We released a special episode of TKP this week with Pierre Poilievre. While we don’t often tackle politics on the show, we are trying to improve political discourse by offering a platform for both sides to speak with depth and nuance. This episode covers the economy, media, free speech, immigration, corporate subsidies, and more. (And … The post Pierre Poilievre on the Role of Government, Freedom, and Affordability appeared first on Farnam Street.
What do some of the greatest outliers in business history have in common? For the past year, I’ve been sharing the stories of history’s greatest outliers like James Dyson, Harvey Firestone, Rose Blumkin, Henry Singleton, Sol Price, and Les Schwab. These are names that deserve to be studied, but rarely are. Available Now: Apple Podcasts | … The post The Outlier Playbook: The Patterns Behind Enduring Success appeared first on Farnam Street.
The Knowledge Project closes 2025 with a look back at the most meaningful conversations of the year. Featuring insights from some of our most impactful episodes, this collection brings together practical insights on decision-making, leadership, preparation, relationships, trust, and performance. This episode features insights from world-class investor Alfred Lin, tech founder and operator Bret Taylor, behavioral scientist Logan … The post Be Your Best in 2026: The Most Important Lessons from The
Bernie Marcus is the co-founder and former CEO of Home Depot. This is how he built a culture of ownership, kept going when everyone turned him down, nearly lost it all, and created one of the most successful retailers in history. This episode is based on the book: Built From Scratch. Available Now: Apple Podcasts | … The post [Outliers] Bernie Marcus: The Home Depot Story appeared first on Farnam Street.
Ogilvy Vice Chairman Rory Sutherland reveals the formula for persuasion, why people make decisions and how you can use psychology to your advantage. Rory is the world’s leading advertising strategist. He spent almost four decades at Ogilvy studying why people behave the way they do and how to change that behavior. He explains why contrast drives choices and efficiency often destroys value, and how trust, friction, and design … The post How to Think Like a World-Class Marketer | Rory Sutherland
How do you get ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results? Mary Kay Ash built a two-billion-dollar company by solving that specific problem. After watching men she trained get promoted above her for double the salary, she quit to build a company based on a radical idea: meritocracy. This episode breaks down how she did it. … The post [Outliers] Mary Kay Ash: The Greatest Saleswoman In History appeared first on Farnam Street.
Top Performance Coach Jim Murphy reveals how to eliminate fear, master pressure, and unlock elite performance. Jim spent 5 years writing Inner Excellence, the mental toughness manual that shot from obscurity to #1 New York Times bestseller overnight when star athlete A.J. Brown was caught reading it on the sidelines of a NFL playoff game. … The post 7 Principles of Inner Excellence to Stay Calm Under Fire | Jim Murphy appeared first on Farnam Street.
Charlie Munger spent his life studying one question: why do smart people make bad decisions? In this episode, I explore his timeless framework, The Psychology of Human Misjudgment, and the 25 psychological forces that quietly distort thinking. Available Now: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Transcript | X The post [Outliers] Charlie Munger: The Psychology of Human Misjudgment appeared first on Farnam Street.
My guest today is Ron Shaich, founder of Panera and chairman of CAVA. The headlines will tell you that Ron built Panera into a $7.8 billion company, but the real story is far more interesting. Available Now: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Transcript | YouTube | X His philosophy is simple: Be long-term greedy, not short-term stupid. + Members have … The post Ron Shaich: Lessons from Building Panera appeared first on Farnam Street.
Steve Wozniak is the engineer who built Apple. Then he did something Silicon Valley still doesn’t understand: he gave millions of his own money away to early employees, walked away from power, and refused to play the game everyone else was playing. While HP rejected his design and competitors built walled gardens, Wozniak’s philosophy of open architecture, … The post [Outliers] Steve Wozniak: The Engineer Who Built Apple appeared first on Farnam Street.
Anthony Scilipoti is one of the sharpest minds in investing. He’s the President and CEO of Veritas Group of Companies. He called the collapses of both Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Nortel before they happened, and now he has some thoughts on AI. We talk about asking better questions, reading the fine print, the role of short … The post Anthony Scilipoti: Reading the Footnotes appeared first on Farnam Street.
The incredible story of Jim Clayton and how he built Clayton Homes. When the bank forced him into bankruptcy at 27, he started rebuilding the very next day, following an unconventional playbook: refusing to lower standards, vertically integrating everything, and playing relentless offense during downturns. While the home industry collapsed in the 1970s, 1990s, and 2000s, Clayton … The post [Outliers] Jim Clayton: Turning Competitors’ Mistakes Into $1.7B appeared first on Farnam Street.
Tracy Britt Cool is the co-founder of Kanbrick where she is applying what she learned at Berkshire Hathaway to the middle market. In this episode, you’ll learn how she went from writing a cold letter to Buffett to being sent in to fix struggling Berkshire subsidiaries, how to evaluate a business, the types of people to avoid at … The post Tracy Britt Cool: Building Great Businesses appeared first on Farnam Street.
Hetty Green was the richest woman you’ve never heard of. In the late 1800s, she built a fortune worth billions today in a world designed to stop her. Women couldn’t vote, couldn’t own property, and weren’t even allowed on the stock exchange floor. She was a force that couldn’t be stopped. She bought entire towns, crushed railroad … The post [Outliers] Hetty Green: The Witch of Wall Street appeared first on Farnam Street.
My guest this week is Barry Diller, one of America’s most successful businessmen. At 83, he chose to publish a deeply personal book and open up about his successes and failures. With surprising candor he details the rules he’s lived by: trust first, confront directly, and make the call when the clock starts. In our … The post Barry Diller: Building IAC appeared first on Farnam Street.
Ed Stack built Dick’s Sporting Goods from a struggling family store into an empire of more than 800 stores and billions in sales. Along the way he nearly lost everything. Multiple times. This episode is the story of what he did, how he did it, and the lessons you can learn. Available Now: Apple Podcasts … The post [Outliers] Ed Stack: Lessons from Dick’s Sporting Goods appeared first on Farnam Street.
Lulu Cheng Meservey is one of the sharpest minds in communications today. Lulu is known as the go-to strategist for CEOs, founders, and policymakers navigating high-stakes moments. In this episode, she explains how to grab attention in a noisy world filled with AI-slop, appeal to human psychology, and build trust instead of farming engagement. Available … The post Lulu Cheng Meservey: How To Build A Cult appeared first on Farnam Street.
Fred Smith founded FedEx on an idea everyone told him would fail and built it into an $88 billion empire that changed how the world moves. In this episode, we dive into how he built FedEx and the lessons he learned along the way. Available Now: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | X | Transcript This … The post [Outliers] Fred Smith: The Story of FedEx appeared first on Farnam Street.
Benedict Evans has been calling tech shifts for decades. Now he says forget the hype: AI isn’t the new electricity. It’s the biggest change since the iPhone, and that’s plenty big enough. We talk about why everyone gets platform shifts wrong, where Google’s actually vulnerable, and what real people do with AI when nobody’s watching. … The post Benedict Evans: Why AI Isn’t What You Think appeared first on Farnam Street.
One man controls half the world’s wild blueberries, built North America’s largest private telecom, and did it all without ever leaving his hometown of 1,100 people. In this episode, we decode the counterintuitive playbook of patient capital, rural advantage, and why Bragg’s refusal to sell a single share made him unstoppable. Now Available: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Transcript … The post [Outliers] John Bragg: The Unknown Billionaire Who Controls Half the World’s Blueberries appeared first on