Podcasts by Not Overthinking

How authentic are we on this podcast? from 2020-11-22T22:00

In this episode, Ali moans about how he always comes across poorly in podcasts while Taimur always comes across well, and how this doesn't accurately represent how we are in real life.

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John O'Nolan on Life as a Nomad, Ghost and Optimising for Happiness from 2020-11-17T13:15:42

John O'Nolan is the developer, founder and CEO at Ghost which he has grown to a $2.7m/year business. He has become a digital nomad in recent years and has been working remotely whilst travelling...

Austin Kleon on Writing, Creativity and The Importance of Idleness from 2020-11-09T15:12:14

This is an 'inbetweenasode' and features an interview Ali did with Austin Kleon as part of his Deep Dive series last month. Austin Kleon is the bestselling author of a trilogy of books about cre...

Is it immoral to publicly share revenue numbers? from 2020-11-01T20:00

In this episode, we discuss Taimur and Mack's setup of co-living in the Caribbean while Ali's stuck in rainy England. We then wonder aloud at length about whether Ali is a bad person for posting...

Book Discussion - The Psychology of Money Part 2 from 2020-10-25T19:20:26

This is the second part of our discussion of Morgan Housel’s book The Psychology of Money. We continue to explore some of the key points, like the role that luck plays in success, why poor peopl...

Book Discussion - The Psychology of Money from 2020-10-18T18:00

In this episode, we discuss Morgan Housel’s book The Psychology of Money. We explore some of the key points, like the role that luck plays in success, why poor people buy lottery tickets, and th...

Competitiveness and Mimetic Traps from 2020-10-12T11:19:05

This week we read and discuss Brian Timar’s excellent blog post entitled “Mimetic Traps”. We try and figure out when competitiveness is unproblematic and how we can avoid inheriting desires from...

Dissatisfaction and Aspiration from 2020-10-05T11:48:19

In this episode, we start by discussing an insight Ali had about the nature of dissatisfaction and setting overly high standards for ourselves. We then turn to the start of a book discussion, wh...

Should we donate to charity because it "feels good"? from 2020-09-28T09:40:47

In this episode, we discuss some of the concepts behind effective altruism with our friend Lucia. We touch on her motivations for setting up a public health charity, the Giving What We Can Pledg...

Book Discussion - The 4-Hour Work Week from 2020-09-20T20:21:10

Sponsored by Brilliant

This episode is kindly supported by Brilliant, the best way to learn maths, science, and computer science online. Brilliant focuses on helping you l...

Bouncing Back, Finding Fulfilment and Being Productive ft. Noah Kagan from 2020-09-15T16:00

As we were away this week, this episode is an interview that Ali recorded with Noah Kagan as part of his Deep Dive series on YouTube. Noah is an entrepreneur, YouTuber, blogger and podcaster as ...

Imposter Syndrome and Other Curiosities from 2020-09-06T22:40:52

Sponsored by Brilliant

This episode is kindly supported by Brilliant, the best way to learn maths, science, and computer science online. Brilliant focuses on helping you l...

How can we treat children morally? (Part 2) from 2020-08-30T22:08

In this episode, we talk some more about how we can treat children better. Specifically — what it means to "take children seriously", why we should take children more seriously, and how we can take...

How can we treat children morally? (Part 1) from 2020-08-16T21:35:34

In this episode, we review Ali's unemployment, talk about how to talk about workism, and Taimur finally elucidates some concrete ideas about how society treats children immorally, and how we treat ...

Reimagining our relationship with 'Work', ft. Paul Millerd from 2020-08-09T16:16:08

We're joined this week by Paul Millerd, who's spent a lot of time thinking, reading, and writing about 'work'. We talk about the current culture of 'work-ism', the history of work and how we ended ...

Friendships and Relationships ft. Valentin and Cliff from 2020-08-02T21:00

In this episode we chat to Valentin Perez and Cliff Weitzman about friendships, relationships, and the our ideas of the good life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Pr...

The Abusive Relationships of Productivity YouTubers from 2020-07-26T15:58:54

In this episode, we discuss one of Taimur's new fledgling theories about the nefarious parasocial relationships that exist between 'productivity' content creators and their audience. We try and fig...

68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice - Part 3 from 2020-07-19T14:48:20

This is the third and final part of our "68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice" series, where we go through an excellent blog post by Kevin Kelly, offering his life advice after turning 68. See Privacy Po...

How to Understand Things from 2020-07-12T21:34

In this episode, we discuss Nabeel Qureshi's recent blog post "How to Understand Things". We go through the post's main points, and talk about our own experiences of learning and understanding thin...

Envy and The Elephant in the Brain from 2020-07-05T08:00

This episode is mostly a discussion of Robin Hanson's "The Elephant in the Brain", a book about the 'hidden motives in everyday lives'. We also go on a long tangent about envy, and our personal exp...

How To Convince Your Friend To Start A Blog from 2020-06-28T08:00

In this episode, we explore we often fail to convince our friends to start having an online presence, and what a better approach might be. Possibly applicable to general "convincing" tasks as well....

68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice - Part 2 from 2020-06-22T11:00

In this episode, we continue our exploration of Kevin Kelly’s 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/priv...

Responses to our 'racism' episode from 2020-06-14T09:00

In this episode we discuss some of the responses we received to last week's episode ("Racism, Black Lives Matter, and Figuring Stuff Out"), from hate mail to not-hate mail. Ali also unveils his lif...

Racism, Social Justice, and Figuring Stuff Out from 2020-06-07T07:00

This week we talk about the Black Lives Matter movement, social justice, and how our towards these issues have changed over the past few years. Please interpret charitably. See Privacy Policy at h...

Thinking as Children from 2020-05-31T07:00

We talk about Eric Weinstein’s recent podcast episode with his son, which sparks a discussion about how both of our thinking developed as kids and adults and why we should take kids more seriously....

68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice from 2020-05-24T07:00

This week, we dig into Kevin Kelly's recent blog post "68 bits of unsolicited advice". We go through the list and talk about a bunch of the advices (?) that resonate with us. See Privacy Policy at...

Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships from 2020-05-17T07:00

This episode is Part 3 of 3 in our Transactional Analysis series (make sure you listen to the last 2 episodes before this one!). We dig into many of the different social games that people play: "If...

Life Positions&Games - Transactional Analysis Part 2 from 2020-05-10T00:00

In this episode, we continue our discussion about Transactional Analysis. We recap the Parent, Adult and Child zones of thinking that we mentioned last week, and move on to talking about the 4 diff...

The Parent, The Adult and The Child - A Discussion of Transactional Analysis from 2020-05-03T16:00

In this episode, we discuss transactional analysis. Taimur talks us through the ideas behind the theory, and how your internal mind can be split up into three parts - the Parent, Adult, and Child w...

Money, Stories, and Old People from 2020-04-26T09:00

In this episode, we talk about a few different things — how to think about giving money to those in need, whether it's helpful to view our lives as stories, and how Taimur has been trying to develo...

Vision, Leadership and Winning the Lottery - An open-ended discussion from 2020-04-19T18:00

In this episode we take a ramble through a number of topics from statistics to value propositions to what we'd do if we won the lottery to Animal Crossing. Enjoy! See Privacy Policy at https://art...

The Principles of Productivity from 2020-04-12T18:00

In this episode, we talk about Ali's favourite thing - productivity - much to Taimur's joy! Or, more precisely, we talk through the structure and some of the key points from Ali's upcoming Skillsha...

Taimur Teaches Maths - The Flaw of Averages from 2020-04-05T09:00

In this episode, Taimur gives us a maths lesson. We learn about why it's bad to rely on 'averages' when making plans, and about how we can make better decisions by accounting for uncertainty. Sorry...

Note-taking and quarantining from 2020-03-29T09:00

In this episode, we mostly talk about note-taking — reasons to do it, and different systems and apps to facilitate it. We also talk about how quarantine life is going so far, and how we're trying t...

Not Overthinking: Coronavirus Edition from 2020-03-22T10:00

This week we talk about the only thing there is to talk about right now — the Coronavirus crisis. We look back over the past few weeks to see how our thinking about the virus has changed, and we tr...

How would you spend your time if you knew you'd die in 2 years? from 2020-03-15T13:00

This week we tackle the conundrum of "how would you spend your time if you knew you'd die in 2 years?" We discuss some of the different ways of framing and thinking about this question, and to what...

Low Optionality and Adult Friendships from 2020-03-08T10:00

This week we talk about a few topics that Taimur's been noticing more and more — low social optionality (applied to adult friendships), the plight of kids in society, and treating your personal lif...

40 Concepts for Understanding the World - Tweet Discussion from 2020-03-01T09:00

This week we talk about @G_S_Bhogal's Twitter megathread of "40 powerful concepts for understanding the world". A whirlwind tour of a bunch of mental models that you may or may not have come across...

Motivation, Complaining and Conversationality - A Critique of the Podcast from 2020-02-23T10:00

This episode features Calum, a junior doctor working in Scotland who spent 6 years in medical school living with Ali. Calum has listened to every episode of the podcast so far, and shares some crit...

Margin, Dinner Parties and The Art of Gathering from 2020-02-16T10:00

In this episode, we continue to discuss the difficulties with recording a podcast each week, which turns into a conversation about margin & keeping afloat vs optimising for the long term. We then t...

Book Discussion: The Wright Brothers from 2020-02-02T23:00

In this episode, we summarise "The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough. It's a biography of Wilbur and Orville Wright, best known for inventing the airplane. It contains timeless themes relevant t...

Does travel really broaden our horizons? from 2020-01-26T14:00

In this episode (recorded on a car journey, sorry for the audio quality), we discuss the extent to which travelling, and living in different countries for extended time periods, actually broadens o...

Book Discussion - The Courage to be Disliked from 2020-01-19T00:00

In this episode, we summarise "The Courage to be Disliked" by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi. It's one of the very few books that Taimur's actually read, and the concepts it presents are provocat...

Words that changed our lives from 2020-01-12T23:00

In this episode, we each talk about 3 words/phrases that have changed the way we think about things and see the world. We touch on Taimur's new addiction to David Dobrik's vlogs, and Ali doesn't st...

"Lad" Culture - An Insider's Perspective from 2020-01-05T09:00

In this episode, we have a guest appearance from Jake, a junior doctor and recovering "lad". We discuss the meaning of being a "lad", the experience from inside the group and the feelings of those ...

Social Interactions - Comfort, Messaging and Life Enjoyment from 2019-12-22T09:00

In this episode, we discuss our favourite topic - Social Interaction - from the lenses of (1) comfort, (2) etiquettes of messaging and (3) the pinnacle of the human condition. We wonder about the v...

How to get rich (without getting lucky) - Tweet Discussion from 2019-12-15T09:00

In this episode, we discuss a Tweetstorm entitled "How to get rich (without getting lucky)" by Naval Ravikant. We touch on (1) wealth vs money, (2) financial freedom, (3) long-term thinking, (4) le...

External appearances vs internal experiences from 2019-12-08T10:00

In this episode we talk about the external appearances of different lifestyles and how they differ from the internal experience of living them. We also dig into Ali's mindset when it comes to YouTu...

Inner Rings - The Desire to Fit In from 2019-12-01T04:00

In this episode, we discuss our desire to fit in, to be part of the 'cool kids' group, to be part of what CS Lewis calls "The Inner Ring". We share some instances in our own life when we've succumb...

Intentional Socialising from 2019-11-17T10:00

In this episode we talk about how we socialise — the different types of social events we take part in, and how we take part in them. We talk about how we, for the most part, leave our social life d...

Being Weird from 2019-11-10T10:00

In this episode we talk about 'being weird'. We explore the merits of being weird, the different ways in which people can be weird, and some of our personal experiences. See Privacy Policy at http...

Conflict and Communication - The Roommate Relationship ft. Molly from 2019-11-03T09:00

In this episode, Taimur acts as a relationship therapist and digs into the (strictly platonic, for the record) relationship between Ali and his roommate Molly. We discuss our feelings about living ...

Treating your personal life like a business from 2019-10-20T22:15

In this episode we talk about a new theory of Taimur's — that we should treat our personal lives more like businesses, and treat our businesses more personally. We explore two aspects of "business ...

Small Talk&Social Awkwardness from 2019-10-13T09:00

In this episode, Ali tells us about a party(!) he recently attended, and how he approached the social interactions there. We talk about how we approach conversations with new people, whether it's o...

Book Discussion: "The Magic of Thinking Big" from 2019-09-29T15:00

In this episode, we try a brand new format! We go through Ali's Kindle highlights, from 4 years ago, from the book "The Magic of Thinking Big". We end up talking about mental restraints, making goo...

Will a new iPhone make us happier? from 2019-09-22T18:00

In this episode, we try to formulate an algorithm for buying new tech. We try to figure out when it's worth upgrading our iPhones, and how to think about new purchases in terms of their contributio...

Invisible Shackles&Life Scripts from 2019-09-15T03:00

As we grow, we're subconsciously exposed to various 'life scripts' that can have a profound effect on the way we lead our lives, without any conscious control on our own part. In this episode, we d...

What do we want from this podcast? from 2019-09-08T08:00

In this episode, we reflect on what we've been doing for the past 6 months with this podcast. We talk about why we took a break last week, whether we should have an episode every week vs every 2 we...

What's it like to be internet-famous? Ft. Sara Dietschy from 2019-08-25T11:00

This week we're joined by a very special guest — Sara Dietschy, tech and creativity Youtuber and podcaster (links in the full show notes). In this episode, Taimur interviews Sara and Ali about bein...

Is being negative ever acceptable? from 2019-08-18T08:00

In this episode, we discuss whether negativity is ever okay. Taimur discusses why he didn't like an Ed Sheeran concert we attended, and we try and figure out whether expressing negative views about...

Birds, Supersonic Jets, Internet Businesses and Trophy Hunting from 2019-08-11T07:00

Taimur and Ali feature as guests on the Episode Party podcast. Along with hosts Jack and Freddie, we discuss an episode of (1) The Casual Birder, (2) Indie Hackers, (3) Should This Exist, and (4) R...

How do we make friends? from 2019-08-04T07:00

In this episode, we discuss the various strategies we use to make friends. We start at primary school (aged 4) and examine how our tactics for making friends changed over time to the present day. W...

Procrastination, Money-making, Rejection etc - Answering your Questions from 2019-07-28T07:00

This episode is a Life Advice Q&A that Taimur and Ali did as part of Ali's 300,000 YouTube subscriber milestone video. We answer questions about startups, procrastination, motivation, productivity,...

Startups, Coding and Making Money Online - An Interview with Taimur from 2019-07-21T13:00

In this episode, Ali interviews Taimur about his life. We discuss how he learned to code, how he made money online by selling psychic readings, and how he uses Twitter to explore fame and fortune. ...

How should we give advice? from 2019-07-14T08:00

In this episode we talk about whether we should give advice to others, and if so, how to go about it. Do we have a moral imperative to offer advice to our friends if we think they're doing the wron...

Is ambition a virtue? from 2019-07-07T10:00

In this episode, we tackle the issue of ambition. What does it mean to be ambitious? Why do so many of us look for 'ambition' in a spouse? Why are some activities considered inherently more 'ambiti...

Why do we seek permission? from 2019-06-30T10:00

In this episode, we address a question from a listener. She wants to become a content creator but is concerned that because she isn't 'qualified', no one will care what she has to say. This turns i...

Ali's Journey on YouTube [Inbetweenasode] from 2019-06-23T08:00

This 'inbetweenasode' is an interview that Ali did on the Social Colours podcast: 'Journey of a Creator'. They talk about how he got started with YouTube, the strategy behind growing his channel, a...

What does it mean to be authentic? from 2019-06-16T09:00

This week we talk about authenticity — "keeping it real". Taimur tries, with difficulty, to explain why he thinks there's something deeper to authenticity than what everyone already knows and feels...

How to deal with Rejection from 2019-06-09T08:00

This week we talk about rejection. We dig into a rejection that Taimur recently faced, and then explore the various rejections we've both faced in our lives — how we felt about them, what we took f...

How much of our behaviour is status-seeking? from 2019-06-02T08:00

In this episode, we discuss the concept of social status, and wonder to what extent the signalling of status contributes to our own behaviours. We talk about how our schoolboy days were defined by ...

How can we get into the habit of reading? from 2019-05-26T08:00

This week we discuss the challenges of developing a reading habit. Taimur shares his struggles with starting books and never finishing them, lamenting the small role of reading in his life. Ali off...

Why do we struggle with motivation? from 2019-05-19T08:00

This episode is all about motivation. We start by introducing our ideal state of 'motivation is a myth' and the idea that discipline is all we *should* need to get stuff done. But then having recog...

What makes an awkward silence? from 2019-05-12T08:00

In this episode, we talk about awkward silences, why we think they happen, how we can stop them happening and whether we should stop them happening at all. We try and understand why we're more comf...

Time management, motivation, productivity etc [Inbetweenasode] from 2019-05-05T19:00

In this Inbetweenasode, Ali answers various questions relating to motivation, productivity, time management and that sort of stuff. It's a bit cheeky because we didn't record a proper episode, but ...

How should we take advice? from 2019-04-28T08:00

We all love getting advice from our audience, our mentors, our seniors, our listeners. In this episode, we discuss some of the feedback we've got about the podcast so far and wonder to what extent ...

Why do we love our jobs? from 2019-04-21T08:00

This is the first episode that features a guest! Paul Tern, a Cambridge-grad junior doctor who works in London, joins the discussion about why we love our jobs. We start off with some meandering ar...

Why should you invest in a good kitchen bin? from 2019-04-14T08:00

In this episode, we explore "Measure" — a mental model for spending time and money more effectively. Based on this framework, we conclude that everyone should get a good kitchen bin and a voice coa...

Why do we struggle with consistency? from 2019-04-07T08:00

In this episode we discuss how consistency in almost every domain is a super power, and come to a few conclusions about what helps us be more consistent with things like morning routines, gym worko...

Why do we hate networking events? from 2019-03-31T08:00

In this episode, we discuss why we hate networking events but love group holidays, and we try and figure out how to better connect with our fellow human beings. See Privacy Policy at https://art19...

Why are we scared to put ourselves out there? from 2019-03-24T09:00

In this episode, we discuss why we were (once) scared to put ourselves out there and how we overcame that fear. Send us your thoughts — hi@notoverthinking.com! See Privacy Policy at https://art19....

Why do we like to be correct? from 2019-03-17T00:00

In this pilot episode of Not Overthinking, we discuss our reasons for starting the podcast, and then have a chat about why we feel the urge to be correct in everyday conversation. See Privacy Poli...

Why do we like to be correct? from 2019-03-17T00:00

In this pilot episode of Not Overthinking, we discuss our reasons for starting the podcast, and then have a chat about why we feel the urge to be correct in everyday conversation. See Privacy Poli...

Why do we like to be correct? from 2019-03-17T00:00

In this pilot episode of Not Overthinking, we discuss our reasons for starting the podcast, and then have a chat about why we feel the urge to be correct in everyday conversation. See Privacy Poli...