apart in silence. It’s not the fights that break you, it’s the distance. The conversations you avoid. The nights you scroll instead of talk. The stuff you hold back. Silence convinces you everything’s fine when it’s not. And the longer you leave it, the harder it gets to close the gap. Here’s th…

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Dr. Scott Sherr: Methylene Blue for Energy and Mitochondrial Optimization 1:09:28

2M ago1:09:28

1:09:28

You’ve probably heard the buzz around the mythical and sketchy-sounding synthetic compound known as methylene blue. How is it that methylene blue went from a 19th-century textile dye to a futuristic, cutting-edge mitochondrial-enhancing compound that turns your tongue blue? After surviving freak bouts of carbon monoxide poisoning, black mold exposu…

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Ben Greenfield: Stem Cells, Botox, and Biohacking Blunders 1:01:35

2M ago1:01:35

1:01:35

What if the key to an extraordinary life is becoming radically, unapologetically yourself? Today, we’re here with the one-and-only Ben Greenfield, a man who has been pushing the boundaries of human performance for decades. In the ever-evolving world of biohacking, he’s tried just about everything so that you don’t have to. But we’ve known each othe…

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Have Our Screens Made Us Too Distracted For Democracy? 1:04:30

2M ago1:04:30

1:04:30

Ben Rhodes—bestselling author, Pod Save the World co-host, and fellow Obama administration alum—joins Offline to explain how America is being torn apart by short-term thinking and the technology that stokes it. Ben recently wrote a piece for the New York Times on the topic, and he and Jon connect the dots between big tech, the attention economy an…

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Season 3 Ep. 17 // “Sexual Intimacy: Why God’s Design for Sex Changes Everything 31:18

2M ago31:18

31:18

In this episode of Amplified Marriage, we dive straight into one of those topics that too many couples avoid: sex. Yep, we’re talking about sexual intimacy in marriage. The myths, awkward expectations, and struggles that almost every couple encounters. We look at how culture, the church, and even rom-coms have shaped the way people think about sex,…

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AI's Threat to Gen Z's Jobs, the FartCoin Economy, and Why the Internet Wants to Check Your ID 1:06:19

3M ago1:06:19

1:06:19

Kyla Scanlon, author and economic commentator, joins Offline to explain why our economy feels so weird. She and Jon talk about the ways AI — and Labubus — have taken over the markets, whether big tech has become overly reliant on the attention economy, and why Gen Z is feeling so down about their longterm economic prospects. But first! Jon sits dow…

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QAnon Reacts to Epstein, Laura Loomer Gets Loomered, and Jon Gets Caught Up in the Syndey Sweeney Discourse 47:24

3M ago47:24

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As the Trump administration manufactures conspiracies to distract from the president’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, some on the right are blaming the deep state while others are finally calling foul. The Bulwark’s Will Sommer has been covering the far right conspiracy beat for years, and he joins the show to break down the Epstein drama, run th…

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Jay Yang: You Can Just Do Things 55:01

3M ago55:01

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What if success isn’t just about working hard, but about creating your own opportunities? Today we’re here with teen phenom and author of the new book, You Can Just Do Things, Jay Yang. I met Jay last year through our friend and past guest of the show, Noah Kagan. At 17, Jay sent Noah Kagan, founder of AppSumo, a 19-page pitch deck breaking down ga…

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Trump Bans Woke AI, TikTok Cancels Sydney Sweeney, and How MAGA Became Multiracial 1:15:29

3M ago1:15:29

1:15:29

Why are non-white voters moving towards Trump? Yale professor and author Daniel Martinez HoSang sits down with Jon to examine how Democrats’ multiracial coalition fell apart during and after Obama’s presidency, what minorities see in Trump (and why they have no remorse about voting for him) and what the left can do to win them back. But first! Max …

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Trump’s Epstein Nightmare, Jubilee’s Fascist Debate, and the Movie Twitter Wrote 1:12:39

3M ago1:12:39

1:12:39

Living through a deadly plague as we watched the country descend into political violence on our screens might've left us with some...unresolved issues. Director Ari Aster sits down with Jon to break down his new dark comedy, “Eddington,” which depicts the violent unraveling of a small town as it faces pandemic, polarization, and AI proliferation. B…

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Dr. Ryan Lazarus: How to Survive a Near-Death Experience 58:45

3M ago58:45

58:45

Have you ever had a near death experience? I sincerely hope not. But as long-time listeners know, I’ve had a couple of close calls. A simple twist of fate or freak accident can alter the course of your life. But if you let them, tragedies can set us on a new path that can change us for the better. The reason I disappeared for the past few months is…

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Raising Boys in the Era of Incels, MAGA, and the Manosphere 1:06:08

3M ago1:06:08

1:06:08

Boys today are being told to man up by the right and sit down by the left. Coming of age in the shadow of #MeToo and wading through algorithms rife with manosphere content, many young men are accepting the far right’s simple answers and leaning into traditional masculinity…without realizing it’s stunting their emotional development. Others are lett…

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Peter Thiel's Antichrist, JD Vance's Split with the Pope, and Ross Douthat's Scientific Case for Believing in God 1:17:54

4M ago1:17:54

1:17:54

Religion in the US has been on the decline for many years, but does atheism make us unhappier? Ross Douthat, New York Times Opinion columnist and author of Believe, joins Offline to explain why he thinks believing in God is a rational choice, why secular humanism feels worse in the age of Trump, and what he makes of Peter Thiel and J.D. Vance’s rec…

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153 My New Favorite Company Slate Auto 27:40

4M ago27:40

27:40

This episode is for entertainment purposes only.

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152 Returning Retro Follow Up PauseOS Distraction Free 31:01

4M ago31:01

31:01

A follow up to my interview with Jake from Returning Retro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3eZuu17cQo This podcast is for entertainment purposes only.

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151 The Plymouth Vampire: My Creative Story Telling 9:32

4M ago9:32

9:32

For entertainment purposes, to show my creative story telling abilities, leveraging some Ai tools. Let me know what you think.

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Hugs From Your Late Mom, Interdimensional Chats, and College Cheating: The AI Future Is Here 1:21:00

4M ago1:21:00

1:21:00

We don't really know how AIs like ChatGPT work...which makes it all the more chilling that they're now leading people down rabbit holes of delusion, actively spreading misinformation, and becoming sycophantic romantic partners. Harvard computer science professor Jonathan Zittrain joins Offline to explain why these large language models lie to us, w…

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150 Quick Podcast Update 12:19

4M ago12:19

12:19

For entertainment Purposes

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Dealing with distractions 3:09

4M ago3:09

3:09

I hope you find these ideas useful to keep returning to presence without strain, struggle or self-judgment. Peace and health, rubén This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simpleyoga.substack.com/subscribeBy Ruben Vasquez

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The Truth About Young Men's Shift Towards Trump 1:05:53

4M ago1:05:53

1:05:53

Why are young men — of all races — moving toward Trump? Are high prices to blame? Their media diets? The Democrats? John Della Volpe, the nation’s leading youth pollster, joins Offline to discuss “Speaking to American Men,” a new $20 million effort to bring young men back into the Democratic coalition. John and his colleagues surveyed more than 1,0…

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Succession’s Creator Takes on the Tech Billionaires 1:02:57

5M ago1:02:57

1:02:57

Jesse Armstrong, the Emmy Award-winning creator of HBO's "Succession," joins Offline to chat about how he made a mockery of Silicon Valley tycoons in his new movie, “Mountainhead.” He and Jon discuss why the men who run social media companies are so anti social, how hard it is to satirize people who are already parodies of themselves, and compare n…

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Will Henshall: Transform Distraction into Peak Focus with Functional Music 1:03:33

5M ago1:03:33

1:03:33

Do you find yourself more distracted than ever? You’re not alone. In the rapid-fire, hyper-connected, dopamine-driven modern world, harnessing true focus is a rare superpower… But understanding the subtle mechanics of human attention might just be the most valuable skill in our increasingly distracted world. Today, we're exploring the extraordinary…

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Momfluencers, Baby Gadgets, and the Perils of Parenting in The Digital Age 1:07:57

5M ago1:07:57

1:07:57

Are we surveilling our children too much? Do we need fancy gadgets to track their sleep? Should we be taking so many pictures of them? Longtime New York Times culture critic Amanda Hess joins Offline to discuss why the optimization of childhood may just be another empty promise of the information age. Amanda's new book, Second Life, follows her dig…

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AI News Anchors, Dems $20 Million Plan to Study Men, and Max Bids Farewell to Offline 1:16:35

5M ago1:16:35

1:16:35

To celebrate his final appearance on the pod, Max takes Jon on a trip down memory lane, sharing his favorite Offline clips from the past two years—including lessons he learned while trying to take control of his screen time, insights about loneliness in the digital age, and a touching reflection on what it means to pay attention to what you pay att…

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149 Ai Tsunami, We Are Not Ready for the Ai Phase of the Internet!? 59:02

5M ago59:02

59:02

This is for entertainment purposes only. What happens when there is more Ai Generated Content online than real content and we can't tell the difference?

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James Swanwick: How to Break Free from Alcohol 1:06:06

5M ago1:06:06

1:06:06

Do you ever feel like you’re losing your edge? Today we’re here with my friend James Swanwick, creator of Alcohol Free Lifestyle, a movement guiding high-achievers like you to sidestep the sauce. In this episode, we’re exploring James’s journey from rock-bottom, hungover in the hallowed halls of IHOP, where dreams go to drown in corn syrup and regr…

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Elon's Offline Challenge, Grok’s White Genocide Glitch, and Silicon Valley's New Religion 1:10:23

5M ago1:10:23

1:10:23

The tech elite believe AI is just a few years away from displacing most computer-based jobs, and they seem…excited about it? Atlantic staff writer Matteo Wong joins Offline to discuss why Silicon Valley thinks AI is more important than anything happening in politics or the economy, and why it’s all eerily similar to their optimism around social med…

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Ben Azadi: How Toxins Like Glyphosate Sabotage Your Metabolism 58:38

6M ago58:38

58:38

What if being overweight isn’t the problem, but actually a symptom of deeper dysfunction? The body doesn't lose weight to get healthy; it gets healthy to lose weight. And reclaiming your metabolic freedom may just save your life. Our guest this week, Ben Azadi is a living testament to the power of focusing on lifestyle factors like real food and fi…

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Jon Gets Hacked, Woke Offline Pope, and How Jia Tolentino’s Brain Finally Broke 1:23:17

6M ago1:23:17

1:23:17

Jia Tolentino, author of Trick Mirror and staff writer at the New Yorker, joins Offline to discuss how it’s becoming harder and harder to make sense of reality, especially with AI taking over our feeds. She and Jon talk about how online distrust bleeds into life offline, parenting in this moment of endless horrors, and the inspiration (or lack ther…

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Pope Trump, Zuckerberg’s AI Friends, and the Shocking Truth of How Teens Live Online 1:18:05

6M ago1:18:05

1:18:05

Lauren Greenfield, director of the acclaimed FX docuseries “Social Studies,” sits down with Jon to talk about the year she spent shadowing a group of LA teens as they navigated their very online lives. The kids gave Lauren permission to screen record their phones for the duration of filming, and the result is an intimate, frenetic and often horrify…

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I Made a Distraction Free Tablet and its changing my life 34:44

6M ago34:44

34:44

How my distraction free phone and now tablet are changing my life. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. pauseos.com

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John Wang: Overcoming Burnout, Imposter Syndrome & Perfectionism 1:02:58

6M ago1:02:58

1:02:58

Have you ever struggled with burnout or imposter syndrome? No matter how much you accomplish, does it somehow feel like it's never quite enough? Today, we’re here with my friend John Wang, an author, speaker, and global traveler on a mission to help high-achievers overcome maladaptive patterns and break free from the invisible scripts and cultural …

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The Global Elite’s Secret Group Chats, Gen Z's Lifestyle Subsidy, and Meta's Sex Bots 1:06:30

6M ago1:06:30

1:06:30

Pete Hegseth isn’t the only one who loves a group chat—turns out Silicon Valley's descent into Trumpism was powered by a constellation of Signal and WhatsApp chats between America’s tech overlords. Max and Jon walk through the Marc Andreessen-powered phenomenon, then discuss how Jeff Bezos was forced to kiss Trump’s ring this week by walking back A…

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Breathing in 3 areas 8:13

6M ago8:13

8:13

A simple way to establish a connection between our body, our breath and our body. I hope that you enjoy it. Peace and health, rubén This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simpleyoga.substack.com/subscribeBy Ruben Vasquez

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Terminally Online: Larry David v. Bill Maher, TikTok Mystics, and the White House Correspondents' Dinner 28:11

6M ago28:11

28:11

This Terminally Online preview breaks down the liberal media’s response to the back-and-forth between Larry David and Bill Maher, right-wing transvestigations, and TikTok’s “broken bone theory.” For the full episode and more Terminally Online, subscribe by April 30th to enjoy 30 days of Friends of the Pod for free! Support Crooked’s mission while u…

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Could Blowing Up Google Save The Internet? Plus MAGA's Birth Obsession and Your Questions Answered 1:10:13

6M ago1:10:13

1:10:13

Google’s antitrust trial is all gas no breaks this week, with the Justice Department asking a federal judge to break up the $1.81 trillion dollar company. Jon and Max discuss all the possible outcomes, and why Google’s products have stagnated the more they’ve come to dominate the internet. Then, new research finds that people who deactivated Facebo…