{"podcast":{"title":"Chasing Excellence","slug":"chasing-excellence-927578","podcast_index_feed_id":927578,"rss_url":"https://rss.art19.com/chasing-excellence","website_url":"https://art19.com/shows/chasing-excellence","image_url":"https://content.production.cdn.art19.com/images/2b/03/e1/89/2b03e189-fb5c-4728-83e3-d7f1570b1f28/cb9139f9bfead507e6e17aab798360e80194cf5249c8070cdf8f56d7142bea224f988ce0e56683288f27fe36a9142c5717b91e94d8c980f7cf9b5bbca4a38f3e.jpeg","author":"Ben Bergeron & Patrick Cummings","episode_count":517,"summary":"Most people aren't stuck because they lack information. They're stuck because they know what to do and can't quite do it consistently. The slow drift keeps winning. Chasing Excellence is for people who are already trying — working out, eating well, staying positive — but find themselves in the one-good-week, one-bad-week cycle. Ben Bergeron, Patrick Cummings, and a crew of authors, thinkers, and doers explore the five factors of health — how we eat, move, think, connect, and rest — and what it actually takes to crowd out the drift and build the life you keep almost living. New episodes every Monday and Thursday. Beyond the podcast: the Chase Club brings together a crew for daily lessons, monthly challenges, and the real work of crowding out the drift. The ChaseTracker app helps you track the Five Factors daily.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-13T22:17:08.907423+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-excellence-927578"},"episode":{"title":"5x5 | Building Real Friendships After 40 & Asking Questions That Connect","slug":"5x5-building-real-friendships-after-40-asking-questions-that-connect","published_at":"2026-07-06T10:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-excellence-927578/5x5-building-real-friendships-after-40-asking-questions-that-connect","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-excellence-927578","url":"https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/441/claritaspod.com/measure/prfx.byspotify.com/e/rss.art19.com/episodes/c74f113e-ea07-439f-91a5-28af82dbc620.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","audio_url":"https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/441/claritaspod.com/measure/prfx.byspotify.com/e/rss.art19.com/episodes/c74f113e-ea07-439f-91a5-28af82dbc620.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","summary":"What does it actually take to connect — with your kids, your partner, your community, and the strangers you meet every day? In this episode, Ben answers five listener questions on the CONNECT factor, from parenting across different households to rebuilding friendships in your 40s and 50s. You'll learn why kids become what they repeatedly experience (not what you tell them), how to distinguish a values divergence from a seasonal slump, why adult friendships require intention and initiative, how to create hope and agency in a loved one without becoming the health police, and which questions actually open people up. 🙋🏻‍♂️ Send us a Question 👉🏼 Get the full Listener's Guide here ❤️‍🔥 Free Newsletter & the Chase Club 👋 New to Chasing Excellence? Start here See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .","meta_description":"What does it actually take to connect — with your kids, your partner, your community, and the strangers you meet every day? In this episode, Ben answers f…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3172,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/chasing-excellence-927578/episodes/5x5-building-real-friendships-after-40-asking-questions-that-connect/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/chasing-excellence-927578/5x5-building-real-friendships-after-40-asking-questions-that-connect.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}