Passion Struck with John R. Miles
Hosted by John R. Miles · 27 decoded episodes · newest Oct 6, 2026
You built the life you were supposed to want. So why doesn't it feel like enough? Passion Struck is the #1 Health and Fitness podcast — and it exists to answer exactly that question. I'm John R. Miles — Navy veteran, former Fortune 50 executive, bestselling author — and I built this show because I lived the "successful but empty" version of life myself, and I wanted to find a better way. Each week, I sit down with the world's top voices in neuroscience, psychology, medicine, and elite performance — including Angela Duckworth, Susan Cain, Robert Waldinger, Daniel Amen, and Ryan Holiday — to unpack what the research tells us about purpose, connection, and resilience, and how to apply it to your own life. Fridays, I share what I'm learning directly, in solo episodes built around the same ideas. New interviews every Tuesday and Thursday. Solo episodes every Friday.
Episodes 27
- Oct 6, 2026 · 23 minBurnout May Begin With a Crisis of MatteringThe episode connects burnout, loneliness, exhaustion, and disconnection to the consequences of feeling invisible or insignificant.
- Oct 2, 2026 · 18 minJohn Miles challenges productivity culture’s definition of adaptabilityThe episode examines how constant demands for output can erode identity and self-worth, while arguing that adaptation need not require surrendering personal values.
- Oct 1, 2026 · 1h 12mAdaptability matters when effort serves an obsolete goalThe conversation examines how people and organizations can preserve purpose while changing strategies, missions, and mental models as circumstances shift.
- Sep 29, 2026 · 1h 19mPeter Gray argues childhood needs freedom, not optimizationThe episode examines how intensive parenting, academic pressure, and reduced autonomy may weaken children’s agency, meaning, and mental health.
- Sep 25, 2026 · 25 minMiles argues meaning grows through feeling and playThe episode examines why external achievement can coexist with feeling unseen, and how emotional awareness and exploration may restore meaning and agency.
- Sep 24, 2026 · 60 minHard questions turn conversation into courageThe episode argues that questions about meaning, identity, and relationships can create agency and connection, but cannot be meaningfully outsourced to technology.
- Sep 22, 2026 · 1h 4mSmart investors still fall for the same human biasesThe episode shows why expertise and abundant data cannot replace skepticism about stories, consensus, and the information markets overlook.
- Sep 18, 2026 · 24 minWhy self-trust may have to precede proofThe episode examines how waiting for recognition or reassurance can keep people from accepting their worth, capability, and readiness.
- Sep 17, 2026 · 56 minAchievement cannot manufacture a sense of worthThe conversation examines how early experiences, suppressed emotions, and social stigma can make success feel incapable of proving belonging or acceptance.
- Sep 15, 2026 · 1h 9mCole Brauer turns isolation into a test of self-trustCole Brauer’s circumnavigation shows how preparation, purpose, and a relationship with her boat can make extreme uncertainty navigable.
- Sep 11, 2026 · 23 minConstraints can unlock agency and creativityThe episode reframes adaptability as the ability to act meaningfully within limits rather than waiting for unrestricted freedom.
- Sep 10, 2026 · 1h 1mDavid Epstein argues constraints make progress possibleThe conversation reframes limits as practical tools for creativity, better problem-solving, focused attention, and meaningful change.