Heterodox Americana

The Shower of Now

Raphael started taking daily cold showers in July. What resulted from this practice was completely unexpected.

Angie Goes to Prague

Angie goes to Prague and regales us with story of food, castles, and Eastern European delights

Cultivating Safety and Updating Maslow

How to Get What You Want in Relationships

You may not always get what you want in a relationship, but not asking for what is and keeping your desires hidden is a surer way to not get it. In this episode we look at emotional  asymmetry in relationships and the notion of "showing up" for yourself.

Remapping the Mind and Integrating the Body

We talk about how to expand the contents of your mind and, by extension, the mind itself. We deal with some possibly helpful approaches to dealing with rumination, and how to use novel mental representations to change the quality of your life.

The Delta Dilemma

Apparently the complicated re-emergence of people and culture now has to content with the complicated re-emergence of COVID-19. As the Delta variant spreads throughout the world, we again have to contend with the same set of spirit-sinking decisions. Nobody ever said global pandemics would be easy.

The Key to Long-Term Happiness

Complicated (re-)Emergence and the Vaccine Dilemma

Going from quarantine to socializing again has been super weird for lots of people. That, plus... what to do about this vaccine thing, anyway? To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? That is the question.

Woke and Woker - When Cancel Culture Cancels its Own

In this episode, we talk about more than just cancel culture and wokism, we also talk about the changing nature of our economy, the impact of the gig economy, job security (career security, really) and the slow death of our universities. Where are we headed?

On Raising Daughters pt.3: Chivalry vs. Preparedness

On Raising Daughters pt.2: Menstruation

A continuation on our discussion of how to be thoughtful about raising daughters with an eye toward the development of their full humanity. This time we talk about the general cultural discourse around menstruation.

On Raising Daughters pt.1: Sexualization

The first part of a 7-part series on raising emotionally healthy daughters. This first part addresses the subtle, inadvertent sexualization that happens to so many girls even at home. We talk about how to recognize it and what to do about it. An important discussion even if you don't have daughters, but especially if you do.

Understanding People Who Vote Against Their Own Interests

Whether in electoral politics or at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, how can we make sense of the seemingly irrational behavior of people who act against their own best interests. Hint: their "best" interests is not what we say it is. We explore the layers of decisions and interest in this episode.

Why Acting "Against Your Own Interests" ISN'T Irrational and Why You Probably Do it Too!

Whether in electoral politics or at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, how can we make sense of the seemingly irrational behavior of people who act against their own best interests. Hint: their "best" interests is not what we say it is. We explore the layers of decisions and interest in this episode.

Pandemic Fatigue vs The Zombie Apocalypse

Are we tired of doing this yet? Figuring out protocols are inherently challenging for our automatic thinking brains. How to act in a pandemic is beyond whatever intuitive mechanism has evolved in us as a species. Outside of scientific/mechanistic/strategic thinking there is simply no way to understand something as small as a virus. What we do in its presence should be informed by protocol; not hubris. Also... Zombies!

Wrapping up the Worst. Year. EVAR

Reflections on 2020 and the Kick-Off for season 2

Is the Happiness of our Children Important as Parents?

A continuation of our discussion in E51 around parenting, this time we look at parental relationships with younger children where considerations of "prestige" don't necessarily apply. Instead, we ask, "What do we want for our children?", and we examine competing ideas of child happiness.

The Role of Prestige in Teens and Pre-teens (...and parents)

Somehow this episode morphed into a discussion about the impact of prestige and prestige-seeking behavior on kids. We started off with a wider intention of understanding the parent-child relationship, but ended up focused on this narrow aspect. We'll continue the wider discussion (including exploration, attachment, and mirroring) in future episodes

The Mind-Body Connection in Breaking Through Your Comfort Zone

Be Limitless!

Scarcity, Abundance, and the Psychology of "Not Enough"

If there's a single pernicious idea that dogs our ability to contribute, it's that the world is zero-sum and there's not "enough". We try our best to elucidate the scarcity mindset and offer ways toward a path of abundance (literally and metaphorically [and metaphysically?]). There is enough for nearly all of us but our functional fixedness prevents us from seeing the what's available.

Mansplaining 2.0 - Why Mansplaining FEELS Like a Thing... But Isn't

In Ep.26 "The Art of Mansplaining", we talked about the phenomenon that so many women feel as Raphael was insisting that, "it's not a thing." This time we explore if there is any reality to a feeling that so many people have. We compare the phenomena of 'whitesplaining', 'goysplaining', 'straightsplaining' and 'cissplaining' and ask, "what's actually happenning, here?"

Constructions of Identity and the Seeds of American Ruin

We're all arguing about the wrong stuff; the wrong identity politics; the wrong "us". We explored identity politics in Episode 5, but we weren't able to drill down and take a deep examination of the question, "what is identity?" and "what is a group (with respect to group identity)?" This is an exploration of how identity works and the necessity to re-orient politics (in a non-kumbaya way). What's at stake is clear to some, but not-so-obvious to most. We're on the verge of something catastro...

The Paradox of Stewardship: Why your present self sabotages your future self

Stewardship is the process of taking care of the think that you already have... so that you can keep having it. While the value of this is obvious to good stewards and makes enough sense to the rest of us, in general... we don't do it. If we did, the "check engine" light wouldn't exist. We explore the psychological difficulties of stewardship vs expediency and the associated pay-offs. It's NOT pretty.

The Neurobiology of Sin or "Not Going to Your Grave With Your Music Still in You"

Is it possible to think about sin in neurobiological terms? What if sin is real and not just confined to what we learned from religious realms. In this episode we bounce around an idea that sin is an emotion with its own biochemistry and something that we can all relate to. We use some recent breakthroughs in the biochemical understanding of emotion to frame the conversation. If sin is real, then what is it's evolutionary or biological purpose. This is the topic we'll explore, here. Hold on...

Change Your Context. Choose Something Different. Do Something New.

We loop back around to ways of thinking about mental health during a pandemic. Obviously the US is suffering disproportionately in this regard, but the underlying perspectives are applicable universally. Let us know what you think! 

“Americanism”, The Fakeness and Realness of Racial Identity, and The Nation’s Unwillingness to Face its Past

I sit with Victor Jackson—an insightful, young thought leader in Philadelphia—and we hash out, among other things the US’s unique refusal to be accountable, the false promise of full inclusion, and the pitfalls of socially constructed identities *explicit language

Sam Harris, the Reality of Racial Bias in Policing, and Speaking Truth to Cancel Culture

We talk with Dave Ramsey (daveramseymusic.com) about the potential social landmines of talking about opinion that break from received orthodoxy. Much of this episode refers to Sam Harris's podcast episode: Can we pull back from the brink? (https://samharris.org/podcasts/207-can-pull-back-brink), but our discussion should be robust enough to stand alone as we discuss these core issues. We also talk about what the data disparities around police shootings of unarmed black men really says, and ...

Use Theory of Mind and Strategic Thinking to Reduce Stress

We struggled with this title, but this is actually a good show. We talk about strategies for organizing the things you can control, how to build better models of your social world. We both found it really helpful to hash these idea out. Let us know what you think.

How Theory of Mind and Strategic Thinking can Melt Away Your Stress and Worries

We struggled with this title, but this is actually a good show. We talk about strategies for organizing the things you can control, how to build better models of your social world. We both found it really helpful to hash these idea out. Let us know what you think.

How Theory of Mind and Strategic Thinking can Reduce Your Level of Stress

We struggled with this title, but this is actually a good show. We talk about strategies for organizing the things you can control, how to build better models of your social world. We both found it really helpful to hash these idea out. Let us know what you think.

Read Your "Woke" Booklist... But That's Not Enough

We talk with community organizer and activist Ben Blei and try to get a perspective on the role White people have to play in helping all Americans to get freer

Where Do We Go From Here (What's Changed)?

Things feel different in the United States. If this energy will last, we won't know. But I'm nervously optimistic that we might end up in a new place. A better place. Time will tell

George Floyd

With a spotlight finally shone on the problem lethal force used police departments across the U.S., how do we make sense of the death of Mr. Floyd and explain just why his case is both emblematic of the problem and vastly different in its presentation. How did we get here? We just take a look at what happening in our cities and talk about the murder of George Floyd as well as some of the broader implications. This episode was hard.

The Path of Meaning and the Path of Joy

We hint and the dual traditions of thinking about what makes life worth living, but mostly look at contemporary manifestations of how to live a life of meaning and how to live a life of joy. They're not the same but they overlap. But in what way and how do they differ? Can you have Joy without meaning or meaning without joy? The works of Jordan Peterson and Martin Seligman help us to explore this dichotomy.

Keeping Chaos At Bay

With so many systems breaking down, how do we best prepare for the future? We're talking not just thriving, but for some, actually survival. We explore the perils of homeostasis and talk a little about how our relationship with meat might be irrevocably altered.

Don't Assume, Ask!

Questions are perhaps the most powerful tool which allows us to interrogate the worlds inside and outside of us. Yet many of us don't ask enough question and end up trapped in our own thinking

How America's Original Sin Affects Our CoVid Response

We discuss how the 18th century conflict of slavery informed the way we cast states' rights and how the culture of "states' rights" informs our response to the pandemic

Are Never-Biden Bernie Loyalists Misguided?

Less that 24 hours after the suspension of Bernie Sanders's campaign, his hold-out supporters were being shamed and mocked by 'vote-blue' people. In this episode we examine the complexity of political preferences and try to understand why what may seem like an obvious choice to some, becomes far less obvious to those in radically different circumstances

Just Say 'No'

Does denying our social instinct and keeping our distance rock the boat? Does it disrupt our social norms? You bet it does! Part of why social distancing is so hard is because, as hyper-social creatures, it goes against our evolutionary instinct to congregate and cooperate as groups.

We Are Not Ready (for Coronavirus)

Here, we looking at the glaring failings in our healthcare system, our lack of preparedness and the general American apathy toward fighting for our basic rights.

Social Distancing Sucks

Coronapocalypse Now

It's the end of the world as we know it; and I feel fine. Let's talk about the corona virus, our new reality and try to strike a balance between the fearmongering and pretending that it's business as usual.

Easily, The Best Candidate for 2020

We discuss why a certain candidate will be the best bet for 2020

How to Banish Boredom Forever

You can be frustrated or fascinated; bored or amazed. Here we look at the intersection of boredom, mindset, mindfulness, and savoring. Just like Beyonce, you can be your own best friend and enjoy your own company. Connect with you! You don't need nobody else.

The Art of Mansplaining

A meandering, but hopefully entertaining look at the phenomenon (non-phenomenon) of "mansplaining".

Is Your Relationship (or lack thereof) a Distraction?

Sometimes the hand-wringing about the status of our romantic relationships or the lack of said relationship is enough to throw us into a tizzy. We end up sacrificing meaningful parts of what could be an amazing life by investing energy into the problems. But, is there another way? In this episode we talk about what you can do instead of fretting.

Xenophobia, Immigrants, and the Problem with Foreigners

In what is, perhaps, the most xenophobic moment in recent history, we try to take a look at the mechanics of xenophobia and think of ways to get back to a place of sanity

Cutting Room Floor

Reclaiming our time! This is not a show. This is a cutting room floor clip. We talk about communalism, the Amish, and some other stuff. It's from early on (around episode 3). Don't indulge us in this foolishness! Episode 24 is coming in 6 hours when our time allotment renews.

The Source of All Unhappiness or What to do when your reality doesn't match your expectations

Here we examine the source of all our pain. Dukkha. Angst. When our expectations don't match our current circumstances, we perceive that as pain. But what do we do about it?

How to Live with Uncertainty (And Manage Your Emotions in the Process)

What do we do with the "unknowns" in our life? Here we look at the reality of our information gap and how to deal with the emotional uncertainty that it produces. Special Guest: Lex Peters