The Jordan Harbinger Show

Steven Pinker (@sapinker) is a psychology professor at Harvard, one of the world's leading authorities on language and the mind, and an author of several bestsellers. His latest is Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters. What We Discuss with Steven Pinker: Why, by most metrics, older generations are mistaken when they proclaim: "Things were better back in my day!" Alternatives we might consider if Universal Basic Income can't sustainably solve the problem of housing and feeding a workforce increasingly unemployed by automation. Why nostalgia is overrated, and how criticizing the present is very often a way of criticizing your rivals. If we're really living, as Steven says, in "the most peaceable era in our species’ existence," how does he explain why we still have wars, famines, uprisings, and genocides? What sentiment mapping shows us about the power of the media to manipulate us into seeing the world in a heavily negative light even as it's improving constantly on every measurabl

Thinking back on how you've navigated your life, you're concerned that certain human interactions reveal a tendency toward behavior that our former guest, behavioral expert Thomas Erikson, might categorize as psychopathic. Weighing the evidence for and against, you really want an answer to this question: "Am I a psychopath?" We'll try to get to the bottom of this and more here on 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/592 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: Weighing the evidence for and against, you really want an answer to this: "Am I a psychopath?" [Thanks t

Jordan digs into what it takes to push past the mental boundaries that keep you from realizing your full potential — with Chase Jarvis (@chasejarvis) of The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show. What Jordan and Chase Discuss: Handling debt after graduation. Zooming out on the timeline of your career and understanding why patience is key in the long term. Why nothing you do is ever wasted. Even if you’re working as a barista at Starbucks, you are building skills that can be applied in other areas later on. Why the phrase “Burn the boats” is misleading and unnecessary. How to overcome feeling “unemployable” because you have taken a non-traditional path. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/591 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!See P

Andy Norman (@drandyno) directs the Humanism Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University, is the founder of CIRCE, and is the award-winning author of Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think. What We Discuss with Andy Norman: Like our bodies, our minds and cultures have immune systems, and they can break down under certain conditions. How the root cause of contemporary divisiveness is a compromise of these mental and cultural immune systems. What it takes for certain ideologies to weaken our mental and cultural immune systems. Why, if you want to effectively persuade others, you must also show your willingness to be persuadable. How you can inoculate your mind (and help others protect themselves) against divisive ideologies to build the mental rigidity to withstand their influence. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/590 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini

You dared to set a boundary with your parents: you would only communicate with them if they were respectful to you and your family. This means zero tolerance for name-calling, swearing, threatening, or yelling at you or your husband whenever there's a disagreement. Now they've leveled false accusations against your husband for being abusive, going as far as involving the CEO of your company and the police department! Of course you've cut them off completely since then, but you're wondering: will this be enough to protect your family against them? We'll tackle this and more here on 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 a

Sammy "The Bull" Gravano (@gravanothebull) is the host of the Our Thing podcast, former second-in-command of the Gambino organized-crime family who played a major role in prosecuting "Teflon Don" John Gotti, and subject of Peter Maas' Underboss: Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia. [This is part two of a two-part episode. Make sure to catch part one here!] What We Discuss with Sammy "The Bull" Gravano: How does someone growing up in a relatively "normal" family get involved in a life of crime? What compels someone entrenched in the comforts of the gangster lifestyle to reject it? How has the code by which the mafia lives changed over time? What kinds of people do you meet when you spend half a decade behind bars? How true does on-screen gangster life ring to reality? And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/588 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Li

Sammy "The Bull" Gravano (@gravanothebull) is the host of the Our Thing podcast, former second-in-command of the Gambino organized-crime family who played a major role in prosecuting "Teflon Don" John Gotti, and subject of Peter Maas' Underboss: Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia. [This is part one of a two-part episode. Be on the lookout for the conclusion later this week!] What We Discuss with Sammy "The Bull" Gravano: How does someone growing up in a relatively "normal" family get involved in a life of crime? What compels someone entrenched in the comforts of the gangster lifestyle to reject it? How has the code by which the mafia lives changed over time? What kinds of people do you meet when you spend half a decade behind bars? How true does on-screen gangster life ring to reality? And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/587 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharb

Your grandpa is allowed to cope with the grief of recently losing your grandma in any way he sees fit, but you're concerned that the young woman he's about to marry is part of a larger plot to grift him out of his life savings. What can you do to protect him? This and more here on 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/586 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: How can you guard your grandpa against what seems to be a classic young woman marrying an older man for his life savings grift? [Once again, thanks to Corbin Payne (aka C-Payne) for helping us with this o

Timothy Snyder (@TimothyDSnyder) is the Housum Professor of History at Yale University and author of Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning and On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. What We Discuss with Timothy Snyder: Democracy has to be an ongoing activity — not a waiting game for the next election cycle. How fragile a democratic republic can be against the concentrated efforts of would-be tyrants — and that the United States is not immune to their strategies. The small actions we can take every day to ensure we’re doing our part to maintain an open and free society. How to consume information critically in a “post-fact” world. Recognize the scary parallels between historic catastrophes and current events. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/585 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Like this show? Please leave us a review here --

Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) is a broadcast journalist, political commentator, 18-time Emmy Award winner, and author of Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty. What We Discuss with Anderson Cooper: How Anderson got his start in broadcast journalism without relying on his famous, wealthy family connections. Why experiencing the loss of a parent early in life drew Anderson toward learning how to survive in extreme circumstances and report in places torn by conflict. What growing up scrutinized by media in the wake of family tragedy taught Anderson about being an empathetic journalist from the other side of the lens. How Anderson harnesses his self-described innate awkwardness for establishing rapport with people who have already been interviewed from every angle (like Eminem). What a real journalist is prepared to do during a breaking news segment when the teleprompter goes dark. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/584 Sign up for Six-M

Happily married for 20-something years, you've started to fixate on what it might be like to be married to someone you've been mentoring, instead. And even though you know this mentor-mentee fantasy could only end in misery, you're having a hard time putting it to rest. What can you do? We'll tackle this and more here on 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/583 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: Happily married for 20-something years, you've started to fixate on what it might be like to be married to someone you've been mentoring, instead. And even though y

Robert Greene (@RobertGreene) is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers on power and strategy. His latest book is The Daily Laws: 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature. [This is part two of a two-part episode. Make sure to catch part one here!] What We Discuss with Robert Greene: The benefits of cultivating profound dissatisfaction with your own work while it's still in the process of being created. Why the attitude you have of the world has a feedback effect on the way the world sees you (and how you can change that attitude if it doesn't serve you). The emotional self thrives on ignorance: how focusing on the rational instead of succumbing to your feelings deprives those who prey on your emotions of their power. How you can balance the need to be rational, cautious, and skeptical with the benefits of being curious and open-minded to new ideas. What you can do to train yourself to see past the front that people put on and discover the signs of their true ch

Robert Greene (@RobertGreene) is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers on power and strategy. His latest book is The Daily Laws: 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature. [This is part one of a two-part episode. Stay tuned for part two later this week!] What We Discuss with Robert Greene: The one simple reason why Robert Greene's work resonates among the hip-hop community's most accomplished artists. How seeing the world through a lens of radical realism allows you to be prepared for the worst life can throw your way. What we can do to uncover a career path that aligns with what has brought us joy in the past (hopefully before working 80 jobs we hate like Robert did prior to writing his first bestseller). Why we shouldn't fret if we haven't found our calling early in life -- the experiences we've had and lessons we've learned along the way combine to give us a unique edge when we finally do find it. Always stick to what makes you strange and weird. What made you

Grieving the loss of a sibling while still finding your footing at a new job is making it impossible to perform optimally, and you're worried your employer -- while overwhelmingly supportive of your plight -- may be forced to let you go. Is there anything you can do to manage your grief and find a way forward before it comes to this? We'll try to help with this and more here on 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/580 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: What can you do to manage the grief of losing your sibling and find a way forward before you're fired fro

Yeonmi Park (@YeonmiParkNK) is a North Korean defector and activist whose harrowing experiences are chronicled in her book In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom. [This is part two of a two-part episode. Catch up with part one here!] What We Discuss with Yeonmi Park: Why there's a black market for poop in North Korea. How the people of North Korea are kept isolated from the outside world to the extent that they use a different calendar, have never heard of Shakespeare, and don't even have words for "oppression" or "love." How North Korea's guilt-by-association policy can carry punishment for people who are within several generations of someone perceived as offensive to the regime. Why Yeonmi finds being on the North Korean regime's official kill list to be "liberating." How long it might take to watch Titanic in a country that only turns on the electricity for State holidays (and the ultimate penalty for getting caught doing so). And much more... Full show notes and resources can be fo

Yeonmi Park (@YeonmiParkNK) is a North Korean defector and activist whose harrowing experiences are chronicled in her book In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom. [This is part one of a two-part episode. Please stay tuned for the conclusion later this week!] What We Discuss with Yeonmi Park: Why there's a black market for poop in North Korea. How the people of North Korea are kept isolated from the outside world to the extent that they use a different calendar, have never heard of Shakespeare, and don't even have words for "oppression" or "love." How North Korea's guilt-by-association policy can carry punishment for people who are within several generations of someone perceived as offensive to the regime. Why Yeonmi finds being on the North Korean regime's official kill list to be "liberating." How long it might take to watch Titanic in a country that only turns on the electricity for State holidays (and the ultimate penalty for getting caught doing so). And much more... Full show note

Your narcissistic sister with special needs thinks nothing of "borrowing" thousands of dollars from you to invest in every sure-to-lose scam that comes her way, and now she wants to "borrow" more to check herself into an assisted care facility (which would make your life easier if you knew that's where the money was actually going). What should you do? This and more here on 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/577 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: Your narcissistic sister with special needs thinks nothing of "borrowing" thousands of dollars from you to in

General Michael Hayden (@GenMhayden) is a retired United States Air Force general, former Director of the NSA and CIA, and author of Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror. [Note: This is a previously broadcast episode from the vault that we felt deserved a fresh listen!] What We Discuss with General Michael Hayden: How does an intelligence agent view cognition, cognitive bias, and psychology differently from a policymaker? What is The Unpleasant Fact an intelligence agent brings to the briefing table? General Hayden gives us a rare glimpse of working for two very different presidents and conveys the importance of adapting to their particular learning styles. Find out what it’s like to present new intelligence to an administration that forces it to change policy. (Awkward!) Get General Hayden’s take on the Orlando shootings and the difficulty of balancing security with liberty. And much more… Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/576 Sign up for Six

Benjamin Hardy (@BenjaminPHardy) is an organizational psychologist and author of books about willpower, self-limiting beliefs, and teamwork. His latest offering (co-authored with Dan Sullivan), is The Gap and the Gain: The High Achievers' Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success. What We Discuss with Benjamin Hardy: If you measure your current self against your ideal (often chosen and defined by other people rather than yourself), you’ll never be happy because there will always be a gap. Unsuccessful people primarily focus on this (but we all wind up here sometimes). If you measure your current self against your previous self — and notice the gain you've made between yesterday and today — you’ll experience happiness, satisfaction, and confidence. The most successful people understand this. The difference between ideals (general, immeasurable, and constantly changing) and goals (specific, measurable, and time-bound) -- and why your ideals shouldn't be your benchmark for achievement, but merely the sourc

You've been secretly chatting with an old flame whose torch you still carry, and you even met in person to discover that these feelings are mutual. But there's a big hitch: while you're now single again, she's in what seems to be an otherwise happy marriage and is mother to three. Now you feel frustrated, jealous, and even heartbroken because you can't be with her. Or can you? We'll try to help you find answers to this and more here on 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/574 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: Rekindling with an old flame whose feelings are