The Rich Roll Podcast

Tattoos. High intensity sound. Stage diving. For the unfamiliar, it's chaos. Scary. Violent, even. But to today's guest, being hardcore straight edge is magical — a grassroots community dedicated to art, not anarchy. Celebrating life. And making the world a better place. Best known around the world as the charismatic, energetic and always smiling front man for hardcore punk band H2O, Toby Morse was raised by a single mom in Massachusetts before moving to New York City in 1988 with a dream of becoming a musician. Immersing himself in the burgeoning punk rock scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, he worked odd jobs. He was a roadie. And in 1994, inspired by Bad Brains, he formed a band that would ultimately become synonymous with the Straight Edge and Positive Mental Attitude (‘PMA”) movements. Their self-titled debut album came out in 1996. Over the years, H2O has played alongside acts like No Doubt and Misfits. In 1998 and 1999 they joined the Warped Tour. Still together, the band continues to pack venues the

Hey it's that guy. You know the guy, right? The guy with the crazy moustache in that Ben Affleck movie? The Man In Black from Lost? The Irish gangster in Sons of Anarchy? Oh, right. THAT GUY. Titus Welliver has one of the longest lists of working actor credits in Hollywood. Nonetheless, this über-talented veteran of stage and screen spent most of his storied career slightly outside Tinsletown's white hot spotlight. But that changed with the 2014 premier of Amazon's Original Series Bosch. A hardboiled noir crime procedural based on a series of Michael Connelly novels, the show caught fire and is currently in production on its sixth season. Suffice it to say, Titus' heavily lauded portrayal of  L.A.P.D. detective Harry Bosch landed him center on the zeitgeist stage. But this man is much more than an amazing actor finally enjoying his moment. He is a friend. And a true artist. Raised by a fashion illustrator mom and celebrated landscape painter Neil Welliver, Titus spent his formative years surrounded by a comm

He’s back! One of the most fascinating and popular guests to grace this platform, Today Zach Bush, MD returns for a third mind-altering bend around the multiverse. For the uninitiated, Zach's varied interests belie attempts to properly define him — but I'll give it a try. One of the few triple board certified physicians in America with expertise in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Hospice/Palliative care, he is the founder and director of M Clinic integrative health center in Virginia. In addition to his experience in functional medicine, longevity, autism, gut health, cancer, and many other areas of medicine, he is an avid environmentalist and activist involved in a multitude of projects that focus on ecology, regenerative agriculture, farmer well-being and spirituality. To advocate for soil health & food independence, Zach is also the creator of Farmer's Footprint. Seen through the lens of farmers and their communities, it's a documentary series & grassroots movement that evaluates the i

What is the secret to running impossibly fast? Or distances longer than previously imagined? Beginning in the 1960's, an unknown farm boy turned coach named Bob Larsen launched a decades-long quest to find the ‘secret sauce' of speed and endurance that would eventually revolutionize the sport and catapult American running onto the national stage. This is the story of how Larsen took turned a rag-tag group of also-ran junior college athletes called the Jamul Toads into cult-favorite national champions. Later, he would apply his secret training regimen to athletes like Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor to create victories at the New York and Boston Marathons as well as the Olympics. To unpack this incredible yarn, today I sit down with New York Times Deputy Sports Editor Matthew Futterman. A graduate of Union College and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, Matthew has previously worked for The Wall Street Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Star-Ledger of New Jersey, where he was a part o

To be totally honest, I don't follow the pugilistic arts all that closely. But professional boxer barely describes this week's guest — a man who has faced stacked odds and overcome career-ending setbacks to meet the biggest moment of his life. Ask him how he did it, and Mike Lee answers with conviction: it's all about mindset. A professional light heavyweight boxer currently 21 – 0 with 11 knockouts, this Saturday, July 20th Mike will be fighting for his first world title against Caleb Plant — the current Undefeated IBF Super Middleweight World Champion. It’s Mike’s first fight in 13 months. On the other hand, Plant (18-0 with 10 knockouts) is fresh off his biggest victory. Suffice it to say, it’s shaping up to be quite the bout. And it's all going down live on Fox PBC, live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Hardly your average fighter, what compels me about Mike is the unique path he's blazed to arrive at this place. This is a guy who studied business at Notre Dame, where he relaxed by reading The Wall Street

Why is great food important? How and why did restaurants become culturally significant? And what life lessons can be gleaned from the world's greatest chef? There is no more enthusiastic ringmaster for this exploration than the merry man of food himself, Jeff Gordinier. A writer, journalist and author who sits at the converging junction of food and culture, Jeff is a frequent contributor to the New York Times and currently serves as the Food and Drinks editor at Esquire Magazine. A graduate of Princeton University where he studied writing and poetry, Jeff is a former writer and editor for Entertainment Weekly, editor at large for Details magazine and over the years has written about music and culture for a multitude of national publications, including Travel + Leisure, GQ, Elle, Creative Nonfiction, Spin, Poetry Foundation, Fortune, and many others. The occasion for today’s conversation is Jeff’s new book, Hungry: Eating, Road-Tripping, and Risking It All with the Greatest Chef in the World*. Equal parts mid-

The tectonic plates of the workplace landscape are rapidly shifting. Gone are the days of multi-decade corporate allegiance, replaced with project-based careers. The rapid rise of the freelance economy. And a labor core increasingly distributed across the globe. What are the economic and social implications of this trend? How can the traditional office be re-imagined to fit this escalating movement? And what role can architecture and design play to deepen community and foster personal happiness? There is no better steward to explore these important questions than this week's guest, Miguel McKelvey. A talented, multi-disciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Miguel is the Co-Founder of WeWork — the ubiquitous, communal co-working space company — where he currently serves as the Chief Culture Officer, directing construction, architecture and web design for the business. Raised on a commune in Oregon, Miguel earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon, where he played on the Oregon Ducks

For reasons both obvious and perhaps less so, this week's episode holds a very special place in my heart. There is something unique about sitting before a microphone that permits a species of conversation difficult to otherwise have. Done right, the inherent formality of putting it all on the record can countenance an experience of rare intimacy that scarcely transpires in the course of conventional human interaction. From the very beginning of this podcast journey, I've longed to host my father on the show. To provide a ceremonial opportunity to probe his life, uninterrupted. To learn things about him I've always wanted to know — but for whatever reason just never found the right occasion to ask. For years, I harbored the fear that if I didn't make such an experience a priority, it might never happen. And that would be something I would deeply regret for the rest of my days. My drive was never to share such an experience with an audience. I wasn't convinced the conversation I yearned for would be appropriate

This week I sit down with Rebecca Rusch – one of the world’s greatest adventure athletes. Rebecca is a 7-time World Champion, best-selling author, activist, and Emmy winner. In addition to superhuman success on a mountain bike, she has performed at the elite level across a multitude of disciplines including rock climbing, white water rafting, and multi-day adventure events like Eco Challenge. Still crushing it at 50, Rebecca is redefining human capability in real time. Beyond athletics, Rebecca is a TEDx speaker, author of Rusch To Glory* and the founder of the Be Good Foundation. In addition, she is the event producer of Rebecca’s Private Idaho, a bike race in her hometown of Ketchum, and the protagonist in Blood Road, an extraordinary documentary that chronicles her 1,800 km mountain bike adventure along the Ho Chi Minh Trail to reach the site where her U.S. Air Force pilot father was shot down in Laos more than 40 years earlier during Vietnam. Dubbed ‘The Queen of Pain' by Adventure Sports magazine, Rebecc

Recorded live during our recent Plantpower Italia retreat in Tuscany, I'm delighted to share a fun and highly informative conversation and audience Q&A with the delightful, whip-smart “Plant Power Doctor” herself. Gemma Newman, MD has worked in medicine for 15 years, the last decade serving as Senior Partner at a family medical practice in the U.K.. She studied at the University of Wales College of Medicine and has worked in many specialities as a doctor including elderly care, endocrinology, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, general surgery, urology, vascular surgery, rehabilitation medicine and General Practice. In recent years she has developed a specialist interest in plant-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine, serving as a Jikiden Reiki practitioner and advisory board member of Plant Based Health Professionals UK. On the daily, she provides evidence based nutrition, mental and physical health modalities, energetic healing and lifestyle advice to her patients, who have gained tremendou

Every podcaster has their dream list — guests they fantasize interviewing. From day one, today's guest has occupied my top slot. Officially, Russell Brand is one of the most recognizable and best-loved comedy performers in the world. He is also is also a phenomenally successful author, broadcaster, actor, columnist, political commentator and mental health & drug rehabilitation activist. His global bestselling books include Revolution*,Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions*, and his latest release, Mentors: How to Help and Be Helped*. Now a devoted dad and husband, when he isn't touring or performing he can be found hosting Under The Skin on Luminary, one of my very favorite podcasts. Unofficially, Russell is iconic for his very public awakening. A recovering heroin addict, his struggles with drugs, sex, fame, money and power were custom tailored for tabloid fodder. And his satirical but always probing takes on politics, celebrity culture and religion often find him in the crosshairs of controversy. I think o

It's become increasingly harder to just put the phone down. Because the latest apps and digital platforms are specifically designed to addict, we have become slaves to their irresistible allure. Our precious attention is being hijacked. The ability to focus — to concentrate on that which is most meaningful — simply cannot compete with the magnetic pull of our Instagram feed. No longer need anyone ever be bored. Alone with one’s thoughts. Or simply present with one’s self.  The result is a global epidemic of distraction. A fomenting of loneliness and isolation. And a degradation of our humanity. The solution isn't Ludditism. Instead it's agency. We need not be victims of technology. We have the power to liberate ourselves from the tether of digital dependency. And the freedom it creates isn't just the salve to what ails us, it's the gateway to that which we seek most. Meaning. True human connection. And a reconnection with our innate humanity. Indeed, there is no substitute for real relationships. Boredom is u

“Human existence is but the blink of an eye. It doesn’t take much research to think about how we evolved and why we evolve the way that we do.” Dr. Sanjay Gupta Western medicine is extraordinary. Over the last several decades, scientific advances in the diagnosis and treatment of previously thought incurable diseases has utterly transformed how we live. But with these breakthroughs comes an arrogance — a hubris that modalities outside the very narrow rubric of our dominant paradigm are without value — archaic, outdated legacies of less developed cultures. But is this always the case? Or do lessons remain to be learned by taking a critical but objective look at how other societies approach health and well-being? This question nagged at Sanjay Gupta, MD. So he decided to find answers for himself. For those unfamiliar, Sanjay is the associate chief of neurosurgery at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital and assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Emory University School of Medicine. But most people know him as

“We are, by definition, an ecosystem. The microbiome reveals a more connected biology, radically transforming our approach to medicine, hygiene, diet, and living.” Ara Katz & Raja Dhir Our bodies are comprised of about ten trillion cells. But our microbiome — all the bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in or on our bodies – outnumber human cells by a factor of 10. Indeed, we are far more microorganism than human. Moreover, rapidly developing science reveals the vast extent to which the nature of our personal microbiome drives not only our propensity for disease and digestive health, but also, quite surprisingly, can dictate our mental disposition, cognitive function, and even our specific food cravings. Today we take a magnifying glass to the mind-blowing netherworld of microbiota to illuminate their implications not just on human health, but the well-being of planet Earth at large. Our stewards for this fantastic voyage are Ara Katz and Raja Dhir, the co-founders of Seed, a venture backed microbiome comp

Over the years, I have openly shared my personal journey with alcoholism and that of many guests. A lifeline for the desperate many that struggle in silence, I do this to underscore that there is always hope, no matter how far down you find yourself. But what if you’re not an alcoholic? What if you, like millions of people, occasionally drink just a little too much? Even though it doesn't destroy your life, it leaves you feeling off. You're tired of the hangovers, the lethargy and the low grade depression it provokes. You'd prefer to stop. But because drinking is integral to your social or professional life, opting out seems impossible. What then? This week's guest faced this very predicament, a relatable scenario for a vast number of people. The only difference? Andy Ramage decided to do something about it. A former professional footballer (as they say in the UK), a career-ending injury prompted Andy to hang up the cleats and enter the world of finance. Channeling his work ethic, it didn't take long for him

“Always focus on how far you've come, not how far you have to go.”  Doug Bopst Admittedly, It's a thrill to converse with renown experts, world-class athletes and celebrities. But the most rewarding aspect of my job is occasionally turning my spotlight on the everyman — relatable people who have conquered adversity to reinvent themselves wholesale, all in relative civilian anonymity. These people are a gift. Amplifying their stories isn't just an honor. And it isn't just my joy. I see it as a responsibility. Through these individuals we are better able to see ourselves. Their weaknesses, struggles and strengths mirror our own. Their relatability uniquely qualifies them to reflect back upon us our shared, collective humanity. In their victories we can connect more viscerally with our own inner power and potential. Today it's my privilege to share yet another such story. This is the tale of Doug Bopst – an essentially normal kid who, like so many, suffered in silence from depression. To self-medicate he began

“There’s just no substitute for working hard.”  Jesse Thomas He's one of the world’s most popular and accomplished professional triathletes. But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this week's guest — a humble athlete, proud dad, devoted husband and dedicated entrepreneur with a unique success equation: Work hard. Play harder. Love hardest. His name is Jesse Thomas. He's rad. And this is his story. It begins with a stand out track and field career at Stanford and the Olympic steeplechase dream cut short by a career-ending injury. While later pursuing a masters degree in mechanical engineering, he picked up a bike and progressed so rapidly he entertained a professional cycling career. But that dream too was crushed when a spill left him with a fractured C1 vertebra, nine months in a neck brace, a plate and 4 titanium screws to hold it all together. Life as an athlete was over for Jesse. Or so he thought. Spending the next several years as a tech entrepreneur, Jesse got itchy. He didn't like be

Comedian! Writer! Author! Spiritual seeker! One of my favorite people, Pete Holmes needs no introduction. But I'm going to give it to you anyway. A stand up veteran with a cornucopia of comedy specials, television shows and late night appearances to his name, Pete is best known as the creator and star of the semi-autobiographical HBO show Crashing, a riotous and touching series he executive produced alongside Judd Apatow loosely based on Pete’s life in the early days of his comedy career. In addition, Pete hosts You Made It Weird – hands down one of my absolute favorite podcasts (I was honored to be a guest) — and is the author of the brilliant and just released Comedy Sex God*. Part autobiography, part philosophical inquiry, part sacred quest, I can't recommend this book more highly. Equally hilarious and profound, it hits bookstores everywhere this week. Pick it up immediately*. Read. Ponder. Thank me later. A long-time fan of Pete's, we were first introduced by our mutual friend (and former podcast guest)

An epidemic of colossal proportions, millions struggle with substance addiction. Suffering in silence, they too often slip through the cracks, desperate and alone. As a society, it’s incumbent upon us to better address the problem. Improve our collective understanding of its underlying causes. And enhance access to the resources required to heal the decaying hungry ghosts among us. It is for these reasons I felt compelled to share the story of Rev. Jeff Grant — a former well-respected New York City attorney who got hooked on painkillers and started making decisions so bad, he lost everything. Like so many, Jeff’s using started rather innocently in the aftermath of a basketball injury. But it didn’t take long before the tectonic plates of his ethical landscape began to shift. Under the influence, he perpetrated a series of financial misdeeds that led to losing control of his law firm. A suicide attempt prompted sobriety, but the long shadow cast by past actions revisited Jeff with a felony fraud conviction and

Life has taught me one essential truth: the human spirit is boundless. Just when you think we’ve reached the absolute pinnacle of what’s physically possible, someone performs a feat so utterly mind-bending you're left breathless. The skies of perception part. Blanketed in awe, we’re compelled to re-evaluate our own personal capabilities. And humanity is left just a little bit better than it was before. This is the sensation I experience when I spend time with Colin O'Brady – a former Yale swimmer turned professional triathlete turned elite adventure athlete with 4 breathtaking world records to his name. Colin's latest jaw-dropping feat of athletic prowess, stunning endurance and sheer human will was becoming the first person in history to cross the continent of Antarctica solo, unsupported and unaided. Under nothing but his own power, Colin pulled a 300lb sled 932 miles in just 54 days across the coldest, windiest, most remote continent on earth from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the South Pole. Colin first