#233: Cory Booker -- Street Fights, 10-Day Hunger Strikes, and Creative Problem-Solving

Cory Booker (@corybooker) is an American politician and the junior United States Senator from New Jersey. I generally have an allergy to politics, but Cory's story is endlessly fascinating (e.g., he's faced down death threats from gangs, run into burning buildings, and much more), and we have a few years of history together. We cover a lot in this wide-ranging catch-up conversation, including his diet, lessons from early mentors and athletics, routines, books that have had an impact, learning how to "street fight" in New Jersey after receiving a Rhodes Scholarship, and much more. Cory began his political career as a city councilor from 1998 to 2002 in Newark, New Jersey's largest city. He later served as mayor of Newark, which under his leadership entered its biggest period of economic growth since the 1960s -- the first new downtown hotels were constructed in forty years, the first new office towers in twenty. He then won the Senate Democratic primary in August of 2013, and then won the general election on October 16, 2013, becoming the first African-American U.S. Senator from New Jersey. Cory is also the author of The New York Times bestseller United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did! This episode is brought to you by Exo Protein. These guys are making protein bars using cricket protein powder. Before you look disgusted, I bet they taste better than any protein bar you've ever had before! With recipes that were developed by a three-Michelin-star chef, the bars are paleo-friendly, with no gluten, no grains, no soy, no dairy, and they won't spike your glycemic response. In fact, they're less processed than any other protein bars you'll find. Exo Protein is offering a deep discount to Tim Ferriss Show listeners. If you go to ExoProtein.com/Tim, you can try a sampler pack with all of the most popular flavors for less than $10. This is a startup with limited inventory that sells out all