The Nick Standlea Show

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Jun 2026

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The Nick Standlea Show is where we take one big future question—AI, learning, creativity, work, meaning—and chase it until the lightbulb goes off. Nick brings on researchers, operators, and top thinkers for long-form conversations that stay human, get specific, and actually land on something useful—not just hot takes. If you want clarity on what’s changing and how to adapt without losing yourself, you’re in the right place. More about the Host: Nick’s spent his life studying how people learn and perform—researching creativity and flow, building companies, and now having long, honest conversations to figure out what matters in the age of AI. Video episodes available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNickStandleaShow You can follow Nick and the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickstandlea/ Ask questions. Don’t accept the status quo. Be curious.

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June 3, 2026Episode 482 hr 1 min

The Detective Who Took Down 'Dirty John' Meehan | “He Put a Hit on Me”

Detective Julia Bowman was one of the investigators who helped expose John Meehan — the man the world would come to know as Dirty John. In this episode of The Nick Standlea Show, Julia walks through the real case behind the headlines: how John Meehan manipulated, stalked, threatened, and terrorized the people around him, and how law enforcement began putting the pieces together before the story became a national true-crime phenomenon. Julia also shares the chilling moment she learned that John Meehan had allegedly tried to put a hit out on her from jail. This conversation is about more than one criminal. It is about stalking, coercive control, manipulation, victim safety, and how dangerous people can hide in plain sight until someone finally starts connecting the dots. If you know the Dirty John story from the podcast, documentary, or TV series, this episode gives you the perspective of someone who was actually there. Subscribe for more extraordinary stories. 🔗 Support This Podcast by Checking Out Our Sponsors: 👉 Build your own AI Agent with Zapier: https://bit.ly/4esiQwE 👉 Test Prep Gurus: https://www.prepgurus.com Instagram: @TestPrepGurus Connect with The Nick Standlea Show: YouTube: @TheNickStandleaShow Podcast Website: https://nickshow.podbean.com/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YqBBneFsKtQ... RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/nickshow/feed.xml Nick's Socials: Instagram: @nickstandlea X (Twitter): @nickstandlea TikTok: @nickstandleashow Facebook: @nickstandleapodcast Ask questions, Don't accept the status quo, And be curious. 00:00 Dirty John, stalking, and the hit 01:04 Julia Bowman’s path to detective work 04:25 The stalking case that changed everything 14:31 How Dirty John came onto Julia’s radar 18:02 Why stalking is misunderstood 23:45 How John Meehan targeted a vulnerable patient 36:37 Emotional terrorism and escalating threats 41:05 Tracking down and arresting Dirty John 53:58 The freezer backpack and the hit on Julia 1:06:51 Deborah Newell, Dr. Phil, and the rest of the story 1:24:03 The attack on Terra and John Meehan’s death 1:38:31 Power, control, and why victims stay 2:00:14 Final thoughts and other cases #DirtyJohn #TrueCrime #JuliaBowman #TheNickStandleaShow #Detective #stalkingawareness

May 19, 2026Episode 471 hr 42 min

AI Safety CEO: The Treaty to Stop the Race to Super Intelligence | "Nate Soares Was Right"

What happens if the companies racing to build superintelligence succeed before anyone knows how to control it? In this episode, Nick sits down with Malo Bourgon, CEO of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, to discuss why today’s chatbots are only a stepping stone, why leading AI companies are racing toward systems that could automate AI research itself, and why “letting it rip” may not be an option. Malo explains why the real concern is not that AI becomes “evil,” but that highly capable systems may pursue goals that are not aligned with human flourishing. He also breaks down why AI systems are more like something we grow than something we program, why alignment remains unsolved, what it means when AI systems resist shutdown or hide behavior during testing, and why MIRI is working on international agreements to prevent a race to uncontrolled superintelligence. This is not an anti-AI conversation. Malo is an aggressive user of AI agents in his own work. The question is whether we can capture the benefits of AI while avoiding the catastrophic risks of racing too quickly toward systems we do not yet understand how to steer. Topics include AGI, superintelligence, AI agents, alignment, AI safety, MIRI’s proposed treaty, the future of work, national security, AI governance, and what everyday people can do if they are concerned about where this is headed. Learn more about Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI): MIRI: https://intelligence.org MIRI Governance: https://techgov.intelligence.org If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: https://ifanyonebuildsit.com 🔗 Support This Podcast by Checking Out Our Sponsors: 👉 Build your own AI Agent with Zapier for FREE: https://bit.ly/4nGriLd 👉 Test Prep Gurus: https://www.prepgurus.com Instagram: @TestPrepGurus Connect with The Nick Standlea Show: YouTube: @TheNickStandleaShow Podcast Website: https://nickshow.podbean.com/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nick-standlea-podcast/id1700331903 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YqBBneFsKtQ6Y0ArP5CXJ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/nickshow/feed.xml Nick's Socials: Instagram: @nickstandlea X (Twitter): @nickstandlea TikTok: @nickstandleashow Facebook: @nickstandleapodcast Ask questions, Don't accept the status quo, And be curious. Subscribe for more conversations on AI, learning, work, meaning, and the future. Chapters: 00:00 The race to superintelligence 00:49 Malo Bourgon joins the show 01:11 Why people are confused about AI risk 03:11 AGI and the original goal of AI 07:07 Companies are racing to superintelligence 09:17 Dario Amodei’s 25% catastrophe concern 10:05 Why the extinction concern is not just hype 15:45 “You don’t get what you train for” 19:29 AI sycophancy and GPT-4o 23:37 AI systems resisting shutdown 27:04 The accelerationist argument 30:18 Are “doomers” actually the optimists? 31:04 Using AI tools while worrying about AI risk 32:18 Sponsor: Zapier 34:42 Violence, Sam Altman, and why peaceful action matters 36:46 MIRI’s proposed AI treaty 44:37 Buying time to solve alignment 47:33 Sudden capability jumps and Anthropic’s Mythos 52:37 Elon Musk, robotics, and concentrated power 55:18 What happens if AI automates cognitive labor? 1:00:10 Bernie Sanders, policymakers, and AI risk 1:07:46 Sponsor: Finding Your Best 1:08:39 How Malo uses AI in his own work 1:10:38 Claude Code, email, calendar, and work systems 1:14:38 Lessons from Wade Foster and Zapier 1:28:44 Social media, AI, and slow government response 1:30:36 AI as a national security issue 1:32:34 What Malo would say to world leaders 1:40:24 Where to learn more

May 6, 2026Episode 461 hr 1 min

AI Knows Your Business Better Than You Do | Zapier CEO Wade Foster

Most people think they understand how they work. They don’t. In this episode, Wade Foster, co-founder and CEO of Zapier, explains what actually happens when you connect AI to your tools, your data, and your workflow. It doesn’t just help. It sees things you don’t. From analyzing your work to automating entire systems, AI is becoming something closer to a second brain—one that can understand your business better than you can. And the people who learn how to use it first? They won’t just be more efficient. They’ll be operating on a completely different level. 🔗 Support This Podcast by Checking Out Our Sponsors: 👉 Build your own AI Agent with Zapier: https://bit.ly/4esiQwE 👉 Test Prep Gurus: https://www.prepgurus.com Instagram: @TestPrepGurus 👉 Finding Mastery Course: Designed to train the mental skills that drive elite performance—confidence, clarity under pressure, recovery, trust, and self-regulation. You can learn more and get $75 off the retail price using the dedicated code NICK75 at: 👉 https://findingmastery.com/course/?afmc=NICK75 Connect with The Nick Standlea Show: YouTube: @TheNickStandleaShow Podcast Website: https://nickshow.podbean.com/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nick-standlea-podcast/id1700331903 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YqBBneFsKtQ6Y0ArP5CXJ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/nickshow/feed.xml Nick's Socials: Instagram: @nickstandlea X (Twitter): @nickstandlea TikTok: @nickstandleashow Facebook: @nickstandleapodcast Ask questions, Don't accept the status quo, And be curious. 0:00 AI Sees What You Don’t (Cold Open) 0:42 Meet Wade Foster (Zapier CEO) 1:05 From Midwest to Startup Life 1:50 The Moment He Had to Figure It Out 2:48 Falling in Love With Software 3:29 First Experience With Zapier 4:08 What Zapier Actually Does 5:43 The Shift Into the AI Era 6:20 When AI Knows Your Business Better Than You 7:28 What AI Agents Actually Are 8:17 Building an AI “Board” for the Show 9:12 AI Found What I Was Missing 9:49 When AI Makes 10x More Connections 10:41 The GPT-4 “Code Red” Moment 12:29 This Changes the Entire Industry 13:40 The Hackathon That Changed Everything 14:50 Why AI Tools Are Finally Usable 15:39 Building Agents Without Coding 16:52 When AI Tells You NOT to Use AI 17:12 Build With AI, Run With Code 18:30 Why AI Fluency Matters Now 19:32 You Have a Ferrari (But Can’t Use It) 20:18 AI Raises the Floor AND the Ceiling 21:57 Where AI Is Headed Next 22:55 One Person Can Do Everything 24:07 Why Cheap Code Changes Everything 25:23 Automating Work With Zapier 26:29 AI Writing My Emails for Me 28:10 Faster Feedback Loops 29:06 What to Do at 13, 23, and 53 32:06 Everyone Starts at the Same Line 33:42 Adapt or Get Left Behind 34:49 Is College Still Worth It? 38:28 Automate Your Job Away 39:30 My Weekly AI That Reviews My Work 40:48 From 2 Hours → 10 Minutes 41:29 AI “Second Set of Eyes” 43:43 When Humans Must Stay in the Loop 44:08 The “Lethal Trifecta” Risk 46:12 How Safe AI Systems Will Work 49:20 What Jobs Are Actually at Risk 51:41 Why Engineers Are More Valuable Now 53:20 How AI Changes Teaching 56:22 The Future Role of Humans 58:35 What We’ll Miss About This Moment

April 22, 2026Episode 451 hr 2 min

How to Get Recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini & Claude | Ross Simmonds

Google is no longer the only place people look. So how do we show up in AI searches? In this episode, Nick sits down with marketing strategist Ross Simmonds to break down what businesses, creators, and entrepreneurs need to understand as discovery shifts from traditional search to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Reddit, YouTube, and beyond. They get into query fan-out, why LLMs pull from multiple platforms at once, why YouTube may be one of the biggest opportunities in the AI era, how Reddit became a serious source of influence, why “create once, repurpose forever” matters more than ever, and how to think about attribution when AI is sending people your way in ways analytics often miss. This is a practical conversation about how to stay visible when the internet is changing under your feet. In this episode: Why traditional SEO is no longer enough How AI tools decide what brands to mention Why YouTube is massively undervalued How to use Reddit without getting banned Why great content should be repurposed relentlessly How to find real customer insight in an AI world What metrics still matter when attribution gets messy Ross Simmonds is a marketing strategist and entrepreneur focused on content, distribution, and how brands grow in a changing digital landscape. 🔗 Support This Podcast by Checking Out Our Sponsors: 👉 Build your own AI Agent with Zapier (opens the builder with the prompt pre-loaded): https://bit.ly/4hH5JaE 👉 Test Prep Gurus: https://www.prepgurus.com Instagram: @TestPrepGurus Connect with The Nick Standlea Show: YouTube: @TheNickStandleaShow Podcast Website: https://nickshow.podbean.com/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nick-standlea-podcast/id1700331903 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YqBBneFsKtQ6Y0ArP5CXJ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/nickshow/feed.xml Nick's Socials: Instagram: @nickstandlea X (Twitter): @nickstandlea TikTok: @nickstandleashow Facebook: @nickstandleapodcast Ask questions, Don't accept the status quo, And be curious. Chapters 00:00 How do businesses get AI’s attention? 01:03 Google is no longer the only place people look 03:16 How LLM “query fan-out” actually works 06:38 Why YouTube may be the biggest opportunity in AI search 10:30 Why Ross thinks Google has a major AI advantage 13:16 How a school or nonprofit should reach the right audience 16:33 The 4 Es: educate, engage, entertain, empower 19:12 Create once, repurpose forever 21:11 How small businesses can do this without burning out 24:00 Which platforms matter most in each niche? 25:02 Is Facebook still worth it? 27:31 Zapier ad break 30:00 Why dumping money into Google and Meta ads may stop working 33:12 Old-school customer interviews still beat lazy AI marketing 37:22 The Claude Super Bowl ad and why human insight still wins 43:06 What distribution.ai actually does 45:39 Do you need to create content differently for repurposing? 49:33 Behind-the-scenes content, process, and parasocial trust 55:09 How to use Reddit as a brand without getting banned 58:35 What metrics matter now that attribution is messy 1:01:32 Where to find Ross online

April 7, 2026Episode 441 hr 18 min

How AI Is Already Changing Medicine | Dr. Peter Weir

If you think AI in medicine is still some far-off future, it’s not. Dr. Peter Weir is a family physician and health system leader, and in this conversation, he explains how AI is already changing what happens in the exam room. We get into ambient AI for medical documentation, how these tools may reduce physician burnout, where AI is already helping with clinical decision-making, and why the future of medicine will still require human judgment, trust, and real patient relationships. One of the wildest moments in this episode: Dr. Weir describes giving AI a complex cancer case and watching it generate the same treatment plan as a specialist oncologist in about 7 seconds. We also talk about: how AI is already augmenting doctors why medicine may be more vulnerable to AI disruption than people think where AI still makes dangerous mistakes why the human side of medicine still matters deeply how incentives shape the healthcare system where medicine may be headed next This is one of those conversations that makes it clear the future is arriving faster than most people realize. 🔗 Support This Podcast by Checking Out Our Sponsors: 👉 Build your own AI Agent with Zapier (opens the builder with the prompt pre-loaded): https://bit.ly/4hH5JaE 👉 Test Prep Gurus: https://www.prepgurus.com Instagram: @TestPrepGurus 👉 Finding Mastery Course: Designed to train the mental skills that drive elite performance—confidence, clarity under pressure, recovery, trust, and self-regulation. You can learn more and get $75 off the retail price using the dedicated code NICK75 at: 👉 https://findingmastery.com/course/?afmc=NICK75 Connect with The Nick Standlea Show: YouTube: @TheNickStandleaShow Podcast Website: https://nickshow.podbean.com/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nick-standlea-podcast/id1700331903 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YqBBneFsKtQ6Y0ArP5CXJ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/nickshow/feed.xml Nick's Socials: Instagram: @nickstandlea X (Twitter): @nickstandlea TikTok: @nickstandleashow Facebook: @nickstandleapodcast Ask questions, Don't accept the status quo, And be curious. Chapters: 0:00 AI Is Already Changing Medicine 1:00 Meet Dr. Peter Weir 3:31 How Doctors Are Using AI Right Now 4:06 Ambient AI and Medical Documentation 9:26 From Note-Taking to Clinical Decision-Making 14:30 AI Matched an Oncologist’s Plan in 7 Seconds 18:38 Why Medicine Is So Ripe for AI Disruption 21:43 Real-Time Decision Support in the Exam Room 22:24 The Rare Case AI Helped Catch 29:03 What Is the Role of the Physician? 32:07 Why Patients Still Want a Human in the Loop 37:19 End-of-Life Care and the Art of Medicine 40:54 Sponsor: Zapier 43:19 Where the Future of Medicine Is Headed 44:36 Population Health and Accountability 49:35 Why Medicine Is Still Too Reactive 50:31 The Real Problem: Incentives 54:50 The Gartner Hype Cycle and AI 57:01 AI Bubbles, the Internet, and Long-Term Change 1:02:49 AI Agents and Becoming a Super-User 1:09:33 Sponsor: Finding Your Best 1:10:42 Should Young People Still Go Into Medicine?

March 24, 2026Episode 431 hr 23 min

Posting Daily Didn’t Work for 14 Months—Then This Did (T.D. Orel)

If you’ve ever been told “just post every day and you’ll eventually blow up”… T.D. Orel is living proof that advice can be wildly wrong. T.D. spent 14 months posting daily with basically nothing to show for it—then he made one shift, leaned hard into niche, specific, “if you know, you know” content, and his accounts exploded. In this episode, we break down: Why posting every day didn’t work (and what did) The surprising power of hyper-niche content How shares beat likes (and why “exclusive club” content spreads) The character that changed everything: Ulyses Self-publishing vs. traditional publishing (and the brutal reality of agents) Why fiction still matters—and why AI is both exciting and terrifying for creators T.D. is funny, brutally honest, and way more strategic than people expect. T.D. Orel Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/t.d.orel/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@t.d.orel_author Titan’s Nest + Sigra's Roost: https://www.amazon.com/stores/T.-D.-Orel/author/B0G1J673NP?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=ef040f6b-d3f0-4f55-a02d-fc1ab9bd36b4 🔗 Support This Podcast by Checking Out Our Sponsors: 👉 Build your own AI Agent with Zapier (opens the builder with the prompt pre-loaded): https://bit.ly/4hH5JaE 👉 Test Prep Gurus: https://www.prepgurus.com Instagram: @TestPrepGurus 👉 Finding Mastery Course: Designed to train the mental skills that drive elite performance—confidence, clarity under pressure, recovery, trust, and self-regulation. You can learn more and get $75 off the retail price using the dedicated code NICK75 at: 👉 https://findingmastery.com/course/?afmc=NICK75 Connect with The Nick Standlea Show: YouTube: @TheNickStandleaShow Podcast Website: https://nickshow.podbean.com/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nick-standlea-podcast/id1700331903 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YqBBneFsKtQ6Y0ArP5CXJ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/nickshow/feed.xml Nick's Socials: Instagram: @nickstandlea X (Twitter): @nickstandlea TikTok: @nickstandleashow Facebook: @nickstandleapodcast Ask questions, Don't accept the status quo, And be curious. Chapters: 0:00 — Posting Daily Didn’t Work… Then This Did (Intro) 1:19 — We Met at a Funeral (Yes, Really) 4:30 — The Goal: Become a Full-Time Fantasy Author 5:35 — Posting Every Day for 14 Months (And It Flopped) 8:19 — The Pivot: Stop Copying Everyone Else 9:45 — The First Viral Skit (Hyper-Niche Wins) 11:43 — Why Shares Exploded: “The Exclusive Club” Effect 13:25 — “Ulisses” + The Inner Thoughts Character (The Breakout) 16:39 — Marvel Commented… and the Internet Got Smaller 18:23 — Traditional Publishing Explained (Agents, Queries, “The Trenches”) 30:41 — Self-Publishing: Freedom, Pain, and the Real Work 44:31 — Getting Noticed: Pierce Brown + the Puzzle Box Move 51:59 — Why Fiction Still Matters (Emotion, Meaning, Humanity) 1:03:26 — AI vs Writers: Friend, Foe, or Tool? 1:18:35 — Final Advice + Where to Find TD / Titan’s Nest

March 16, 2026Episode 421 hr 8 min

Alan Weiss: "Stop Selling Hours. AI Will Kill That Model."

Most “business advice” on AI is noise. But if you’re building an AI-powered service, consulting business, or agency, the real bottleneck isn’t the tech... It’s positioning, pricing, and selling outcomes. Alan Weiss—author of *7-Figure Consulting* and the guy who’s been teaching value-based fees for decades—joins me to lay down the fundamentals that actually compound in an AI economy: how to stop selling time, how to package expertise, how to qualify clients fast, and how to build a business where your best work doesn’t get commoditized. We get into: - Why AI makes *outcomes* more valuable and *hours* less valuable - How to price when your delivery gets faster (and better) with AI - The difference between “deliverables” and “value” (and why clients pay for one, not the other) - Retainers, renewals, and building revenue that compounds - How to avoid becoming the cheapest prompt engineer on the internet If you sell your brain for money—and you want to keep winning as AI reshapes the market—this episode is for you. Check out Alan: - AlanWeiss.com - *The Seven-Figure Consultant*: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Figure-Consultant-Alan-Weiss/dp/1394376235 - Alan’s No Normal® Newsletter: https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/the-no-normal-newsletter/ 👇 Question for you: As AI gets better, what’s the hardest part of staying valuable—pricing, differentiation, or lead flow? — Chapters: 0:00 Stop selling hours 0:18 Intro: Alan Weiss on AI, consulting, and value 1:27 What consulting really is 2:35 Who is actually a consultant? 4:51 The case for value-based pricing 7:27 The mistake people make with buyers 10:08 Never discount like this 14:09 Peter Drucker and why old strategy breaks now 18:08 Alan’s answer to “What’s your hourly rate?” 20:19 How he wrote 50+ books 22:07 Should you go out on your own? 23:23 Sponsor: Zapier 25:46 Why solo consultants win 30:17 AI is being massively underused 36:02 The real danger of AI 37:58 What schools get wrong 42:14 Why education stays broken 44:23 Sponsor: Finding Your Best 45:18 The right metrics actually matter 49:41 High-tech, high-touch 51:16 Trust and relationships in the AI era 57:02 Agentic AI: powerful and dangerous 1:00:43 The future of consulting 1:02:47 How to handle slow bureaucracies 1:06:44 Alan Weiss’s best resources 1:08:22 Outro - #AI #business #consulting #pricing #sales #entrepreneurship #nickstandlea #alanweiss - 🔗 Support This Podcast by Checking Out Our Sponsor: Test Prep Gurus: https://www.prepgurus.com Instagram: @TestPrepGurus Connect with The Nick Standlea Show: YouTube: @TheNickStandleaShow Podcast Website: https://nickshow.podbean.com/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nick-standlea-podcast/id1700331903 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YqBBneFsKtQ6Y0ArP5CXJ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/nickshow/feed.xml Nick's Socials: Instagram: @nickstandlea X (Twitter): @nickstandlea TikTok: @nickstandleashow Facebook: @nickstandleapodcast Ask questions, Don't accept the status quo, And be curious.

February 11, 2026Episode 411 hr 7 min

How to Future-Proof Your Kid in the Age of AI (CEO Ryan Kiick)

AI is changing school, college admissions, and the workforce faster than most parents and students realize. In this episode, I sit down with Ryan Kiick (CEO of Revolution Prep) to talk about the skills that won’t get automated, and how to use AI without becoming dependent on it. We get into the real danger of offloading thinking, why the most powerful way to use AI is to generate better questions (not just better answers), what happens to writing and the college essay in a post-ChatGPT world, and why executive functioning plus deep learning may be the biggest moat students can build. If you’re a student, parent, or educator trying to stay sharp in the age of AI, this one is for you. Guest: Ryan Kiick — CEO, Revolution Prep Find Ryan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryankiick/ 🔗 Support This Podcast by Checking Out Our Sponsors: Zapier: Build Your Own AI Agent Today, Without Coding Link: https://bit.ly/4pI8Su2 Test Prep Gurus: https://www.prepgurus.com Instagram: @TestPrepGurus 🕒 Timestamps (Chapters): 00:00 – Cold plunges and bad circadian rhythms 01:10 – Justin’s background and why economics needs better communication 03:30 – Why AI is the biggest economic shift of our lifetimes 06:00 – From brawn to brains: how AI changes the equation 09:00 – The white-collar revolution: why AI threatens cognitive work 11:30 – Will AI drive wage stagnation for white-collar jobs? 12:50 – VCRs, substitutes, and complements: lessons for AI 14:50 – The NickBot 2000 thought experiment — who owns the robot? 17:00 – Why AI’s real issue is ownership, not capability 19:30 – The DeepMind vs. Meta contrast: altruism vs. profit 21:30 – The monopoly danger: what happens if one company wins 24:00 – Why competition (not regulation) is saving us, and Nvidia 25:54 – Sponsor: Zapier 28:17 – Are AI stocks a bubble—or just early? 31:00 – Dot-com lessons and humility in predictions 33:30 – $700 trillion in potential AI value? An economist’s math 38:00 – The global AI race: U.S., China, and everyone else 41:00 – Government policy, laissez-faire, and missing debates 45:00 – Manipulation, bias, and invisible influence in LLMs 46:00 – Education’s blind spot: universities aren’t adapting fast enough 52:00 – Why “prompting” is the new literacy 55:00 – How ChatGPT changes testing, grading, and learning 58:00 – Reinventing the Oxford tutorial—powered by AI 01:00:30 – Liberal arts, critical thinking, and the skills that endure 01:02:00 – “vibe coding” for the next generation 01:06:30 – How to future-proof your career in the age of AI 01:09:00 – Daily AI experiment challenge 01:10:30 – Final thoughts: curiosity, courage, and lifelong learning 🔗 Support This Podcast by Checking Out Our Sponsor: Test Prep Gurus website: https://www.prepgurus.com Instagram: @TestPrepGurus 👉 Build your own AI Agent with Zapier (opens the builder with the prompt pre-loaded): https://bit.ly/4hH5JaE Connect with The Nick Standlea Show: YouTube: @TheNickStandleaShow Podcast Website: https://nickshow.podbean.com/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nick-standlea-podcast/id1700331903 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YqBBneFsKtQ6Y0ArP5CXJ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/nickshow/feed.xml Nick's Socials: Instagram: @nickstandlea X (Twitter): @nickstandlea TikTok: @nickstandleashow Facebook: @nickstandleapodcast Ask questions, Don't accept the status quo, And be curious.

January 29, 2026Episode 401 hr 10 min

Why Your Brain Doesn't Create Consciousness: It's Always Been There (ft. Philip Goff)

In this conversation with philosopher Dr. Philip Goff, we dive into one of the deepest questions in science and philosophy: what if consciousness isn’t produced by the brain—what if it’s fundamental to reality? We explore panpsychism, the “hard-to-ignore” problem of subjective experience, why physics may describe what matter does but not what it is, and what it would mean if even the smallest building blocks of nature contain a spark of experience. Philip Goff’s work: Website: https://philipgoffphilosophy.com/ Substack: https://philipgoff.substack.com/ In this episode: What consciousness is (and why it’s so hard to explain) Why brain scans don’t “find” experience The core argument for panpsychism Galileo’s legacy: how modern science set consciousness aside What physics really tells us about matter Implications for meaning, spirituality, and mystical experience AI and consciousness: are LLMs “aware” of anything? Chapters: 00:00 What if consciousness isn’t made by the brain? 00:14 Pansychism in one sentence (a conscious universe) 00:40 Why consciousness breaks science’s “objective” method 01:16 Welcome + Durham vs California weather 02:35 What is consciousness? “What it’s like to be you” 03:38 Goff vs Anil Seth / Donald Hoffman (physicalism vs panpsychism) 05:10 Why consciousness is so hard to explain (objective vs subjective) 07:49 The “dogs → plants → atoms” ladder into panpsychism 08:34 Galileo’s move: taking consciousness out of science 10:23 The bold claim: even atoms/particles have experience 11:43 Plant intelligence + pea-plant learning (Monica Gagliano) 14:02 Why extend mind to the “inanimate” world? 15:14 Unifying what Galileo split: matter + experience 16:17 Consciousness as fundamental (not “emergent”) + Maxwell analogy 18:54 What panpsychism claims (and doesn’t) 19:08 Russell & Eddington: physics tells what matter does, not what it is 21:44 “Matter is what consciousness does” (the core framing) 23:16 Consciousness isn’t publicly observable (why the “hard problem” persists) 26:56 Flipping the project: start with consciousness first 33:04 Sponsor: Finding Your Best (Michael Gervais) 34:00 Flow, mystical experience, and taking inner experience seriously 36:01 Groupthink, rigor, and why “woo” ideas get dismissed 37:46 William James on trusting mystical experience 40:21 Nick’s Auschwitz experience + the limits of science 42:01 Value, depth, meaning—what experiences seem to reveal 44:26 “Science isn’t the complete story” (logic, math, value, consciousness) 46:59 Sponsor: Zapier + AI agents 49:19 AI and consciousness: is there “something it’s like” to be an LLM? 51:47 The Turing Test and redefining “thought” as behavior 54:12 Why Goff thinks LLMs aren’t conscious (and what would be) 57:54 No consensus in consciousness science + philosophy inside the lab 1:01:26 The question keeping Goff up: math, logic, and Gödel 1:05:40 What shift does Goff hope you take away? 1:07:42 Where to find Goff’s work + closing thoughts 1:09:50 Outro: ask questions, reject the status quo, stay curious If this topic hits for you, consider subscribing—more conversations at the edge of mind, science, and reality. 🔗 Support This Podcast by Checking Out Our Sponsor: Test Prep Gurus website: https://www.prepgurus.com Instagram: @TestPrepGurus Connect with The Nick Standlea Show: YouTube: @TheNickStandleaShow Podcast Website: https://nickshow.podbean.com/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nick-standlea-podcast/id1700331903 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YqBBneFsKtQ6Y0ArP5CXJ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/nickshow/feed.xml Nick's Socials: Instagram: @nickstandlea X (Twitter): @nickstandlea TikTok: @nickstandleashow Facebook: @nickstandleapodcast Ask questions, Don't accept the status quo, And be curious. #Consciousness #Panpsychism #PhilipGoff #Philosophy #Neuroscience #Science #AI #Mind

January 15, 2026Episode 391 hr 15 min

The Single Mindset Shift That Unlocks Mastery | Dr Michael Gervais

Fear of other people’s opinions quietly shapes how we perform, how we speak, and who we allow ourselves to become. In this conversation, Michael Gervais—performance psychologist to Super Bowl champions, Olympic gold medalists, and Fortune 50 leaders—breaks down why the fear of judgment is one of the greatest limiters of human potential. We explore why winning and losing can become distractions, how identity gets tangled with performance, and why mastery isn’t about outcomes—but about learning to be at home with yourself, even under pressure. This episode is a deep dive into presence, self-trust, and the inner skills that matter more as the world gets faster, louder, and increasingly driven by external validation. Topics we cover: Why fear of judgment pulls us out of the present moment How performance becomes identity (and why that’s dangerous) The “messy edge” where growth actually happens Signal vs. noise in high-pressure environments Flow, mastery, and learning to work with your inner world Why elite performers train the mind—not just the body and craft What still makes us great in an AI-accelerated world Finding Mastery Course: Michael also offers a structured course called Finding Mastery, designed to train the mental skills that drive elite performance—confidence, clarity under pressure, recovery, trust, and self-regulation. You can learn more and get $75 off the retail price using the dedicated code NICK75 at: 👉 https://findingmastery.com/course/?afmc=NICK75 You can learn more about Michael’s work, podcast, and programs at: www.FindingMastery.com Mike’s book First Rule of Mastery: https://findingmastery.com/book/ YT: @FindingMastery IG: @michaelgervais If this conversation resonates, consider subscribing to The Nick Standlea Show for long-form conversations on performance, purpose, and becoming more fully yourself. 🔗 Support This Podcast by Checking Out Our Sponsor: Test Prep Gurus website: https://www.prepgurus.com Instagram: @TestPrepGurus Connect with The Nick Standlea Show: YouTube: @TheNickStandleaShow Podcast Website: https://nickshow.podbean.com/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nick-standlea-podcast/id1700331903 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YqBBneFsKtQ6Y0ArP5CXJ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/nickshow/feed.xml Nick's Socials: Instagram: @nickstandlea X (Twitter): @nickstandlea TikTok: @nickstandleashow Facebook: @nickstandleapodcast Ask questions, Don't accept the status quo, And be curious. Timestamps: 00:00 Why fear of others’ opinions quietly controls us 02:20 Michael Gervais’ background and early influences 05:45 Winning vs. losing a Super Bowl—and what actually matters 08:50 Outcomes as noise vs. present-moment inputs 11:00 Best vs. your best (the identity trap) 13:00 Survival instincts and why pressure feels life-or-death 14:45 The three things you can train: craft, body, mind 16:20 Flow and the ever-unfolding present moment 18:00 Fear of judgment as a constrictor of potential 19:40 Mastery of craft vs. mastery of self 21:00 Why approval-seeking fractures attention 23:00 Performance-based identity explained 26:00 The “messy edge” where breakthroughs happen 29:45 Emotional danger lines vs. physical danger 30:15 Emotions vs. feelings (and why it matters) 33:10 Anxiety, excitement, and regulating activation 35:50 Breathing and self-talk under pressure 39:15 Trust as a performance accelerator 40:30 Who do you want to become? (inputs vs. outcomes) 46:30 Excellence as being at home with yourself 50:05 Why people struggle to sit alone with their thoughts 54:30 Practical ways to build self-awareness 58:10 Meditation, flow, and mental training 1:01:40 Mastery of self in an AI-driven world 1:06:20 Purpose, work, and human performance 1:09:10 Mortality, impermanence, and aliveness 1:13:30 Where to find Michael Gervais and Finding Mastery

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