10 guests I'd like to see James Altucher interview in 2023

Henry Rollins. Musician, author, actor, radio/podcast host, spoken word savant and all-around Renaissance man. I’d love to hear James and Henry riff.

Like James, I’m a massive fan of James Frey. Frey, as expressed most deeply in his latest book “Katerina,” was majorly influenced by the work of Henry Miller. I’d love to hear James interview Miller himself, but since he’s dead and that can’t happen, I think the next best thing would be to hear him speak with one of his children to learn more about what the author was like, his process/lifestyle, etc. He had three children. I believe all three are still alive, but I’m not certain. Tony is his son, Valentine is his daughter—those two appear to be the most active with his estate. Alternatively, Erica Jong would be a great one to interview about Miller. Jong has had an amazing writing career in her own right, but she also wrote a wonderful book about her relationship with Miller, “The Devil at Large: Erica Jong on Henry Miller.” Or Brenda Venus, who Miller wrote over 450 handwritten letters to which were published in the book "Dear, Dear Brenda."

Sam Sheridan. Author, actor. He’s written multiple books, but one in particular, “A Fighter’s Heart: One Man’s Journey Through the World of Fighting,” has been hugely influential to fight fans like myself. It documents Sam’s travels around the world—Thailand, Brazil, etc.—studying and testing his skills in various forms of fighting. Sam also wrote the six-episode series “I Am the Night” which aired on TNT in 2019. Sam’s wife is the director, Patty Jenkins (“Monster,” “Wonder Woman,” etc.). Sam is a super smart, interesting guy—and a great, generous person, just like James.

Pete Roberts. Pete is the Founder/CEO of Origin USA, the brand that Jocko Willink bought into a few years ago and now co-owns. Pete built the company from the ground-up into a multi-million dollar business. The company has 400-employees and is responsible for producing all of the products that Jocko sells—including jeans, boots, and all of Jocko’s supplements that are sold in the Vitamin Shoppe and WaWa and elsewhere around the world. In fact, Origin makes the “Discipline” drink that Jocko was drinking the one time that James interviewed Jocko and asked him about. The company is here in Maine and is amazing. Pete documents the development of the company on social media on IG Stories everyday, YouTube, and elsewhere.

Director/Writer/Painter. Wrote the screenplay for KIDS (the Larry Clark directed film, which rocked my world when I first saw it when I was 17-years old) when he was a teenager. He’s gone on to direct several unorthodox/fascinating films throughout his career—“Gummo,” “Trash Hummers,” “Spring Breakers,” etc. I’d love to hear James dig in with him about how he had the confidence/connections to get his movies made at such a young age.

Her book “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life” is one of my all-time favorite books (next to James' own works, of course) and I share it with people all the time, it’s tremendous. I don’t remember hearing her on James' podcast before—and I’d love to.

Director/Writer.

Guitarist from The Doors

Former World Champion Mixed Martial Artist/World Class Coach. Grew-up a small-town Maine guy, went on to win a World Championship in mixed martial arts (MMA) and now lives in Florida where he works at American Top Team (ATT) and is considered one of the greatest MMA coaches in the world. He’s had a very interesting life story and spends 40+ weeks a year traveling around the world working the corners of some of the best fighters in the world in the UFC, Japan, etc.

World-class record-breaking free soloist rock climber and the subject of the Jimmy Chin directed Academy Award winning movie “Free Solo.” I still don’t feel like I’ve ever heard anyone really dig in during an interview and try to get to the heart of how Alex is able to master his mind to do what he does. He holds death in the palm of his hand every time out. He lives as close to the edge of death as any human—the stakes couldn’t be any higher.

The man that many, including myself, consider the greatest American amateur wrestler ever. He’s the only wrestler in NCAA Division I history to go undefeated. He won an Olympic gold medal and has won multiple National Championships as the head coach at Penn State. He lives a life of ultimate discipline and focus. The rumor is that the only bad thing he puts in his body is Mountain Dew.

Cormac McCarthy - Writer

Christopher Nolan - Director/Writer

Cameron Crowe - Director/Writer

Larry Clark - Director

David Chase - Director/Writer

Eddie Vedder - Musician

Neil Young - Musician

Trent Reznor - Musician

Mike Judge - Animator/Writer

Deepak Chopra - Doctor/Author (I remember you had his brother on before)

Joe Polish - Marketer

John Danaher - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) innovator