What happens when someone who is obsessed with human behavior, instead of becoming a psychologist, chooses a career in entertainment? Mentalist and illusionist, Derren Brown, has mastered the ability to tap into our motivations and biases to uncover some remarkable things. These days, he’s interested in how we can all be just a little bit happier.
Today
Revisited: How to Turn Stress Into Creativity With Grammy-Winner Jacob Collier
Team Simon here! As we take a short hiatus, A Bit of Optimism will return with brand-new episodes on March 24, 2026. Until then, we’re revisiting some of the conversations you loved and we still think about long after the microphones turned off. This week, we’re rewinding to Simo ... Show More
58m 33s
Feb 16
28 Years on the Force: Chief Angela Averiett on What It Really Takes to Change Police Culture
It’s often true that the most challenging conversations are often the ones most worth having. Conversations that bring up strong feelings, different experiences, and questions without easy answers. Policing, and how we can make it better, is one of those conversations.San Leandro ... Show More
1h 5m
Jun 2021
Shawn Mendes: Shifting From Self To Service
What happens when we are too concerned with being perceived as the “good guy” that we forget we are human? Award winning singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes shares experiences from his childhood, career and current relationship that have shaped his ideas of masculinity, privilege, and ... Show More
1h 17m
May 2024
How Jake Tran Made Millions Without Showing His Face
In today’s episode, the boys welcome a YouTuber with over 2 million subs, Jake Tran, to chat exposing our food supply, making documentaries on war, money and crime, the secret to blowing up on YouTube, creating faceless channels, how to properly outsource as a content creator, ma ... Show More
1h 6m
Apr 2019
What to Do When You Don’t Know What To Do | Dealing with Fear of the Future
On this episode influencer Kenzie Elizabeth talks with her bff Taylor King about feeling lost in college, not knowing what to do, not knowing where you’re going, fear of the future & more. Find her on socials @kenzieelizabeth & join our secret FB page (<a href="https://bi ... Show More
50m 29s
Oct 2020
Timothy Goodman - NYC Designer, Illustrator, Muralist and Author
<p><a href="https://www.tgoodman.com/">Timothy Goodman</a> is a NYC based designer, illustrator, muralist, and author. Whether it's a large-scale public mural on the streets of NYC, a marker scrawling on a Uniqlo t-shirt, a web-based social experiment that documents his life, or ... Show More
49m 58s