Podroll Show
Mere Mortals Conversations
What is Effective Philosophy? Juan and I simplify hard to grasp concepts into pragmatic takeaways that can be applied to every day life (fitness, goal setting, work, parenting, travel, hobbies, finances, etc.,).
Hosts & Contributors
Recent Episodes
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We Ran A Marathon | .... But Why ?
The main question I have received is .... why do it in the first place? In Episode #522 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: the behind the scenes of our first official marathon, why “finishing” can be its own kind of win, the three layers of marathoners you meet on race day, solo marathon attempts compared to the buzz of an organised event, tips (racing lines, shade-hunting, aid stations), where the wheels came off (cramps and blistered feet), reflect on why we choose hard things, what it would actually take for u…
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Catching Up On Busy Life | Missing The End Of An Era
After a mini break we're back and tired as hell.In Episode #521 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: being very busy versus truly tired, how priorities shift as life gets more complex and why sometimes the smartest move is pruning commitments instead of optimising them, reminisce on the “end of an era”—pinpointing a final carefree night with friends before marriages, kids and tighter schedules reshaped everything & maxing out your skills to learn what truly fits. Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortalsTimeline: (…
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Monthly Goals | June 2026
It's time for our monthly check in where we review our goals from last month and see what's coming up for the next.Do you set yourself monthly goals and if so, how many do you set? Juan and I on the first week of every month go over our progress from the previous month and where we are heading for the next. Emphasis as always is on the shortcomings; what we didn't achieve in the previous monthly goals and how we will fix that for the month that comes. We hope you get some value from this series, showcasing our own…
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Fitter After 40: Strength, Tendons & Recovery | Chris Ryan
At some point, the body sends you the invoice. In this episode of the Mere Mortals Podcast, I sit down with Chris Ryan, former Division 1 runner, fitness coach, Men’s Fitness cover model, former Mirror coach and founder of Chris Ryan Fitness, to talk about what it actually takes to stay strong, durable and fit as you get older. The core lesson: fitness is not just about effort. It is about intelligent effort, repeated long enough to become identity. Connect With Chris Ryan Website: https://chrisryanfitness.com Ins…
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Monthly Goals | May 2026
It's time for our monthly check in where we review our goals from last month and see what's coming up for the next.Do you set yourself monthly goals and if so, how many do you set? Juan and I on the first week of every month go over our progress from the previous month and where we are heading for the next. Emphasis as always is on the shortcomings; what we didn't achieve in the previous monthly goals and how we will fix that for the month that comes. We hope you get some value from this series, showcasing our own…
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Dreaming Big | Life Beyond The Average
Can you succeed without setting expectations & goals to hit?In Episode #520 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: riff on dreaming big: how our top‑level life aims can stay steady for decades while the reasons and execution evolve, whether you truly need a “big dream” to reach elite performance, how to cultivate direction in your twenties by chasing curiosity and I tease a 20‑year out‑of‑this‑world goal that’s resurfaced from childhood. Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortalsTimeline:(00:00:00) Intro(00:03:22) Dec…
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Reward Thyself For Great Boon | Or Fall Into The Pit Of Hedonism
When does training become trickery become manipulation?In Episode #519 of 'Meanderings', Juan and I discuss: the messy art of celebrating wins, the difference between admiration and genuine celebration, how expectations can warp our enjoyment of milestones, how to separate rewards from celebrations, why minimum thresholds matter, and how to design simple, sustainable rituals that create real memories and why routine can quietly erase the impulse to recognise achievements. Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortalsT…
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Lifestreaming Ruins Your Life | Is 'Real Life' Interesting To Others?
What do Michael Gerry, Big Brother and Clavicular all have in common?In Episode #518 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: broadcasting everyday life (potentially 24/7), how feasible it is to capture more of life with minimal setup, early backpack rigs to Michael Gerry’s 2019 year-long life stream, the pull toward performative behaviour, the appeal of using life streaming as a mirror for self-improvement, why human interest in real humans won’t vanish in an AI-simulated world, predictions on “life media”/consent cha…
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Monthly Goals | April 2026
It's time for our monthly check in where we review our goals from last month and see what's coming up for the next.Do you set yourself monthly goals and if so, how many do you set? Juan and I on the first week of every month go over our progress from the previous month and where we are heading for the next. Emphasis as always is on the shortcomings; what we didn't achieve in the previous monthly goals and how we will fix that for the month that comes. We hope you get some value from this series, showcasing our own…
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Thinking In Bets For Better Decision Making | How Prediction Markets Might Help Your Brain
The mindset of a poker pro can now be applied outside of a narrow game.In Episode #517 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: Annie Duke’s 'Thinking In Bets' book and how the poker mindset can reshape everyday decision-making, why focusing on process over outcomes matters, how using AI as a sounding board revealed hidden risk-taking in my own finances, testing assumptions in small experiments before going all-in, how arbitrage opportunities appear with prediction markets and why clarity on desired outcomes should dr…
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Train Increasingly Harder, Not Smarter | Is The Best Advice To Simply Do More?
As much as it sucks, more volume is almost always the answer.In Episode #516 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: volume versus form (sparked by a YouTuber/runner known as Ran to Japan), what extreme running volume really looks like when you’re fast enough to compress a marathon into a couple of hours per day, how training load evolves across years, why sheer reps often trump optimisation, steadily ramping the volume to match your goals and importance, why novice gains come from doing more before optimising, how so…
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Monthly Goals | March 2026
It's time for our monthly check in where we review our goals from last month and see what's coming up for the next.Do you set yourself monthly goals and if so, how many do you set? Juan and I on the first week of every month go over our progress from the previous month and where we are heading for the next. Emphasis as always is on the shortcomings; what we didn't achieve in the previous monthly goals and how we will fix that for the month that comes. We hope you get some value from this series, showcasing our own…
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Let's Get Down To MM Business | The Innovators Dilemma
Why is iterating hardware so difficult and what would we do if it came time to start a business.In Episode #515 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: Clayton Christensen's 'The Innovator’s Dilemma' book, why incumbents like IBM and Blockbuster struggled with disruptive shifts, how spin-outs can help large firms explore new markets, whether today’s tech giants (NVIDIA, Amazon, Alphabet) are genuinely pivoting faster than past eras, the trap of single‑thesis bets (e.g., x402 via Coinbase/Circle), the difference betwee…
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The Sovereign Individual | Will Network States Displace The Nation?
Will the lowering returns on violence along with digital wealth storage lead to an exodus?In Episode #514 of ' Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: The Sovereign Individual book (1997) highly recommended by Bitcoiners, early chapters bogged in Y2K angst versus strikingly prescient calls on digital money, decentralised media and the emerging cyber economy, how portable digital wealth might change the return on violence, what sovereignty means when nation-states still control critical infrastructure, historical arcs the …
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Abundance Mindset In An Abundant World | Is An Infinite Utopia Possible?
What makes a bun dance?In Episode #513 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: the definition of abundance versus how futurists/technologists and everyday folks actually use it, the conflation of “lots of something” with “zero friction access,” whether abundance must be global or can be meaningfully local, test the concept across water, food, intelligence and money, why more does not equal free (or even better), scarcity’s persistent psychological pull, whether a world of replicators (à la Star Trek) would make us hea…
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Becoming An Owner Of The Network | Chris Dixon's 'Read Write Own'
Are there any downsides to taking part in upsides?In Episode #512 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: how the internet moved from corporate networks to open protocol networks to blockchain networks, Dixon’s framing (read, write, own), why he thinks open protocols like RSS struggled against corporate platforms, where blockchains might change take rates, the real-world viability of tokenomics, if ownership will matter for in a future of AI, micro‑payments and abundant digital goods, games vs music business models an…
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Monthly Goals | February 2026
It's time for our monthly check in where we review our goals from last month and see what's coming up for the next.Do you set yourself monthly goals and if so, how many do you set? Juan and I on the first week of every month go over our progress from the previous month and where we are heading for the next. Emphasis as always is on the shortcomings; what we didn't achieve in the previous monthly goals and how we will fix that for the month that comes. We hope you get some value from this series, showcasing our own…
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Hell Yessssss Vs No | Deciding On Where To Spend Your Time
You can't say yes to everything .... so where do you draw the line?In Episode #511 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: the “hell yes versus no” decision-making lens and where it truly fits, opportunity cost/time constraints/certainty versus uncertainty, how emotion or rationality shapes decisions, stacking reasons to make a strong yes, a practical quadrant for choosing activities based on enjoyment and likelihood of meeting people. Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortalsTimeline: (00:00:00) Intro(00:03:39) Conte…