This is the best podcast that I’m aware of for curious people. Dax delivers in-depth, wide-ranging conversations with writers, politicians, scientists, social scientists, and creatives. He clearly does his research and asks great questions. (I’m a writer who’s interviewed hundreds of people, and he’s become my interviewing role model.) I learn something interesting from every episode, even when he’s talking to someone I’m very familiar with. The conversations are never stodgy. The vibe is smart friends hanging out and going deep, with plenty of humor (and usually some vulnerability). Dax has a gift for making his guests feel comfortable, so people who are more formal and guarded in other settings get real on Armchair. His sidekick, Monica Padman, has her fans and detractors. She certainly doesn’t prep for the podcast like Dax does, and I find her rants about hyper-first-world problems hard to listen to, but she does bring a unique perspective to the pod. I’m profoundly disappointed that Armchair Expert signed on with Amazon. Bezos is buying up media outlets as a political bargaining chip, which has certainly paid off for him. But there’s a high price for the outlets he snaps up. We saw what happened at the Washington Post. When the Post decided it didn’t want to “get political,” it became brazenly clear what that meant. I hope Armchair will be allowed to continue speaking freely. It’s an extraordinary podcast.

Love you guys and the show so much. A bright spot in my day, or middle of the night while I’m up nursing babies. Thank you 💛☀️

I started listening about 2 years ago and have gone back and listened to most of the old episodes too. The interviews are thoughtful and in-depth, Dax and Monica are so much fun to listen to! My favorite podcast, and I look forward to each episode.

Not only has this quickly become my favorite podcast, it has truly changed my life for the better. In the episode with Nikki Glaser she mentioned how the book Stop Drinking Now, by Allen Carr helped her up stop drinking. I read it, and was able to give up alcohol with any discomfort. Then the episode about narcissists led me to read the guest’s book, It’s Not You, which is helping me to heal from my marriage with a narcissist. Thank you Dax and Monica from the bottom of my heart.