Show Notes
This week, we’re taking a short breath and sharing Steve’s recent conversation with David Duchovny from his guest appearance on Fail Better. The two talk about their shared admiration for Samuel Beckett and the surprising amount of common ground between them. They explore Steve’s two-decade retreat from the spotlight after the internet invented rumors about his death, and how he has returned with a podcast of his own. The two of them talk about listening, what people didn’t appreciate about Pee-wee Herman, and the deep, lasting importance of Sesame Street. This is a conversation about the past, for the future. To hear more episodes of Fail Better, follow wherever you get your podcasts or head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/failbetterfd See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from Alive with Steve Burns
What if grief isn’t something to fix but something to understand? In this episode, psychotherapist Megan Devine breaks down the truth about loss, why we’re so uncomfortable with it, and how our culture gets grief completely wrong. From the myth of “moving on” to the pressure to feel better on a timeline, this conversation challenges everything we think we know about healing. Steve and Megan explore how trying to control or minimize grief often makes things worse. Megan offers a more honest, practical way to live with loss, support others, and stop judging ourselves for how we feel.
Blake Mycoskie opens up about building TOMS Shoes, chasing success, and still feeling empty. He unpacks the hidden cost of validation, the crash that followed, and how he’s redefining purpose, connection, and what it actually means to feel like enough.
Steve sits down with media psychology expert Rebecca Tukachinsky Forster to break down parasocial relationships, the one-sided connections we form with TV hosts, creators, and public figures. From childhood TV to social media, they explore why these connections feel real and how easily we trust them.
Megan helps Steve approach the anxieties, fantasies, and obsessions we bring to our relationship with money.
Adam Savage sits down with Steve to discuss the future of facts, the scientific method, busting myths, and he gives us a peek inside his legendary workshop.