In this special episode, my friend—and fan-favorite guest—Dr. Peter Attia takes the mic as guest host. Peter sits down with legendary trader John Arnold, widely considered the greatest energy trader of all time. Today, through his foundation Arnold Ventures, John applies the same rigorous thinking to some of America’s toughest social challenges—criminal justice reform, healthcare policy, and K–12 education, to name just a few. This interview originally aired on Peter’s excellent podcast The Drive. You can check it out at PeterAttiaMD.com, or subscribe to The Drive wherever you get your podcasts.
This episode is brought to you by:
Vanta trusted compliance and security platform: https://vanta.com/tim ($1000 off)
Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim (use code TIM to get $350 off your very own Pod 5 Ultra.)
Wealthfront high-yield cash account: https://Wealthfront.com/Tim (Start earning 4.00% APY on your short-term cash until you’re ready to invest. And when new clients open an account today, you can get an extra fifty-dollar bonus with a deposit of five hundred dollars or more.) Terms apply. Tim Ferriss receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Brokerage, LLC for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of Wealthfront Brokerage. See full disclosures here.
Timestamps:
[00:00:00] Start.
[00:05:37] Peter Attia’s intro: who is John Arnold?
[00:08:38] John’s background, upbringing, and early entrepreneurial tendencies.
[00:21:16] John’s time and rise at Enron.
[00:33:40] Characteristics that made John an exceptional natural gas trader and how they translate to his philanthropic work.
[00:41:10] The collapse of Enron.
[00:46:46] The success of John’s hedge fund, and his early interest in philanthropy.
[01:02:03] The infamous 2006 trade that brought down Amaranth Advisors.
[01:08:28] John’s analytical prowess and emphasis on fundamentals.
[01:15:13] The decision to become a full-time philanthropist and the founding of Arnold Ventures.
[01:25:03] Education — John’s quest to fundamentally change K-12 education.
[01:30:36] Strategic philanthropy — preventing problems by attacking root causes and creating structural change.
[01:37:50] The criminal justice system — structural changes needed to address mass incarceration, policing practices, and recidivism.
[01:55:07] Re-imagining prisons to reduce recidivism.
[02:02:27] US health care policy — John’s focus on drug prices, and the severe consequences of not making system changes.
[02:20:00] Climate change — the bipartisan role of John’s foundation.
[02:23:52] Advice for young adults interested in philanthropy.
[02:30:52] Parting thoughts.
*
For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss
Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#788: Naval Ravikant and Aaron Stupple — How to Raise a Sovereign Child, A Freedom-Maximizing Approach to Parenting
Aaron Stupple (@astupple) is the author of The Sovereign Child: How a Forgotten Philosophy Can Liberate Kids and Their Parents. Naval Ravikant (@naval) is the co-founder of AngelList. He has invested in more than 100…
#787: How to Be in The Present Moment — Guided Meditation with Zen Master Henry Shukman
This episode is a new experiment called Meditation Monday. The teacher, Henry Shukman, has been on my podcast twice before. He is one of only a few dozen masters in the world authorized to teach…
#786: Tactics and Strategies for a 2025 Reboot — Essentialism and Greg McKeown
Greg McKeown is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most. 200,000 people receive his weekly 1-Minute Wednesday newsletter,…
#785: The Random Show — 2025 Predictions (AI, Aliens, BTC, and More), New Year’s Resolutions and Strategies, Smart Fitness, The Spinal Engine, New Apps, and Much More
This time, we have a very special episode I recorded with my close friend Kevin Rose. We cover 2025 predictions, AI, Bitcoin, aliens, fitness goals, and much, much more. Please enjoy! Sponsors: Ramp easy-to-use corporate cards,…
#784: Dr. Becky Kennedy — Parenting Strategies for Raising Resilient Kids, Plus Word-for-Word Scripts for Repairing Relationships, Setting Boundaries, and More
Dr. Becky Kennedy is the founder and CEO of Good Inside, a parenting movement that overturns a lot of conventional, modern parenting practices to empower parents to become sturdy, confident leaders and raise sturdy, confident…
#783: The 4-Hour Workweek Revisited — How to Get Uncommon Results by Doing the Opposite, Aiming with Precision, and Aiming for the Unrealistic
This time around, we have a bit of a different format, featuring the book that started it all, The 4-Hour Workweek, which was published in 2007. It’s crazy to think that the 20th anniversary is…
#782: Legendary Inventor Danny Hillis (Plus Kevin Kelly) — Unorthodox Lessons from 400+ Patents, Solving the Impossible, Real Al vs. “AI”, Hiring Richard Feynman, Working with Steve Jobs, Creating Parallel Computing, and Much More
Danny Hillis is an inventor, scientist, author, and engineer. While completing his doctorate at MIT, he pioneered the parallel computers that are the basis for the processors used for AI and most high-performance computer chips.…
#781: David Whyte, Poet — Spacious Ease, Irish Koans, Writing in Delirium, and Revelations from a Yak Manger
David Whyte (davidwhyte.com) is the author of twelve books of poetry and five books of prose, including his latest, Consolations II, which further explores what David calls “the conversational nature of reality.” Sponsors: GiveWell.org charity research…
#780: Cyan Banister — From Homeless and Broke to Top Angel Investor (Uber, SpaceX, and 100+ More)
Cyan Banister (@cyantist) is a general partner at Long Journey Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on early and new investments. Cyan was an early investor in Uber, SpaceX, DeepMind, Flexport, and Affirm and…
#779: In Case You Missed It: October 2024 Recap of “The Tim Ferriss Show”
This episode is brought to you by 5-Bullet Friday, my very own email newsletter. Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is my job to deconstruct world-class performers to tease out the routines, habits,…