The Jordan Harbinger Show

She checks your boxes, but believes in flat Earth and Wayfair child trafficking. Do you give this hot conspiracy theorist a shot? It's Feedback Friday!And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1281On This Week's Feedback Friday:You matched with a woman who checks most of your boxes — but also believes in flat Earth, faked moon landings, and Wayfair child trafficking. She's hot, you've got chemistry, and she's visiting soon. Can two people with fundamentally different views of reality make it work?You've got a young colleague who's eager, reliable, and great with logistics — but the moment

Remember when Facebook was fun and Google actually worked? Cory Doctorow coined a term for what went wrong, and he's here to explain how we fight back.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1280What We Discuss with Cory Doctorow:"Enshittification" is Cory Doctorow's term for how platforms decay. First they're good to users, then they abuse users to serve business customers, then they abuse everyone to claw back value for themselves. Facebook, Amazon, and Google all followed this playbook — and policy makers let it happen."Switching costs" are a deliberate policy choice, not an inevitability. Companies jack up the friction of leaving their platforms through design and lobbying, but regulations like phone number portability prove we can legislate friction down when we choose to.The Digital Millennium Copyright Act criminalizes fixing things you own. Security researchers who expose corporate sabotage — like the Polish train company bricking locomotives to extort customers — fac

Could returning to the gold standard fix inflation? Nick Pell explains why this shiny solution might not be all it's cracked up to be on Skeptical Sunday.Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by writer and researcher Nick Pell!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1279On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:The gold standard wasn't some ancient monetary relic — it only emerged in 1821 when Britain pegged the pound to gold, with most industrialized nations hopping on board by the 1890s. It was abandoned during World War I because governments simply couldn't fund the war while maintaining gold convertibility.Today's global economy is roughly $115 trillion, while all the gold ever mined is worth about $28.5 trillion — roughly a quarter of global GDP. This massive mismatch

Your sister's husband has a history of abuse, and just bought a shack in the middle of nowhere for them and the kids. What can you do? It's Feedback Friday!And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1278On This Week's Feedback Friday:Your abusive brother-in-law dragged your sister by her hair, has a traumatic brain injury linked to violence, and just bought a remote shack 5,000 kilometers from civilization — now he wants to move your sister and her kids out there. Are you overreacting, or is this a true-crime doc waiting to happen?You and your wife adopted four kids from foster care — all w

Nuclear power could save the planet — so why are we terrified of it? Here, Rad Future author Isabelle Boemeke breaks down the science behind the stigma.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1277What We Discuss with Isabelle Boemeke:Nuclear energy is the cleanest major power source available — producing no greenhouse gas emissions or particulate matter during electricity generation — yet public perception remains trapped in Cold War-era fears and Hollywood disaster imagery rather than modern scientific reality.The math on safety is staggering: fossil fuels cause roughly four million premature deaths annually from air pollution, while even the most generous estimates attribute around 4,000 deaths to history's worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl — meaning you'd need 200 Chernobyls every year for nuclear to match fossil fuel fatalities.Nuclear fuel is approximately one million times more energy dense than coal — a gummy bear-sized pellet of uranium contains the same energy as 2

Why do we rubberneck accidents and binge true crime? Behavioral scientist Coltan Scrivner explains the surprising psychology behind our morbid curiosity.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1276What We Discuss with Coltan Scrivner:Morbid curiosity isn't a character flaw — it's an evolutionary feature. The same instinct that makes us rubberneck at accidents helped our ancestors learn about threats without becoming victims themselves. It's your brain's built-in threat-assessment system, gathering intel from a safe distance.Horror movies work because of a specific formula: an overwhelmingly powerful villain versus a vulnerable protagonist. That imbalance — think Pennywise hunting kids or Jason stalking camp counselors — triggers our threat-detection systems in ways action films simply can't replicate.True crime's massive female audience isn't random. Women face threats primarily from people they know, so their curiosity focuses on spotting danger signals and understanding how pred

Are "incels" dangerous radicals or just lonely guys punching walls online? Nick Pell takes us to the basement to find out here on Skeptical Sunday.Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by writer and researcher Nick Pell!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1275On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:The term "incel" was originally coined by a woman in the late 1990s as a gender-neutral, supportive community for lonely people — but it transformed over time into something darker as those who improved their lives left, leaving behind increasingly bitter participants.The "blackpill" philosophy — the belief that genetics predetermines your romantic fate — functions as a psychological trap that offers simple answers to complex pain while simultaneously absolving incels of r

You served time 22 years ago, and now your business partner's wielding your criminal record like a blackmail card to take everything. It's Feedback Friday!And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1274On This Week's Feedback Friday:You paid for a youthful transgression over two decades ago, built a thriving company from nothing, and now your best friend/business partner is weaponizing your past to push you out — all because of a conflict with his girlfriend. How do you break this pattern and reclaim your story? [Thanks to Corbin Payne and Joanna Tate for helping us with this one!]Your step

Hacking the Human Mind authors Richard Shotton and MichaelAaron Flicker reveal ways brands exploit human psychology and how we can use this to our benefit!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1273What We Discuss with Richard Shotton & MichaelAaron Flicker:Five Guys built a $1.6 billion empire on a single insight: doing one thing exceptionally well signals expertise. The company's refusal to add chicken, salads, or ice cream is strategic proof that specialization creates perceived mastery in the consumer's mind.Counterintuitively, the "goal dilution effect" shows that adding more benefits to your pitch actually weakens it. When tomatoes were described as preventing cancer and improving eye health, people rated the cancer benefit 12% lower, suggesting that focus beats feature-stuffing every time.As a species of "cognitive misers," our brains evolved to conserve energy, so we rely on mental shortcuts rather than deliberate analysis. Brands that understand these heuristics work

Scissors, spiral notebooks, cultural taboos — lefties have it rough. Jessica Wynn explores why 10% of us are southpaws here on Skeptical Sunday.Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by writer and researcher Jessica Wynn!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1272On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:Left-handedness isn't controlled by a single gene — it's a cocktail of genetics, prenatal environment, and random brain development. The rare gene variant TUBB4B shows up three times more often in lefties, but even identical twins sharing 100% of their DNA can have different dominant hands.Your handedness was essentially decided before you were born. Ultrasound studies reveal fetuses showing consistent hand preferences by 18 weeks — those who suck their left thumb in the w

Your 15-year-old just made a request that would make your church-raised mother faint. How do you parent without the shame spiral? It's Feedback Friday!And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1271On This Week's Feedback Friday:Your 15-year-old daughter approached you with a request that left you speechless — she wants help purchasing something to explore her own body safely. You escaped purity culture and want better for her, but where exactly do healthy boundaries live in this uncharted territory? What does a sex-positive parenting expert have to say? [Thanks to Dr. Linda Baggett for hel

He couldn't read or write until age 20. Now, Child X author Jamie Mustard is exposing how Scientology's Sea Organization warehouses children like livestock.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1270What We Discuss with Jamie Mustard:Children in Scientology's Sea Organization, where Jamie was raised, were treated as "livestock" — penned in squalid dormitories, denied education, and cared for by untrained adults deemed too unstable for public-facing roles. Jamie didn't attend school until age 20 and could barely write at that point.The psychological conditioning began at age five, when Jamie signed his first "billion year contract" while still believing in Santa Claus. Children were taught that emotion was weakness — labeled "human emotion and reaction" — and punished or stigmatized if they got sick or hurt.Jamie was present during the largest FBI raid in U.S. history (Operation Snow White), yet agents never investigated the children's living conditions. Scientology strategically

Venezuela's collapse is about way more than socialism and oil. Ryan McBeth breaks down how a resource-rich nation became a cautionary tale on our doorstep.Welcome to what we're calling our "Out of the Loop" episodes, where we dig a little deeper into fascinating current events that may only register as a blip on the media's news cycle and have conversations with the people who find themselves immersed in them.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1269On This Episode of Out of the Loop:Venezuela's collapse wasn't caused by a single villain or policy — it happened because oil money replaced accountability. Institutions were hollowed out, competence was swapped for loyalty, and when the cash dried up, the regime compensated with control instead of reform.Hugo Chavez's "Bolivarian Revolution" brought real benefits early on — redistributing oil wealth and challenging entrenched elites. But the gains depended entirely on high oil prices, and when those collapsed around 2010, hyperinfl

After six hard years as your mom's Alzheimer's caregiver, your dad remarried an old flame one week after moving her to hospice. Welcome to Feedback Friday!And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1268On This Week's Feedback Friday:Your stepmom — the woman who raised you for 44 years — was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and recently moved into a care facility. One week later, your dad announced he's remarried an old flame and is planning a honeymoon. How do you set boundaries without losing him entirely?After years of battling depression and disordered eating, you finally found stability — a g

From microplastics in your brain to multivitamins that actually work, Dr. Rhonda Patrick of FoundMyFitness separates real science from wellness hype here!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1267What We Discuss with Dr. Rhonda Patrick:Microplastics are accumulating in our brains at up to 10 times more than other organs, and studies show people with Alzheimer's disease had up to 10 times more microplastics in their brains than those without, suggesting these invisible particles may be driving neuroinflammation and cognitive decline.That "BPA-free" label on your water bottle is essentially a marketing sleight of hand. Companies simply replaced BPA with BPS — a chemical now proven to be just as harmful as its predecessor, still disrupting hormones and leaching into everything you drink.Screens and phones are the new sitting (which was the new smoking). Early screen time exposure in children is now linked to depression, mental illness, and even sensory processing issues later in li

A colleague made crude jokes, monopolized you at events, then possibly used you to make his ex jealous. How do you handle this creep? It's Feedback Friday!And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1266On This Week's Feedback Friday:A professional acquaintance has been giving you mixed signals — complimenting your appearance, making wildly inappropriate sexual comments, and monopolizing your time at events. Then you learned he might've been using you to make his ex jealous. How do you confront a creep without burning your network?Your friend Mary — practically a grandmother figure — is spir

Former bank robber Joe Loya reveals how childhood trauma transformed him into a prolific criminal — and how he found his way back. [Part 2 of 2 — catch up with Part 1 here!]Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1265What We Discuss with Joe Loya:Trauma fragments your sense of the future. When Joe kept robbing banks while out on bail, it wasn't recklessness — it was survival mode. Unprocessed trauma keeps you focused only on getting through today, unable to imagine or protect a future that feels impossible anyway.Compassion beats forgiveness as a healing strategy. Instead of bestowing forgiveness from a position of moral superiority, Joe learned to accept his abusive father by understanding his formation — a beaten child who grew into a broken adult. It wasn't personal; any son would have been beaten.Self-examination is scarier than any external threat. A man who fearlessly robbed 30 banks and survived federal prison found confronting his own grief and dismantling his rage infinit

Former bank robber Joe Loya reveals how childhood trauma transformed him into a prolific criminal — and how he found his way back. [Part 1 of 2]Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1264What We Discuss with Joe Loya:Childhood trauma doesn't excuse criminal behavior, but it explains how violence becomes normalized. Joe's father beat him over 100 times before age 15, creating a psychological framework where aggression felt like the only authentic response to a world that had brutalized him first.Bank robbery became a twisted form of therapy — a way to reclaim power stolen in childhood. Joe describes the "rapture" of robberies as moments where he finally felt in control, transforming victim psychology into predator psychology through carefully orchestrated criminal acts.Solitary confinement can either break you or remake you. Joe spent seven years total in "the hole." Rather than destroying him, isolation became an unexpected crucible for self-reflection, forcing him to confront th

Are near-death experiences proof of an afterlife — or just the brain's final fireworks? Michael Regilio goes into the light to find out on Skeptical Sunday!Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by skeptic, comedian, and podcaster Michael Regilio!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1263On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:Near-death experiences are real experiences — but that doesn't make them supernatural. NDEs happen to ordinary people during medical crises, and while skeptics question the metaphysical claims, no one disputes the profound personal impact. These aren't grifts or delusions — they're genuine neurological events that often leave people calmer, kinder, and less afraid of death.The "tunnel of light" isn't universal — it's cultural. Western NDEs fe

You're battling overeating and started therapy, but you're unsure if you're growing or just failing slowly with extra steps. Welcome to Feedback Friday!And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1262On This Week's Feedback Friday:You're struggling with overeating and wondering if you quit tracking calories because you lack discipline. You've started therapy but aren't sure if you're making progress fast enough — or what "progress" even looks like. How do you grow without beating yourself up along the way?Jordan shares feedback that illustrates what makes doing this show so worthwhile and fu