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Latest Episodes:

Unpacking "Sex Addiction" Jun 28, 2021

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Is it possible to become addicted to sex? How much sex is too much, exactly?
Laci is joined by Dr. David Ley to untangle the sticky web of sex addiction. Ley makes the case against the concept of sex addiction, arguing that it is rooted in sexual shame. They discuss sexual repression, porn addiction, "normal" sexuality, impulse control, politically incorrect fantasies, and why our sexual fantasies often correlate with our politics.
Content Notice. This episode contains: frank discussions of sensitive sexuality issues, a brief mention of a mass shooting, and brief descriptions of sadomasochistic sex acts.

The Sex Ed Spiral Apr 30, 2021

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How does making sex ed videos on YouTube land you in the center of the online culture wars? Pretty quickly, in fact.
Laci is joined by YouTuber Arielle Scarcella for an open ended discussion of her controversial perspectives and work. They discuss critiques of "woke" activism, abusive tactics in leftist circles, lesbian identity, impossible discussions about sex and gender, Arielle's "conservative" re-brand, being a lesbian on OnlyFans, and collective self-censorship.

Content Warning: This episode contains frank discussions of sensitive sexuality issues as well as graphic descriptions of sex acts.

Four Secret Truths About Relationships Feb 14, 2021

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How can we cultivate happy relationships that last years, or even decades? While the modern explosion of self-help books tell us how to get love, ancient Buddhist texts offer a different approach: how to give it.
In this episode, Laci and Susan explore The Four Noble Truths of Love. They discuss how our modern approaches to relationships can set us up for failure, expectations vs. reality, how to create the right "container" for relationship success, the pitfalls of passion, intimacy vs. love, and a well-traveled path to lifelong partnership.

Is YouTube Radicalizing People? Dec 16, 2020

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A storm of media coverage regularly accuses YouTube of radicalizing the masses with their recommendation algorithm. The only problem? A closer look at the research paints a very different picture.

In this episode, Laci and Anna explore the YouTube politics scene and how the 2020 algorithm works. They discuss left and right content "bubbles", mainstream media vs. YouTube, the plight of independent content creators, and why the rabbit hole theory has enduring psychological appeal.

Why Are We So Polarized? Nov 11, 2020

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Americans are more polarized than we have been since the civil war. Data shows growing numbers of people feel political violence is justified. How did we get into this hellscape? And how do we get out of it?
Featuring Lee Drutman of Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop. (This episode is made for YouTube: https://t.co/VQsMmkfkCA?amp=1)

Your Attention, Please! Oct 09, 2020

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The internet is flooded with attempts to grab our attention.. So what gets us to click?

Laci and Ben Parr discuss the booming attention economy and how it is changing the world, from parasocial relationships to politics. They discuss 7 common tactics used to capture (and sell) our attention.

The Stoic Challenge Sep 04, 2020

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How do you handle the setbacks in your life? Laci and Bill discuss practical Stoic techniques to find greater resilience and strength in the face of life's challenges.
Conversation topics include our need for social approval, righteous anger and victimhood, dealing with failure and rejection, declining civility, an unusual approach to grief, the trappings of consumerism, and what it truly means to embrace our circumstances.

Mask Hysteria Jul 22, 2020

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Perhaps the biggest threat in a pandemic is not the virus itself...but how we react to it.
Last year, Dr. Steven Taylor predicted what would happen in the next pandemic with astonishing accuracy. In this episode, Laci and Steve discuss media distortion, the politicization of masks, backlash to mandates, American individualism vs. collectivism, the upcoming anti-vax crisis, personality types prone to mask hesitance, depressive realism vs. optimism bias, and what the past predicts about the future.

Anonymity vs. Cancel Culture Jul 08, 2020

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Anonymity is blamed for some of the worst behavior online. Should everyone be forced to reveal their true identity instead?

In this episode, Laci contends that anonymity isn't the boogeyman it's made out to be. She is joined by Scott Alexander from Slate Star Codex to discuss his crisis over a forced doxxing at the New York Times, the double edged sword of cancel culture, China's censorship problem, internet trolls, group think, and why we struggle with self control online.

The End of Policing? Jun 19, 2020

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Is policing as we know it on the way out? In this episode, we discuss the militarization of the police, whether we should defund police departments, and what it will take to move forward in the wake of so much state-sanctioned violence and trauma.
Featuring Mecole Jordan-McBride of NYU'S Policing Project at www.policingproject.org

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