The Isaac Morehouse Podcast

Author and blogger on careers, entrepreneurship, and education, as well as founder of four companies, Penelope Trunk joins me to talk about her past and current projects. We talk about writing, unschooling, startup mentality, trends in career development, and how to be honest with yourself when it comes to your future. Her latest startup provides online courses that help people manage their careers. Website: http://www.penelopetrunk.com/ Quistic: http://www.quistic.com/

I take some great questions submitted via isaacmorehouse.com/ask-isaac: You went to college — when and how did you decide it wasn't the best path for most people? Reading list for someone who is interested both in philosophy and business? Do you think startup is becoming a buzzword? Would it be better to just create a business? Challenges you face as an unschooling parent? Surprises?

Is recycling getting out of hand? Yes.

Why have superhero movies gotten so good in recent years? How has Marvel managed to bring the genre to a mass audience while keeping comic purists (mostly) happy? Where is the trend going? My good friend and comic book aficionado Chris Nelson joins to discuss these weighty matters.

I interview Chad Grills, a tech entrepreneur and the curator of the Medium publication Life Learning, about his three core passions: Accelerated learning, antifragility, and definite optimism.

I take a real-time stab at a host of diverse audience questions via Facebook.

Michael Gibson was pursuing a PhD in philosophy when it struck him that the really big ideas weren't being advanced within the walls of academia. He left, got into the tech world, and found himself running investor Peter Thiel's fellowship program for young college droupouts. He's recently co-founded his own venture capital fund to support young people who want to work on big ideas outside of the classroom. We discuss his love of literature and philosophy, how he wound up in Silicon Valley, and what it looks like to operate outside the status quo.

I'm always impressed and fascinated by comedians. It's a tough gig. Jeremy McLellan is a comedian in Charleston, SC who never stops writing material. In addition to performing several times a week he is constantly sharing bits and jokes (there is a difference) on Facebook. He's also running for mayor of Charleston on a popular platform of issues like the need to re-institute prohibition and seal off Charleston's borders to protect the inhabitants from neighboring cities.

Author, illustrator, cafe owner, world traveler, and unschool mom Lehla Eldridge joins me to talk about raising kids in another country and taking big, adventurous leaps. Lehla and her husband run the website unschoolingthekids.com and are the authors the book Unschooling: The 6 Keys to Our Children's Future. They are both from England, but spent 15 years in South Africa working in the film industry then owning their own cafe and raising kids before eventually settling (for now) in Italy. We discuss the challenges of making big life and career moves, how they discovered alternative education, and what it's like unschooling three kids on a daily basis.

Historian and author of "A Renegade History of the United States" Thaddeus Russell joins me to discuss his work and the notion that the "renegades" might be the ones to thank for our freedom, not the puritanical political busybodies.

Asked about my most embarrassing moment, I finally come clean.

Sam Patterson works on the OpenBazaar project, building a distributed, peer-to-peer marketplace for the world. His team recently received media attention for landing a $1m investment from prominent VC firms Union Square Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. We discuss what OpenBazaar is, how it differs from traditional online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon, and from others like Silk Road. We also touch on his unique personal and professional journey and his decision to unschool his kids.

Blake Boles is an author, entrepreneur, and self-directed learning advocate. He's written several books on education beyond school and runs a program to help unschoolers to travel the world. He joins me to discuss his own education and career journey and what he's learned along the way.

Joseph Cambell is famous for saying, "Follow your bliss". It's common to hear people say things like, "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life." Yet lately the most popular advice seems to be, "Follow your passion is terrible advice", or, "Just work hard and get good at something and you'll learn to love it". Who's right? TK joins me to discuss in what ways both sides are right and wrong. I think both pick the wrong thing - passion - to focus on. TK thinks there are some definition issues and lack of charitable interpretation.

Today I take a crack at the following questions: -What do you say to a young person who wants to forge their own path but is butting heads with their parents? E.g., a young person wants to go work and eventually start their own company, but their parents are adamant about them going to college. -Future of social networks: How to ride the wave and use it rather than get swept up underneath it. And how NOT to use it. -Do you think the ad supported model will continue to work, or will you need to find another way to monetize news? -What do you think of the idea of intrapreneurs? -Why should some people go to college? -Do you think macro- and microeconomics require different mechanisms?

Jerry Brito is the Executive Director of Coin Center, a cryptocurrency research and advocacy organization. He talks about how he found himself at the intersection of policy and tech, the regulatory challenges facing Bitcoin, and whether or not it's a bad idea to have a "seat at the table" in Washington.

Author, TV personality, and rabble-rouser Michael Malice joins me to discuss what it was like to have award winning graphic novelist Harvey Pekar write a book about him, why he quit a lucrative career to be a writer (even though he doesn't love writing), the experience of self-publishing a "true" unauthorized autobiography of Kim Jong Il, and why he's like Batman. You can find Michael's work at michaelmalice.com.

Economist Pete Leeson believes everything can be explained using the economic assumption of rational behavior. He is a prolific academic and his work covers a wide variety of fascinating and sometimes bizarre phenomena - from insect trials to witch burning, piracy, and everything in between - and provides rational explanations for seemingly irrational behavior. We discuss what inspired him to become an economist, the major themes of his work, whether everything can be explained with economic analysis, and what he thinks of different economic schools of thought. You can find him online at peterleeson.com.

I take questions on: -What I'd do if my kids adopted radically different beliefs -Whether social change is due to movements or outside forces -What's up with learned helplessness -Is physical health important to mental health -How to combat apathy -What jobs will be important in the future

My 10 year old son asked to join me on an episode and talk about his experience as an unschooler. We chat about the pros and cons, a typical day, and whether he worries about not knowing things he'll need to succeed.

A listener points out that I sometimes talk about how failure isn't so bad. He challenges the idea and presents arguments made by Peter Thiel about how awful failure really is. I give my response to the question of whether failure is really good or bad.

Reason.com staff editor Robby Soave joins me to talk about how he got into journalism, what it's like to write for maximum clicks while keeping content genuine, how to stay optimistic when reporting on scandal every day, and what TV shows to watch,

If you think of imagining as a kind of lazy, fun form of escapism, you're missing something profound.

Harris Kenny, Marketing Manager for Aleph Objects joins me to discuss their popular Lulzbot line of 3D printers, and the radical IP-free way the company is run.

Rapid fire through a handful of questions posed by Facebook followers.

Albert Lu, host of The Power & Market Report joins me to talk about how he got into podcasting (and got me into it!), his adventures in peaceful parenting and unschooling, and his favorite NFL team the New England Patriots.

I answer an audience question on the differences between for-profit enterprise and nonprofits, and which I prefer to work in.

I stopped by the pool today and had an epiphany about the difference between an attendant who chose to ignore the pool rules and government agents who follow the letter of the law.

Yes, Levi is my brother. But this isn't nepotism. He's a highly successful entrepreneur. His company Ceterus is growing and revolutionizing small business accounting. He joins me to talk about why it took him so long to dream big, what greatness means, whether it's for everyone, and how to balance being an entrepreneur with raising five boys. (We had some issues with the levels on this episode, so I apologize for any drops or spikes in volume.)

Zak Slayback was on scholarship at an Ivy League school. Derek Magill was on the Dean's list at a top tier university. They both dropped out, and they're both glad they did. Zak and Derek join me to discuss their experiences and offer thoughts on the university system and what dissatisfied students can do.

Max Borders joins me on this bonus episode to discuss the upcoming "Festival of the Future" called Voice & Exit (voiceandexit.com). We talk about what V&E is, why it's important to provide a safe space for radical ideas, and how to criticize by creating.

Steve Patterson joins the show to defend his claim that popular conceptions of quantum physics are claptrap, paradoxes don't and can't exist, and that being accurate is more important than believing what feels good. He also talks about his experiment as a freelance philosopher.

Bibliophile Chris Nelson joins me to discuss Adam Smith's work on language, the pros and cons of specialization in the economy at large and in the social sciences, whether battles over the meaning of words are worthwhile, and how intellectual movements can get lost in marketing.

How can you be a prolific writer and constant partyer at the same time? Jeff Tucker always seems to be having a good time and cranking out amazing content. I talk with him about how and why. Jeff discusses his work habits, why he says yes to everything, and how to push oneself to maximize every minute.

TK joins me to reclaim the celebration of achievement, whether and when to bring race into the discussion, if people need to have standing to share opinions, and why the show Stargate was too color blind.

I discuss the work of Rene Girard and Peter Leeson, and what both might teach us about trying to change society.

TK defends the self-help genre, being a sports fan, and belief in lies.

Author and philosopher Steve Patterson on being an intellectual outside of the academy, why Bitcoin is so important, and how to harness your creative power.

Praxis Education Director and relentlessly curious learner TK Coleman joins me to discuss the dangers of criticism, engaging in comment wars, and call-out culture. (Stick around for his Stephen A. Smith style take-down of my show near the end.)

Friend and colleague Zak Slayback on his recent and radical views on education, his love for aviation, and where he thinks the next big thing will come from.

Education, entrepreneurship, big ideas, how to put them into practice, and how to live free. We'll discuss whatever seems most interesting. Episodes released weekly on Monday morning. In this episode I lay the groundwork for the show. The why, who, what, and when. For notes on each episode go to isaacmorehouse.com Music: Dreamer by Reaktor Productions via Premiumbeat.com