#776: Derren Brown — A Master Mentalist on Magic, Mind Reading, Ambition, Stoicism, Religion, and More

Derren Brown is a psychological illusionist who can predict, suggest, and even control human behavior. Sponsors: Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: https://eightsleep.com/tim (save $350 on the Pod 4 Ultra) LinkedIn Ads, the go-to tool for B2B marketers and advertisers who want to drive brand awareness and generate leads: LinkedIn.com/TFS ($100 LinkedIn ad credit) ExpressVPN high-speed, secure, and anonymous VPN service: https://www.expressvpn.com/tim (Get 3 extra months free with a 12-month plan) Timestamps: [00:00] Start [06:45] Sacrifice, The Push, and Apocalypse. [12:21] Derren's transition from student to magician. [14:43] How Martin Taylor inspired Derren to pursue hypnosis. [16:42] Strange audience reactions to hypnosis. [20:00] Hypnosis, mentalism, and cold reading. [24:34] How a TV medium uses hot reading techniques. [26:22] How can someone learn to be a healthy skeptic? [34:24] How learning magic influenced Derren's skepticism and faith. [40:57] Why did Derren wait until his 30s to come out? [43:18] Finding meaning. [47:06] High status struggles. [48:20] Making sense of the human experience. [56:59] Ambition and productivity. [01:02:25] The counterintuitive assembly of Derren's creative projects. [01:09:17] Ensuring ethics and safety in TV social experiments. [01:15:50] Suggestion as self-defense. [01:20:27] Why Derren takes care not to abuse his superpowers in real life. [01:24:01] Recommended reading. [01:28:02] TED Talks in treacherous terrain. [01:29:53] A new belief or habit that has improved Derren's life. [01:33:27] Derren's billboard and parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s bo