The guest
Rick Rubin: World-renowned music producer who has worked with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Johnny Cash, Adele, Eminem, Slayer and more. Author of 'The Creative Act: A Way of Being' and host of the Tetragrammaton podcast.
What this episode covers
In this follow-up Q&A episode, Rick Rubin answers thousands of listener questions about the creative process, with Huberman deliberately stepping back to give Rubin most of the airtime. Rubin frames creativity as a 'diary entry' practice where honesty to yourself dissolves creative blocks, and argues that attachment to outcome undermines the work itself. The pair range across meditation, sunlight and red-light habits, weight loss, pro wrestling, psychedelics, dreams, and how Rubin structures his day around natural light and minimal stimulation. Recurring themes are comfort with uncertainty, doing things with whatever means you have, and being truthful in both art and relationships.
Recommended on this episode
MediaRecommended
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Andrew Hickey
“great podcast real indepth information about music”
“I've started listening to more episodes of the podcasts that you introduced me to which was history of rock music and 500 songs Andrew Hickey great podcast real indepth information about music”— Rick Rubin
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Wherever You Go, There You Are
Jon Kabat-Zinn
“my favorite book about meditation”
“my favorite book about meditation is called wherever you go there you are I love it and I just got sent the 30th Anniversary Edition which is completely Rewritten”— Rick Rubin
The guest's own work
BookBy the guestISBN verified
The Creative Act: A Way of Being
Rick Rubin
“Rick also authored his first book which is a truly incredible exploration into the creative process his book is entitled the creative act a way of being”— Andrew Huberman
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
MediaReferenced
A Star Is Born
Bradley Cooper
“I thought he did a spectacular job as playing the female artist's father in A Star is Born had Lady Gaga and Brad Cooper he's a really good actor”— Rick Rubin
MediaReferenced
Melancholia
Lars von Trier
“there was a movie called Melancholia that I saw years ago Lars von Trier movie and I thought it was a very beautiful movie but I was in a bad mood”— Rick Rubin
MediaReferenced
Blue Valentine
Derek Cianfrance
“The movie Blue Valentine which has done really well which is with Ryan Gosling and someone else where it's a relationship”— Andrew Huberman
MediaReferenced
Pi
Darren Aronofsky
“I'm friends with Darren Aronofsky who's a great director and his first movie was called pie and he made it for practically no money”— Andrew Huberman
MediaReferenced
Lift Run Shoot
Cameron Hanes
“Cameron Haynes has this lift run shoot podcast where you go to his house you do a workout then you go for run and then he teaches you archery”— Andrew Huberman
Big reveals from this episode
- Rubin reveals he lost 135 pounds on a high-protein, low-calorie, low-carb diet after roughly 20 years as a vegan that left him unhealthy.
- Claims there are no real creative blocks; they are always fear of self-judgment or outside judgment, dissolved by treating work as a private diary entry.
- Argues any thought about outcome undermines the whole creative work; making is a devotional practice and the result is out of your control.
- Says every project he took on was called a terrible idea that wouldn't work, every single time, from LL Cool J and Slayer to Johnny Cash and Adele.
- Admits he is very curious about psychedelics but has never tried them, and may experiment someday.
- Explains his celebrated Tetragrammaton ad reads came from solving the problem of not wanting to read conventional ads.
- Discusses artists' overdoses and pain, attributing it to the same heightened sensitivity that makes them artists; says he lives a 'monk-like' protected life.
Worth remembering
- Rubin started coherence breathing specifically to raise his low heart rate variability, aiming for 10-20 minutes a day at six breaths per minute.
- He once meditated for an entire LA-to-New-York flight; he learned Transcendental Meditation at age 14.
- On the beach he told a 40-year dermatologist that wearing sunglasses in the sun confuses the body's sleep-wake signals.
- Rubin switched from Bluetooth to wired and air-tube headphones after repeatedly getting lymph cysts behind his ears.
- Huberman cites James Pennebaker's expressive-writing research: 15 minutes a day for four days about a traumatic event, backed by 200+ studies.
- Kentucky allocated about $40 million of opioid-settlement money toward ibogaine research for PTSD in veterans.
- Rubin's peak work hours run roughly 11am-6pm; he avoids work for the first hour-plus after waking and is in bed by 10pm.
- After sunset Rubin wears red glasses and keeps only red light in his home to protect sleep and keep cortisol low.
- Rubin says explaining bioluminescence's science to his excited friend Owen destroyed the childlike magic of the moment for him.
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