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Tim Ferriss · 2023-09-01 · 2h 09m

The Random Show with Tim Ferriss & Kevin Rose — Affordable Luxuries, Brain Stimulation, and More!

Tim and Kevin swap affordable luxuries, brain-stimulation experiments, books, supplements, gear, and AI investing ideas in a free-ranging Random Show.

The Random Show with Tim Ferriss & Kevin Rose — Affordable Luxuries, Brain Stimulation,  and More!
The guest

Kevin Rose — Kevin Rose with Tim Ferriss

The gist

In this Random Show episode, Tim Ferriss and Kevin Rose riff over drinks about "affordable luxuries" and the small things that deliver outsized value, starting with the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch. Tim opens up about turning his CØCKPUNCH project into a creative-director playground and signing his first-ever writing collaboration, while exploring accelerated TMS brain stimulation for OCD. They dig into fiction and poetry recommendations, cold-therapy gear, supplements, and skincare. The episode closes with Kevin's investing takes on bonds, Nvidia, AMD, and Nintendo, plus practical travel tips like Google Fi for international data.

Big reveals

  • Tim's "affordable luxuries" framing anchors the show: getting maximum value and satisfaction out of low-dollar items, exemplified by the $250-290 MoonSwatch that mimics the iconic Omega Speedmaster.
  • Tim reveals a four-day creative sprint with writers and concept artists (D&D, Magic: The Gathering veterans) building out the CØCKPUNCH world, embracing a creative-director role for the first time.
  • Tim announces he just signed his first-ever writing collaboration agreement for his first book in six years, a tactical nonfiction work done with a co-author.
  • Tim discloses he was diagnosed with moderate/severe OCD and is exploring accelerated TMS brain stimulation (SAINT/SNT protocol from Stanford's Nolan Williams).
  • Kevin walks through friend.tech, a crypto app tokenizing people via a bonding curve, where he's earned almost three ETH in royalties from people trading his "keys."
  • Tim confesses a "disaster pants" story: after two double espressos, magnesium, and a huge dose of creatine, he soiled himself driving to the airport and flew 12 hours in economy with no underwear.
  • Kevin shares an AI investing thesis: Nvidia going to $3 trillion, AMD as a cheaper play (hampered by software stack), and Facebook/Google sitting on undisclosed AI capabilities.

Things worth remembering

  • The Swatch Group is the world's largest watch company, employing about 36,000 people in 50 countries and owning Omega.
  • Neil Armstrong used the Speedmaster's chronograph to time propulsion and jet releases during the moon landing, with no computer to do it.
  • Accelerated TMS in the SAINT protocol involves roughly 8.5-10 minutes of stimulation every hour, 10 hours a day, for five days, totaling 50 sessions in five days.
  • Tim and Paul Stamets jointly issued a challenge grant to help the Amazon Conservation Team buy historically indigenous land to return to Colombian tribes including the Kogi.
  • Haiku master Fukuda Chiyo-ni, born in 1703, began writing haiku at seven and was famous all over Japan by age 17, rare for a woman of her era.
  • Coyotes increase their litter size under threat as an evolutionary adaptation, helping them survive humanity's most systematic extermination attempt.
  • Maui Nui axis deer bone broth has collagen and protein levels so high people assume the lab reports contain errors.
  • Toshiba's "fuzzy logic" low-carb rice cooker uses a draining basket to remove starchy water, cutting carbohydrates by about 37 percent.
  • Google Fi covers over 200 international destinations, runs mainly on T-Mobile in the US, and protects your number from SIM swaps via Google account login.

Recommended in this episode

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.

RecommendedProduct

Domaine Tempier Bandol 2021

Domaine Tempier

“It was recommended to me, actually bought for me by a friend... and it's fantastic. It's really nice.” — Tim Ferriss 00:02:39
Find it on Amazon
RecommendedProduct

MoonSwatch (Omega x Swatch Speedmaster)

Omega x Swatch

“the actual collaboration looks amazing. It looks just like the Speedmaster... It's such a fun watch.” — Kevin Rose 00:05:56
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Descript

Descript (inferred)

“there are some great tools out there that can interact with transcripts that we have also tested and used in the past, like Descript.” — Tim Ferriss 00:25:34
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RecommendedBook

The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics

Dennis O'Neil

“I found it incredibly useful and also hilarious. The writing itself is spectacular. I thought it was spectacular.” — Tim Ferriss 00:45:12
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Stories of Your Life and Others

Ted Chiang

“he's absurdly, absurdly good... So Ted Chiang for science fiction would be my starting point.” — Tim Ferriss 00:46:21
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The Name of the Wind

Patrick Rothfuss

“The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, which is fucking incredible... It completely blew his mind.” — Tim Ferriss 00:47:26
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The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman

“is usually my trainer for people who are non-fiction purists... I'll usually break them in with The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.” — Tim Ferriss 00:47:26
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RecommendedBook

The Blade Itself

Joe Abercrombie

“I'm in the middle of listening to The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, and it is really fun. It is really, really, really good.” — Tim Ferriss 00:48:33
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Give Yourself Permission to Be Creative (TED Talk)

Ethan Hawke

“it is so good and so powerful. I really, really recommend everybody check it out.” — Tim Ferriss 00:50:14
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Somnee

Somnee

“you wear it 15 minutes before you go to sleep, and it's supposed to just really improve your sleep quality... So definitely check that out.” — Kevin Rose 00:51:18
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friend.tech

friend.tech

“It's a fascinating social experiment. I don't know where it's going to go, but I think it's worth people just kicking the tires on it.” — Kevin Rose 00:53:22
Find it on Amazon
RecommendedBook

Gold

Haleh Liza Gafori

“I also have reread now multiple times this collection of newly translated Rumi, called Gold, by Haleh Liza Gafori.” — Tim Ferriss 01:18:32
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Night Sky with Exit Wounds

Ocean Vuong

“I was so impressed... it still put me into the cosmic philosophical washing machine and fucked me up.” — Tim Ferriss 01:20:50
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Japanese Death Poems

Yoel Hoffmann (inferred)

“There's a book called Japanese Death Poems. It's fantastic.” — Kevin Rose 01:21:24
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Three Simple Lines

Natalie Goldberg

“She has a book called Three Simple Lines, which is about haiku and it's fantastic. It's a really good book.” — Kevin Rose 01:21:57
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RecommendedBook

Writing Down the Bones

Natalie Goldberg

“Writing Down the Bones. That is a great book. Great book.” — Tim Ferriss 01:22:29
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RecommendedBook

Chiyo-ni: Woman Haiku Master

Patricia Donegan and Yoshie Ishibashi (inferred)

“it's Chiyo-ni: Woman Haiku Master. That's the one I purchased... definitely worth picking up.” — Kevin Rose 01:25:12
Find it on Amazon
RecommendedBook

Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History

Dan Flores

“It's a fascinating book. It's really, really interesting... It was a good book. It was a good book.” — Tim Ferriss 01:25:43
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Great Lakes Collagen

Great Lakes

“Great Lakes, no affiliation, a brand that Rhonda takes, I'm a fan of.” — Kevin Rose 01:33:54
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Brodo bone broth

Brodo

“The best broth, kills everything on the shelves... It's my go-to broth. Brodo is fantastic.” — Kevin Rose 01:35:01
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Guest’s ownProduct

Maui Nui Venison

Maui Nui Venison

“bone broth from axis deer from Maui, which is from Maui Nui Venison... the collagen and protein levels are fucking bananas.” — Kevin Rose 01:35:32
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Aesop hand sanitizer

Aesop

“They make little tiny baby hand sanitizers now. And they smell amazing.” — Kevin Rose 01:36:39
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Kre-Alkalyn (buffered creatine)

NOW Sports

“It's buffered creatine. Dude, it eliminated all my stomach issues... it's done by NOW Sports.” — Kevin Rose 01:37:41
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Cold Pod

The Cold Pod (inferred)

“I've been really impressed with this thing... And it's been a game changer for me.” — Tim Ferriss 01:12:33
Find it on Amazon
Guest’s ownProduct

CØCKPUNCH Coffee

Tim Ferriss

“So this is the latest CØCKPUNCH Coffee, which it's very pretty... This is Bombay Sidama Ethiopia.” — Tim Ferriss 01:41:26
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Bellwether coffee roaster

Bellwether

“The lowest carbon imprint coffee that you can purchase... I've been very impressed with their consistency.” — Tim Ferriss 01:43:38
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OneSkin

OneSkin

“I'm three months in and I'm starting to notice little tiny changes just in skin quality and less bumpiness... in general, I'm pretty impressed.” — Kevin Rose 01:45:48
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ProMix protein

ProMix

“this is Attia's favorite protein... it's just insanely, insanely clean. Grass fed, hormone-free cows, minimally processed.” — Kevin Rose 01:47:52
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Toshiba Low-Carb Rice Cooker (fuzzy logic)

Toshiba

“It cuts the carbs by 37 percent reduction in carbohydrate... It does not spike me nearly as much as the full rice.” — Kevin Rose 01:50:59
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Boodles gin

Boodles

“I like the less botanical gins. So I'll do a Boodles or something that's just less botanical.” — Kevin Rose 01:54:42
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Airalo

Airalo

“for cellular data overseas. And it is the easiest, most reliable approach that I've found to cellular data overseas.” — Tim Ferriss 01:58:27
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Google Fi

Google

“Google Fi is just insane because internationally they give you coverage in just so many countries... Their data plans are the cheapest that are out there.” — Kevin Rose 02:01:36
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VUSXX (Vanguard Treasury Money Market Fund)

Vanguard

“VUSXX is the Vanguard fund that I use, and I think it's a no-brainer in that it's a hundred percent treasury-based.” — Kevin Rose 02:02:40
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Nvidia stock (NVDA)

Nvidia

“Nvidia is the dominant player in this space... I think long-term it's going to be a $3 trillion company.” — Kevin Rose 02:04:18
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AMD stock (AMD)

AMD

“I think AMD is a good cheap play for this... AMD is way cheaper than Nvidia right now.” — Kevin Rose 02:04:51
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Nintendo stock (NTDOY)

Nintendo

“a nibble for me is Nintendo... There's a lot of IP locked up there in Nintendo. I think that that could be interesting.” — Kevin Rose 02:06:54
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Illumination/Nintendo (inferred)

“Super Mario Bros. Second highest box office sales of all animated films. The Super Mario Bros. Amazing movie.” — Kevin Rose 02:06:54
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