By far and away, the best podcast I listen to, and the only one I listen to religiously, is Modern Wisdom.
Hosted by the brilliant Chris Williamson, each week (or two to three times a week post-lockdown) he gets in some really interesting guests to offer an often counter-culture view of modern life and potential solutions to big problems.
The podcast is very much focused on self-improvement. Note the emphasis is on ‘improvement’, not ‘help’.
So it is far less tree-hugging, affirmations, giving up to the universe etc, and far more about practical tips: if you want to get X, you need to do Y.
In fact, one of the best things about the show is that the guests often come up with very practical solutions to things.
This is very much captured in the book you can download for free on Mr Williamson’s website, which summarises many of the key takeaways from previous episodes and are collated into his Ultimate Life Hack List.
Specific focus is placed on finances, business, health, and overall wellbeing. And what I like in particular about this podcast is that they understand all these things are interrelated, or at the very least, if you want to perform at your best, you really should have all these aspects in sync.
Mr Williamson is very much into his fitness and that is a large theme on the show. I find this interesting, but I tend to focus on the more business/finance related episodes.
I do like how he ties together the idea that if you want to be successful in any field, your personal fitness is as important as your mental and financial fitness.
From personal experience, I can honestly say the times when I am mentally strongest, coincides with when I am physically fit.
I completely appreciate that this is different for everyone, but perhaps this is why the podcast strikes such a chord with me.
Mr Williamson also gets in some excellent guests who are experts in their fields but, crucially, don’t necessarily go along with the status quo. They offer interesting and sometimes controversial ideas to certain solutions.
This is certainly one for the open minded, or at the very least, for people who want a fresh take on recent events and want to avoid the echo chamber of social media.
Some great episodes to look up are below. However, just scroll through past episodes for any subject that tickles your fancy as that will be the best way to get the vibe of the show:
- 222 – Morgan Housel – How to become wealthy, stay wealthy and be happy.
- 219 – Douglas Murray – Permission to think differently.
- 211 – Chris Daw QC – Why we should close prisons and legalise drugs.
- 204 – Ashely ‘Dotty’ Charles – Why everyone is outraged.
- 201 – Andrew Scott – Society has everything wrong about ageing.
- 186 – Elena Seranova – Overcoming low self-esteem in business and life.
Richard Campo is managing director of Rose Capital Partners
