What is Reasonably Happy?
Reasonably Happy is the skeptic’s guide to achievable contentment. I produce 40 podcasts per year to help you and me better understand the world. From academics to athletes and from pastors to porn stars, I talk to some pretty amazing people.
Over 285 episodes, I’ve experienced:
A 76-year-old, Nobel Prize-winning economist asking if I had seen the new Dave Chappelle special,
The world’s “most influential living philosopher,” telling me that my thinking was “primitive,” and…
LL COOL J greeting me with “my man.”
I also write 15-20 essays—mostly funny—per year. I wish I could boil down my brand to some social media-friendly identity, like “Cowboy Dad,” “Southerner in New York,” or “Sexy, Middle-aged Realtor,” but I’m just me.
Here’s what you’ll get…
Free Subscriber
40 podcast episodes per year
17.5 essays per year (on average) delivered right to your Inbox
Live-streamed 5 Question Podcasts with other Substackers.
Paid Subscriber ($5/month or $50/year)
Signed copy of my book, Reasonably Happy: Essays on Money, Work, and Other Things that Piss me Off. I’ll inscribe it to you or someone you love (or don’t love).
Podcast shout-out. Unless you tell me not to, I will read out your name on the podcast, thus winning you the admiration of the entire pod-osphere.
Founding Member (aka, The League of Justice), $250/year
All of the above…but wait, there’s more!
Free Cameo-like message. Want me to wish your friend happy birthday? Or to apologize to your spouse about something minor, like leaving dirty dishes in the sink or your Jordans in the living room? I can help! (Less so with the big stuff–that’s on you.)
30 min Zoom chat. Should you so desire, we can have a 30 min chat over the internet to discuss anything you want (well, nothing kinky)
My undying gratitude. This is actually the most valuable benefit!
My story
When I was young, I dreamed of being rich. After landing a gig as one of the first 250 employees at META, I got what I wanted.
At the time, I was trying to crack the L.A. stand-up comedy scene, but had spent eight years prior selling digital advertising for LAUNCH.com and Yahoo!. I was, of course, familiar with Facebook, so when a former colleague called to offer me a sales job, I told my then fiancée, “Someday this company could be as big as Myspace!”
So I took the gig. Soon enough, I was running the West Coast sales team, which accounted for about ⅓ of the company’s revenue. But I got frustrated with company politics and the stress of start-up life, coupled with two babies and a new wife on bed rest.
I left Facebook in 2011, effectively retiring at age 42 without a plan. And here’s the surprising thing—without a job or a mission—I was pretty bored, felt like a loser, and annoyed the crap out of my spouse.
Wondering why the wealth I had long pursued didn’t make my life perfect, I launched the Reasonably Happy podcast to explore the connection between money, happiness, work, and meaning. I recently published a collection of essays, also titled Reasonably Happy, in which I share humorous insights from these conversations. The most important lesson: Nobody needs a house with eight toilets.
That’s a lot of what my Substack writing is about, too—thoughts about money and desire, not toilets—though I occasionally wander into the intersections of mental health, comedy, and politics.
When I’m not writing or working on the podcast, you can find me performing stand-up comedy on stages all over North America or taking large chunks of turf out of whatever golf clubs will allow me on property.
I live in New York City with my wife, two teenagers, and two French bulldogs, Theo and Colonel Tom Parker.
Welcome to the club.
