The One You Feed - BONUS! Eric Zimmer on The Puzzler Podcast with AJ Jacobs!

Episode Date: December 3, 2023

Special Bonus Episode! Eric joins his friend, AJ Jacobs, on his new podcast called "The Puzzler! "Finally, your daily puzzle fix—in audio form! Every day, in 10 minutes or less, New York Times bestselling author A.J. Jacobs and his celebrity guests will puzzle–and laugh–their way through new spins on old puzzle favorites, like anagrams and palindromes, as well as quirky originals such as “Ask Chat GPT” and audio rebuses.  Plus, Chief Puzzle Officer Greg Pliska joins A.J. each week to present new puzzles from the Puzzle Lab. And there’s a daily Extra Credit Puzzler for our Puzzlers at home. (Answers revealed in the following episode.)  Listen and Subscribe Here!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden. And together, our mission on the Really Know Really podcast is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like why the bathroom door doesn't go all the way to the floor, what's in the museum of failure, and does your dog truly love you? We have the answer. Go to reallyknowreally.com

and register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast, or a limited edition signed Jason bobblehead. The Really Know Really podcast. Follow us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Decisions Decisions, the podcast where boundaries are pushed and

conversations get candid. Join your favorite hosts, me, WeezyWTF, and me, Mandy B, as we dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday and Wednesday, we both invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. Tune in and join in the conversation.

Listen to Decisions Decisions on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The forces shaping markets and the economy are often hiding behind a blur of numbers. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. that matters. You'll hear from Bloomberg journalists like Matt Levine. A lot of this meme stock stuff is, I think, embarrassing to the SEC. Follow the Big Take podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Hey, everyone. So Eric was recently a guest on the fantastic podcast called The Puzzler with AJ Jacobs. You may remember AJ because he's been on the One You Feed podcast as well. But it's so fun to listen to, so we decided to release an excerpt from it as a short bonus episode on our feed. They do talk a little bit about our parable, and then A.J. made a bunch of puzzles that relate to our parable. So here's the mini episode from The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs.

So here's the mini episode from The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. Hello, Puzzlers! Welcome to The here with our guest, the awesome Eric Zimmer, host of the wonderful podcast right here on iHeart, The One You Feed, which I have been lucky enough to be a guest on. Welcome, Eric. Hi, AJ. Thanks for having me on. We are delighted. Love your show. And I also love the way you start your show. You always start your podcast with the same parable. So would you mind telling it to us? Sure. It's an old parable. We don't really know where it comes from. Some people think it's

a Native American parable. Other people insist that's not true. I've been able to find no definitive scholarship, so we don't know where it comes from. But it goes like this. There's a grandparent who's talking with their grandchild, and they say, in life, there are two wolves inside of us that are always at battle. One is a good wolf, which represents things like kindness and bravery and love. And the other is a bad wolf, which represents things like greed and hatred and fear. And the grandchild stops. Think about it for a second. They look up at their grandparent.

They say, well, which one wins? And the grandparent says, the one you feed. I love that. I love that for many reasons. First of all, I love it because the first time I heard it was from my son's rabbi when he was preparing for his bar mitzvah. But I also love it because it's such a good message. And weirdly, and I don't think this is a stretch, I think that it's very relevant to puzzles. Yeah, well, you and I talked about that on our most recent conversation on my show.

I think you've been on a couple times at this point. And we were able to talk about the way that parable relates to puzzles last time. Yeah. Right. And for those, you should go listen to that. But in my book on puzzles, I talk about the puzzler mindset, which is all about seeing the world as a series of puzzles instead of a series of problems. And I actually, Quincy Jones, the great musician, he said his life philosophy is, I don't have problems, I have puzzles. So reframing your problems as puzzles, because problems are like the bad wolf to me. They're negative, they're intimidating. And puzzles are like the good wolf. They're sort of playful and

experimental. So if you feed the good wolf of puzzles in your life, then you will have more curiosity and positivity than negativity and fear. So that's my pitch for why puzzles are not just fun, but good for your psyche. I couldn't agree more. I think you just, you saying that just made me think of a situation in my own life that I should try and, or I don't know if I say should, I could try and reframe as a puzzle versus just a problem. Well, I'll tell you, I use it. I've been using it recently with people when I talk politics, because, you know, my gut instinct is to try to argue with them and like bash them over the head with my correctness. But that's not going to work. That never works. So instead, turn it into a puzzle. What do we really disagree about? Why do we disagree? What evidence is there

that could convince me or her of a different way to look at it? Yeah. And what do they, you know, what are the series of experiences in their life that have caused them to come to that conclusion, right? You know, that's another aspect of the puzzle. Like, why are they, why do they see the world this way? Because that often unlocks a lot of different things. Right. Okay. I love talking psychology, but we've got an agenda here. We are a puzzle show.

So we're going to move into the puzzle portion. Are you ready to play a quick puzzle? I am. I'm not a great puzzle solver. So, you know, I hope I do okay here. But yes, I am certainly ready. No, we like that. First of all, we believe everyone is a good puzzle solver.

It's just you have to let it out. It's feeding that wolf, the puzzle wolf. Well, this puzzle we came up with is actually related to your wonderful show, which is about psychology and self-improvement. So the idea for this puzzle is that your show is so good, it needs some spinoffs. So we've come up with a bunch of ideas for spinoffs that happen to rhyme with your show, The One You Feed. So you're going to have to guess what is the spinoff. And I'm going to tell you a parable that's at the start of every show. And based on the parable, you're going to have to figure it out. So for instance, if the

parable is about two gardens, not wolves, but two gardens, and one of them has a nice clean flower bed with no invasive plants, the title of that show might be The One You Weed. Weed, exactly. Okay, you got it. So are you ready? I am ready. By the way, you got that very quickly. So I want to say you're underestimating yourself. This show starts with a parable about two books.

And one of those books has better spelling and fewer typos. And that show is The One You. Well, if it's a better book, it's an A.J. Jacobs book, right? We know that. We know that. But I'm pretty sure what you're aiming at there is The One You Read. Yeah. Or even more, The One You, if you're looking for typos, The One You.

The One You you proofread. Oh, you've got multiple syllables in there. Is that legal? Well, we set the rules. I will say, first of all, you cannot do better than your first answer about my books. So you get not only a correct, you get like two points. All right, how about if this show starts with a parable about two loaves of bread? One is softer.

The title of that show might be The One You... Need. K-N-E-A-D. Exactly. Exactly. It's a little tricky with the K. How about a show that starts with a parable about two football teams. And which one wins?

You need someone to help you win on the sidelines. Well... The one you... All right, hang on. I don't need another hint. The one you cheerlead. Excellent. See, now you're in the double syllables. You're fine with it. All right, here's one, maybe a little trickier.

This parable is about a colonial doctor. I'm doing a book about the early America, so it's on my mind. A colonial doctor and two of his patients. The one who is cured is the one who you. The one who is cured is the one who you. Well, I'm thinking we're talking about medicine back in the days before we really knew what the heck we were doing. And I think a common cure at that time was one variation of it was leeches. So I'm going to say the one you bleed.

You got it. The one you bleed. You got it. The one you bleed. And by the way, for my book, I researched, you can still buy medicinal leeches, which claim sort of like the alternative medicine, like goop type that you actually, these will, I don't know, clean your chakras and make you healthy. Well, you know, that's really interesting. When you say goop, do you mean the magazine that was founded by? Yeah, the Gwyneth Paltrow sort of lifestyle alternative medicine. I don't think that group are buying leeches, AJ. I just don't think that's, I think it's alternative medicine, but I think it's a different crowd.

All right. Well, have you heard some of the things they do? I mean, it's a family podcast. I don't know if I want to get into details. Okay. All right. You're right. I just, well, we'll see. Maybe we could ask them. I think it's worth asking. All right. What about one last one? What about, this is a show about two startups, and you're an angel investor, and the one that succeeds is the one that you, the one goes to an ipo is the one you oh goodness um all right let me think a little tricky so if you're an angel investor and there's the one the one you have the most greed oh i give you full credit that was not what i was going now

okay give me another hint give me another hint. Give me another hint. Well, you know, there's like different rounds. There's the round A. Oh, yes, yes, yes. I've got it. All right. The one you seed. Exactly.

You did it. See? I knew you were a good puzzler. Thank you so much, Eric. That was fun. I'm so glad. I'm glad that I was able to have you on my show in addition to being on your wonderful show. Speaking of which, where can listeners find your show?

You can search for The One You Feed in any podcast app you use. Or if you want to know more about it, you can go to oneyoufeed.net. That's O-N-E-Y-O-U-F-E-E-D dot net. Love it. And before we wrap up, as always, for all you puzzlers at home, an extra credit puzzle. What if there's a show about two sheep?

It starts with a parable of two sheep in an animal husbandry program. The one who has more offspring is the one you blank. I see Eric. I think he's got it. Am I supposed to answer or not? No, no, you're doing great.

Just keep quiet. Keep quiet. Yep. Okay. Please keep quiet. All right. And listeners, please come back tomorrow for the answer. And don't forget to subscribe to the Puzzler Podcast.

And we will meet you here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly. Hello, Puzzlers. I'm here with the extra credit answer from last episode. As you know, I'm the Chief Puzzle Officer, Greg Pliska. We played daily shows with Roy Wood Jr., where every answer was a show with a day of the week in the name. We gave you the clue. This Showtime comedy shows the events leading up to an historical event where the losses are estimated at $1.71 trillion. That, of course, is Black Monday. Hope you enjoyed, and we'll see you back here again soon.

Thanks for playing along with the team here at The Puzzler. I'm Greg Pliska, your Chief Puzzle Officer. Our executive producers are Neely Lohman and Adam Newhouse of Newhouse Ideas and Lindsay Hoffman of iHeart Podcasts. The show is produced by Jody Avergan and Brittany Brown of Roulette Productions. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg. The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs is a co-production with Newhouse Ideas and is distributed by Poached Artists. Oh, no, sorry. Rearrange the letters. Distributed by iHeart Podcasts. If you want to know more about puzzling puzzles, please check out the book The Puzzler by A.J. Jacobs, a history of puzzles that the New York Times called fun and Funny. It features an original puzzle hunt by yours truly and is

available wherever you get your books. And puzzlers, for all your puzzling needs, go visit thepuzzler.com. See you there. I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden. And together, our mission on the Really Know Really podcast is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like why the bathroom door doesn't go all the way to the floor, what's in the museum of failure, and does your dog truly love you?

We have the answer. Go to reallyknowreally.com and register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast, or a limited edition signed Jason bobblehead. The Really No Really podcast. Follow us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Decisions Decisions, the podcast where boundaries are pushed and conversations get candid. Join your favorite hosts, me, Weezy WTF.

And me, Mandy B. me, Weezy WTF, and me, Mandy B, as we dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday and Wednesday, we both invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. Tune in and join the conversation. Listen to Decisions Decisions on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every day in just 15 minutes, we dive into one global business story that matters. You'll hear from Bloomberg journalists like Matt Levine. A lot of this meme stock stuff is, I think, embarrassing to the SEC. Follow The Big Take podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.