Deep Questions with Cal Newport

After a week spent debating AI’s impact on humanity, Cal wants to turn his attention back to AI’s impact on humans. To support this shift, he brings on the writer Brad Stulberg who recently decided that he was “done” with AI. They explore whether this is a resistance movement in the making…

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

More from Cal

Download Cal’s FREE guide to cultivating a deeper life: calnewport.com/ideas
Learn more about Cal’s books: calnewport.com/books
Listen to Cal’s podcast: thedeeplife.com/listen

Chapters

(0:00) A new paper calls LLMs a "cognitive virus"

(4:03) Brad gave AI a real shot — then quit

(8:13) Why everything online now sounds the same

(13:22) Plank 1: Effort, struggle, and the click-of-a-button economy

(20:11) You can take a gondola to the summit, but you didn't climb it

(28:30) Plank 2: AI is an average maker

(33:39) AI swirl: pseudo-productivity turned up to 11

(49:40) Treat AI like ultra-processed food

(55:08) Getting it off your phone, and the lesson of sports analytics

(1:00:13) Team Human and the humanist resistance

Sponsors:

https://www.horizon3.com/deep

https://www.calderalab.com/deep

https://www.notion.com/cal

https://www.factormeals.com/deep50off (Use code "deep50off")

Credits:

Podcast Production: Jesse Miller
Newsletter/Research: Nate Mechler
Theme Music: Jay Kerstens
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Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) How Worrisome is GPT-6’s “Stealth Thinking”?

(8:58) Reasoning models

(15:30) Astra

(21:02) The Good

(24:48) The Bad

(28:28) The Hype

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QNsdr-Qx_I

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/secret-technique-behind-openais-astra-model-sparks-security-concerns?rc=1ycz3a

https://x.com/_NathanCalvin/status/2094957301564092914

https://x.com/sjgadler/status/2094959837691908214?s=61

https://x.com/merettm/status/2095023204993490967?s=20

https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.11473

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.
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It’s that time of year again when Cal tunes up his organizational systems for the onslaught of the fall. In this episode, Cal walks through the exact system he’s personally adopting for the next few months. He also discusses why such systems are key to thriving in our current frenetic technological world, why it’s important to continue to tweak your systems, and best practices for constructing your own setup.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) How I’m organizing my life this fall

(24:36) An Irish novelist talks about her use of AI

(30:11) Developing a more balanced approach to tech products

(35:04) Cal’s opinion on an AI article

(41:55) Large corporations move away from all enterprise AI

(48:46) What Cal is up to

August 2026 Books

The New Dark Age (Nigel Biggar)

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/

https://culturedcode.com/things/

https://www.timeblockplanner.com/



Thanks to our Sponsors:

https://www.superhuman.com

https://www.shopify.com/deep

https://www.monarch.com (Use code “DEEP”)

https://www.mybodytutor.com

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) Does OpenAI create “secret AI civilizations”?

(1:59) What’s the deal with “agent swarms”?

(8:54) Should we be worried that the agents are plotting?

(17:39) How should we be thinking about all of this?

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow

https://www.dwarkesh.com/p/openai-huggingface

https://calnewport.com/has-ai-gone-rogue/

https://calnewport.com/are-we-at-war-with-ai-agent-civilizations/

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Back in 2023, Cal released an episode on a lifestyle design strategy I called the Deep Life Stack. Today, almost three years later, Cal revisits this idea and replaces it with a more robust concept that he calls “The Deep Life Map.”

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) Rethinking the Deep Life stack

(38:07) Too many interests and not enough time

(47:29) Voluntary attention regulates acute immune responses in humans

(55:34) A freelance musician and social media

(1:09:08) What Cal is up to

August 2026 Books

An Inside Job (Daniel Silva)

Three Years in Wonderland (Todd James Pierce)

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/

Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-026-02541-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Cal-Newport/author/B001IGNR0U

https://x.com/RyanHoliday

Thanks to our Sponsors:

https://www.surfshark.com/deepquestions

https://www.quo.com/deep

https://www.masterclass.com/deep

https://www.notion.com/cal

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices