2% with michael easter by Michael Easter
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A year ago, Michael Easter walked 850 miles across southern Utah in 45 days — about a marathon every day. Dr. Andy Galpin turned him into a lab rat, studying his body before, during, and after his 45 days in the desert. What he found surprised both of them.
Adventure has been engineered out of modern life, and we're paying for it in ways we don't even realize. In this episode of Two Percent, Michael Easter sits down with two guests who have decentered optimization.
What does it take to get genuinely strong, healthy, and creatively alive in your late 50s — while having one of the most demanding jobs in Hollywood?
What happens when you eat 8 cans of sardines everyday for 30 days? For one doctor, his omega-3 levels hit numbers usually only seen in dolphins, his body fat dropped below 7%, and a smell he couldn't shake put a strain on his relationship.
Sobriety isn't just "not drinking"—it's learning how to live without needing relief on demand. In this episode, Michael Easter sits down with therapist Ryan Soave (18+ years sober) for a sweeping conversation on why addiction often acts like a solution to deeper pain, how fear and shame quietly run the show, and what it takes to break the compulsion loop for good.
Dogs don’t just make us happy—they change how we live. Michael Easter talks with former Navy SEAL and writer Sam Alaimo about why dogs pull us back into the present, create purpose, and help us rebuild after our toughest moments.
What if everything you believe about freedom is wrong?
A 3-year old beat a PhD engineer at an engineering problem while playing legos—and that single moment kicked off a decade of research that exposed one of the strongest, most underrated biases in the human brain: we almost never subtract.
More than 100,000 Americans die of drug overdose every year. The solution—or at least part of it—might be dorky as hell.
Is work supposed to feel this miserable? In this episode, Michael Easter sits down with two people who answer the question from opposite ends of the spectrum: one who found deep fulfillment inside the system, and one who walked away from it entirely.
Everyone has a vice. Drinking, smoking, social media, diet soda. And the modern wellness internet will tell you that if you want to live a long, healthy life, you need to cut every single one of them out. But is that actually true?
Melissa Urban — founder of Whole 30 and author of The Whole30 (updated 2024) and The Book of Boundaries — sits down with Michael Easter for one of the most honest conversations on this feed yet. Two sober people (Michael 10+ years, Melissa 24+ years) unpack the parallels between drug addiction and food behavior, why the first time Melissa went to rehab didn't stick, and the single question that rewired every habit in her life: "What would a healthy person with healthy habits do?"
The 130th Boston Marathon is this Monday. To mark the occasion, Michael sits down with Brady Holmer — a science writer, runner, and 2:24 Boston finisher — to go deep on what the race actually feels like, why super shoes might be saving you 5-8 minutes, how to fuel a marathon without your gut exploding, and whether anyone can qualify for Boston.
In this episode of Two Percent, Michael sits down with backcountry bow hunter and filmmaker Donnie Vincent to unpack what months in remote wilderness teach you about stress, calm, and competence. Donnie was featured heavily in Michael’s bestselling book, The Comfort Crisis, and now he joins Michael for the first time on mic since the book’s release.
Walking shaped humans into who we are—and it’s one of the simplest ways to improve health, mood, and longevity right now. In this episode of Two Percent, Michael sits down with evolutionary geneticist Dr. Melissa Ilardo and writer Foster Kamer to explore what endurance science says about how far humans can actually go, why the brain often quits before the body, and how small daily choices compound into massive long-term outcomes.
From New York Times bestselling author and journalist Michael Easter comes a twice-weekly deep dive into the science of living better by doing things the hard way. Building on the insights of his #1 Substack and acclaimed books, Easter balances rigorous evidence with a healthy dose of skepticism to cut through the noise of the modern wellness industry. Whether he’s interviewing elite explorers and Harvard biologists or deconstructing the truth about longevity and metabolic health, this isn't a show for "biohacking" perfectionists—it’s a grounded, often humorous guide for real people looking to build resilience and agency in an increasingly comfortable world. From ancient wisdom to cutting-edge research, listen to Two Percent to discover why the antidote to modern malaise is often found in the challenges we’ve been taught to avoid.
Michael covers the new science of resilience.
This episode is the deepest dive into how muscle impacts women’s health.
Michael covers the infamous time audit.
For Mother’s Day this Sunday, I’m sharing a story I wrote about my mom.
The world of sleep is tainted with misinformation, and it’s driving up sleep anxiety.
Today, Michael covers belonging and how to find it.
Post Summary
In May of 2016, Melissa Arnot Reid became the first American woman to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.
We live in a world where its easier than ever to get information (think Google and ChatGPT).
We’re speaking with Alex Hutchinson about his new book The Explorer’s Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map.
Michael is currently on an 850-ish-mile hike through the desert.
I’ll be in the wilderness on a hike for the next 45-ish days.
The Expedition is a monthly journey into thoughts, opinions, ideas, observations, studies, facts, figures, etc.
Michael is speaking with Brett McKay, founder of the Art of Manliness and Dying Breed.
Today is the second Friday of the month. Which means it’s time for Gear Not Stuff.
Michael explains the optimal body size for different fitness activities.
Michael’s work as a journalist takes him all around the world—from the streets of Baghdad and jungles of Bolivia to mountaintop monasteries in Bhutan and laboratories in Boston.
Did you see Saturday Night Live’s viral CouplaBeers skit? Watch it in the post here.
F3 is an organization of men who gather to exercise together early each morning.
Michael just launched a new live show on Substack live called Explore the Edges. Each episode features a fascinating and inspiring guest who can help us live better.
In today’s episode, Lance Armstrong explains how to stay safe while cycling.
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Michael covers three highly popular motivational phrases that can do more harm than good. The first example: “Nobody cares, work harder.”
Today is the second Friday of the month. Which means it’s time for Gear Not Stuff.
Today’s episode covers the death of movement. We’ll look at human physical activity levels—how they’ve changed and why.
In Protein Myths Part I, published Wednesday, Michael examined at how much protein is enough for goals like general health, fat loss, or building muscle; if protein elevates your metabolism; whether protein is more filling than other foods; and more.
It’s the first Friday of the month. Which means it’s time to Burn the Ships.
Protein is having a moment.
Today on Two Percent, Michael speaks with Sahil Bloom, the author of The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.
The Two Percent New Year Challenge just wrapped up. Michael explains a few critical lessons from the challenge. He covers:
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We pulled the wise and powerful Dr. Trevor Kashey out of his learning lair to answer your questions.
Michael reveals surprising findings of a new study that looked at how to lose more fat.
After two months of truly terrible sleep, Two Percent writer Emily Pennington went on a scientific journey and spoke to experts to uncover data-proven strategies for better rest.
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New GLP-1 drugs are booming in popularity—12.5 percent of Americans have tried them. The figure is expected to grow by roughly 350 percent by 2035.
Humans have increased the world’s loudness four fold.
It’s the first Friday of the month. Which means it’s time to Burn the Ships.
To send out 2024, Michael is highlighting the 11 bests stories he published on Two Percent (TWOPCT.com).
Want to actually make some big improvements in your health, fitness, nutrition, and mindset this year? Of course you do.
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The Expedition covers the most worthwhile and impactful ideas Michael discovered in the last month.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. Members get full access. To hear more, visit TWOPCT.com.
Today we’re talking about the limits of diet and exercise with Dr. Adam Cifu.
Today’s episode is the second annual Two Percent Gear Not Stuff holiday gift guide.
Childhood obesity has more than doubled since the 1990s and 20 percent of kids are now obese. This is why the new administration wants to overhaul school lunches to make them healthier.
Today Michael is speaking with Tamar Haspel one of his favorite, no-BS thinkers about food, nutrition, and health.
It’s the first Friday of the month. This means it’s time for Burn the Ships, Two Percent’s monthly, highly effective workout.
Michael’s first job was acting as Fitness Editor for Men’s Health magazine.
Friday was the biggest Black Friday of all time, and Americans bought more stuff than ever. We spend $1.2 trillion each year on stuff we don’t need.
The holidays are the make-or-break season for long-term health.
The humble potato is the original superfood.
A Misogi is an epic challenge with a 50/50 shot at failure. We do it each year to explore and expand our edges.
Today Michael is covering the power of rucking meetings.
New companies allow us to go around doctors and get blood work that checks for 100+ biomarkers or a full-body MRI to scan for cancer when we don’t have symptoms.
The Expedition covers the most worthwhile and impactful ideas Michael discovered in the last month.
Last episode, Michael explored circadian rhythms and how they influence health. That episode was based on a conversation with Lynne Peeples, author of The Inner Clock.
Circadian rhythms—the 24-hour cycles humans evolved to live and function under—are a hot topic in health and wellness right now.
People tend to be less active in winter because of cold temperatures—and that hurts our fitness and metabolic and mental health.
Two Percent recently held the Don’t Die event in the desert outside of Las Vegas.
Most people will tune into U.S. election coverage this week—often compulsively and to the detriment of their time and sanity.
It’s the first Friday of the month. This means it’s time for Burn the Ships, Two Percent’s monthly, highly effective workout.
Last week, Michael covered why more strength isn’t always better and why you should aim to be “strong enough.”
Michael needs your help, questions, and ideas for a big new project on rucking/walking with weight.
Today Michael is answering the following questions from Two Percent readers:
We often think it’s best to be as strong as possible.
The places where people gather and connect are changing—and that’s impacting our health and society.
The Expedition covers the most worthwhile and impactful ideas Michael discovered in the last month.
Steps are critical for your health—step more, die later.
Today is the second Friday of the month—which means it’s time for Gear Not Stuff, the internet’s best gear column. We feature only gear, never stuff.
Walking might be the best act to for recovery between workouts, building a foundation of health, and strengthening your mindset.
The recovery phase after your workout is when you build back better and improve your health and fitness.
It’s the first Friday of the month. Which means it’s time for Burn the Ships, the internet’s best monthly group workout tradition.
On Monday, Michael covered microplastics. These tiny plastic particles are like air: All around us and within us. And they’re seemingly no good.
We’re covering six topics you need to know about microplastics and your health.
It’s the fourth Friday of the month—so it’s time for our AMA, where Michael answers your most pressing questions.
