Cover of Two Percent with Michael Easter

Two Percent with Michael Easter

Two Percent with Michael Easter

By: Michael Easter
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Lessons from the frontiers of health, psychology, thought, and human experience. Hosted by Michael Easter—New York Times bestselling author of The Comfort Crisis and Scarcity Brain. New episodes are released twice each week. Hygiene & Healthy Living Science
Episodes
  • #59: Your Love of True Crime Is a Survival Instinct | Coltan Scrivner

    #59: Your Love of True Crime Is a Survival Instinct | Coltan Scrivner
    29 Oct 2026
    If you love grisly true crime and horror shows, you might wonder if something is wrong with you. Michael speaks with Coltan Scrivner to answer that question. Scrivner, a psychologist at Arizona State University and author of Morbidly Curious, unpacks why humans are drawn to danger, the four kinds of morbid curiosity, why horror fans held up better in the pandemic, the sweet spot of fear, and when too much true crime starts to warp how dangerous the world feels. They discuss: (00:00) Cold open(01:03) Why we can't look away from crime and danger(06:59) The four kinds of morbid curiosity(12:44) Why everyone slows down for car wrecks(15:41) When true crime warps your world(20:53) Are horror fans less empathetic?(27:45) Why people root for killers(31:33) Why women love true crime(34:34) Michael's morbid curiosity score(37:04) The sweet spot of fear(40:04) Kids and scary movies(43:44) Is Dateline before bed bad?(46:07) Why clowns and creepy old women get us(50:37) Horror fans and the pandemic(53:08) The woman who can't feel fear(57:32) His scariest ghost hunt(1:02:33) Rapid fire: Best horror movies and villains Get Coltan's book, Morbidly Curious: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/705578/morbidly-curious-by-coltan-scrivner-phd/Take Coltan's Morbid Curiosity Test: https://www.coltanscrivner.com/morbid-curiosity-test Sponsors:MacroFactor: Download the MacroFactor app and use code TWOPCT for 14 days free.Vuori: Get 20% off your first order at vuori.com/TWOPCT. Exclusions apply. Visit Two Percent, the #1 health and wellness Substack newsletter: https://www.twopct.com Follow Michael:https://twitter.com/Michael_Easterhttps://instagram.com/michael_easter/https://linkedin.com/in/michael-easter-b208848/https://www.facebook.com/twopcthttps://tiktok.com/@michael_easter6 Host: Michael EasterExecutive Producer: Robbie HiserMusic: The Heater ManagerGraphics: Jackie Philips Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 10 min
  • #58: Why You Should Hike Right Now | Robert Moor

    #58: Why You Should Hike Right Now | Robert Moor
    27 Oct 2026
    Michael speaks with Robert Moor, author of On Trails and the new book In Trees, about what five months on the Appalachian Trail taught him about quitting and comfort, why going off trail sharpens your mind, how to get off what his tree climbing instructor calls the neurotic merry-go-round, and what old, wounded trees know about aging well. They discuss: (00:00) Cold open(00:42) Why he walked from Georgia to Maine(03:56) What a thru-hike does to your mind(08:53) Why most thru-hikers quit(12:39) Learning to love discomfort(17:51) What every trail has in common(24:00) Why go off trail(28:09) Getting outdoors in a city(30:14) His outdoor routine and thru-hike advice(35:55) The power of trees(42:07) A case for climbing trees(47:20) David Attenborough, bonsai and growing around wounds(56:33) What trees teach about aging Get Robert's book, In Trees: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/In-Trees/Robert-Moor/9781476739250 Sponsors:Vuori: Get 20% off your first order at vuori.com/TWOPCT. Exclusions apply.MacroFactor: Download the MacroFactor app and use code TWOPCT for 14 days free. Visit Two Percent, the #1 health and wellness Substack newsletter: https://www.twopct.com Follow Michael:https://twitter.com/Michael_Easterhttps://instagram.com/michael_easter/https://linkedin.com/in/michael-easter-b208848/https://www.facebook.com/twopcthttps://tiktok.com/@michael_easter6 Host: Michael EasterExecutive Producer: Robbie HiserMusic: The Heater ManagerGraphics: Jackie Philips Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 2 min
  • #57: Stop Trying to Sleep Perfectly | David Samson

    #57: Stop Trying to Sleep Perfectly | David Samson
    22 Oct 2026
    Up to half of Americans say their sleep is bad, and the rules for fixing it keep piling up. Michael speaks with David Samson, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Toronto and author of The Sleepless Ape, about why modern people sleep longer and better than hunter-gatherers yet worry about it far more, why our body clocks are the real mismatch, top sleep myths, and which sleep advice is worth following. They discuss: (00:00) Cold open(01:19) What is sleep?(08:30) Is there an epidemic of bad sleep?(15:50) Why study hunter-gatherer sleep(18:40) How the Hadza tribe sleeps(25:45) Bad sleep, happy sleepers(28:44) Evolutionary mismatch of sleep(32:40) Sleep is fine, the clock isn't(38:49) Does sleep anxiety matter?(43:02) Rapid fire: melatonin to curtains(47:08) What he does to sleep better Get David's book, The Sleepless Ape: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691259734/the-sleepless-ape Sponsors:Vuori: Get 20% off your first order at vuori.com/TWOPCT. Exclusions apply.MacroFactor: Download the MacroFactor app and use code TWOPCT for 14 days free. Visit Two Percent, the #1 health and wellness Substack newsletter: https://www.twopct.com Follow Michael:https://twitter.com/Michael_Easterhttps://instagram.com/michael_easter/https://linkedin.com/in/michael-easter-b208848/https://www.facebook.com/twopcthttps://tiktok.com/@michael_easter6 Host: Michael EasterExecutive Producer: Robbie HiserMusic: The Heater ManagerGraphics: Jackie Philips Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 min
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