PODCAST · society
The Best Podcast
by Matt Best
Conversations worth having and topics worth discussing. Tune in to find out more. For additional information and comments, see mattbest.net or email me at [email protected] . Much Love ❤️.
Episodes
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Episode 1008: 29
I’ve officially completed 29 trips around the sun. It got me thinking, so I wanted to take some time and share those thoughts here with you. Birthdays are arbitrary, and yet their symbolism and cultural value carry great weight that we can leverage to learn and improve. I share more about that...
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Episode 1007: Las Vegas
I spent a few days in Las Vegas last week. It was my first time there, and even though I didn’t see a lot of it, it really left an impression. I share how that came about, along with the many thoughts that passed through my mind related to it. I hope you find it useful to listen to! Thanks for...
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Episode 1006: Bubbles
Today’s podcast hopefully comes off as short, clear, and reflective. I dig into just how easy it is for us to forget how rich, similar, and yet vastly different the consciousness of another is. Our bias toward our own experience can easily lead us to assumptions that misalign with reality. The...
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Episode 1005: What Is Work for Me?
I rarely talk about my work here, which surprises me because of how much time and mental energy I commit to it. I really enjoy what I do, which makes my lack of talking about it here even more perplexing. Anyways, I try to break that streak in this episode by describing work as it stands now. I...
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Episode 1004: Working Out and Breathing Through It
Today’s podcast is different from the last. Instead of a topic that is very outwardly oriented, I move to one that is highly inwardly focused. I talk through a recent stressful situation and the decisions I made that helped me navigate it in a short amount of time. I think you’ll find it…
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Episode 1003: My Thoughts on AI
Today’s podcast is one that a few have asked for but I hadn’t done yet. I share my thoughts on AI today, which are wide ranging when it comes to their potential positive and negative impacts. It’s such a nuanced conversation, which I tried to focus on here and hope comes through. I hope it’s...
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Episode 1002: A 10-Year Old Gambling Story
For some reason, today I found myself thinking about an experience I had at a casino 10 years ago. In the moment, it didn’t feel good, and I was far from the person I wanted to be. It taught me a lot in retrospect, so I wanted to take some time to share it here and talk through what I learned....
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Episode 1001: A Simple Life As of Late
Today’s podcast is a quick review of how life has been for me over the last few weeks. I’ve really boiled down to the essentials, which has been quite peaceful and centering for me. I share what falls into that bucket of essentials and what I’m connecting it to from my past learning and…
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Episode 1000: Good Old Days
Macklemore’s “Good Old Days” is a beautiful song. I was reminded of it this past week, and listening to it a few times since then has really made me think. I wanted to share some of the reflections I’ve experienced here, so here we are. I hope you enjoy it and find it thought provoking. As…
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Episode 999: PMA
So much of self help boils down to one general concept. Each person who seeks to influence in the space has their own flavor of it, but it’s their brand of the same. I share more about what I mean by this here, along with some details of my journey in this space. I hope you find it thought...
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Episode 998: Missing
Oh how I miss my old home, and yet I know I will say the same thing about my current home upon returning to my old home. These bittersweet emotions are a lot to bear, which leads me hear. Perhaps sharing them with you might help. Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️ and please take care.
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Episode 997: Much Simpler Than It Seems
It’s so easy to overcomplicate this life. Honestly, it’s in the interest of a lot of people for you to feel overwhelmed, too, which doesn’t make it any better for us. Nevertheless, we can always simplify. That’s the point of today’s episode, which I hope you enjoy and find refreshing. Thanks for...
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Episode 996: An Approach to Reflecting, Learning, and Living
Inspired by some work professional development reflections that I engaged in over the weekend, I dig into some key principles and my approach to reflection. I share why it’s important, how to manage the proper balance between learning a reflecting, and other deeper pieces related to those topics....
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Episode 995: Didn’t See It Coming
Some moments in life spring a thought that hits us so deep that we have to just sit and marvel at it. This happened to me Sunday night on a walking escalator in an airport of a city I wouldn’t have imagined being in 8 years prior. How utterly fascinating this thing called life can be. Thanks for...
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Episode 994: A Crazy Week
Despite how busy and at times tiring the last week of travel for work was for me, I came home feeling a strong sense of fulfillment and gratitude. I’ve noticed just how good I have it with work as I’ve lived and seen more of the world, which I describe in greater detail in this episode. Thanks…
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Episode 993: A Crazy Two Months
These past two months have been a wild ride, but in the best of ways. Eight plane rides, three continents, a move out, a move in, two visits from friends, and many pieces of furniture later, I take some time to take stock of it all here. I connect the dots to a moment I shared with my wife many...
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Episode 992: Quarter Two 2026 — Part 2
Today’s podcast is the second part of a recording of my latest Substack post, where I wrote out my takeaways from quarter two of this year. From the fast and heavy realizations that come during a power outage to AI to relationship advice, I hit a wide range of learnings once again. I hope you at...
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Episode 991: Quarter Two 2026 — Part 1
Today’s podcast is a recording of my latest Substack post, where I wrote out my takeaways from quarter two of this year. From the price of ice cream in New York City to what sits at the base of the self, I hit a wide range of learnings here. I hope you at least a few pique your interest. Thanks…
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Episode 990: The Weight of Time
The weight of time and the end that is to come appears so burdensome, sparking anxiety and fear in most of us. It is so tempting to avoid it, but there are alternatives that give us so much more if we take them seriously. I share a new frame for how to approach these emotions, providing a…
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Episode 989: The Best Day of Your Life
I’ve been asking people what the best days of their lives were over the last few weeks. It’s a question that provokes some quality reflection, which is why I decided to bring it here to the podcast. I share my best day, a bit about why, and what I’ve heard from others. Thanks for listening. As...
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Episode 987: Quarter One 2026 — Part 1
Today’s podcast is the first of two episodes in which I read my latest Substack post, my quarter one review. This was a new experience for me in some ways, as I made an explicit shift in where I would place my focus at the start of the year. I hope you enjoy it and find some value in the lessons…
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Episode 986: Reminiscing
I, like perhaps everyone, find myself reminiscing from time to time. Reliving past experiences opens parts of my identity that used to be so much more prevalent than they are today. Experiencing a sense of nostalgia and longing for those times is not uncommon, and yet I realize it’s a bit of a...
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Episode 985: Instagram
Although I haven’t had the instagram app on my phone since 2019, the platform is still ubiquitous in the world around me. I get multiple instagram videos sent to me per day, which leads me to opening them in my browser. I watch and respond to the sender, and I often find myself perusing through...
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Episode 984: Why Get Fit?
Today I reflect a bit on our physical bodies and the ways we get to a great physique. I don’t focus on the technical pieces of this, but instead I turn our attention to the mindsets that go into building and maintaining a healthy body and a great physique. I hope it gets you to think about your...
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Episode 983: Reading Everyday
Today’s podcast is simple, but its implications carry much more weight. I start each day by reading for 10-25 minutes, and it has been a transformative change for me to adopt. I share why in this episode while sharing a bit about the joys of reading. I hope you enjoy it and find it valuable…
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Episode 982: When Claude Was Wrong
My wife and I recently used a large language model to help us verify our thinking about taxes. It did some good work quite quickly, but it ended up making quite a big mistake. I share a bit about this experience and the reflections it provoked in me. I hope they prove interesting and valuable to...
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Episode 981: Relationship Challenges
How to resolve conflicts and challenges in relationships is a question we’ve been trying to deal with since the dawn of time. Two people who are different are always going to see things differently, so the conflicts and challenges themselves are inevitable. However, we have a say in how well we...
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Episode 980: The Secret Agent
My wife and I watched The Secret Agent the other night. We really enjoyed it, and we were also a bit puzzled by it. The acting performances were impressive, leaving us with a clear impression that this wasn’t just another movie. And yet, we also noticed that the meaning of the movie wasn’t...
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Episode 979: Recall
Today’s podcast comes out of a recent experience of mine in my Italian learning journey. Frankly, I’m not investing the time needed to really learn effectively, and I’m far from consistent. I explore why this has become the case, along with the background for the system I aspire to use to learn...
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Episode 978: Harshness
Today, I spend some time discussing a Terry Real quote that has sat with me since hearing it. “There is no redeeming value in harshness. There is nothing harshness does that loving firmly doesn’t do better.” I couldn’t agree more, although it is incredibly tempting to act out of line with this…
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Episode 977: Tears
This weekend was a nonstop onslaught of activities. It felt like I was running from the time I left my door in NYC to the time I returned to it over the course of four days. Many emotions ran through me, and I was happy with the way I dealt with them when I had a second to be with them. I share…
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Episode 976: A Couple of Weeks Away
Uncharacteristically, I have missed 2 weeks of uploading a new podcast episode. I could make up many excuses, some of which I share in this recording, but at the end of the day, we all make choices. Each day, there was an opportunity to record. There always is. Everyone has ten minutes, whether...
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Episode 975: Better Relationships
Today’s podcast is a broad reflection on Terry Real’s How Can I Get Through to You. He offers such a compelling framework and set of insights about how to have better relationships. The main focus is on romantic relationships, but the principles are generalizable across all types of relationships...
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Episode 974: How We Start Our Days
Today’s podcast was seeded by some observations I had this morning on the subway. My eyes were opened in a pretty strong way about the ways even the smallest of choices and behaviors can affect us, so I wanted to share my experience here. Perhaps you’ll hear some passion in my voice in a way you...
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Episode 973: Focus and Simplify
Today’s podcast is short and sweet, just like its central topic. Living life simply, in a more disciplined, focused, and consistent manner, over the last 3 months has brought me so much. Challenge, learning, satisfaction, and more. I discuss the experience and what I’ve learned along the way thus...
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Episode 972: A Conversation with My Mom
Today’s podcast is a special one. I take some time to sit with my mom and talk about a wide array of topics. We discuss her childhood, parenting, her career, her marriage, her perceptions of me, her parents, and much more. It pulled some tears out of both of us, and I imagine it may for you as...
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Episode 971: Integrating Masculine and Feminine
Today’s podcast pulls from a book I’m currently reading by Terry Real. In it, he tries to build a bridge for men and women to better understand each other in their relationships to one another. It’s a powerful read. One passage jumped out to me that I wanted to share, which serves as the focus of...
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Episode 970: FOMO and JOMO Return
I return to a topic today that I discussed over 6 years ago. We often experience a fear of missing out when there are many joys that also come along with it. I share some of my thoughts on this, in addition to sharing a current example of this. I hope you enjoy it and find some value in what I...
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Episode 968: Common Knowledge
This was a fun episode for me. It allowed me some space to reflect on an area of significant personal evolution over the past decade or so. Communication is complicated, but opening ourselves to be fascinated by it and to study its nuances is a powerful act. I describe my personal journey with…
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Episode 969: The Problem of Evil
Today’s podcast is inspired by a singular paragraph from Carl Jung’s autobiography in which he discusses the relationship between self-knowledge and understanding evil. It brings so much to unpack, which is why I dedicate an entire episode to it. I’m sure it will bring you something worthy of...
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Episode 967: Getting Tactical
Today’s podcast gets into the tactical weeds of how I stay organized and systemize the things I need to get done in life, whether they are personal or professional tasks. I walk through how I plan my week, the tools I use, and how I capture the things I need to get done. As philosophical as I may...
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Episode 966: My Thoughts on Attacking Iran
Today’s podcast is an extensive one, but it needs to be. I’ve taken my time to think about where we are with our attack on Iran, and I lay that thinking out here. I organize it into two sides, but each side introduces several variables in their own right. I hope it helps you to understand the...
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Episode 965: Easing the Pressure
Today’s run reminded me of a very useful lesson about performance. For those who are like me, the pressure we impose on ourselves can often make our performance worse, even if it feels like it’s supposed to improve it. Easing off and focusing on my breathing, staying steady, and being in the…
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Episode 964: Simplifying Life
Today’s podcast puts a microscope on what a typical day looks like for me during the week. This professional phase has demanded a lot from me, and my approach to meet those demands has been one of simplicity. As I’ve said many times before, simple doesn’t mean easy. Executing on simple over these...
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Episode 963: Quarter Four 2025
Today’s podcast is a recording of my latest Substack post, where I compiled my key learnings from the final quarter of 2025: www.mbest.substack.com/p/quarter-four-2025 . There’s a lot here, so I’m sure some of the points will be insightful or at least get you thinking. Thanks for listening. As...
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Episode 962: A Rough Time
Today’s podcast is a wandering one. It starts out a little gory, with details of an unpleasant recent experience of mine, but it ties into quite a beautiful thing on the other side. I hope you enjoy the reflection and that it brings you come value. Thanks for listening. As always, Much Love ❤️…
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Episode 961: A Stopped Watch
As I ran yesterday, my watch missed a mile and a half due to a technical glitch. In the moment, I was immediately a little upset because it didn’t record that stretch of the run and I might not be able to fix it on the back end. Shortly after that initial thought, I realized something much more...
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Episode 960: 30 Years of Tim Best
My brother returns to the podcast today for our second recorded conversation. To commemorate his 30th birthday, we reflect on the 30 years he has spent on this earth, talking through his personal highlights. Knowing Tim, we had to mix in a lot of conversation about sports as well. I hope you…
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Episode 959: Little Steps
Today’s podcast starts with a reflection on a small change I have recently made in my life. Despite how small it seems, I have felt its effects more broadly in my life in an outsized way compared to how small of a change it appears to be. I reflect on this process, along with its many impacts of...
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Episode 958: A Powerful Combination
Today’s podcast is a reflection on some challenges I’ve been working through over the past week. There are a couple of key pieces that have helped me deal with them in a productive way. They may seem obvious, but I know that the obvious is often hard to put into practice, so I wanted to take some...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Conversations worth having and topics worth discussing. Tune in to find out more. For additional information and comments, see mattbest.net or email me at [email protected] . Much Love ❤️.
HOSTED BY
Matt Best
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Best Podcast have?
The Best Podcast currently has 1000 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Best Podcast about?
Conversations worth having and topics worth discussing. Tune in to find out more. For additional information and comments, see mattbest.net or email me at [email protected] . Much Love ❤️.
How often does The Best Podcast release new episodes?
The Best Podcast releases new episodes frequently with a large back catalog of 1000 episodes. Check the episode list for recent publication dates.
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You can listen to The Best Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Best Podcast?
The Best Podcast is created and hosted by Matt Best.
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