How to Engineer a Life You Love - Mark Rober

Mark Rober is an engineer, science communicator, and YouTuber known for viral experiments and STEM education. How do we rediscover curiosity? Somewhere along the way, many adults lose the spark that once drove us to explore, question, and experiment. How do we cultivate our inner child again, and what do we lose as a society when curiosity fades? Expect to learn what it was like to work on the Mars Rover for NASA, how NASA rewired the way Mark thinks, what Mark’s relationship with failure is like, which engineering heuristics transfer best to everyday life, how can grown-ups rebuild the natural curiosity that gets pruned out of them, how you can avoid losing the curiosity when you need to deliver views, and much more… - 0:00 Lessons From the Mars Rover 10:02 Gamifying Life 19:11 How to Harness Your Obsession 28:21 The Reality of a Virtual Road 33:22 Why You Can’t Change a Conspiracy Theorist 40:05 Why We Lose It Behind the Wheel 48:25 The Impending Robotics Revolution 59:46 The Catalyst for the Glitter Bomb Series 01:11:25 Engineering How We Approach Life 01:18:04 Why School is Failing Curious Minds 01:23:05 The Problem with Growing Up 01:32:20 Is an AI Apocalypse Imminent? 01:52:26 Learn Before We Burn - New pricing since recording: Function is now just $365, plus get $25 off at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom Get a free bottle of D3K2, an AG1 Welcome Kit, and more when you first subscribe at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom - New pricing since recording: Function is now just $365, plus get $25 off at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom Get a free bottle of D3K2, an AG1 Welcome Kit, and more when you first subscribe at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Chris WilliamsonhostMark Roberguest

Dec 20, 20251h 53mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: December 20, 2025
Duration: 1h 53m
Channel: Modern Wisdom
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Mark Rober is an engineer, science communicator, and YouTuber known for viral experiments and STEM education. How do we rediscover curiosity? Somewhere along the way, many adults lose the spark that once drove us to explore, question, and experiment. How do we cultivate our inner child again, and what do we lose as a society when curiosity fades? Expect to learn what it was like to work on the Mars Rover for NASA, how NASA rewired the way Mark thinks, what Mark’s relationship with failure is like, which engineering heuristics transfer best to everyday life, how can grown-ups rebuild the natural curiosity that gets pruned out of them, how you can avoid losing the curiosity when you need to deliver views, and much more… - 0:00 Lessons From the Mars Rover 10:02 Gamifying Life 19:11 How to Harness Your Obsession 28:21 The Reality of a Virtual Road 33:22 Why You Can’t Change a Conspiracy Theorist 40:05 Why We Lose It Behind the Wheel 48:25 The Impending Robotics Revolution 59:46 The Catalyst for the Glitter Bomb Series 01:11:25 Engineering How We Approach Life 01:18:04 Why School is Failing Curious Minds 01:23:05 The Problem with Growing Up 01:32:20 Is an AI Apocalypse Imminent? 01:52:26 Learn Before We Burn - New pricing since recording: Function is now just $365, plus get $25 off at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom Get a free bottle of D3K2, an AG1 Welcome Kit, and more when you first subscribe at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom - New pricing since recording: Function is now just $365, plus get $25 off at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom Get a free bottle of D3K2, an AG1 Welcome Kit, and more when you first subscribe at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

SPEAKERS

Chris Williamson
host
Mark Rober
guest

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Mark Rober, How to Engineer a Life You Love - Mark Rober explores nASA engineer Mark Rober on failure, fun, AI and meaning Mark Rober discusses his journey from NASA Mars rover engineer to Apple’s secret car project and then to building massive educational projects on YouTube and CrunchLabs.

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