Why Comedies Suck Now - Judd Apatow - #1033
Modern Wisdom
12/15/25
•95m
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Judd Apatow is a filmmaker, producer, comedian, and writer.
The movies that shaped so many of us were unapologetically funny and often pushed boundaries. As the culture has changed and concerns around political correctness and cancellation have grown, how has that affected modern comedy, and what still feels possible?
Expect to learn how to have gratitude for pain, how comedy saved Judd and why “you only learn by not being funny”, why bombing on stage is just R&D, how to keep your ego in check when being friends with someone whose career is suddenly outpacing your own, what it takes to harness more creativity, if the “comedy collective” model still works or if social media ended the long-table-read era, why comedy movies aren’t funny anymore and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) Turning Trauma into Material (12:01) Does Comedy Carry Higher Stakes Than Music? (19:33) Confidence, Doubt and the Fear of Not Knowing (23:49) When the Room Turns Against You (35:12) Success, Comparison and Holding Your Own (46:02) Why Being Funny and True is So Hard (59:02) How Streaming is Reshaping Movies (01:09:24) Do People Still Say No? (01:17:43) The Importance of Shaping New Careers (01:25:39) Trusting Yourself When the Stake are High (01:33:38) Keeping Up to Date with Judd
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Extra Stuff:
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Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
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Get In Touch:
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Previous Episode
The Dark Subcultures of Online Politics - Joshua Citarella - #1032
December 13, 2025
•113m
Joshua Citarella is an artist, writer, and cultural researcher focused on internet subcultures and online politics.
We’ve all doom-scrolled our fair share of online politics, some of it funny, some unsettling, and some surprisingly insightful. But which internet subcultures are actually shaping political ideas, how serious are they, and do they truly influence real-world policy?
Expect to learn what’s happening with young people and politics at the moment and why it’s qualitatively different than the past, the weirdest subcultures on the internet that move politics, how online redicalisation actually happens, how internet subcultures actively produce or accelerates political beliefs and identity formation, why Joshua thinks “conservatism is the new punk rock” and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) The Impressionable Minds That Decide Our Destiny (5:31) The Radicalisation Train is Speeding Up (19:04) How Radicalisation Evolves (26:13) How Small, Strange Communities Control Beliefs (37:33) What Memes Reveal About Modern Ideology (49:06) The Most Important Ideas to Watch Out For (53:24) How Dark Does the Left Go? (01:04:14) Power, Authority and the Trump–Mamdani Showdown (01:09:08) Do Environmental Protests Do More Harm Than Good? (01:20:15) Does the Left Have Space for Men? (01:31:55) How Chris’s Health Has Impacted His Worldview (01:52:38) Staying Informed in Uncertain Times
Sponsors:
See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals
Get a free bottle of D3K2, a Welcome Kit, Travel Packs, plus bonus gifts (US only) when you first subscribe at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom
New pricing since recording: Function is now just $365, plus get $25 off at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom
Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom
Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom
Extra Stuff:
Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
-
Get In Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact
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Next Episode
23 Lessons from 2025 - #1034
December 18, 2025
•85m
It’s the end of 2025 and to celebrate I thought I’d run through some of the best lessons I’ve picked up over the last 12 months.
This year has had over 10,000 minutes of episodes produced so there was a lot to choose from but I ended up settling on 23 insights from some of my favourite conversations, both inside and outside of the podcast.
Expect to learn why I try to stay out of internet drama, how not to care about what other people think of you, why you shouldn't have shame in small fears, how to use vulnerability to your advantage and show true strength, why procrastination is often about fear, what the Atlas Complex, Input-Output Delusion and The Anorexic Hermit Crab is, and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) Reflecting on 2025: Gratitude and Annual Review (1:15) The Parental Attribution Error (10:55) Advice Hyper-Responders (19:53) We Need to Embrace Our Vulnerabilities (34:56) How to Overcome Procrastination (50:27) The Input-Output Delusion (56:30) 7 Key Lessons for a Strong Relationship (01:06:42) The Shame of Small Fears (01:15:20) The Atlas Complex (01:19:43) Hopes for 2026
Sponsors:
See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals
Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period from Shopify at https://shopify.com/modernwisdom
Get up to $50 off the RP Hypertrophy App at https://rpstrength.com/modernwisdom
Get the brand new Whoop 5.0 and your first month for free at https://join.whoop.com/modernwisdom
Extra Stuff:
Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
-
Get In Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact
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