Two Percent with Michael Easter

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

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

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

Most of us avoid anything we might fail at. Michael speaks with Dr. Marcus Elliott about Misogi, his yearly challenge with about a 50 percent chance of failure, and why we overestimate the cost of failing, the benefits of Misogi, and what the data on elite athletes still can't measure. In addition to creating the modern Misogi, Marcus founded P3, the world's top sports science lab. They discuss: (00:00) Cold open(00:41) The Comfort Crisis introduction(02:20) What a Misogi is(05:37) The 50/50 rule(17:08) No training required(21:14) One perfect stroke(23:23) Why Misogi should be kooky(34:33) A modern rite of passage(37:51) The Misogi with his son(45:00) What the data can't see(56:42) Hundreds of reader Misogis(60:01) Not an Instagram moment(64:18) Don't let your life shrink Sponsors:Base44: Get 30% off the Builder plan for your first year at base44.com/TWOPCT.Vuori: Get 20% off your first order at vuori.com/TWOPCT. Exclusions apply.MacroFactor: Download the MacroFactor app and use it free for two weeks with code TWOPCT. 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

Brian Driscoll became acting director of the FBI through what he believes was a clerical error in 2025. He was then asked to hand over the names of thousands of FBI employees who worked the January 6 investigations, which would have placed their careers and safety in jeopardy. He resisted and became a legend in the bureau. Brian told Michael what pushing back cost him, and why he calls "it is what it is" the most accepted form of surrender. They discussed: (00:00) Cold open(00:51) Becoming accidental FBI director(04:37) The illegal vetting call he failed(09:43) The request for the names of thousands of agents(18:04) From 9/11 to investigating the mob in NYC(32:22) Inside the elite Hostage Rescue Team(39:48) Lessons from elite teams: Be brilliant at the basics(49:05) How he protected the FBI(55:35) Fired with no reason given(59:44) How he led the FBI through crisis(66:48) Why standing up was worth being fired(71:41) The motorcycle journey afterward(76:56) Starting over Sponsors:Vuori: Get 20% off your first purchase at vuori.com/TWOPCT. Exclusions apply.MacroFactor: Try MacroFactor free for 14 days in the Apple or Android app store with code TWOPCT.Lagoon: Go to lagoonsleep.com/TWOPCT and take the 60-second sleep quiz to find your perfect pillow. 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