Episodes

Dave Eggers (Contrapposto, The Circle, and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) is a bestselling author, founder of McSweeney’s, and Pulitzer Prize finalist. Dave joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the strange family lore behind McSweeney’s, growing up in John Hughes-era Illinois, and falling in love with writing and designing books as a kid. Dave and Dax talk about moving to Berkeley to help raise his little brother after his parents died, shaking up literary readings with They Might Be...

Lukas Gage (I Wrote This For Attention, Voicemails for Isabelle, and The White Lotus) is an actor and author. Lukas joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in a chaotic family in San Diego, surviving a brutal hate crime as a teenager, and being sent to a troubled teen wilderness program. Lukas and Dax talk about navigating Hollywood as a closeted actor, the surreal experience of getting married on The Kardashians, and Conor McGregor fracturing a disc in his back while filming Road House. Luk...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy family secret. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Edward Norton (The Invite, Fight Club, and American History X) is an Academy Award-nominated actor, filmmaker, and environmental entrepreneur. Edward joins the Armchair Expert to discuss growing up with a visionary city-planner grandfather, methodically living on $11,000 a year as a young actor in New York, and building a port-emissions company that sucks poison from cargo ships. Edward and Dax talk about the actor’s narcissistic brain, why he doesn’t treat film like a volume game, and the exhil...

Olivia Wilde (The Invite, Booksmart, and Don’t Worry Darling) is a director, actor, and filmmaker. Olivia joins Armchair Expert to discuss being raised by war-correspondent parents, growing up too fast on the Georgetown campus, and finding her footing at boarding school. Olivia and Dax talk about learning the wrong lessons in LA audition rooms, leaving The OC to chase movies, and making the jump from directing music videos to Booksmart. Olivia explains why the most personal work is usually the b...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a crazy story about finding a foreign object in a patient's butt. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Susie Wolff (Driven, F1 Academy, and Williams Formula One) is a former professional racing driver, and managing director of F1 Academy. Susie joins Armchair Expert to discuss her motorsport-obsessed childhood in Scotland, her grandfather's career as a daredevil motocross rider, and discovering karting as the only girl on the track. Susie and Dax talk about racing against Lewis Hamilton as a kid, the physical toll of driving an F1 car, and building F1 Academy from a financially unworkable idea in...

Steve Aoki (Wonderland, Dim Mak, and Neon Future) is a Grammy-nominated DJ, producer, and record label founder. Steve joins Armchair Expert to discuss the larger-than-life legacy of his Benihana-founder father Rocky Aoki, growing up a skater kid in Newport Beach, and finding belonging in the straight-edge hardcore punk scene. Steve and Dax talk about launching Dim Mak out of living room shows, transitioning into electronic music through DJing and remixes, and why he still regrets turning down th...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a story about a crazy neighbor. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Leslie John (Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing) is a behavioral scientist, Harvard Business School professor, and expert on privacy, self-disclosure, and decision-making. Leslie joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in Waterloo, Canada, training professionally in ballet as a child, and how her family’s irrational penny-pinching sparked her fascination with human behavior. Leslie and Dax talk about why people are more open to revealing their dark secrets on a sketchy-looking we...

Hunter Biden (Beautiful Things) is a former attorney, artist, and recovery advocate. Hunter joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in Delaware political royalty, surviving the car accident that killed his mother and sister, and the unconditional love of his more extraverted brother Beau. Hunter and Dax talk about the comfort and danger of self-destruction, the mythology of “functional” addiction, and the people who loved him when he could not love himself. Hunter explains how addiction narr...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy camping story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Darby Saxbe (Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How It Shapes Men’s Lives) is a clinical psychologist, tenured professor, and researcher on family stress and the transition to parenthood. Darby joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in an academic household, her parents’ dramatic divorce, and watching her surgeon father suddenly learn how to become the primary parent. Darby and Dax talk about why fatherhood research has lagged behind motherhood research, what happens chemically an...

Hannah Berner (Giggly Squad, None of My Business, Summer House) is a comedian, podcaster, and former Division I tennis player. Hannah joins Armchair Expert to discuss her dad being her personal tennis coach, battling performance anxiety as a college player, and rebuilding her identity after leaving the sport. Hannah and Dax talk about nightmare experiences on the New York subway, how stand-up became the place she could finally be herself, and the pressure of filming her first Netflix special. Ha...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a time they stole something. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Cohen Miles-Rath (Mending Reality: An Advocate’s Existential Journey with Mental Health) is a mental health advocate, author, and suicide prevention professional. Cohen joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up between two wildly different households in upstate New York, finding his footing as a distance runner while becoming the first in his family to go to college, and how injuries and pressure began to unravel his sense of self. Cohen and Dax talk about the psychotic break that led him to t...

Lena Waithe (The Chi, Queen & Slim, Master of None) is an Emmy-winning writer, producer, actor, and playwright. Lena joins Armchair Expert to discuss being a talkative kid in the South Side of Chicago, discovering television through her grandmother, and realizing she was a writer before the industry knew where to place her. Lena and Dax talk about the changing definition of celebrity, the hard-won evolution of The Chi, and her fairy godmothers in the business. Lena explains how identity can beco...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a crazy graduation story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Ezra Klein (Abundance, The Ezra Klein Show, Why We’re Polarized) is a political commentator, journalist, podcast host and New York Times columnist. Ezra joins Armchair Expert to discuss becoming a father, getting serious about longevity and strength training, and why self-improvement became politically coded. Ezra and Dax talk about how attention became the most valuable currency in politics, why there’s no liberal Joe Rogan, and how cancellation can backfire into shadow influence. Ezra explains...

Jack McBrayer (Zillow Gone Wild, 30 Rock, Wreck-It Ralph) is an Emmy-nominated actor, and comedian. Jack joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in a family of school teachers, finding his people in Chicago improv, and why he’s wary of letting too much private silliness become public record. Jack and Dax talk about the early magic of Second City, his steel trap memory for dates and birthdays, and the wild houses and homeowners of Zillow Gone Wild. Jack explains why reading the room isn’t the...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a bad roommate. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Dr. Elizabeth Letourneau (One in Five) is a leading prevention researcher and Luke Malone is an Emmy-nominated journalist. Elizabeth and Luke join Armchair Expert to discuss the staggering prevalence of child sexual abuse, why this subject is so difficult to talk about publicly, and how a reluctant interview became a long collaboration. Elizabeth, Luke, and Dax talk about the difference between pedophilia and offending, why so much child sexual abuse happens at the hands of other kids, and how t...

Brandi Carlile (Returning to Myself, By the Way, I Forgive You, and The Story) is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, producer, activist, and author. Brandi joins Armchair Expert to discuss being a feral kid in rural Washington, navigating her father’s alcoholism, and being denied baptism by her church as a teenager. Brandi and Dax talk about building a career through relentless hustle, working with Rick Rubin and T Bone Burnett, and bringing Joni Mitchell and Tanya Tucker back to the stage and ...

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a crazy waterpark story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .