The Problem With...

Lara Acosta joins James Smith to discuss the problem with personal branding. While millions of entrepreneurs chase the "influencer" dream, a quiet crisis of ego and AI-generated slop is destroying genuine market value. This obsession with being interesting rather than useful is a dangerous lie that is threatening the future of human agency and business growth in 2026.

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Follow Lara on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laraacostar

We cover:

⬛ Why Introverts Will Win Personal Branding In 2026

⬛ How High Ticket Pricing Creates A Halo Effect

⬛ Why Writing Is The Ultimate Skill For Manipulation

⬛ What Happens When You Stop Chasing Vanity Metrics

⬛ How To Reinvent Your Identity Through Radical Change

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

00:59 The Problem With Personal Branding

02:28 How Lara Built LinkedIn

03:49 Be Useful, Not Interesting

05:29 Ego Is Slowing Growth

08:52 Retrospective Storytelling Wins

12:07 Hooks Plus Visual Hooks

15:15 Ghostwriters And AI Slop

20:09 Turning Attention Into Income

24:24 How To Raise Prices

31:06 Why High-Ticket Works

36:41 Message Beats Equipment

40:09 Mastering Problem Awareness

52:17 The Cost Of Visibility

58:10 Why 2026 Belongs To Writers

71:18 SMPB + 4321 Framework

77:38 Email Lists Beat Platforms
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Elliot Bewick joins James Smith to reveal the problem with Gen Z. This generation is currently trapped in a quiet crisis where skyrocketing anxiety rates and plummeting fertility are threatening the future of social stability. Bewick explains why modern connectivity has become a dangerous trap that trades genuine competence for manufactured authenticity.

👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

He explains:

◼️ Why skyrocketing suicide and anxiety rates are destroying mental health

◼️ How Instagram turned human connection into a predatory and exhausting status game.

◼️ What happens when there are no incentives to work

◼️ How the West has become obsessed with victimisation

Timestamps

00:00 The Crisis Facing Gen Z

03:15 The Problem With Content Ideation

05:07 The Reality of Gen Z Mental Health

07:56 How Young People Climb Status

09:39 The Impact of COVID on Gen Z

12:37 Modern Social Media Status Hierarchies

17:02 The Trap of Manufactured Authenticity

20:48 The Ethics of Steroid Disclosure

25:09 Why Jiu-Jitsu Cures Body Dysmorphia

31:25 Performative Difficulty vs True Hardship

39:58 The Looming Loneliness Epidemic

43:51 Why Modern History Was Worse

48:10 The Trench Visualization for Perspective

54:26 The Practice of Secular Grace

59:51 Hard Work vs Generational Privilege

01:01:51 The Global Housing Crisis Reality

01:05:01 The Pending Depopulation Crisis

01:07:08 Why Men Are Losing Purpose

01:11:18 The Rise of Masculinity Outlaws

01:16:00 Modern Career Opportunities for Gen Z

01:19:17 How to Build a Legacy

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In this episode of The Problem With Podcast, James Smith sits down with Damien Jordan, the voice behind the hugely popular YouTube channel Damien Talks Money, for a no-nonsense conversation about money, taxes, investing, and the uncomfortable truths most people ignore.

Damien breaks down why the average person feels poorer despite “doing everything right,” how inflation and fiscal drag quietly erode wealth, and why property, pensions, and taxes are stacked against younger generations. From inheritance tax and housing shortages to crypto hype, market timing fears, and whether moving abroad actually solves anything. This episode challenges how you think about money and the system around it.

👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

We cover:

⬛ Why Inflation & Tax Quietly Kill Wealth

⬛ Property, Pensions & The Rigged System

⬛ Investing Fears, Crypto Hype & Reality

⬛ Living Now vs Chasing Retirement

Timestamps

00:00 Real Returns After Inflation

02:55 Bank Money Creation Explained

06:55 Fiscal Drag Tax Trap

09:06 UK Vs Australia Taxes

11:49 Is Inheritance Tax Fair?

16:10 Untaxed Housing Windfalls

17:15 Why Homes Stay Scarce

21:33 Aging Population Pension Crunch

26:24 Retirement Vs Living Now

35:06 Mortgage Payoff Vs Investing

40:39 Beating Market Timing Fear

43:14 Crypto Hype Vs Bitcoin

47:00 Invest In Business Growth

52:17 HENRY 100K Tax Cliff

56:05 Wealth Tax Reality Check

59:12 Moving To Dubai Debate

65:04 UK Debt And Spending Truth

68:24 Daily Pain Of Commuting

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Demographer and author Paul Morland joins James Smith to reveal the uncomfortable truth about the problem with population collapse - why falling birth rates are creating aging societies, economic decline and a quiet crisis at the heart of the modern world. Morland explains how a lack of children is reshaping nations, destroying communities and threatening the future of humanity itself.

They discuss the myths around “overpopulation,” the cultural shifts stopping people from having families and the real reasons behind the demographic time bomb no one wants to talk about. From housing and technology to feminism and social media, this episode explores how comfort, distraction and misplaced priorities have turned reproduction into a global taboo.

👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

🧪 Check your Test: https://www.manual.co/smith

📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business

🏋🏼‍♂️ Online Coaching: https://www.jamessmithacademy.com

He explains:

◼️ Why population collapse will bankrupt countries

◼️ How culture and comfort are killing fertility

◼️ Why the “too many people” myth is a dangerous lie

◼️ How governments can (and must) incentivise family life

◼️ What happens when a society stops having children

timestamps

00:00 Why Population Decline Matters

02:00 Korea’s Aging Population Spiral

05:14 Can Earth Support More People?

08:34 Humans As The Ultimate Resource

11:22 Demography Everyone Misunderstands

14:07 The Global Fertility Collapse

18:55 Choice Vs Biological Fertility

22:10 Why People Stop Having Kids

25:33 Housing, Work, And Modern Life

27:07 Incentives Can’t Fix Culture Alone

31:16 Welfare, Taxes, And Family Penalties

34:20 Why Fertility Isn’t Political

36:49 Women, Work, And Family Timing

41:12 How Workplaces Must Change

49:21 Dating Apps And Relationship Breakdown

57:31 Teaching Fertility Earlier

62:44 East Asia’s Status Trap

68:26 Immigration Or National Decline

80:46 What Population Collapse Looks Like

Welcome to "The Problem With" where each week we look into a problem to get a better understanding of it. This podcast has no sponsors, only my businesses and investments. Please check out the links below.

I'm on a mission to help men check their levels of Testosterone, more info here:

https://www.manual.co/smith

I help small businesses make money online:

https://www.jamessmith.business

Please check out and try Neutonic here:

https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

For a free trial of my online personal training app go here:

https://www.affordableonlinecoaching.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Check your testosterone levels: https://www.manual.co/smith

I help small businesses make money online: https://www.jamessmith.business

Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

Free trial: Online coaching app: https://www.affordableonlinecoaching.com

Scientist and author Dr. Andrew Steele joins James Smith to tackle the problem with aging and why dying of “old age” might one day be seen as a preventable condition. Andrew breaks down the science of longevity, the myths around “anti-aging,” and the difference between fundamental research and influencer nonsense. He explains how new medical breakthroughs could help humans live healthier for far longer, but also why the hype around biohacking and “forever pills” is getting dangerously ahead of the science.

They explore the ethical, political, and even economic implications of extending human life, from billionaire-funded immortality labs to the fear that longevity could deepen inequality. Andrew reveals what the real science shows about genes, lifestyle, and luck; why exercise is still the best anti-aging treatment we have; and how new drugs like GLP-1 agonists could transform global health and longevity.

He explains:

◼️ Why 90% of deaths in rich countries are caused by aging

◼️ The truth about genetic luck vs lifestyle choices

◼️ How longevity drugs could revolutionise healthcare

◼️ Why “anti-ageing” influencers are misleading the public

◼️ The shocking economics of living to 100… or beyond

Chapters

00:00 Why Men Die Earlier Than Women

01:31 The Real Problem With Aging

02:36 Separating Longevity Fact From Fiction

05:23 What Your Face Reveals About Health

08:50 How Much Do Genetics Actually Matter?

12:32 Do Weight Loss Drugs Slow Aging?

16:48 The Stigma Of Weight Loss Drugs

19:01 James’ Experience Taking Weight Loss Drugs

22:37 Is Taking Ozempic "Cheating"?

27:02 The Reality Of Maintaining Weight Loss

31:26 Why Modern Diets Are Failing

35:26 The Future Of Longevity Medicine

39:36 Will Longevity Increase Retirement Age?

43:01 The Problem With Bryan Johnson’s Protocol

46:44 Is Biohacking Just An Eating Disorder?

52:01 The Dangers Of Over-Optimizing Health

56:36 Does Health Anxiety Shorten Lifespan?

01:01:46 The Truth About HRT For Women

01:06:51 Does Testosterone Shorten Men’s Lives?

01:12:50 Why Eunuchs Live Longer Than Men

01:17:56 The Philosophy Of Living Forever

01:27:11 The Most Effective Longevity Habits

01:29:56 Does Intermittent Fasting Increase Longevity?

01:38:36 The Most Promising Anti-Aging Drug

01:45:36 The Economic Case For Curing Aging

Welcome to "The Problem With" where each week we look into a problem to get a better understanding of it. This podcast has no sponsors, only my businesses and investments. Please check out the links below.

I'm on a mission to help men check their levels of Testosterone, more info here:

https://www.manual.co/smith

I help small businesses make money online:

https://www.jamessmith.business

Please check out and try Neutonic here:

https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith

For a free trial of my online personal training app go here:

https://www.affordableonlinecoaching.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices