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Cal Newport

Cal Newport is a computer science professor and a New York Times bestselling author who writes about the impact of technology on society, and the struggle to work and live deeply in a world increasingly mired in digital distractions. On this podcast, he answers questions from his readers and offers advice about cultivating focus, productivity, and meaning amidst the noise that pervades our lives.

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

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

ACT #1: Look Closer at the Article [1:20]

ACT #2: A Closer Look at the Paper [3:21]

ACT #3: But What About… [7:24]

Links:

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

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/27/number-of-ai-chatbots-ignoring-human-instructions-increasing-study-says

https://x.com/summeryue0/status/2025774069124399363

https://www.axios.com/2025/05/23/anthropic-ai-deception-risk

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

AI Reality Check: Can LLMs “Scheme”?

Here’s a key question: Did technology like smartphones make us miserable, or were we already miserable and smartphones made it worse? To help figure out this answer, I talked to Arthur Brooks, the #1 New York Times bestselling author and Harvard professor, about this new book: The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness. In our conversation, Brooks argues that our current Age of Emptiness began in the 1990s, but technology like smartphones and social media made it worse. We then discuss smart strategies for finding purpose in our current moment.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Send an email to podcast@calnewport.com. 

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

INTERVIEW: How Do I Find Purpose in a Distracted World? (W/ Arthur Brooks) [1:44] 

INBOX: 

Tech employees being evaluated through LLM tokens [1:01:49]

 Can Cal comment on reading digital books? [1:07:35]

WHAT CAL IS UP TO:

What Cal is reading [1:13:00]

 Deep Work HQ update [1:14:37]

Books:

 Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson)

Links:

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

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

 Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
gizmodo.com/tech-employees-are-reportedly-being-evaluated-by-how-fast-they-burn-through-llm-tokens-2000736627

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

monarch.com (Use code “DEEP”)
butcherbox.com/deep
drinklmnt.com/deep
meetfabric.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Nate Mechler for research and newsletter, and Mark Miles for mastering.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep. 398: How Do I Find Purpose in a Distracted World? (w/ Arthur Brooks)

Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

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

SUB QUESTION #1: What is Yan LeCun Up To? [2:55]

SUB QUESTION #2: How is it possible that LeCun could be right about LLM’s begin a dead-end? We’ve been hearing non-stop recently about how fast they’re advancing. [14:55]

SUB QUESTION #3: What would happen next if LeCun is right? [22:26]

Links:

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

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/technology/ami-labs-yann-lecun-funding.html

 

 

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

AI Reality Check: Are LLMs a Dead End?

A new study finds that for many workers, AI increases shallow efforts while decreasing time focusing on what really matters. This is not the first digital productivity technology to create this paradoxical effect. In today’s episode, Cal dives deep into why this happens and then details three strategies for avoiding these traps in your own professional life.

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

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

DEEP DIVE: Why Do “Productivity Technologies” Make My Job Worse? [3:17]

INBOX: 

 • An article about meetings [36:11]

 • A case study on escaping email overload [47:29]

 • A tool that makes the internet more boring [50:37]

WHAT CAL IS UP TO:

 • Deep or Crazy? [57:02]

 • What Cal read [1:02:23]

 • Cal in the news [1:05:57]

Books:

Reader, Come Home (Maryanne Wolf)

 What Do You Say? (William Stixrud and Ned Johnson)

Links:

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

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

 Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
pmresearcher.substack.com/p/why-meetings-multiply
docs.pluckeye.net/overview

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

calderalab.com/deep
cozyearth.com/deep (Use code “DEEP”)
grammarly.com
drinkag1.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, Nate Mechler for research and newsletter, and Mark Miles for mastering.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep. 397: Why Do “Productivity Technologies” Make My Job Worse?

Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

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

STORY #1: Did an AI Agent Email an AI Researcher? [1:01]

STORY #2: Does the Pentagon Think Claude Has a Soul? [10:20]

STORY #3: What’s Going on with Anthropic Revenues? [14:16]

Links:

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

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/philosopher-ai-consciousness-startled-ai-email

https://x.com/dioscuri/status/2029227527718236359

https://x.com/thomaschattwill/status/2029273517175263679

https://x.com/ns123abc/status/2032122638852640951

https://www.reuters.com/commentary/breakingviews/anthropic-gives-lesson-ai-revenue-hallucination-2026-03-10/

https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/12/normal-technology/

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

AI Reality Check: Did AI Just Become Sentient?

Remember how much we loved our iPhones when they first came out? Can we get back to that relationship with these devices? In this episode, Cal explores five pieces of advice for transforming your current phone back to something that’s less distracting, more useful, and fun once again – a goal he calls “2007 mode.”

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

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

DEEP DIVE: Can I learn to love my phone again? [3:31]

INBOX: 

 • A new study on brain fry [30:29]

 • Use of phones in The Pitt [38:58]

 • 17th Century scholar dealing with overload [42:05]

WHAT CAL IS UP TO:

 • What I’m trying [43:57]

 • What Cal read [48:45]

 • What Cal watched [49:44]

Movies:

Secret Agent

Links:

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

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

 Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
youtube.com/watch?v=x7qPAY9JqE4
youtube.com/watch?v=mJ4lsi2RtaI
youtube.com/watch?v=ENUO7dbZ-TY
youtube.com/watch?v=7jVb1lLniEw
youtube.com/watch?v=aC0JKAN5xVI
hbr.org/2026/03/when-using-ai-leads-to-brain-fry
instagram.com/reel/DUxCG_BDvWX/?igsh=a3pyZXNlNTZvdDVp

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

butcherbox.com/deep
vanta.com/deepquestions
1password.com/deep
shopify.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep. 396: Can I Learn To Love My Phone Again?

Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

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

ARTICLE #1: America Isn’t Ready for What AI Will Do to Jobs [2:15]

ARTICLE #2: Mass Hysteria. Thousands of Jobs Lost. Just How Bad Is It Going to Get? [9:23] 

ARTICLE #3: THE 2028 GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE CRISIS: A Thought Exercise in Financial History, from the Future [14:39]

Links:

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

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/03/ai-economy-labor-market-transformation/685731/

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/opinion/ai-jobs-white-collar-apocalpyse.html

https://www.citriniresearch.com/p/2028gic

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/business/citrini-ai-stock-market.html

https://www.citadelsecurities.com/news-and-insights/2026-global-intelligence-crisis/

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

AI Reality Check: Is the Economy About to Collapse?

Do you need social media? Which services? For what purposes? These are complicated questions and in today’s episode Cal proposes a simple route to answers: conducting a “social media pause.” To help investigate this strategy, Cal is joined by T.K. Coleman, of The Minimalists, to talk about a social media pause that they tried and the surprising results it generated.

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

IDEAS SEGMENT: Interview with T.K. Coleman [3:26]

INBOX:

 - Focused work in early modern time [1:00:18]

 - Tool suggestion from a programmer [1:05:10]

 - Staring at a painting for three hours [1:13:26]

WHAT CAL IS UP TO:

 - Changes to the show [1:18:44]

 - What Cal read [1:20:04]

 - What Cal watched [1:21:34]

 - Renovation of Maker Lab [1:25:38]

The Age of Extraction (Tim Wu)

 John and Paul (Ian Leslie)

Movies:

 Train Dreams

 The Hurt Locker

 Three Days of the Condor

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.youtube.com/watch?v=sgMUBMqrE7M
https://www.reddit.com/r/ObsidianMD/comments/161jik7/please_share_how_you_use_obsidian_for_task/

Thanks to our Sponsors:
https://www.monarch.com (Use code “DEEP”)
https://www.factormeals.com/deep50off
https://www.mybodytutor.com
https://www.wayfair.com

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep. 395: Should I Try a “Social Media Pause”?

AI Reality Check: Did the LLM Job Apocalypse Begin Last Week?

Cal Newport takes a closer look at recent AI news.

Below are the topics 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

STORY #1: Jack Dorsey announces layoffs at Block [1:28]

STORY #2: The education level of LLM-based tools [11:45]

STORY #3: What’s happening in the world of computer programming? [19:24]

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://x.com/jack/status/2027129697092731343

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/technology/block-square-job-cuts-ai.html

https://x.com/emollick/status/2027153371241607420

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ronshevlin/2026/02/27/block-lays-off-40-of-staff-and-blames-it-on-ai-dont-buy-the-excuse/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56HJQm5nb0U

http://calnewport.com

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering.

 

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

AI Reality Check: Did the LLM Job Apocalypse Begin Last Week?

It’s hard to live deeply in a distracted world if you don’t have control over how you spend your time. This goal requires a planning system that both works and can last. Do you have a reasonable planning system in place? If not, don’t worry. Today, Cal is joined by planning expert Sarah Hart-Unger (author of “Best Laid Plans”) to discuss the nitty-gritty details of creating sustainable systems that can help you regain autonomy over your schedule without becoming an over-scheduled drone.

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

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

IDEAS SEGMENT: Interview with Sarah Hart-Unger [2:12]

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK, NOTES, AND CHATTER: 

Dopamine addictions and TV shows [1:05:06]

Watching entire films [1:09:43]

Attention span and movies [1:16:38]

WHAT CAL IS UP TO:

Update on my AI Programmer Project [1:21:12]

Other Updates [1:28:02]

What Cal Consumed [1:29:17]

The Last Kings of Hollywood (Paul Fischer)

Movies:

The Smashing Machine

Song Sung Blue

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?

vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/07/why-are-movies-sooooo-long-an-investigation

science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz9311

Sarah Hart-Unger online:

Sarah Hart-Unger (MD, if you want to use that but I typically don't even bother in my creative work!)

practicing pediatric endocrinologist, author, and podcaster

Best Laid Plans Podcast

Best of Both Worlds Podcast (cohosted with Laura Vanderkam)

Best Laid Plans: A Simple Planning System for Living a Life That You Love, Sourcebooks Dec 2025

Website (since 2004 . . .): theshubox.com

Social media: none :) Partially due to your influence, I quit FB in 2016, IG in 2021, and thankfully never got into anything else! I guess I do have minimal Youtube (occasional planner videos + feed of podcast eps) @youtube.com/@BestLaidPlansVideo

Thanks to our Sponsors: 

This show is sponsored by Better Help: 

betterhelp.com/deepquestions

zapier.com/deep

calderalab.com/deep

shopify.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

AI Reality Check: Can LLMs “Scheme”?

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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