6 episodes

Why am I making a podcast? The best answer I can come up with is that I feel like I’ve been failing my entire life, so I can speak from plenty of experience. Sure, I was on The X Files and Californication, I wrote some books and made some music. But I also got a literal F in The New York Times. I had a high-profile divorce and a magical mystery tour through rehab. So now I want to get into the way that failure looms over all of us and really shapes who we are. What’s good about that, what’s bad about that, what’s holding us back in shame? Lots to unpack here. So join me and some cool guests from sports, tv, politics, business and beyond starting May 7, wherever you get your podcasts – and we’ll get into it.

Fail Better with David Duchovny Lemonada

    • Society & Culture
    • 5.0 • 6 Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

Why am I making a podcast? The best answer I can come up with is that I feel like I’ve been failing my entire life, so I can speak from plenty of experience. Sure, I was on The X Files and Californication, I wrote some books and made some music. But I also got a literal F in The New York Times. I had a high-profile divorce and a magical mystery tour through rehab. So now I want to get into the way that failure looms over all of us and really shapes who we are. What’s good about that, what’s bad about that, what’s holding us back in shame? Lots to unpack here. So join me and some cool guests from sports, tv, politics, business and beyond starting May 7, wherever you get your podcasts – and we’ll get into it.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    EXCLUSIVE PEEK: Reflections on Bette Midler

    EXCLUSIVE PEEK: Reflections on Bette Midler

    You can get even more Fail Better with Lemonada Premium, where I share the extended thoughts I have after each interview. Here’s a free peek at what you could be getting: After my conversation with Bette Midler, there are many things I’m still wondering about because I couldn’t find a way to bring them up, including what I wished I’d asked her about parenting. Subscribe to Lemonada Premium now in Apple Podcasts.

    Follow David on Instagram at @davidduchovny. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

    Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/

    For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 8 min
    Bette Midler and the Meanest Man in Showbiz

    Bette Midler and the Meanest Man in Showbiz

    Never in my life did I think I’d get to talk to Bette Midler, only admire her from afar. And while I can’t say the decorated performer is just like us, what I can say is that Bette was more than happy to sit down and talk to me about things that have gone wrong in her life. Tune in to hear about workplace horrors, how being self-deprecating doesn’t make me special, and what it really means to know thyself. All hail The Divine Miss M.

    Follow David on Instagram at @davidduchovny. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

    Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/

    For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 43 min
    Ben Stiller and the Curse of the Sequel

    Ben Stiller and the Curse of the Sequel

    Believe it or not, Ben Stiller has failed. (Remember Zoolander 2? He’d probably rather you didn’t.) As it turns out, Ben has had his share of flops — a man after my own heart — and we chat for a good while about those times in his life, including how they sometimes led to something better. In my first-ever interview, he keeps me on track, answers questions I forgot to ask, and overall makes me feel like I’m actually succeeding at being a podcast host.

    Follow David on Instagram at @davidduchovny. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

    Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/

    For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 50 min
    PREMIUM: Reflections on Bette Midler

    PREMIUM: Reflections on Bette Midler

    After my conversation with Bette Midler, here are all the things I’m still wondering about because I couldn’t find a way to bring them up, including what I wished I’d asked her about her parenting. Miraculously, no cursing ensues.

    PREMIUM: Reflections on Ben Stiller

    PREMIUM: Reflections on Ben Stiller

    In this first Premium episode of Fail Better, you get to hear all the questions I wish I’d asked during my interview with Ben Stiller — questions I didn’t think of until after the interview. Typical. To the surprise of no one, this interview made me feel like a failure.

    Coming Soon… Fail Better with David Duchovny (Official Trailer)

    Coming Soon… Fail Better with David Duchovny (Official Trailer)

    To be human is to fail. And not just to fail once, but to fail a lot. But if it's something we all do so often, why are we so afraid of it? As the author Samuel Beckett once said: “Fail again. Fail better.” This saying means a lot to me and my family – so much so that my daughter even got a tattoo of it. I want to fail better, dammit. So, I’m sitting down with thoughtful people every week to talk about it. Because maybe if we fail better, we’ll feel better. Fail Better - coming May 7, from Lemonada Media.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 2 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
6 Ratings

6 Ratings

Mashup17 ,

Insightful, inspirational and drily amusing

David Duchovny brings a genuinely refreshing perspective on failure, along with his inimitable low key humour, to each of these wide ranging and fascinating discussions.

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