Into The Impossible

James sits down once again with cosmologist Brian Keating—longtime friend of the show and author of Into the Impossible: Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner. In this candid conversation, they challenge each other’s views on focus, curiosity, and the trade-offs of staying in your lane. Brian shares behind-the-scenes lessons from interviewing Nobel Prize winners, the thinking behind his new “Keating Test” for AI, and why communication matters as much as discovery in science. This episode isn’t about self-help clichés. It’s about real-world insights you won’t hear anywhere else—whether it’s why guarding your time is the most important skill, how to use flow states to sharpen your career, or why great breakthroughs depend on questioning the work of those who came before. What You’ll Learn Why Brian created the “Keating Test” as a new measure for true artificial intelligence How Nobel Prize winners balance intense focus with curiosity across disciplines Why communication skills matter as much as scientif