American Glutton

How do the high-stakes negotiation tactics used in life-or-death crises apply to winning the daily battles inside your own mind?

Ethan sits down with former FBI crisis negotiator and Hostage Rescue Team veteran Kyle Vowinkel, author of Shaping Chaos. Kyle shares gripping lessons from the front lines, including negotiating with the Boston Marathon bomber and resolving high-risk sieges, while breaking down how to regulate raw emotion, overcome personal failure, and build lasting self-discipline. Whether you are tackling personal health goals or managing intense stress, influence always begins from within.

Preorder Shaping Chaos by Kyle Vowinkel, with leadership lessons from FBI HRT, crisis negotiation,
and high stakes operations on decisions, influence, and pressure.

https://www.kylevowinkel.com/book

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SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Negotiating with Yourself
01:58 - The Boston Marathon Boat Standoff
08:06 - Tactical Empathy vs. Sympathy
09:40 - The Emotional Teeter-Totter: Emotion vs. Rationality
15:50 - Reframing Stress and Controlling Reactions
19:28 - FBI Hostage Rescue Team Selection and Facing Failure
28:16 - Conquering the Ego and Trying Again
35:23 - De-escalation and Real-World Encounters
41:06 - Shaping Chaos and the Alabama Bunker Rescue
45:33 - Priming for Success and Weight Maintenance
51:17 - Final Advice on Overcoming Failure
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Why is it so difficult to make choices our future self will thank us for? In this episode, Ethan sits down with engineer and educator Dr. Ricardo Valerdi to break down the principles of effective decision-making. Drawing from sports, tech, and aerospace,

Dr. Valerdi explains how recognizing cognitive biases, embracing failure, and defining clear metrics can help us escape mental ruts. Ethan shares lessons from his own weight-loss journey, highlighting the importance of personal ownership, shifting perspective, and assembling a trusted support team.

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SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Introduction and Welcoming Dr. Ricardo Valerdi
01:18 - Present Self vs. Future Self in Decision-Making
04:02 - Decision Principles from Sports, Tech, and the Military
05:33 - Critical Thinking and Challenging Personal Biases
08:05 - Stoic Philosophy: Suffering in Imagination vs. Reality
13:26 - Spotting Blind Spots and the Need for Honest Feedback
16:38 - Taking Ownership of the Path Forward
20:00 - Playing the Hand You Are Dealt
22:00 - Lessons from SpaceX: Learning Fast from Failure
26:30 - Incremental Habits vs. Transformational Change
30:10 - Setting Clear Metrics and Redefining Self-Worth
36:58 - The Five-Tool Team: Why Nobody Succeeds Alone

Ethan’s new book is available for pre-order:
Glutton - A Memoir of Appetite
By Ethan Suplee

An intensely moving and ultimately hopeful memoir about addiction, fame, and decades of extreme weight gain and loss, from a man who broke free from cycles of misery and shame to become who he is today – actor, podcaster, and author Ethan Suplee.
Pre-order from:
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ethan-suplee/glutton/9780306835100/
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Ever feel stuck in your health journey or worry too much about what other people think? Ethan sits down with Paige Dorian to explore how small, consistent actions can help you break old patterns, build lasting habits, and move forward without waiting for motivation.

They discuss finding the balance between self-compassion and accountability, embracing discomfort, and learning to stop seeking approval from others. Plus, Ethan answers listener questions about weight loss and health benefits, fitting exercise around family life and sleep, gym music, and managing food portions without counting calories.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - How to Get Unstuck and Start Making Changes
05:27 - Asking for Help and Being Open to Advice
09:34 - Breaking the Cycle of Dieting and Regaining Weight
13:32 - Setting Realistic Goals and Making Sustainable Changes
17:36 - Balancing Self-Compassion with Accountability
20:08 - Finding Balance Between Enjoying Food and Making Healthy Choices
23:50 - Setting Realistic Expectations for Long-Term Change
27:47 - Making a Plan and Staying Consistent
31:12 - Why Lasting Change Requires More Than One Solution
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In this special bonus episode of American Glutton, Ethan announces his upcoming book, Glutton, published by Hachette and releasing on March 23, 2027. While often asked how he turned his life around and maintained it, the complete answer traces back through his childhood, career, relationships, and parenting. Written for anyone confronting addiction, disordered eating, or negative headspace, the book aims to offer perspective and hope.

Tune in for an exclusive excerpt as Ethan reads a memory from the third grade about an intense classroom silence exercise and learning the art of disappearing.

Episode Highlights
The Book Announcement: Ethan shares the story behind writing Glutton, releasing March 23, 2027, through Hachette.
The Full Journey: Why answering how he turned his life around required examining his entire path through childhood, career, relationships, and parenting.
A Message of Hope: Hopes that sharing this story helps anyone struggling with disordered eating, addiction, or negative headspace.
Exclusive Excerpt Reading: Ethan reads a story from third grade about sensory overload, classroom panic, and trying to stay unnoticed.
Pre-Order Information: Details on securing a copy today ahead of release.

Pre-Order Details
Glutton is available for pre-order now at:
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ethan-suplee/glutton/9780306835100/?lens=grand-central-publishing
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What if achieving your biggest goals did not require endless suffering and willpower? Ethan sits down with author and speaker Jia Jiang to explore the principles behind his book, Easy Discipline. Jia breaks down why traditional "hard discipline" works against human nature and explains how anchoring habits in genuine enjoyment creates effortless consistency.

Together, they discuss Jia's famous 100 days of rejection therapy, actionable friction-reducing systems to beat procrastination, and how to reframe intimidating obstacles into an exciting adventure.

Join Ethan's newsletter for exclusive weekly insights, updates, and community discussions: https://ethansuplee.substack.com/subscribe

Ethan's new book is available for pre-order:
Glutton - A Memoir of Appetite
By Ethan Suplee

An intensely moving and ultimately hopeful memoir about addiction, fame, and decades of extreme weight gain and loss, from a man who broke free from cycles of misery and shame to become who he is today – actor, podcaster, and author Ethan Suplee.

Pre-order from:
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ethan-suplee/glutton/9780306835100/

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:03:39 - Welcome and Introduction
00:04:16 - Hard Discipline vs. Easy Discipline
00:07:11 - The E in EASY: Prioritizing Enjoyment
00:09:44 - Ethan on Finding Exercise You Truly Enjoy
00:13:30 - Why the Best Exercise Is the One You Will Do
00:15:50 - 100 Days of Rejection Therapy
00:21:03 - Reframing Major Requests as an Adventure
00:25:20 - Turning Personal Flaws into Strengths
00:27:06 - Overcoming the Procrastination Loop
00:30:13 - Using Five Minutes of Accountability to Just Start
00:33:32 - Redefining Human Potential and Possibility
00:36:06 - Building Your Own Path Instead of Copying Others
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.