Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport is a Georgetown computer science professor and the author of Deep Work and A World Without Email, and his podcast is where he applies those ideas to real questions from real people. The format is mostly solo — Newport answers listener questions about productivity, focus, digital minimalism, and building a meaningful career — though he occasionally brings on guests like Brad Stulberg or Ed Zitron for broader conversations. Episodes range from an hour to sometimes over two hours, releasing weekly. With 403 episodes and a 4.8-star rating from nearly 1,300 reviews, the show has attracted a community of people who are genuinely trying to work differently. Newport organizes each episode into segments: an ideas section where he unpacks a concept or trend, a practices section with actionable advice, and a Q&A block that gets surprisingly specific about individual listeners' situations. Newport's style is methodical and logical, which means the show is not for everyone. There is no comedy, minimal small talk, and he will spend 20 minutes building a careful argument about why your email habits are destroying your cognitive capacity. But if you respond to that kind of rigorous thinking, it is incredibly useful. He pushes back hard on the always-connected default of modern knowledge work and offers concrete alternatives. The podcast is particularly strong for anyone who feels like their workday is consumed by shallow tasks and wants a principled framework for reclaiming their time and attention.