Michael Easter - Tools for Thriving in an Age of Indulgence

The Weekend University

Michael Easter is a New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and professor at the University of Nevada. His books, The Comfort Crisis and Scarcity Brain, explore how embracing discomfort and understanding our evolutionary roots can help us lead healthier, more fulfilled lives. Michael’s ideas have been adopted by top-tier universities, Fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams, and elite military units. In this conversation, we explore: - Why, despite life getting easier, people are feeling less happy. - The concept of "problem creep" and how it affects our well-being. - Key practices he's integrated from his research, like rucking, stillness, and exploration that can lead to an improved quality of life. - The psychological reasons we struggle with moderation and how the scarcity loop affects our behavior. - The optimal time we should be spending in nature on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. And more. You can learn more about Michael’s work at https://eastermichael.com. --- Michael Easter is a leading voice on how humans can integrate modern science and evolutionary wisdom for improved health, meaning, and performance in life and at work. He travels the globe to embed himself with brilliant thinkers and people living at the extremes. He then shares his findings and experiences with people around the world in his books and podcast and TV appearances. He is the author of The Comfort Crisis, a bestseller. The Comfort Crisis been translated into 10 different languages and adopted by Major League Baseball teams, top-ranked NCAA D1 football programs, top-tier universities and law programs, major corporations, and tier-one military units. His work shows that science has many answers. But it also proves that many aspects of the human experience and living well cannot be measured. To that end, his work combines the statistical and mystical. It melds topics ranging from medicine and anthropology to theology and philosophy, along with case studies of everyday people doing extraordinary things. He believes that new discoveries and a deeper understanding don’t happen from behind a screen. To that end, Michael’s investigations have taken him to meet with monks in ancient monasteries in Bhutan, lost tribes in the jungles of Bolivia, US Special Forces soldiers in undisclosed locations, gene scientists in Iceland, drug kingpins in Iraq, CEOs in Fortune-500 boardrooms, and elsewhere. Michael’s work and ideas have appeared in over 60 countries. They’ve been endorsed by directors of the CIA and Navy SEALs, gold medal-winning Olympians, leading physicians, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, Buddhist and environmental leaders, and more. His writing has appeared in Men’s Health, where he’s a Contributing Editor, and Outside, Men’s Journal, Cosmopolitan, Vice, Esquire, Scientific American, and Women’s Health. He’s also talked about his work and ideas on the world’s largest, most influential podcasts, like The Joe Rogan Experience, Art of Manliness, Impact Theory, NPR, EconTalk, and more. He’s spoken to or consulted for various top-tier universities, medical schools, Fortune-500 companies, government agencies, and some of the country’s largest nonprofits. When he’s not on the ground reporting, Michael is a professor in the journalism department at UNLV. He co-founded and co-directs the Public Communications Institute, a think tank at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). He lives in Las Vegas on the edge of the desert with his wife and their two dogs, Stockton and Conway. --- Interview Link: — Michael’s website - https://eastermichael.com