Jay Shetty’s podcast, “On Purpose,” is wildly popular, and the show’s YouTube channel has more than five million subscribers. His books “Think Like a Monk” and “8 Rules of Love” were best sellers. And he has just started a production company, Perfect Strangers, that has already announced deals with Netflix. Part of Shetty’s success has to do with his message: a breezy, New Age-leaning blend of pop psychology and life tips overlaid with a reassuring patina of Eastern spirituality. “The Interview” host David Marchese had some skepticism about Shetty and his ideas that he wanted to explore. They were partly to do with a 2024 article in The Guardian that included allegations of plagiarism on Shetty’s social media platforms earlier in his career and challenged the extent of Shetty’s training as a monk. (His lawyers defended his training when the Guardian article was published, and they reiterated that defense to The Times. Shetty and Marchese also discussed it.) But Marchese's skepticism also came from the seeming contradiction of a man who espouses monastic thinking while living a glamorous life in Los Angeles as a superstar influencer. They spoke about that tension during their interview. Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/21/magazine/jay-shetty-wellness-influencer-interview.html “The Interview” features conversations with the world’s most fascinating people. Each week, co-hosts David Marchese and Lulu Garcia-Navarro talk to compelling, influential figures in culture, politics, business, sports and beyond — illuminating who they are, why they do what they do and how they impact the rest of us. Subscribe to “The Interview”: https://www.youtube.com/@theinterviewpodcast Download the New York Times app: https://bit.ly/4gZdoip #jayshetty #theinterview