Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

Video from today’s episode also at: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

0:00 Is AI About to Automate Every Office Job?
3:02 Other Tech Leaders Don’t Agree
5:49 -We Aren’t Seeing Enough Progress
14:09 -LLMS Are Limited
24:19 Conclusion

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow 

https://www.reddit.com/r/AI4tech/comments/1r4tukp/microsoft_ai_ceo_mustafa_suleyman_says_most_if/

https://x.com/TheChiefNerd/status/2045947286518157395

https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1snhfzd/claude_opus_47_is_a_serious_regression_not_an/ 

https://x.com/mattshumer_/status/2047376179414421957

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2025-in-review/why-ai-didnt-transform-our-lives-in-2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDOmNa9inA4

https://www.ft.com/video/2c428045-bf4f-45bd-ada2-8ba53983cd81

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.
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In his recent New York Times essay, Cal argued for a “cognitive fitness” revolution to resist the onslaught of digital tools degrading our ability to think. But how does one actually strengthen their brain? In this episode, Cal details a sustainable cognitive fitness routine built around five key components. 

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Send an email to [email protected]. 

Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia

2:25 DEEP DIVE: How Do I Build “Cognitive Fitness”? | Monday Advice

INBOX: 

30:51 Message from a social media influencer

33:02 Reaction to Amy Timberlake interview

38:01 Putting Cal’s advice into practice

WHAT CAL IS UP TO:

41:20 What I read

43:45 What I’m doing

Books:

The Noonday Devil (by Jean-Charles Nault: translated from original French)

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow 

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/ 

Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdvqpqHSQas

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/opinion/technology-mental-fitness-cognitive.html

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/what-kind-of-writer-is-chatgpt

https://i0.wp.com/www.americamagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/MertonCover.jpeg-427330.jpeg?w=992&ssl=1

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/opinion/sunday/steve-jobs-never-wanted-us-to-use-our-iphones-like-this.html

https://anjalibanerjee.com/paws-and-platen/from-typewritten-draft-to-published-page 

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Thanks to Jesse Miller for mastering and production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.
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Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

0:00 What has *Actually* Happened in AI in 2026? 

3:07 Open Claw

27:53 Anthropic and the Department of War

49:06 Data Centers

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow 

https://www.axios.com/2026/01/31/ai-moltbook-human-need-tech

https://www.macstories.net/stories/clawdbot-showed-me-what-the-future-of-personal-ai-assistants-looks-like/

https://www.anthropic.com/news/statement-department-of-war

https://futurism.com/science-energy/data-centers-construction-supply

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is developing discipline one of the most effective bulwarks against the constant flood of distraction we face daily? And if so, what’s the best way to accomplish this goal? In this Monday Advice episode of the show, Cal Newport investigates these questions with the help of Brad Stulberg, who writes about these ideas in his most recent book, the New York Times bestseller “The Way of Excellence.”

 

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Send an email to [email protected].

 

Video from today’s episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmedia

 

2:27 Do I Need More Discipline? (w/ Brad Stulberg)  

1:07:33 Dealing with abundance of choice in media

1:11:45 Using typewriters for first drafts

1:14:44 Success with “information walkabout”  

1:17:22 What I’ve been doing

1:19:54 What I’ve been reading

Books:

 

A World Appears (Michael Pollan)

 

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at
https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/

Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdvqpqHSQas

 

Thanks to our Sponsors:

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Thanks to Jesse Miller for mastering and production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.

 

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Cal Newport takes a critical look at recent AI News.

Today's episode on YouTube: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

0:00 What’s Really Going on with Mythos? 

10:09 Security systems

21:27 Conclusion

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRsycWRQrc8

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/opinion/anthropic-ai-claude-mythos.html

https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.08144

https://x.com/clementdelangue/status/2041953761069793557?s=61

https://x.com/stanislavfort/status/2041922370206654879

https://www.aisi.gov.uk/blog/our-evaluation-of-claude-mythos-previews-cyber-capabilities

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices