Episode
#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
Description
#427: Michael Lewis on the Crafts of Writing, Friendship, Coaching, Happiness, and More | Brought to you by UCAN and Readwise. More on both below. “The secret to doing good research is always to be a little underemployed. You waste years by not being able to waste hours.” — Amos TverskyMichael Lewis is the best-selling author of many books, including Liar's Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short, The Undoing Project, and The Fifth Risk. Both of his books about sports became movies nominated for Academy Awards, as did The Big Short, his book about the 2008 financial crisis. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and three children.His critically acclaimed podcast, Against The Rules, returns with season two on Tuesday, May 5. Last season, Michael explored the attack on referees in sports, financial markets, newsrooms, courts of law, and the art world.This time around, Michael focuses on coaches: why the role of coach has expanded beyond sports in American life and why everyone seems to love coaches. Each episode examines a different kind of coach. From money coaches and voice coaches to college coaches and even the one who changed his own life, Michael delves deep inside the vast world of the coach. Can a good coach level the playing field? What is the secret to effective coaching? What role do coaches have in creating unfairness? Can everyone be coached or are some people beyond help?Please enjoy! This episode is brought to you by UCAN. I was introduced to UCAN and its unique carbohydrate SuperStarch by my good friend—and listener favorite—Dr. Peter Attia, who said there is no carb in the world like it. I have since included it in my routine, using UCAN’s powders to power my workouts, and the bars make great snacks. Extensive scientific research and clinical trials have shown that SuperStarch provides a sustained release of energy to the body without spiking blood sugar. UCAN is the ideal way to source energy from a carbohydrate without the negatives associated with fast carbs, especially sugar. You avoid fatigue, hunger cravings, and loss of focus. Whether you’re an athlete working on managing your fitness or you need healthy, efficient calories to get you through your day, UCAN is an elegant energy solution. My listeners can save 25% on their first UCAN order by going to ucan.co and using promo code TIM. U.S. orders will also be shipped for free.This episode is also brought to you by Readwise! Readwise is an app that helps you remember significantly more of what you read. How often do you read a book or an article and then look back a couple of weeks later to realize you barely remember anything from it? Readwise solves this problem by integrating with Kindle, Pocket, iBooks, Instapaper, and more to send you a daily digest of all your highlights. On average, their users report remembering 84% more of what they’ve read and highlighted.It helps you build a fun, daily habit of reviewing and actually using the hundreds of highlights that are just sitting in your reading devices, collecting cyber-dust, and doing nothing for you. This simple habit of reviewing your highlights daily can dramatically improve how much information you retain through the scientifically proven process of spaced repetition. Sign up at readwise.io/tim for a two-month free trial offered exclusively to Tim Ferriss Show listeners. ***If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more. 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Chapters
Readwise is an app that helps you remember what you've read by integrating with Kindle, Pocket, iBooks, and more to send you a daily digest of all your highlights and allow you to organize your books and notes.
00:00 - 02:51 (02:51)
Summary
Readwise is an app that helps you remember what you've read by integrating with Kindle, Pocket, iBooks, and more to send you a daily digest of all your highlights and allow you to organize your books and notes.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Best-selling author Michael Lewis talks with Tim about his creative process, his writing habits, and the psychological and financial incentives behind some of his best-known work.
02:51 - 10:04 (07:13)
Summary
Best-selling author Michael Lewis talks with Tim about his creative process, his writing habits, and the psychological and financial incentives behind some of his best-known work.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Against the Rules with Michael Lewis returns with a new season exploring the role of coaches in American life, examining different types of coaches in each episode.
10:04 - 16:04 (05:59)
Summary
Against the Rules with Michael Lewis returns with a new season exploring the role of coaches in American life, examining different types of coaches in each episode. Michael delves deep into the creative process, formative experiences, mentors, and coaches in a wide-ranging conversation.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Malcolm Gladwell shares his journey of how he became a writer and the passion that sustained him through rejection and failure.
16:04 - 27:33 (11:29)
Summary
Malcolm Gladwell shares his journey of how he became a writer and the passion that sustained him through rejection and failure.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Michael Lewis recounts the story of how an op-ed he wrote for The Wall Street Journal, while working as an associate at Solomon Brothers, sparked a crisis meeting within the company and almost got him fired.
27:33 - 34:07 (06:34)
Summary
Michael Lewis recounts the story of how an op-ed he wrote for The Wall Street Journal, while working as an associate at Solomon Brothers, sparked a crisis meeting within the company and almost got him fired.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The writer may have one idea in mind when writing a book, but the reader may have a different interpretation of it when reading.
34:07 - 41:39 (07:31)
Summary
The writer may have one idea in mind when writing a book, but the reader may have a different interpretation of it when reading. However, the writer has no control over the reader's interpretation.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The host of a coaching podcast discusses the role of music in her life and how it serves as a device for shutting out interruptions and creating emotions and feelings.
41:39 - 49:15 (07:36)
Summary
The host of a coaching podcast discusses the role of music in her life and how it serves as a device for shutting out interruptions and creating emotions and feelings.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
In this conversation, economist Tyler Cowen shares his perspectives on the importance of taking the time to find worth in work instead of constantly appearing or being busy, and how social feedback can improve conversations.
49:17 - 59:01 (09:44)
Summary
In this conversation, economist Tyler Cowen shares his perspectives on the importance of taking the time to find worth in work instead of constantly appearing or being busy, and how social feedback can improve conversations.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The feeling of obligation and duty to the material is important when deciding to write a book, and it requires the material to rise to a level of interest where the writer feels engaged with it.
59:01 - 1:04:38 (05:37)
Summary
The feeling of obligation and duty to the material is important when deciding to write a book, and it requires the material to rise to a level of interest where the writer feels engaged with it. Taking a break and being able to say it's okay if you never write again is also important for a writer's mentality.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
In Moneyball, the Oakland A's team uses statistics to identify undervalued baseball players, showing that the market often misvalues people based on factors such as physical appearance.
1:04:40 - 1:12:47 (08:07)
Summary
In Moneyball, the Oakland A's team uses statistics to identify undervalued baseball players, showing that the market often misvalues people based on factors such as physical appearance. The book draws attention to the mistakes made when evaluating other people and the class dynamics within a professional baseball team.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Michael Lewis talks about the psychologists, Danny Connellman and Amos Tversky, that created the whole Moneyball phenomenon and explores the power of their collaborative work and their tumultuous relationship.
1:12:47 - 1:23:52 (11:05)
Summary
Michael Lewis talks about the psychologists, Danny Connellman and Amos Tversky, that created the whole Moneyball phenomenon and explores the power of their collaborative work and their tumultuous relationship.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
In this episode of Against the Rules, Tim Harford discusses the founding father of the idea of the inner game of coaching, Tim Gallway.
1:23:52 - 1:31:00 (07:08)
Summary
In this episode of Against the Rules, Tim Harford discusses the founding father of the idea of the inner game of coaching, Tim Gallway. Harford explains Gallway's idea that when you coach something what you really should be coaching is states of mind, not telling people where to put their racket or when to hit the ball.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
This episode talks about the principles of the inner game of coaching from a tennis coach who turned it into a very famous book, and how it can be applied to coaching any sport or performance.
1:31:02 - 1:37:31 (06:29)
Summary
This episode talks about the principles of the inner game of coaching from a tennis coach who turned it into a very famous book, and how it can be applied to coaching any sport or performance. The podcast also explores an experiment of whether the principles in the book can make musicians perform better, and how it can help athletes get into a better headspace.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
In this podcast, a writer discusses how exercise can be a healthy exercise for writers to improve their skills, and shares how he integrates different forms of exercise into his routine in a non-pandemic world.
1:37:31 - 1:46:42 (09:11)
Summary
In this podcast, a writer discusses how exercise can be a healthy exercise for writers to improve their skills, and shares how he integrates different forms of exercise into his routine in a non-pandemic world.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The podcast host discusses the pleasure of discovering great books from unexpected sources and shares a personal anecdote about a particularly funny book he enjoys giving as a gift.
1:46:43 - 1:54:11 (07:28)
Summary
The podcast host discusses the pleasure of discovering great books from unexpected sources and shares a personal anecdote about a particularly funny book he enjoys giving as a gift.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss interviews Michael Lewis on his podcast Against the Rules covering Lewis' podcast, books and thoughts on writing.
1:54:11 - 1:59:44 (05:33)
Summary
Tim Ferriss interviews Michael Lewis on his podcast Against the Rules covering Lewis' podcast, books and thoughts on writing.
Episode#427: Michael Lewis — Inside the Mind of the Iconic Writer
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Superstarch provides sustained energy to the body without spiking blood sugar, making it a great option to avoid fatigue, hunger, cravings, and loss of focus.
1:59:44 - 2:03:19 (03:35)
Summary
Superstarch provides sustained energy to the body without spiking blood sugar, making it a great option to avoid fatigue, hunger, cravings, and loss of focus. Meanwhile, Readwise is an app that integrates with Kindle, Pocket, iBooks, and Instapaper to provide a daily digest of all your highlights, helping you remember significantly more of what you read and highlight.