I Read My Essays to You

I Read My Essays to You

Author: Paul Ollinger June 3, 2026 Duration: 35:59

✍️ Follow Paul Ollinger on Substack by clicking here ✍️

Hello friends, this week's Reasonably Happy is me reading some of my favorite posts from my Substack over the past six months. They cover the Manosphere, schadenfreude, career trajectories, and more. I understand that you don’t always have time to read everything I crank out—you’re on the move, working out, or re-arranging your sock drawer. And that’s okay. So today—as I do occasionally—I’m sending you this podcast version of me reading TO YOU. And now you don’t have any excuses to not enjoy my wonderful writing. You’re right - it’s quite generous of me, but I enjoy it. You can read all my stuff and catch some upcoming live streams here!

COME SEE ME PERFORM COMEDY NEAR YOU (in Atlanta, Chattanooga, NYC, L.A., SF, Southampton, Sarasota)...

* June 4: Atlanta Athletic Club (members only)

* June 19-20: Comedy Catch, Chattanooga ON SALE

* June 25: Couples Therapy Comedy at West Side Comedy Club, NYC

* July 21: The Venice West, Los Angeles - On Sale soon

* July 23: Cobbs Comedy Club, San Francisco - ON SALE

* Aug 1: Sticks and Stones Comedy Club, Southampton, NY -

* Aug 8: Atlanta Country Club (members only)

* Aug 13-16: Headlining McCurdy’s in Sarasota, FL - ON SALE

* October 15: Capital City Country Club (members only)



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Paul Ollinger has worn a few different hats-stand-up comedian, tech executive, and now, the curious host of Reasonably Happy with Paul Ollinger. This isn't a lecture series or a dry self-help guide. Instead, it feels more like pulling up a chair for a series of genuinely engaging talks that wander into the places where our daily lives, careers, and inner worlds collide. The conversations, which feature authors, thinkers, and various creatives, are refreshingly candid. They dig into the practical and philosophical questions about what it actually means to build a life that feels both successful and satisfying. You'll find that each episode of this podcast approaches big themes-money, purpose, and the pursuit of contentment-with a blend of wit and thoughtful depth. The underlying idea isn't about finding a perfect, Instagram-ready version of happiness, but something more grounded and attainable. It's for anyone who's ever wondered if there's a smarter, more meaningful way to navigate the pressures of business and culture without losing sight of what matters. Tuning in, you get the sense that Paul is figuring it out alongside his guests, making the insights feel earned and relatable. The result is a consistently interesting exploration of how we can all aim for a life that feels reasonably, and authentically, well-lived.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Reasonably Happy with Paul Ollinger
Podcast Episodes
Walking Away from Fame and Money with Rachel Heck [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:47
Rachel Heck was a golf prodigy who qualified for the US Women’s Open at age 15 and made the cut. As a freshman in high school, she committed to play at Stanford University, where she went on to win both individual and te…
Stoic Street Smarts w/ Ed Latimore [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:48
Ed Latimore grew up in the projects of Pittsburgh where poverty, drugs, and gun violence were the rule of the streets. But he escaped and went on to become a professional boxer and earn a degree in Physics. I spoke to Ed…
Soul on Fire w/ John O’Leary (Encore episode) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:07
John O’Leary’s life story has just been made into a movie called Soul On Fire, starring William H. Macy and John Corbett. When John was 9 years old, he played with fire and got burned. Like really, really burned, over 10…
Why You Will Never Feel Rich w/ Daniel Crosby [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:27
Acclaimed psychologist, behavioral finance expert, and author, Dr. Daniel Crosby, PhD* joins me this week to discuss his new book The Soul of Wealth: 50 Reflections on Money and Meaning. We cover the fun, non-obvious asp…
Why Two Parents Are Better Than One w/ Melissa Kearney (Encore) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:55
Melissa Kearney is the author of The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind. Her book confronts the politically controversial fact that children raised in two-parent homes…
Giving Away Half-a-Billion Dollars w/ Craigslist founder, Craig Newmark [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:15
If you had hundreds of millions of dollars, how would you use it? Craigslist founder Craig Newmark faces this exact “problem”—and he’s working hard to give his fortune away to nonprofits tackling some of society’s most u…
Laughing at Death w/ John Kenney [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:15
What happens when you mix grief, comedy, and a brutally honest take on life’s hardest moments? You get John Kenney’s new book, I See You’ve Called in Dead. In this episode, I (i.e., me–Paul–the host) sit down with John K…
Rise of Populism w/ Brad Todd [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:56
Political strategist, author, and CNN commentator Brad Todd joins Paul Ollinger for a no-BS and eye-opening conversation about what’s really happening in American politics. From growing up in East Tennessee to advising s…