Best Jeff Zhang Podcasts (2025)

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3.83-Filmmaker Interview with Daniel Persitz 18:01

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2d ago18:01

18:01

Send us a text In today's episode, I interview Daniel Persitz, director of the short film "Key of Genius," a story of a young blind autistic savant and the teacher determined to unlock his genius through music. Listen to hear about the process of casting such a specific character, a brief communication with royalty, and the task of picking which mu…

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#368 ‒ The protein debate: optimal intake, limitations of the RDA, whether high-protein intake is harmful, and how to think about processed foods | David Allison, Ph.D. 1:49:24

4d ago1:49:24

1:49:24

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter David Allison is a world-renowned scientist and award-winning scientific writer who has spent more than two decades at the forefront of obesity research. In this episode, David joins for his third appearance on The Dri…

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3.82-Condemned with Luis Mendez 46:06

6d ago46:06

46:06

Send us a text Today's episode is my conversation about the 1929 film Condemned. I'm joined by Luis Mendez from The Mendez Movie Report and we talk about whether or not it is smart for a prison warden to bring in a prisoner to work in his home, the ongoing development of story pacing in films at this time, and some choices that were made with the i…

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3.81-Filmmaker Interview with Sam Davis 19:12

9d ago19:12

19:12

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#367 - Tylenol, pregnancy, and autism: What recent studies show and how to interpret the data 1:27:09

11d ago1:27:09

1:27:09

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter In this special episode of The Drive, Peter addresses the recent headlines linking acetaminophen (Tylenol) use during pregnancy to autism in exposed children. Recognizing the confusion these claims have sparked among p…

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"One Battle After Another" 1:00:00

11d ago1:00:00

1:00:00

"No fear. Like Tom f---ing Cruise." One Battle After Another is Paul Thomas Anderson like you've never seen him before. Gripping you from the first second of its barnburner opening montage, Anderson synthesizes his typical mastery of emotional stakes with the very unexpected: action chops. We discuss his love for Terminator 2, another all-timer Leo…

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3.80-The Trespasser with Kevin Pettit 53:02

13d ago53:02

53:02

Send us a text Today's episode is my conversation about the 1929 film The Trespasser. I'm joined by Kevin Pettit from the See You at the Movies newsletter and we talk about comparisons between relationships of the 1920s and today, the impact of the stock market crash of 1929 on the film industry (and greater economy), and an unexpected hometown con…

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3.79-Filmmaker Interviews with Loïck du Plessis D’Argentré, Maud Le Bras, and Jiaxin Huang and Atharva Raut (Student Academy Awards 2025) 32:27

16d ago32:27

32:27

Send us a text Today's episode is the final episode of my series of double episodes featuring conversations with 2025 Student Academy Award nominees. My first interview today is with 2025 Student Academy Award finalists Loïck du Plessis D’Argentré, Maud Le Bras, and Jiaxin Huang, collaborators on the animated short film "The Shyness of Trees." We d…

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#366 ‒ Transforming education with AI and an individualized, mastery-based education model | Joe Liemandt 1:47:22

18d ago1:47:22

1:47:22

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter Joe Liemandt is a software entrepreneur turned education reformer who left Stanford in 1989 to found Trilogy, a highly profitable private software company, before pivoting to transforming K-12 learning. In this episode…

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"Highest 2 Lowest" 42:26

20d ago42:26

42:26

This week we review Highest 2 Lowest, Spike Lee's brazen remake of the 1963 black and white Akira Kurosawa classic, High and Low. A divisive movie with its own modern mind apart from its predecessor, Highest 2 Lowest split audiences at Cannes this year and has now split us on the podcast as well. Akira Kurosawa at the height of his power or Spike L…

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3.78-Disraeli with Jeff Kramer 48:53

20d ago48:53

48:53

Send us a text Today's episode is my conversation about the 1929 film Disraeli. I'm joined by Jeff Kramer from The Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter and we talk about British politics in the late 1800s, how well George Arliss carries the entire film as the title character, and how it seems like the Russians always make good spies and…

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3.77-Filmmaker Interviews with Megan Mullen (Student Academy Awards 2025) 12:05

23d ago12:05

12:05

Send us a text Today's episode is part of my series of episodes featuring conversations with 2025 Student Academy Award nominees. I spoke with 2025 Student Academy Award semi-finalist Megan Mullen, director of the documentary short film "Secrets of Satellite Beach" and we discuss the light that she wanted to shine on the issue of contaminated water…

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#365 ‒ Training for longevity: A roundtable on building strength, preventing injury, meeting protein needs, guidance for women and youth athletes, and more | Gabrielle Lyon, Mike Boyle, Jeff Cavaliere 2:15:29

25d ago2:15:29

2:15:29

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter In this special episode of The Drive, Peter hosts a strength and conditioning roundtable with three experts in the field—Gabrielle Lyon, Jeff Cavaliere, and Mike Boyle. Together they explore why maintaining muscle mass…

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2025 Summer Box Office Wager Results 38:56

26d ago38:56

38:56

It's that time of year again where we reveal the winner of our annual summer box office wager. Amir has taken the crown since the 2023 inception of this standing contest among hosts. Will he do it again this year? Or can Derek or Jeff finally win one? We discuss the movies of the summer: surprise hits, dark horse picks, and the biggest disappointme…

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3.76-Hallelujah with Jonathan Hammond 56:27

27d ago56:27

56:27

Send us a text Today's episode is my conversation about the 1929 film Hallelujah. I'm joined by Jonathan Hammond, film director who has multiple shorts on the festival circuit this fall. We talk about many of the problems of the film even though it does include an all African American cast, some interesting images of what life was like at the time …

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3.75-Filmmaker Interviews with Tatiana McCabe and Xindi Zhang (Student Academy Awards 2025) 27:05

1M ago27:05

27:05

Send us a text Today's episode is part of my series of double episodes featuring conversations with 2025 Student Academy Award nominees. My first interview today is with 2025 Student Academy Award winner Tatiana McCabe, director of the documentary short film "Tides of Life." We discuss how she came to wildlife filmmaking to help realize a lifelong …

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#364 – AMA #75: Diets: how to evaluate and implement any diet including keto, carnivore, vegan, Mediterranean, and more 13:29

1M ago13:29

13:29

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter In this “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode, Peter explores how to determine the right diet for yourself rather than searching for a universal “best” diet. He begins by laying out five non-negotiable criteria that any sust…

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"Caught Stealing" 31:57

1M ago31:57

31:57

Darren Aronofsky follows up his divisive Oscar-winner, The Whale, with a throwback to 90s capers. Caught Stealing is an After Hours pastiche without any ego and a studio potboiler aimed right down the middle of the road, it just happens to star one of the most charismatic casts assembled in 2025. Jeff and Derek discuss the star power of Austin Butl…

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3.74-Bulldog Drummond with Gareth Bradwick 43:59

1M ago43:59

43:59

Send us a text Today's episode is the first film discussion episode of the 3rd Academy Awards and my conversation about the 1929 film Bulldog Drummond. I'm joined by Gareth Bradwick from the "Popped" newsletter and we talk about the film's influence on subsequent films in the genre, how the absence of music affects the overall mood of the film, and…

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3.73-Filmmaker Interviews with Tushar Bhojwani and Mati Granica (Student Academy Awards 2025) 30:24

1M ago30:24

30:24

Send us a text Today's episode is part of my series of double episodes featuring conversations with 2025 Student Academy Award nominees. My first interview today is with 2025 Student Academy Award semifinalist Tushar Bhojwani, director of the animated film "Roar of the Tiger." We discuss his experience growing up in what's known as "the land of urb…

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#363 ‒ A new frontier in neurosurgery: restoring brain function with brain-computer interfaces, advancing glioblastoma care, and new hope for devastating brain diseases | Edward Chang, M.D. 1:53:25

1M ago1:53:25

1:53:25

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter Edward Chang is a neurosurgeon, scientist, and a pioneering leader in functional neurosurgery and brain-computer interface technology, whose work spans the operating room, the research lab, and the engineering bench to…

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3.72-Kicking Off the 3rd Oscars with Beth Lisogorsky 27:49

1M ago27:49

27:49

Send us a text Today's episode is the beginning of my conversations about the films nominated at the 3rd Academy Awards. I'm joined by Beth Lisogorsky who writes the Beth's TV & Film Recommendations newsletter and we break down some of the history of the 3rd Academy Awards, all of the nominees, and take some a few moments to discuss the one missing…

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"Alien: Earth" 43:56

1M ago43:56

43:56

Xenomorphs get the prestige television treatment with Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth. Mashing up extraterrestrial horror with corpo-palace intrigue, the eight-episode first season looks to expand the world of the Ridley Scott classic. Does Hawley's acclaimed pedigree with Legion and Fargo hold promise for his new series? We review the first five episod…

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3.71-Filmmaker Interviews with Lucas Ansel and Zolomon Zelko (Student Academy Awards 2025) 39:12

1M ago39:12

39:12

Send us a text Today's episode is the first of a series of double episodes you'll be getting throughout the month of September all featuring conversations with 2025 Student Academy Award nominees. My first interview is with 2025 Student Academy Award Winner Lucas Ansel, director of the animated film "The 12 Inch Pianist." We discuss where he found …

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Lower back pain: causes, treatment, and prevention of lower back injuries and pain | Stuart McGill, Ph.D. (#287 rebroadcast) 2:31:22

2M ago2:31:22

2:31:22

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter Stuart McGill is a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo and the chief scientific officer at Backfitpro where he specializes in evaluating complex cases of lower back pain from across the globe…

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3.70-The General with Joshua Ytreberg 22:27

2M ago22:27

22:27

Send us a text Today's special episode is a conversation I had with my son Joshua about the 1926 film The General, written by, directed by, and starring Buster Keaton. Joshua recommended this film to me after he saw it in a Film Studies class in school and when I realized I'd never seen the entire thing, we decided to make a podcast episode about i…

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3.69-Mia Mask Interview Replay 26:48

2M ago26:48

26:48

Send us a text Today's episode is a replay of the very first interview episode from back in June 2023. My guest was Mia Mask, a professor at Vassar College where she teaches African American cinema, Documentary History, and seminars on topics including horror film and auteurs like Spike Lee, Charles Burnett and Ava DuVernay. She also teaches femini…

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"Weapons" 43:14

2M ago43:14

43:14

Zach Cregger follows up his 2022 surprise hit Barbarian with another bout of sneaky horror with Weapons. Centered around a town grappling with a singular classroom of missing children, Cregger's sophomore feature-length film turns a microscope into a Fresnel lens to heat up the rot of an empathy-starved community: safety, routine, and comfort crumb…

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#362 ‒ Understanding anxiety: defining, assessing, and treating health anxiety, OCD, and the spectrum of anxiety disorders | Josh Spitalnick, Ph.D., A.B.P.P. 2:15:15

2M ago2:15:15

2:15:15

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter Josh Spitalnick is a clinical and research psychologist with expertise in treating a variety of anxiety conditions with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and other evidence-based approaches. In this episode, Josh unpa…

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3.68-2nd Oscars Recap 14:32

2M ago14:32

14:32

Send us a text Today's episode is my recap of everything from the second Academy Awards back in 1930. I run through all the nominees and winners of every category and give a final ranking of all 19 films I was able to watch from this year of the Oscars. If you missed any of the episodes discussing specific films, you can go back in this feed or jus…

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3.67-Filmmaker Interview with Dylan Trupiano 26:47

2M ago26:47

26:47

Send us a text In today's episode, I interview Dylan Trupiano, director of the new short film "Recesses," a poignant reflection on hidden childhood trauma and education system. Listen to hear about the inspiration for the story in his own childhood experience with a teacher for a parent, the nature of childhood memories versus adult memories, and t…

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#361 - AMA #74: Sugar and sugar substitutes: weight control, metabolic effects, and health trade-offs 15:59

2M ago15:59

15:59

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter In this “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode, Peter explains how to evaluate sugar and its substitutes in the context of health. Peter explores the role of sweeteners in three common use-cases – beverages, protein supplemen…

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3.66-Dynamite with Murray Mintz 41:28

2M ago41:28

41:28

Send us a text Today's episode is my conversation about the 1929 film Dyamite. I'm joined by Murray Mintz from the "CineVibez Fanzine" newsletter and we talk about what the going rate for "buying a husband" was in 1929, some wonderful twists and turns throughout the plot, and innovative uses of sound in director Cecil B. DeMille's first fully sound…

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3.65-Filmmaker Interview with Meron Alon 14:33

2M ago14:33

14:33

Send us a text In today's episode, I interview Meron Alon, director of the new short film "Too Good," a humorous take on what happens when we die and meet God at the gates to heaven. Listen to hear about the process of casting the two stars of the film, some unconventional questions that God asks at the gates of heaven, and one of the best characte…

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#360 ‒ How to change your habits: why they form and how to build or break them | Charles Duhigg, M.B.A 2:13:10

2M ago2:13:10

2:13:10

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author known for distilling complex neuroscience and psychology into practical strategies for behavior change, performance, and decision-making. In…

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"Eddington" 53:20

2M ago53:20

53:20

Leaving Cannes critics perplexed and polarized this spring, Ari Aster's Eddington takes aim at the fabric of the American zeitgeist. Is it the defining finger on the pulse of COVID-abetted brain rot? Or is it as groan-worthy as an "Ari Aster COVID movie" sounds? We discuss the film, Aster's filmography, and the prospect of assembling a political pe…

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3.64-Madame X with Dan Pal 48:22

2M ago48:22

48:22

Send us a text Today's episode is my conversation about the 1929 film Madame X. I'm joined by Dan Pal from the "PalCinema, Television, & Music" newsletter and we talk about the theme of forgiveness which appears in the film, director Lionel Barrymore's conscious decision to limit the amount of music in the film, and whether the story might have wor…

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3.63-Filmmaker Interview with Hannah Rose Ammon 12:53

2M ago12:53

12:53

Send us a text In today's episode, I interview Hannah Rose Ammon, director of the new short film "We Do Our Best," a tender, true-to-life portrait of motherhood, girlhood and growing up in New York. Listen to hear about the real life event that inspired the film, what it was like filming in a small bar environment in New York City, and the importan…

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"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" 1:03:15

2M ago1:03:15

1:03:15

New Earth. Fresh start. The MCU's latest brings Marvel's First Family to the big screen in a retro-futuristic, sci-fi epic. Will a red-hot, A-list cast and a heavy-hitting, non-cloud Galactus finally give The Fantastic Four the movie it deserves? Or will a flagging franchise's recent pain points once again prove that Marvel is running out of steam?…

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#359 ‒ How metabolic and immune system dysfunction drive the aging process, the role of NAD, promising interventions, aging clocks, and more | Eric Verdin, M.D. 2:11:11

2M ago2:11:11

2:11:11

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter Eric Verdin is a physician-scientist and the CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging whose career has centered on understanding how epigenetics, metabolism, and the immune system influence the aging process. In…