The Tim Ferriss Show

Tim McGraw (@thetimmcgraw) is a Grammy Award-winning entertainer, author, and actor who has sold more than 106 million records worldwide, with 49 number-one singles and 19 number-one albums. He is one of the most-played country artists since his debut in 1992, has four New York Times bestselling books, and has acted for both film and television, including the movies Friday Night Lights and The Blind Side and Paramount Network’s Yellowstone. He recently starred alongside his wife Faith Hill and Sam Elliott in Yellowstone’s prequel—the three-time-Emmy-nominated 1883. You can find tickets for his upcoming Pawn Shop Guitar Tour at TimMcGraw.com.
This episode is brought to you by:
Circle complete community platform for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand: Circle.so/Tim
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TIMESTAMPS
[00:00:00] Who is Tim McGraw?
[00:01:51] Two Tims walk into a podcast.
[00:02:56] “The song always has to win.”
[00:05:02] Recording “Live Like You Were Dying” at 2 a.m. with Uncle Hank in a puddle in the corner.
[00:09:22] Sensing when the moment is right.
[00:10:29] The song Nashville hated that Tim heard his first night off the Greyhound.
[00:13:18] The one-two punch that saved Tim from novelty-act purgatory.
[00:15:22] Turning down the CMAs because the song wouldn’t fit the time slot.
[00:20:11] Why you can’t let the audience steer the ship when testing material live.
[00:25:51] Coping with the physical toll of performing for three decades.
[00:34:04] The Four Christmases wake-up call that changed everything.
[00:37:42] What training smarter looks like for Tim.
[00:41:22] When Tim found out his dad was a baseball legend whose picture was already on his wall.
[00:54:53] Important advice for aspiring parents.
[00:55:41] When Tim pawned his high school ring for a $20 guitar.
[00:58:27] Learning guitar from CMT videos and fret diagrams.
[00:59:37] The morning Tim tore up his Marines paperwork and bought a Greyhound ticket to Nashville.
[01:07:20] Nashville as creative accelerant: Tracy Lawrence, Kenny Chesney, and $50 singing competitions.
[01:12:45] Po’boy Don’s crawfish shack: The demo that launched Tim’s career.
[01:15:39] How Faith Hill saved Tim’s life.
[01:18:33] The 7 a.m. bottle of whiskey cry for help.
[01:20:27] Parenthood as selfishness-removal surgery.
[01:24:28] Tim’s “Glory Days” disaster with Bruce Springsteen.
[01:28:30] When Tim’s first album “went wood” — the failure that taught him everything.
[01:33:29] A rodeo monkey no longer: When Tim kicked his record company to the curb.
[01:37:35] Tim’s most important advice for artists.
[01:43:41] Announcing the summer 2026 Pawn Shop Guitar tour with The Chicks.
[01:46:28] If it’s so grueling, why does Tim still tour?
[01:49:50] Tim’s “Humble and Kind” billboard.
[01:50:50] Parting thoughts and a parting gift: “Different” — the new song only on social media.
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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
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Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
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Dr. Tommy Wood (@DrRagnar) is an associate professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Washington, where his research focuses on brain health across the lifespan. This includes therapies for brain injury in newborns, prevention and treatment of adult brain trauma, and the factors that contribute to long-term cognitive function and cognitive decline. He is the author of the forthcoming book The Stimulated Mind.
This episode is brought to you by:
Circle complete community platform for your community, events, and courses — all under your own brand: https://circle.so/tim ($1,000 off when you demo Circle Plus)
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Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim (use code TIM to get $350 off your very own Pod 5 Ultra.)
Cresset family office services for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: CressetCapital.com/Tim
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TIMESTAMPS:
[00:00:00] Start
[00:02:30] The cognition conversation commences.
[00:03:11] Why human babies are chubby little brain-fuel tanks.
[00:05:16] Brain injury in newborns: Cooling, caffeine, and coming home.
[00:09:07] Adult concussion protocol: Fever management, ketones, and why you shouldn’t chug Powerade.
[00:18:59] Washington’s 2nd Strongest Man talks omega-3s, methylation, and why your brain needs the whole orchestra.
[00:29:34] Auguste Deter, Alzheimer’s mystery patient, and the 45-70% dementia prevention sweet spot.
[00:39:22] From CGM monitoring to the “use it or lose it” glucose paradox.
[00:55:54] VO2 max training as cardio insurance against dementia.
[01:01:32] Jiu-jitsu, sleds, and the Norwegian torture method (4×4 intervals).
[01:03:37] Lactate training: Forget the finger prick, embrace the misery.
[01:06:40] Announcing The Stimulated Mind: Tommy’s brain-saving book.
[01:07:35] Foundation supplements: Omega-3s, B vitamins, vitamin D, iron, and magnesium.
[01:08:58] Polyphenols, choline, and the case for eating more liver.
[01:10:40] Creatine: Tommy’s 10-gram cognitive stimulant ritual.
[01:11:58] Cheap creatine temptation leads to lavatory lamentation.
[01:14:16] Blood flow restriction training: High lactate, low load, maximum travel convenience.
[01:21:45] Language learning, music, StarCraft, and why your brain needs to fail.
[01:38:04] Sleep anxiety, air pollution, and gum disease: the overlooked dementia risk factors.
[01:45:32] Air purifiers, CO2 levels, and sleep optimization hacks.
[01:51:52] DORAs for sleep quality: when cognitive stimulation isn’t enough.
[01:54:55] The thesis behind The Stimulated Mind: Practical, referenced, and sustainable.
[01:56:32] Kelly and Juliet Starrett’s stamp of approval.
[01:57:44] The beautiful compounding effect of fixing just one thing.
[01:58:59] Who is Dr. Ragnar, and does he make housecalls to Valhalla?
[02:01:06] Tommy’s open invitation for complaints and scientific debates.
[02:02:21] Parting thoughts.
*
For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is part of a series called Meditation Monday. The teacher, Henry Shukman, has been on my podcast twice before. He is one of only a few dozen masters in the world authorized to teach Sanbo Zen, and now, he’ll be your teacher.
In addition to my long-form interviews each week, every Monday I’ll bring you a short 10-minute or so meditation, which will help you for the rest of the week.
Over this four-episode series, you’ll develop a Zen toolkit to help you find greater calm, peace, and effectiveness in your daily life.
Henry’s app, The Way, has changed my life since I first started using it. Unlike other meditation apps, where you’re overwhelmed with a thousand choices, The Way is a clear step-by-step training program guided entirely by Henry. Through a logical progression, you’ll develop real skills that stick with you.
I’ve been using it daily, often twice a day, and it’s lowered my anxiety more than I thought possible.
As a listener of my podcast, you can get 30 free sessions by visiting https://thewayapp.com/tim and downloading the app.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Michael Levin (@drmichaellevin) is the Vannevar Bush Distinguished Professor of Biology at Tufts University and director of the Allen Discovery Center. He is primarily interested in how intelligence self-organizes in a diverse range of natural, engineered, and hybrid embodiments. Applied to the collective intelligence of cell groups undergoing morphogenesis, these ideas have allowed the Levin Lab to develop new applications in birth defects, organ regeneration, and cancer suppression.
This episode is brought to you by:
ShipStation shipping software: ShipStation.com/Tim
AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim
Our Place’s Titanium Always Pan® Pro using nonstick technology that’s coating-free and made without PFAS, otherwise known as “forever chemicals”: FromOurPlace.com/Tim
TIMESTAMPS:
[00:00:00] Start
[00:03:18] The Body Electric: A Vancouver bookstore discovery that launched a career.
[00:04:19] Bioelectricity 101: Your brain uses it to think; your body used it before you had a brain.
[00:06:05] The lesson learned by scrambled tadpole faces that rearrange themselves.
[00:08:51] Software vs. hardware: The genome is your factory settings, not your destiny.
[00:11:43] Two-headed flatworms: Rewriting biological memory without touching DNA.
[00:16:20] Seeing memories: Voltage-sensitive dyes reveal the body’s hidden blueprints.
[00:20:12] Three killer apps for humans: Birth defects, regeneration, and cancer.
[00:24:27] Cancer as identity crisis: Cells forgetting they’re part of a team.
[00:25:40] The boredom theory of aging: Goal-seeking systems with nothing left to do.
[00:30:09] Planaria’s immortality hack: Rip yourself in half every two weeks.
[00:31:27] Manhattan Project for aging: Crack cellular cognition, everything else falls into place.
[00:33:47] Giving cells new goals: Convince a gut to become an eye.
[00:37:42] Must mammalian mortality be mandatory?
[00:40:25] Cross-pollination: Why biologists would benefit from programming courses.
[00:47:15] Does acupuncture actually do anything?
[00:50:57] Placebo as feature, not bug: Words and drugs share the same mechanism.
[00:55:06] The frame problem: Why robots explode and rats intuit what matters.
[00:59:41] Binary thinking is a trap: “Is it intelligent?” is the wrong question.
[01:07:46] Minimal brain, normal IQ: Clinical cases that break neuroscience.
[01:08:45] Super panpsychism: Your liver might have opinions.
[01:13:48] The Platonic space: Bodies as thin clients for patterns from elsewhere.
[01:15:24] Keep asking “why” and you end up in the math department.
[01:23:07] Polycomputing: Sorting algorithms secretly doing side quests.
[01:28:24] Power scaling for the future and avoiding red herrings for understanding machine minds.
[01:34:06] Sci-fi recommendations.
[01:37:24] Cliff Tabin’s toast and Dan Dennett’s steel manning.
[01:41:21] Parting thoughts.
*
For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is part of a series called Meditation Monday. The teacher, Henry Shukman, has been on my podcast twice before. He is one of only a few dozen masters in the world authorized to teach Sanbo Zen, and now, he’ll be your teacher.
In addition to my long-form interviews each week, every Monday I’ll bring you a short 10-minute or so meditation, which will help you for the rest of the week.
Over this four-episode series, you’ll develop a Zen toolkit to help you find greater calm, peace, and effectiveness in your daily life.
Henry’s app, The Way, has changed my life since I first started using it. Unlike other meditation apps, where you’re overwhelmed with a thousand choices, The Way is a clear step-by-step training program guided entirely by Henry. Through a logical progression, you’ll develop real skills that stick with you.
I’ve been using it daily, often twice a day, and it’s lowered my anxiety more than I thought possible.
As a listener of my podcast, you can get 30 free sessions by visiting https://thewayapp.com/tim and downloading the app.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.