The goop Podcast

If you think the world is coming to an end, Steven Pinker says, think again. The experimental psychologist, Harvard psychology professor, and bestselling author of  Enlightenment Now explains our tendency to look at the past through rose-colored glasses and view the present world much more pessimistically. He shows how our perception is distorted by headlines and gives us the real information that shows just how we’re progressing. He makes the case that good news is just as worthy of reporting as bad news. And he makes us feel hopeful. (For more, see   hub.)

Longevity researcher Valter Longo is one of the world’s leading experts on fasting. He’s the director of the USC Longevity Institute and the author of  The Longevity Diet.  He’s known in part for his exploration of intermittent fasting and the five-day Fasting Mimicking Diet that he developed in kit form. Elise Loehnen asks him to break down the phenomenon of intermittent fasting and share the forthcoming science that he’s most excited about—the lifestyle interventions that could have massive impacts on how long we live and how healthy we are. (For more, see   hub.)

Wim Hof is known as the Ice Man. He’s done some wild things. He can hold himself in ice water for nearly two hours with an elevated body temperature. He climbed to an insane height on Mt. Everest, in shorts and no shirt. Hof ran a half-marathon, barefoot, above the Arctic Circle. He also ran a full-marathon, in the desert, without drinking any water. He let a group of scientists shoot him full of endotoxins and didn’t have an immune response. Why? Hof believes that our bodies are capable of doing extraordinary things. And he’s really curious about just how much control we have over our instincts, our thoughts, our health, and our happiness. He talks to Elise Loehnen about his breathing method and how nearly anyone can apply it to their life, even if they are not running a marathon in a desert. (For more, see   hub.)

GP’s new cookbook,  The Clean Plate ,   lands today, and she’s sitting down with goop’s food editors to talk about cleansing, cooking styles, and the foods she actually eats and enjoys. They cover memorable detoxes, easy clean swaps, beloved ice cream counters, and the most respectable form of French fry. After the chat, they go through the food questions everyone wants GP to answer in a lightning AMA session. (For more, see   hub.)

Jeff Hancock spends his days looking at the lies we tell one another online and in real life—and figuring out why, exactly, we do lie, and when it matters. He studies sociopaths, language patterns, deception, and trust. Hancock is the founding director of the Stanford Social Media Lab and a professor at Stanford University; he’s also a Canadian and an optimist. Trust, he suggests, may be not declining but, perhaps, evolving. (For more, see   hub.)