Dax Shepard needs to talk

NEW YORK Dax Shepard acts, writes and directs but his latest creative venture is fulfilling him in ways he didn’t expect. He’s begun recording podcasts called Armchair Expert in a guest house attic on property he owns with his wife, Kristen Bell. New episodes drop Mondays.

Shepard said his experience as a guest on other podcasts including WTF with Marc Maron sparked the idea of starting his own.

“I just really enjoyed being able to talk for an hour or two hours and not be confined to an eight-minute produced segment on a talk show,” he said. “We were able to veer off into much more profound or personal topics. And you felt like you had the time to give some context to your opinions.”

Shepard’s first episode was with Bell on a day when they were bickering. He’s since added conversations with celebs including Ellen DeGeneres and Jimmy Kimmel and has branched out to experts, like a clinical psychologist who can talk about parenting strategies.

He describes that particular interview as his “most stimulating ” so far and aims to speak with more “intellectuals, experts, doctors and psychologists.” His wish list for guests is “never-ending ” and No. 1 is performer Donald Glover.

Two episodes that also stand out are with Shepard’s mother, Laura Labo, and actress Erika Christensen. Labo has had an interesting life and was candid about overcoming toxic and abusive past relationships, and loss, after the recent death of her husband.

Christensen and Shepard played siblings for six seasons on NBC’s Parenthood. The two had a respectful conversation about Scientology (she is a member).

“There’s so many topics in our culture that seem to be binary where you have to pick one side or the other and Scientology certainly seems to be one of those,” said Shepard. “I’ve certainly heard the side (against it), so I think it’s required of me to hear the other perspective.”