Featuring 4,696,437 Podcasts
Armchair Umbrella
Audience rating: Adult Content

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Hi, I’m Dax Shepard, and I love talking to people. I am endlessly fascinated by the messiness of being human, and I find people who are vulnerable and honest about their struggles and shortcomings to be incredibly sexy. I invite you to join me as I explore other people’s stories. We will celebrate, above all, the challenges and setbacks that ultimately lead to growth and betterment. What qualifies me for such an endeavor? More than a decade of sobriety, a degree in Anthropology and four years of improv training. I will attempt to discover human “truths” without any laborato...

Latest Episodes

Jennie Garth

Jennie Garth (I Choose Me, 90210, What I Like About You) is an award-winning actor and author. Jennie joins the Armchair Expert to discuss her vegan journey, being discovered in a pageant and moving to LA to work as an actor, and the recent experience of watching herself in Beverly Hills, 90210 for the first time. Jennie and Dax talk about how tense dynamics between their characters began to seep into real life, what it means for her to have been ‘born blue,’ and the layered, heartbreaking connection she had to Luke Perry. Jennie explains how having kids young saved her life amid the industry, having her stomach pumped at the end of her marriage, and healing through Buddhism and learning to care for herself after a near-divorce.


Take printer ink off your to-do list with HP Smart Tank | hp.com/SmartTank

Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Armchair Anonymous: Bad Dates II

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a really bad date.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Emily & Matt Hyland (Emily Burger)

Emily & Matt Hyland (Emily, Pizza Loves Emily, Emmy Squared Pizza) are restaurateurs and authors, with Matt a Michelin-recognized chef and culinary creator, and Emily an educator, poet, and mindful movement teacher. Emily and Matt join the Armchair Expert to discuss meeting when Emily was Matt’s college RA, how yoga has been one of the biggest through lines in Emily’s life, and their favorite pizza’s favorite pizza. Matt, Emily, and Dax talk about when THE burger entered the scene, how a difficulty to compartmentalize working together caused their relationship to break down, and the underlying friction that resulted from conflating her identity with his food. Emily and Matt explain getting divorced after opening a restaurant based on their love story, how through therapeutic work healing their dynamic as partners after each remarrying, and the clarity that came from an arrest and a restraining order during a really dark moment.


Take printer ink off your to-do list with HP Smart Tank | hp.com/SmartTank

Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nikki Glaser Returns

Nikki Glaser (Good Girl, Golden Globes, Alive and Unwell Tour) is an Emmy, Grammy, and Golden Globe-nominated comedian and television host. Nikki returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss not wanting to miss out on something because she’s afraid of looking stupid, why she wants another shot at Dancing with the Stars, and receiving self esteem from helping out. Nikki and Dax talk about pulling up to Hollywood tour buses to give them a little thrill, being so out of the loop as a result of comment sobriety, and her take on online incel culture. Nikki explains how being a hater can provide a form of bonding, why she doesn’t actually want people to watch her specials, and the pressure of aesthetic expectations attached to having money as a woman in entertainment.


Take printer ink off your to-do list with HP Smart Tank | hp.com/SmartTank

Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Armchair Anonymous: Spring Break

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a crazy spring break story.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michael Pollan Returns (on consciousness)

Michael Pollan (A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness) is a science and environmental journalist. Michael returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss why choosing surrender is liberating in both psychedelics and life, what the “hard problem” of consciousness is and how we get to it, and how sentience serves homeostasis in living beings. Michael and Dax talk about asking what the world would be like without consciousness, the remarkable fact that plants can see, hear, and fight, and experimental evidence via the ginger test that disgust originates in the gut. Michael explains the qualitative redness of red, that there’s so much more going on in consciousness besides computation, and what strange places to visit our minds are. 

Take printer ink off your to-do list with HP Smart Tank | hp.com/SmartTank

Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ike Barinholtz #4

Ike Barinholtz (Artificial, Funny You Ask, The Studio) is an award-winning actor, writer, and comedian. Ike returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss the agony and the ecstasy of colonoscopy prep, how all his winning has changed his personality, and what a great group he gets to work with on The Studio. Ike and Dax talk about his crying triggers as he nears 50, why he made the decision not to try standup comedy, and how the idea hit him for his new podcast. Ike explains why everyone loves to answer questions, living his fantasy as a Jeopardy writer, and his adorable obsession with capybaras.


Take printer ink off your to-do list with HP Smart Tank | hp.com/SmartTank.

Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Armchair Anonymous: Wild Card XII

Dax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a crazy story.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Sussillo (on foster care and neuroscience)

David Sussillo (Emergence: A Memoir of Boyhood, Computation, and the Mysteries of Mind) is a technologist, neuroscientist, and professor at Stanford University. David joins the Armchair Expert to discuss growing up with two parents that were addicts, experiencing extreme poverty throughout his childhood, and the joy of finding a best friend during that time. David and Dax talk about how the immersion and rules of video games amid the chaos of his life became the precursor to his research today, ending up in a series of group foster homes for several years, and his dream of going to college functioning as a protective shield for his future self. David explains being orphaned by the living while in foster care, the elation of receiving a full ride to Carnegie Mellon to study computer science, and the deep learning neural network research he now leads at Stanford.


Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/

Head to turbotax.com to find a store location near you and get matched with a TurboTax expert — with real-time updates in the iOS app.

This episode is sponsored by AppleTV. Learn more at: https://tinyurl.com/mr2caw2c

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nate Bargatze

Nate Bargatze (The Breadwinner, Hello World, Your Friend) is a standup comedian, writer, and actor. Nate joins the Armchair Expert to discuss growing up with a father who was a preacher/clown/teacher/magician/motivational speaker, working as a water meter reader before finding his way into comedy, and what it’s like reentering reality after being celebrated on an arena stage. Nate and Dax talk about how his decision to always be a clean comic affected his career trajectory, the time he was heckled by a parrot, and realizing that his comedy tribe were all the dirtiest standups. Nate explains that a big aim of his comedy is to not make others feel bad or uncomfortable, his belief that one-on-one we can all relate to one another, and why watching a comic for 20 years is observing a life.


Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/

Head to turbotax.com to find a store location near you and get matched with a TurboTax expert — with real-time updates in the iOS app.

This episode is sponsored by AppleTV. Learn more at: https://tinyurl.com/mr2caw2c

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.