I’ve spent the last three months researching fear and anxiety, and how they work on a psychological and neurobiological level, for a big Rolling Stone article. In this time of pre-election hysteria and fear-mongering in the U.S., and so many other places around the world, I thought I’d write an email sharing some of the findings here. The goal is … Read More
The Truth Barrel, Episode 3: Laird Hamilton and Greg Long on Re-Evaluating Death to Improve Performance
Listen ➙ The Truth Barrel, Episode 3: Laird Hamilton and Greg Long What makes extreme surfers and athletes Laird Hamilton and Greg Long so successful at what they do? In this podcast, Neil Strauss and Gabby Reece explore an idea rarely, if ever, discussed: That it is your relationship with death that makes you great at life. It is your relationship … Read More
The Truth Barrel, Episode 2: Surviving Death with Marc Weingarten & Larry Miller
Listen ➙ The Truth Barrel, Episode 2: Marc Weingarten & Larry Miller What can we learn from those who’ve been close to death, or even died, and lived to tell about it? What can we learn from those who’ve been close to death, or even died, and lived to tell about it? Click To Tweet In this surprising and revelatory … Read More
The Secret to a Healthy Lifestyle For People Who Can’t Stick to Diets and Exercise Routines
I wasn’t going to do it. Everyone’s been asking me to do a podcast, from readers to friends to companies, and I’ve told them I’m too busy. But then the right person asked me. And so I decided to do it: Not for any other reason than it’s a way to spend more time talking with a good friend. Here’s … Read More
The Truth Barrel, Episode 1: Mark Healey on Facing Fear, Surviving Shark Attacks, & Extreme Breath Holding
Listen ➙ The Truth Barrel, Episode 1: Mark Healey In the debut episode of The Truth Barrel, Neil Strauss and Gabrielle Reece sweat it out in the barrel sauna with extreme waterman Mark Healey. He is a big-wave surfing champion, winner of the Spearfishing World Cup, a shark-tagger, a free-diver, a movie stuntman, and much more. In this episode, they … Read More
Protected: From the Desk of Neil Strauss: The Annual Society Mystery Trip
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
WHAT IT TAKES TO BE THE BEST (A CONTROVERSIAL LESSON FROM A WARLORD)
I was reading a new book, The Ego is the Enemy, by Ryan Holiday, who I had met when he was working with Robert Greene. I remember encouraging him to write a book, and him saying he wasn’t sure what to write about. Considering that he’s written or co-written at least six books in some three years since then, I … Read More
The Lost Afterword from Jerzy Kosinski’s The Painted Bird
When I first read The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski, I was struck not just by the power of the book but by the parallels in the author’s biography at the end of the book. It was learning that there was some element of truth in this savage book about the human condition that put it at the top of … Read More
My Last Conversation With Prince, R.I.P.
I just heard moments ago the tragic news that Prince, one of the greatest recording and live artists of our time, passed away. Over the years of writing about music, I’ve interviewed him, seen him perform big and small shows, and even run afoul of him. The following obituary of sorts is from my last encounter with him, when the tables … Read More
Goodbye Merle Haggard: The Last Interview
Today, the world lost one of the greatest country musicians of all time. Merle Haggard, who died on the day he turned 79 today, is the American dream personified. Born to a hardscrabble family, he lost his father at age nine, was in juvenile detention homes by the time he was thirteen for shoplifting from a lingerie store, and was … Read More