Dax Shepard on the Craft of Podcasting, Favorite Books, and Dancing With Your Demons

Dax Shepard joins Tim Ferriss to discuss how Armchair Expert pole-vaulted to a dominant position in podcasting and why vulnerability is its core engine. He speaks with unusual candor about his addiction history, his recent relapse on opiates after 16 years sober, and the choice to disclose it publicly. The conversation digs into his interviewing craft, the roles of co-host Monica Padman and producer Rob, his dyslexia-driven oral memory, and his philosophy on auditioning and detachment from outcomes. Dax also shares favorite books, his admiration for Howard Stern, and a 'favorite failure' (the film Chips flopping) that unexpectedly gave him the life and time with his kids he treasures most.

• Dax describes putting his mother on the podcast and learning, for the first time on-mic, that she stayed in a physically abusive marriage because the shame of having failed twice felt worse than being beaten up.
  00:06:55
• He recounts his rock-bottom moment before filming Zathura: going to Hawaii to avoid cocaine, finding crystal meth instead, then sitting suicidal in a San Francisco airport bar despite being about to make the most money of his life.
  00:14:45
• Dax explains his fear and reasoning around publicly disclosing his relapse, including how a friend told him that relapsing made him far more helpful to listeners than 16 years of sobriety married to Kristen Bell.
  00:19:27
• He maps out the baby-step path of the relapse, starting with taking Percocet alongside his dying father, and the proactive measures he's now taking, including identifying the resentments he was trying to escape.
  00:25:37
• Dax attributes Armchair Expert's success to launching big with famous friends and Kristen Bell, then realizing through live shows that listeners crave real, unrehearsed vulnerability.
  00:40:01
• He reveals he will never invite Howard Stern on the show, not over a favor but because he knows Stern doesn't want to do it, though he left the door open via Baba Booey for book sales.
  01:10:34
• Dax names the flop of his film Chips as his favorite failure, saying the collapse of his writer-director identity is what led him to start the podcast and gave him a better life than he'd imagined.
  01:30:51
• Asked for a billboard message, Dax offers 'Be as kind and forgiving to yourself as you are to the people you love,' admitting he is brutally self-critical.
  01:36:38

• Tim Ferriss started his podcast in 2014 and initially studied Inside the Actor's Studio and Terry Gross while developing his interviewing approach.
  00:02:49
• Dax credits his AA program of 17 years and watching people own their flaws as the inspiration and premise behind Armchair Expert.
  00:11:36
• Monica Padman started as the family's babysitter, became Kristen Bell's writer and chief of staff, then was 'poached' by Dax to co-host and fact-check the podcast.
  00:31:45
• The show runs a Monday-celebrity, Thursday-expert format, and Dax notes experts are easier to book than celebrities because they usually have a book to promote.
  00:38:29
• Dax cites that roughly 25% of people experienced childhood sexual trauma and 40% experienced physical abuse, arguing these struggles are far more common than people feel.
  00:45:38
• He references a Malcolm Gladwell chapter (David and Goliath) noting dyslexics are both more likely to end up in prison and more likely to become CEOs.
  00:46:40
• Dax says his dyslexia forced him to develop a strong oral memory, letting him interview without relying heavily on notes.
  00:47:12
• Both Dax and Tim give their podcast guests final cut, letting them remove anything they regret saying, which Dax believes makes guests more willing to be vulnerable.
  00:47:42
• Dax praises Howard Stern for evolving publicly, supporting gay rights and Hillary Clinton despite a largely male fan base, and for getting people to like guests they expected to dislike.
  01:07:30
• Dax has read Ron Chernow's 'Titan' about John D. Rockefeller three times and also recommends Jon Krakauer, especially 'Where Men Win Glory' about Pat Tillman.
  01:19:56

Books, products and media the guest or host genuinely endorsed here — with the buy link.

Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.