Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks

Society views time as a fixed commodity, yet modern theoretical physics and cognitive neuroscience suggest otherwise. If the linear flow of time is truly an illusion, then time isn't just a resource to be managed; it's a perception to be mastered.
My guest on the podcast today, Prof. Steve Taylor, argues that time isn't experienced evenly. He suggests that where you place your attention and how you live day-to-day can change the way time unfolds, stretching or compressing your sense of it. 
Steve is a researcher in psychology and a senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett University. He has served as the chair of the Transpersonal Psychology section of the British Psychological Society. He writes the popular blog Out of the Darkness for Psychology Today and has contributed to Scientific American, The Conversation, and The Psychologist.
In his work on "Time Expansion Experiences," Steve explores why we experience time differently in different states of mind. We discuss everything from slow-motion accident stories (and why calm can show up in chaos) to meditation, flow states, and the mind-bending "eternal now" where mysticism and physics converge.
Highlights from the episode:
Accidents and "slow-motion" perception: Why the mind slows down in crisis.

The age gap: Why children experience long summers while adults feel seasons fly by.

Retrospective time theory: How we judge duration after the fact.

Automatization: How your brain edits reality to remain efficient.

Digital distortion: Social media's impact on your experience of time.

The power of novelty: How small changes can make life feel longer.

The "Block Universe" theory: Exploring Einstein and Minkowski's spacetime.

NDE life reviews: Examining the spatial sequence of memory.

Time cessation phenomena: What happens when time stops altogether.

The discussion moves from metaphysics to real-world advice on subjectively "lengthening" your life. Enjoy! 
Show notes and more visit larryweeks.com

We've been taught that success comes from setting goals, defining purpose, and executing a plan. But what if those very habits—the linear drive for certainty—are what keep us stuck?
Dr. Anne-Laure Le Cunff, neuroscientist, founder of Ness Labs, and world-leading expert on mindful productivity, has an alternative: treat your life like a series of tiny experiments. In her new book Tiny Experiments, she explores how curiosity, liminal spaces, and small-scale testing can transform how we handle uncertainty and growth.
Anne-Laure argues that traditional goal-setting and the "tyranny of purpose" trap us in rigid definitions of success and failure. Instead, she offers a science-backed framework for progress through curiosity-driven experimentation, an approach that replaces pressure with play and perfectionism with learning.
We discuss how to navigate the in-between spaces of life, the thresholds between who we were and who we're becoming, and why those moments of uncertainty hold the most potential for transformation.
Listen as we dive into how to build an experimental mindset that turns confusion into data and uncertainty into discovery.
Highlights 
What if the most uncertain moments are also the most meaningful?
Invisible "scripts" quietly running your decisions, and how to rewrite them
Why rushing to "figure it out" might be costing you your next breakthrough
How to turn fear of the unknown into curiosity about what's possible
The surprising neuroscience behind why smaller risks create bigger change
A four-step framework that turns uncertainty into momentum
Why chasing legacy might be keeping you from real impact right now
How to slow time without quitting your schedule
The overlooked social hack that makes personal growth exponential
What happens when you start studying your own life like a scientist
If you're in between, unsure, or just restless, this conversation is for you.

Anne-Laure shows that uncertainty isn't a problem to solve; it's the raw material of discovery.

In a world increasingly dominated by AI and computational thinking, we've been taught that logic is the ultimate form of intelligence. But what if an over-reliance on pure reason is making us more fragile and less equipped to navigate uncertainty?
Angus Fletcher is a professor at Ohio State's Project Narrative and the author of the best-selling book, Primal Intelligence. Angus's has had an extraordinary career path to say the least, from building mutant neurons in neuroscience labs to studying Shakespeare at Yale, and being recruited by US Army Special Operations to train their elite operators.
Angus argues that the human brain is less a computational machine, and more a dynamic, narrative-based engine built for action and foresight. This "biological intelligence," often overlooked and untrained, is what allows us to operate with limited information, adapt in volatile environments, and innovate in ways no machine can. For his groundbreaking work on this very topic, Angus was awarded the Commendation Medal by the US Army in 2023.
Listen as we dive into the science of your innate intelligence and how narrative thinking works, and how understanding what feelings are telling you can transform how you deal with uncertainty. 
Some highlights from the episode:
Angus's journey from neuroscience to Shakespeare to Army Special Operations
Why hard skill, soft skill distinction misses the point entirely
How biological intelligence differs from computational intelligence
The Army's discovery about decision-making in volatile environments
A novel take on the purpose of emotions 
What fear and anger signals (and what to do about it)
Special operators' techniques for turning anger on and off
Why gratitude works best when applied to specific negative experiences
The brain as a Swiss Army knife rather than calculator
How to use emotions like a dashboard for better decision-making
How an integrated past and branching future creates anti-fragility
If you're curious about the kinds of intelligence that AI can't replicate, and how to better utilize yours, this conversation provides the science and practical tools to get started.
For show notes and more, visit larryweeks.com

In this episode, I'm digging into the messy reality of business turnarounds, the kind where survival isn't guaranteed and leadership is more about doing the hard, boring things than dazzling with big ideas.
My guest is Tony Stubblebine, CEO of Medium, whose recent post "Fell Into a Hole and Got Out" made the rounds for being one of the most honest and actionable stories about company rescue I've ever read. Tony's background runs deep: founder of Coach.me, architect of the Better Humans publication.
This is what it's really like to take over a company bleeding millions, shrinking fast, and staring down insolvency. But it's also a story about staying steady, balancing the financial reality with the need to restore quality, purpose, and confidence to a battered team. There's no sugar-coating here, just real talk about layoffs, difficult investor negotiations, and why the business model has to come before your "next big thing."
Tony walks us through the psychological and strategic ladder he and his team built, one rung at a time, to claw Medium back from the brink. He shares candid lessons for founders, hard truths about startup mythologies, and the personal practices that kept him sane when the stakes were highest.
Here's what we cover:
The "hole" no one talks about: what it's really like to inherit a company in crisis


Brutal financial realities, cutting costs, and restoring a culture's sense of purpose


Why the business model now comes before the product


The Goldilocks problem of innovation and finding the "just right" middle ground


How to negotiate with investors when a prior deal is dead and nobody wants to say it out loud


Lessons on hiring, layoffs, and having the hard conversations with a team that's seen too many pivots


The psychological "ladder" out, how to focus everyone on small wins


The power of slow, steady self-improvement (meditation, journaling, therapy) for surviving big challenges


Why Tony thinks each of us, just by living our lives, accumulate wisdom that can help others


This is more than a highlight reel, it's a toolkit for anyone who's had to make the tough calls or wondered if they could.
Enjoy the show.

There's something strangely reassuring about knowing people were wrestling with the similar issues we struggle with over 2,000 years ago — even if they wore togas and wrote with a chisel.
 
Donald Robertson is a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, acclaimed author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, and one of the world's leading voices on Stoicism. He's also the founder of the Plato's Academy Centre in Athens, and a founding member of the Modern Stoicism nonprofit.
 
On this pod, we talk about the wisdom literature and how it can help with emotional distress; specifically, the idea of Stoics as ancient psychotherapists. Donald explains how Stoicism wasn't just a philosophy of life, but also a clear system of psychotherapy in ancient Greek and Roman thought.
 
Some episode highlights:
How shifting definitions shape our understanding of mental illness
On the paradox of growth through adversity
Struggle and transformation
Experiential wisdom
Fortune and the bitch goddess of success
Stoicism as an ancient psychotherapy
The philosophical roots of cognitive therapy
On anger, and the art of self-mastery (Seneca, Galen)
On Worry and rumination
Marcus Aurelius 
Stoicism's broader vision
On the "view from above" and the liberation of perspective
How time expansion mitigates worry
The complex relationship of thoughts and emotions
The core proposition of both Stoicism and CBT
How complaining signals resistance to reality
Acceptance and the dichotomy of control
How to reconnect with what's essential in a noisy world

 
This isn't motivational fluff; it's a toolkit for anyone who's ever gotten tangled in their own head.