How deliberate rest can fuel performance with Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang is a historian, futurist, and one of the most compelling voices rethinking the way we work, rest, and create. He is the author of Rest, Shorter, and The Distraction Addiction—books that have reshaped the global conversation on productivity and wellbeing.Alex has worked across academia, tech, publishing, and firms like the 4 Day Week Gobal. Today, he leads programs with 4.dk - a Dutch team leading 4-day week experiments in Denmark, and 4 Day Week studio.In this episode, Alex and Subbu explore the science and art of deliberate rest, why overwork is counterproductive, and how the four-day week is moving from radical idea to mainstream practice. The conversation draws on history, neuroscience, and real-world experiments to reveal how we can all work better by working less.We cover:Alex’s unconventional “Grand Theft Auto” career path—from historian to tech futurist to rest evangelistThe mentors and moments that shaped his thinkingWhy overwork persists—and how it erodes creativity, judgment, and empathyWhat it really takes to rest well: active recovery, multiple time scales, and deliberate planningThe “four-hour rule” of deep work and how great minds from Darwin to Hemingway structured their daysThe link between morning routines, the default mode network, and creativityThe concept of deep play and why serious hobbies sustain high performanceThe business case for the four-day week, and what early adopters have learnedHow AI is changing the way we discover and apply researchWhat the music industry can teach us about creativity and collaboration in the age of automation