Episodes

  • #113 - Dr Tommy Wood: The Hidden Cost of Optimizing Your Health

    #113 - Dr Tommy Wood: The Hidden Cost of Optimizing Your Health
    Apr 29 2026
    Dr. Tommy Wood is a neuroscientist and physician focused on brain injury and long term cognitive health. This conversation challenges common assumptions about how the brain works and what actually improves it. He explains why many treatments that succeed in lab models fail in humans, and why outcomes are driven more by environment and behavior than single interventions. A central idea is that the brain needs both stress and recovery. Constant stimulation without rest creates a state similar to overtraining, limiting performance and adaptation. They also examine the tradeoff between optimizing health metrics and living well, and why most benefits come from simple foundations rather than extreme routines. Get Dr. Tommy Wood's new book: https://www.drtommywood.com/stimulated-mind Subscribe for free to our podcast: https://nlupod.com/subscribe SPONSORS: ElevenLabs: Thanks to ElevenLabs (⁠https://elevenlabs.io⁠) for supporting this episode and powering Tim’s voice. SOCIAL: Website: ⁠https://nlupod.com/⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/nlutimgreen⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/NLUpod⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nlupod⁠ PERSONAL: Tackle ALS: ⁠https://www.tackleals.com⁠ Tim Green Books: ⁠https://authortimgreen.com⁠ Tim’s New Book - ROCKET ARM: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062796895/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    2 hrs and 14 mins
  • #112 - Sam Peltzman: The FDA Rule That Kills More People Than It Saves

    #112 - Sam Peltzman: The FDA Rule That Kills More People Than It Saves
    Apr 22 2026
    Sam Peltzman, a leading economist known for the Peltzman Effect, explains how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration drug approval process delays life saving treatments long enough to cost millions of lives. Drawing on decades of research, he shows how regulation often creates unintended consequences, where policies meant to protect the public can reduce overall welfare. Subscribe for free to our podcast: https://nlupod.com/subscribe SPONSORS: ElevenLabs: Thanks to ElevenLabs (⁠https://elevenlabs.io⁠) for supporting this episode and powering Tim’s voice. SOCIAL: Website: ⁠https://nlupod.com/⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/nlutimgreen⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/NLUpod⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nlupod⁠ PERSONAL: Tackle ALS: ⁠https://www.tackleals.com⁠ Tim Green Books: ⁠https://authortimgreen.com⁠ Tim’s New Book - ROCKET ARM: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062796895/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • #111 - Kurt Haggstrom: Building Practical Brain–Computer Interfaces for ALS Communication

    #111 - Kurt Haggstrom: Building Practical Brain–Computer Interfaces for ALS Communication
    Apr 15 2026
    A grounded discussion on how brain–computer interfaces are moving from research into real clinical use, with a focus on restoring communication and autonomy for ALS patients. Kurt Hagstrom explains the technical constraints, regulatory realities, and why simplicity, scalability, and long-term reliability matter more than hype. SPONSORS: ElevenLabs: Thanks to ElevenLabs (⁠https://elevenlabs.io⁠) for supporting this episode and powering Tim’s voice. Synchron: Our sponsor Synchron has received permission to start their third clinical trial on the BCI investigational medical device that received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in 2020. You or a loved one may be eligible to participate. The Synchron BCI is a fully implanted system designed to allow users to control digital devices using their thoughts. No eye trackers, voice commands or hand movements are required. Since 2018, they have completed 2 clinical trials that met their respective safety goals. This new INTENT trial will further evaluate safety while also exploring how it may support communication, connection, independence, and quality of life.  To find out more about the INTENT clinical trial and learn about the Synchron BCI device visit SynchronBCI.com. SOCIAL: Website: ⁠https://nlupod.com/⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/nlutimgreen⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/NLUpod⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nlupod⁠ PERSONAL: Tackle ALS: ⁠https://www.tackleals.com⁠ Tim Green Books: ⁠https://authortimgreen.com⁠ Tim’s New Book - ROCKET ARM: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062796895/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • #110 - Tu Lam: The ACTUAL Reality of War

    #110 - Tu Lam: The ACTUAL Reality of War
    Apr 8 2026
    Former Green Beret Tu Lam joins us for a second time and breaks down the psychological reality of 15 years at war, the loss of identity that followed, and the long path through trauma, discipline, and faith that reshaped his life. SPONSORS: ElevenLabs: Thanks to ElevenLabs (⁠https://elevenlabs.io⁠) for supporting this episode and powering Tim’s voice. SOCIAL: Website: ⁠https://nlupod.com/⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/nlutimgreen⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/NLUpod⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nlupod⁠ PERSONAL: Tackle ALS: ⁠https://www.tackleals.com⁠ Tim Green Books: ⁠https://authortimgreen.com⁠ Tim’s New Book - ROCKET ARM: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062796895/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 34 mins
  • #109 - Tim Green: We recorded our family therapy session

    #109 - Tim Green: We recorded our family therapy session
    Apr 1 2026
    Tim Green sits down with his children for an unfiltered, deeply personal conversation on family, faith, regret, and legacy, turning the interview into something closer to real family therapy. Through candid questions, Tim reflects on fatherhood, ALS, and what ultimately matters most. SPONSORS: ElevenLabs: Thanks to ElevenLabs (⁠https://elevenlabs.io⁠) for supporting this episode and powering Tim’s voice. SOCIAL: Website: ⁠https://nlupod.com/⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/nlutimgreen⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/NLUpod⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nlupod⁠ PERSONAL: Tackle ALS: ⁠https://www.tackleals.com⁠ Tim Green Books: ⁠https://authortimgreen.com⁠ Tim’s New Book - ROCKET ARM: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062796895/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    29 mins
  • #108 - Ben Brandenburg: ALS Took His Body. It Didn’t Take His Purpose.

    #108 - Ben Brandenburg: ALS Took His Body. It Didn’t Take His Purpose.
    Mar 25 2026
    Ben Brandenburg spent his career behind the scenes in elite college athletics, helping others perform at the highest level. In 2021, he was diagnosed with ALS, a progressive disease that steadily takes away the body’s ability to move. In this conversation, Ben describes what it is like to live through that loss in real time. Not as a series of good days and bad days, but as a constant, irreversible decline. He reflects on losing independence, confronting limits that effort cannot overcome, and redefining purpose as control disappears. The discussion moves beyond illness into deeper questions. What remains when discipline no longer works. How identity changes when the future contracts. What it means to lead a family when you can no longer act physically. And how faith, responsibility, and meaning evolve under pressure. This is not a story about overcoming ALS. It is a conversation about how to live when it cannot be overcome. SPONSORS: ElevenLabs: Thanks to ElevenLabs (⁠https://elevenlabs.io⁠) for supporting this episode and powering Tim’s voice. SOCIAL: Website: ⁠https://nlupod.com/⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/nlutimgreen⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/NLUpod⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nlupod⁠ PERSONAL: Tackle ALS: ⁠https://www.tackleals.com⁠ Tim Green Books: ⁠https://authortimgreen.com⁠ Tim’s New Book - ROCKET ARM: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062796895/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 23 mins
  • #107 - Clifford Winston: The Incentive Problem Driving Modern Politics

    #107 - Clifford Winston: The Incentive Problem Driving Modern Politics
    Mar 18 2026
    Brookings senior fellow Clifford Winston joins Tim and Troy Green for a sharp conversation on political incentives, institutional trust, market competition, and why he believes many government solutions fail the public they claim to help. The discussion ranges from legal deregulation and access to justice to social media, academic honesty, innovation, and what still gives him confidence in America. SPONSORS: ElevenLabs: Thanks to ElevenLabs (⁠https://elevenlabs.io⁠) for supporting this episode and powering Tim’s voice. SOCIAL: Website: ⁠https://nlupod.com/⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/nlutimgreen⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/NLUpod⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nlupod⁠ PERSONAL: Tackle ALS: ⁠https://www.tackleals.com⁠ Tim Green Books: ⁠https://authortimgreen.com⁠ Tim’s New Book - ROCKET ARM: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062796895/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 38 mins
  • #106 - Dr. Shireen Rizvi: Building a Life Worth Living

    #106 - Dr. Shireen Rizvi: Building a Life Worth Living
    Mar 11 2026
    Dr. Shireen Rizvi joins Tim and Troy Green for a deep conversation about dialectical behavior therapy, emotional regulation, trauma, suffering, and hope. She explains what DBT actually is in plain language, why it was created for people who felt life was not worth living, and how its core tension between acceptance and change can help people navigate pain, despair, and everyday emotional struggle. They discuss radical acceptance, chain analysis, self efficacy, trauma recovery, parenting, faith, and the difference between healthy coping and avoidance. Dr. Rizvi also reflects on her own cancer diagnosis, the emotional realities of clinical work, and why building a life worth living does not mean living a life without pain. This is a thoughtful episode about what it means to stay, to suffer honestly, and to keep moving toward purpose even when life feels unbearable. Get Dr. Shireen Rizvi's new book:⁠https://www.shireenrizvi.com/books⁠ SPONSORS: ElevenLabs: Thanks to ElevenLabs (⁠https://elevenlabs.io⁠) for supporting this episode and powering Tim’s voice. SOCIAL: Website: ⁠https://nlupod.com/⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/nlutimgreen⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/NLUpod⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nlupod⁠ PERSONAL: Tackle ALS: ⁠https://www.tackleals.com⁠ Tim Green Books: ⁠https://authortimgreen.com⁠ Tim’s New Book - ROCKET ARM: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062796895/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 5 mins