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 laboratory work, clinical tr
Filtered episodes(27)
- StandardSummaries onlyBest of Monday 2025
On this special episode, we revisit some of our favorite moments from Monday episodes in 2025. Nikki Glaser relays the risks of a roast, Brad Pitt commits a non-union extra faux pas, Dominic Fike drops his mixtape in jail, Dove Cameron tries to mend her relationship with her dad, Alexander Skarsgård finds his way as an actor post-Zoolander, Jennifer Aniston talks kids and SNL, Adam Scott discovers grief for his mom while filming Severance, Mindy Kaling writes nerdy women who desire, and Charlie
- StandardSummaries onlyArmchair Anonymous: Unique Kink
Published Feb 20, 2026
Armchair AnonymousDax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a unique kink.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- StandardSummaries onlyColleen Cutcliffe (on the microbiome)
Published Feb 18, 2026
Colleen Cutcliffe (Pendulum Therapeutics) is a doctor of biochemistry and microbiology and CEO and co-founder of Pendulum Therapeutics. Colleen joins the Armchair Expert to discuss starting a microbiome supplement company inspired by her premature daughter who had to take antibiotics, applying hyenas' evolved ability to digest rotting meat to study gut bacteria, and how fecal transplants reliably help treat C. diff. Colleen and Dax talk about the real linkages between microbiome and depression,
- StandardSummaries onlyCharlie Puth
Published Feb 16, 2026
Charlie Puth (Whatever’s Clever, Voicenotes, Nine Track Mind) is a Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning songwriter, recording artist, and producer. Charlie joins the Armchair Expert to discuss his opinion that standup is the scariest job, how everyone in New Jersey is their own local celebrity, and that what’s most important about recording is capturing the air in the room. Charlie and Dax talk about the photographic memory-like way he approaches sound, learning he wanted to write his own music
- StandardSummaries onlyArmchair Anonymous: Meet Cute III
Published Feb 13, 2026
Armchair AnonymousDax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a meet cute.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.
- StandardSummaries onlyJustin Garcia (on the science of sex)
Published Feb 11, 2026
Justin Garcia (The Intimate Animal: The Science of Sex, Fidelity, and Why We Live and Die for Love) is an evolutionary biologist, researcher on sex and relationships, and Executive Director of the Kinsey Institute. Justin joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the unique quality that human sex is so tied to our social behavior, the physiological constraints on mating in other animals, and how sexually we are like magpies. Justin and Dax talk about why gorillas have really small testes, how the pan
- StandardSummaries onlyKaley Cuoco Returns
Published Feb 9, 2026
Kaley Cuoco (Vanished, The Big Bang Theory, The Flight Attendant) is an actor and producer. Kaley returns to discuss whether she’s on the slippery slope to getting a tiger, her recent obsession with near-death experiences, and being blessed with the gift of the ability to sleep anywhere, anytime. Kaley and Dax talk about the manager-facilitated meet-cute with her now-fiancé, her hosting pitch for an NFL Honors gig, and how she has such a healthy attitude towards rejection as an actor. Kaley expl
- StandardSummaries onlyArmchair Anonymous: Cooking Disaster II
Published Feb 6, 2026
Armchair AnonymousDax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a cooking disaster.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https:/
- StandardSummaries onlyClaudia Rowe (on the foster care system)
Published Feb 4, 2026
Claudia Rowe (Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care) is a decorated journalist, advocate, and author. Claudia joins the Armchair Expert to discuss making the shift from using long-form journalism to a book to tell a story, touching off a five-year correspondence with a confessed serial killer, and confronting why she became fixated on what causes a person to commit murder. Claudia and Dax talk about her harrowing experience writing a true-crime memoir, realizing that this t
- StandardSummaries onlyAnderson .Paak
Published Feb 2, 2026
Anderson .Paak (K-Pops!, Oxnard, Malibu) is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, music producer, and filmmaker. Anderson joins the Armchair Expert to discuss people discovering him through his wide-ranging collaborations, how his dad and uncle were like the hood version of Freaky Friday, and feeling grateful that he took the opportunity to repair with his father before he passed. Anderson and Dax talk about how his mom turned a strawberry stand into a multimillion dollar business into a prison sta
- StandardSummaries onlyArmchair Anonymous: Foreign Object in Butt II
Published Jan 30, 2026
Armchair AnonymousDax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a crazy story about finding a foreign object in a patient's butt.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy
- StandardSummaries onlyEllen Huet (on wellness cults)
Published Jan 28, 2026
Ellen Huet (Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult) is a journalist, startup founder, and author. Ellen joins the Armchair Expert to discuss must-haves versus most-haves in terms of cult sexuality requirements, her hot tips for avoiding cults that are too extractive, and her dealings with Silicon Valley and venture capitalists. Ellen and Dax talk about when she began covering orgasmic meditation startup OneTaste, the OM course to cult pipeline, and the intricacies and
- StandardSummaries onlyMarcello Hernández
Published Jan 26, 2026
Marcello Hernández (American Boy, SNL, Happy Gilmore 2) is a stand-up comedian, sketch performer, and actor. Marcello joins the Armchair Expert to discuss unsponsored gift selections from Marshalls, why Dominican kids are 12 years old but they’re also 40, and thinking he may have finally found his writing process. Marcello and Dax talk about the influential character he adopted during Model UN, leaving his first wife (soccer) for his mistress (stand-up), and how a depressive episode amid Covid l
- StandardSummaries onlyArmchair Anonymous: Pets
Published Jan 23, 2026
Armchair AnonymousDax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a crazy pet story.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.
- StandardSummaries onlyElizabeth Smart
Published Jan 21, 2026
Elizabeth Smart (Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart) is a child safety advocate and founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation. Elizabeth joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why advocacy became her opportunity to let other victims and survivors know they’re not alone, growing up not thinking her life would be in any way extraordinary, and details she remembers of her kidnapping at knifepoint in the middle of the night at age 14. Elizabeth and Dax talk about how her perspective on her experience has evol
- StandardSummaries onlyChris Stapleton
Published Jan 19, 2026
Chris Stapleton (Traveller, Higher, Starting Over) is a multiple Grammy award winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Chris joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why he looks for silence, his unpreparedness for the academics at Vanderbilt University, and wanting to make a record his father would like after his passing. Chris and Dax talk about the formative folks that gave him a shot as a young, no-name songwriter, following the motto that ‘terms are better than money,’ and the potential blind
- StandardSummaries onlyArmchair Anonymous: Wild Card XI
Published Jan 16, 2026
Armchair AnonymousDax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us a crazy story.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/
- StandardSummaries onlyDavid McWilliams (on the history of money)
Published Jan 14, 2026
David McWilliams (The History of Money: A Story of Humanity) is a journalist, writer, and economist. David joins the Armchair Expert to discuss having an unusually calm Irish family upbringing, being practically prescribed to study economics, and the impact that his father being screwed by the system had on him as a kid. David and Dax talk about his early, life-changing realization that no one actually has control over the economy, why economics should be seen as a form of communication about th
- StandardSummaries onlyKumail Nanjiani Returns
Published Jan 12, 2026
Kumail Nanjiani (Night Thoughts, Eternals, The Big Sick) is an actor, writer, and comedian. Kumail returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss working out his foot trauma, addressing the plastic surgery rumors, and why the Schwarzenegger pump is better than sex. Kumail and Dax talk about the benefit of going towards what we perceive to be our limits, why the gym is the only place many men feel comfortable being physically intimate with one another, and wrestling with if he contributes to the disco
- StandardSummaries onlyArmchair Anonymous: Party Gone Wrong
Published Jan 9, 2026
Armchair AnonymousDax and Monica talk to Armcherries! In today's episode, Armcherries tell us about a party gone wrong.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https:/
- StandardSummaries onlyWalter Isaacson Returns (biographer & historian)
Published Jan 7, 2026
Walter Isaacson (The Greatest Sentence Ever Written) is a biographer, historian, and Professor of History at Tulane University. Walter returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss why he embeds himself into the lives of his subjects to write about them, how empathy can get in the way of success, and discovering the secret sauce of Elon Musk. Walter and Dax talk about his interest in people that try to learn as much as possible about everything knowable, the belief that growing up as a misfit can in
- StandardSummaries onlyCher
Published Jan 5, 2026
Cher (Cher: The Memoir, Moonstruck, Believe) is a multi-platinum recording artist, Academy Award winning actor, TV personality, author, and icon. Cher joins the Armchair Expert to discuss earlier versions of trying to write her memoir and why this one worked, accidentally falling into her first acting job with Robert Altman, and memories from the Burlesque set with Kristen Bell. Dax and Cher talk about identifying not as an icon but as a woman who has always worked, the best piece of advice her
- StandardSummaries onlyRerelease: Walton Goggins
Published Jan 2, 2026
Walton Goggins (White Lotus, Fallout, Hateful Eight) is an Emmy-nominated actor. Walton joins the Armchair Expert to discuss no longer being willing to perpetuate cultural stereotypes of the south, being raised by the real Steel Magnolias, and sharing attraction to volatility on the edge of chaos. Walton and Dax talk about having wives that can walk with kings, the humiliation of poverty, and how an application for an American Express card changed the trajectory of his life. Walton explains lovi
- StandardSummaries onlyRerelease: Nikki Glaser
Published Dec 31, 2025
Nikki Glaser (Alive and Unwell, Someday You’ll Die, Not Safe with Nikki Glaser) is a comedian, actor, and television host. Nikki joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why Dax’s name has good joke texture, her plea for people not to have veneers during the apocalypse, and feeling embarrassed that her name had to take up space in Ralph Feinnes’ brain. Nikki and Dax talk about growing up resentful that she wasn’t born as pretty as she could have been, wanting the approval that comes with being extra
- StandardSummaries onlyRerelease: Adam Scott Returns
Published Dec 29, 2025
Adam Scott (Severance, Parks and Recreation, Stepbrothers) is an Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor and comedian. Adam joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why the era of movies that produced ET, The Goonies, and Temple of Doom means so much to him, how Severance was in such apt alignment with the grief for his mother’s death, and the reason playing “fan at bar” is way more embarrassing than “guy at bar.” Adam and Dax talk about a call of the void by licking lead, rebranding artisanal nicotin
- StandardSummaries onlyBest of Friday 2025
Published Dec 26, 2025
Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- StandardSummaries onlyBest of Wednesday 2025
Published Dec 24, 2025
On this special episode, we revisit some of our favorite moments from Wednesday episodes in 2025. Scott Payne gets stripped for a wire while undercover, Mark Ronson recalls his rockstar-studded childhood, Blaise Aguirre defines the difficulties of BPD, Mary Claire Haver assembles a toolkit for menopause, Malala Yousafzai struggles to make friends in high school, Michael Lewis laments male anger generated by the gambling industry, Seth Harp tracks stolen cash and corruption in the military, James