810: Nita Farahany | Thinking Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology

Big porn sites enabled trafficking for profit. Here, Takedown author Laila Mickelwait shares how her fight against Pornhub led to industry-wide reform.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1143What We Discuss with Laila Mickelwait:For over a decade, internet porn content provider Pornhub knowingly profited from illegal content with minimal moderation (10 staff per shift reviewing 700+ videos each) while requiring 15+ flags before review and tracking profits from questionable categories.Sex trafficking includes deception/coercion in monetized sexual acts. For minors, any commercial sexual exploitation automatically constitutes trafficking regardless of consent.Financial pressure proved most effective in Laila Mickelwait's crusade against Porhub's shady practices — credit card companies cutting ties forced the company to remove 80% of content overnight, demonstrating how targeting enablers can be as effective as targeting perpetrators.Third-party age and consent verification for everyone in every video would prevent most exploitation while protecting privacy.Strategic activism works — Laila succeeded by gathering evidence, building coalitions with victims and experts, and applying targeted pressure despite threats and harassment. Her example shows that determined individuals can challenge harmful systems by identifying pressure points and maintaining focus on accountability.And much more...And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/dealsSign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

22 Huhti 1h 37min

From Emperor Shen Nung to Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign, Michael Regilio unpacks 5,000 years of cannabis history on this 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/1142On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:The modern war on cannabis has deeply racist roots, beginning with targeted efforts against Mexican immigrants in the early 20th century. Officials like Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, pushed explicitly racist propaganda against cannabis users, helping transform what was once widely accepted medicine into a demonized drug.Cannabis prohibition was also driven by powerful business interests. Companies like DuPont (developing petroleum-based products like nylon and cellophane) saw hemp as a competitive threat, while William Randolph Hearst wanted to protect his paper mill investments. These business moguls leveraged political connections to criminalize cannabis despite scientific evidence of its relative safety.The Nixon administration weaponized cannabis laws against political opponents. Nixon's domestic policy chief John Ehrlichman later admitted: "We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin ... we could disrupt those communities. ... Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."Cannabis interacts with our bodies through the endocannabinoid system, a biological network that helps regulate mood, energy, balance, and appetite. Our bodies naturally produce cannabinoids, but plant-derived versions like THC are approximately a thousand times more powerful. Importantly, cannabis use during pregnancy or adolescence can be harmful to developing brains, with studies linking early use to depression, anxiety, and even psychosis.The good news? If you're over 25, moderate cannabis use appears relatively safe (unless you're predisposed to mental health issues). Today, cannabis legalization is creating positive social impacts through tax revenue funding education, environmental cleanup, and drug prevention programs, while simultaneously reducing spending on enforcement and incarceration — turning a historically problematic policy into community benefits.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!Connect with Michael Regilio at Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and make sure to check out the Michael Regilio Plagues Well With Others podcast here or wherever you enjoy listening to fine podcasts!Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/dealsSign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

20 Huhti 59min

A manipulative "dark guru" assaults women in your community while event organizers ignore reports. How can safety be restored? 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/1141On This Week's Feedback Friday:If you've ever wanted to hear Gabriel discuss feet, thumbs, and hot tubs with another J. Harbinger, you're going to love how this episode begins!Your arts community should be a safe haven, but it's been infiltrated by a predator who uses spiritual "shadow work" (à la Carl Jung) as a cover for assault. Multiple women have shared their stories with you, but event organizers won't act. How can you protect these women while ensuring this shady manipulator faces consequences without putting yourself in danger?Your mother-in-law threw you a baby shower featuring strangers from her MLM "tribe" who didn't follow registry instructions. The event felt more like her show than your celebration. Now you're anticipating boundary battles when the baby arrives — especially around her anti-science beliefs. You don't want to seem ungrateful, but what can you do to gain control of this awkward situation?As a federal employee during massive governmental "re-alignment," you're watching colleagues get "released" after lifetimes of civil service. With the sword of Damocles hanging over your own head daily, how do you process the potential loss of purpose, the anxiety of uncertainty, and the feeling that important work might remain undone? What's next if your mission suddenly evaporates?Your intellectually disabled sister-in-law attempted suicide in front of your young son after refusing an apology. Without legal guardianship established, paramedics couldn't force treatment, and your in-laws seem unwilling to address the situation properly. How do you protect your children, handle familial responsibility, and prepare for her eventual care?Recommendation of the Week: Strrrrrrrrretchiiiiiing!Remember the 27-year-old daughter who refused to leave her parents' home on Feedback Friday episode 1127? After discussing this "failure to thrive" case, listeners offered their perspectives on potential autism, cultural norms around adult children living at home, and the delicate balance between support and enabling. What does true parental love look like?Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com!Connect with Jordan on Twitter at @JordanHarbinger and Instagram at @jordanharbinger.Connect with Gabriel on Twitter at @GabeMizrahi and Instagram @gabrielmizrahi.And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/dealsSign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

18 Huhti 1h 18min

Why do mass shootings occur? Trigger Points author Mark Follman explains warning signs, behavioral assessment, and how to stop attacks before they happen.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1140What We Discuss with Mark Follman:Mass shootings are not random events, but involve a "pathway to violence" where perpetrators plan their attacks over time, showing warning signs that create opportunities for intervention.Mental illness is not the primary cause of mass shootings. While mental health issues may be present, perpetrators are typically making deliberate choices driven by factors like anger, isolation, and perceived grievances rather than psychosis.Many mass shooters seek notoriety and are influenced by previous attackers through emulation behavior — they want to transform from nobody to somebody through violence and media attention.Warning signs that appear before attacks often include threatening communications, research/planning behaviors, significant life stressors, and social isolation — but these must be evaluated collectively rather than as a checklist.Behavioral threat assessment teams offer an effective prevention approach by bringing together mental health professionals, law enforcement, and educators to identify at-risk individuals and provide constructive interventions like counseling, education support, and family involvement — showing that these tragedies can be prevented with the right collaborative approach.And much more...And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/dealsSign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

15 Huhti 1h 39min

Fad diets work — until they don't. On this Skeptical Sunday, Nick Pell reveals why a sustainable regimen always beats restriction for lasting weight loss!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/1139On This Week's Skeptical Sunday, We Discuss:Most fad diets work primarily through inadvertent caloric restriction, not some kind of metabolic magic. When you eliminate entire food groups (per keto's commandments) or shrink eating windows (as with intermittent fasting), you're essentially performing a disappearing act on hundreds of daily calories. The weight loss isn't mysterious — it's mathematical.These diets often resemble nutritional extreme sports — thrilling at first, but impossible to maintain over the long term. Like trying to hold your breath underwater, eventually you come up gasping for carbs.The Standard American Diet (ironically abbreviated S.A.D.) sets such a dismally low nutritional baseline that almost any structured eating plan looks miraculous by comparison. When researchers celebrate a diet's success, they're often comparing it to a nutritional landscape where frozen pizza qualifies as a vegetable serving.Many of these diets carry surprising biological price tags — keto's potential kidney damage, carnivore's digestive rebellion (pooping "once every three days" is less a feature than a warning sign), and nutritional blind spots that could leave your body wondering what happened to all those essential micronutrients it once enjoyed.The most effective diet isn't the most restrictive or trendy, but simply the one you'll actually maintain. Like finding your soulmate, the best nutritional approach matches your lifestyle and preferences while gently steering you toward better choices. The best diet is the one that you'll stick with. Consider finding your personal sweet spot between nutrition science and real-life application by making modest, consistent improvements rather than dramatic overnight overhauls. Your future self will thank you for the balanced approach.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/dealsSign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

13 Huhti 1h

Your wife was caught kissing her "friend," denied it, then gaslighted you when confronted. Now she swears they're platonic? 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/1138On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss:LDL from 119 to 78? Jordan's not saying it's the chia seed pudding, but...it's the chia seed pudding!You've discovered your wife is having an affair with her close female friend. Despite confronting her with evidence, she's gaslighted you and turned things around. Now she claims they're "just friends" while helping her through divorce. Should you trust someone who's repeatedly deceived you, or is it time to rebuild your life?You've repeatedly offered to help plan your sister-in-law's baby shower, only to hear her complain to friends that no one's helping her. This isn't the first time she's created false narratives — she previously scheduled her destination wedding during yours and bullied your sister. Do you confront this pattern of toxic behavior or let it slide?You're a Polish immigrant and Marine Corps veteran with friends who vocally disparage immigrants as "freeloaders" while they themselves live in subsidized housing, receive government benefits, and refuse to work to maintain eligibility. With detailed documentation of their fraud and your imminent move to Europe, should you report them or walk away?Your cousin and his wife are active drug users caring for their four-year-old son in a chaotic home with an ex-convict roommate. Your aunt enables them financially while trying to protect the child, but you're torn between calling CPS or offering to take in your little cousin yourself, despite living three states away. How far should family responsibility extend?Recommendation of the Week: Bose noise-canceling headphones.[An update from the ever-memorable episode 926!] Your abusive ex-boyfriend lost his foot after being attacked with a rubber mallet by his new girlfriend. Despite his life-altering injuries and chronic pain, he hasn't changed his womanizing ways. Meanwhile, you've continued your healing journey, advanced your career, and just bought your first house. Can some people ever truly change after hitting rock bottom?Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com!Connect with Jordan on Twitter at @JordanHarbinger and Instagram at @jordanharbinger.Connect with Gabriel on Twitter at @GabeMizrahi and Instagram @gabrielmizrahi.And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/dealsSign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

11 Huhti 1h 18min

By popular demand, former ATF agent Jay Dobyns returns to take us deeper into the logistics of infiltrating the Hells Angels and living to tell the tale! [Pt. 3 of 3 — find 1 here and 2 here!]Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1137What We Discuss with Jay Dobyns:ATF agent Jay Dobyns first infiltrated the Solo Angels gang in Tijuana simply to gain credibility with the Hells Angels in Arizona — an infiltration within an infiltration to establish presence in a culture notorious for extreme scrutiny.The psychological toll of living a double life while undercover was severe. Taking handfuls of Hydroxycut to keep pace, Jay would cry himself to sleep from exhaustion and once signed a check with his undercover name, showing how blurred the lines became.At the Mesa clubhouse, when his hand moved toward his concealed weapon, a Hells Angel asked, "Jaybird, let me ask you something. Can you outdraw my trigger squeeze?" — one of many moments where Jay's survival hung by a thread, with only his wits as a safety net.Despite evidence gathered over two years, prosecutors reduced charges and sought plea deals with criminals in the Hells Angels organization rather than pursuing full prosecution — a profoundly frustrating outcome for Jay after years of risking his life to put these predators behind bars for good.Despite having his home burned down and contract killers sent after him, Jay made a life-changing decision: "I live with concern. I choose not to live in fear because if I live in fear, they own me." This powerful mindset shows that even after facing extreme adversity, we all have the ability to reclaim our power by refusing to let fear dictate our choices.And much more...And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/dealsSign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

8 Huhti 1h 22min

You yearn for motherhood, but your husband's always made it apparent that he doesn't want to be a parent. Can your marriage survive? It's Feedback Friday!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1136And 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!On This Week's Feedback Friday:You've built a decade of adventure with someone who made his childless intentions clear from day one, hoping he'd change his mind over time. At 32, your heart yearns for the pitter-patter of little feet, but your husband remains firm in preserving the kid-free status quo. Can (and should) your marriage survive the resentment one of you will feel depending on whatever happens next?Your sister's mother-in-law inherited $500,000 in debt after her husband died, just weeks after losing her brother. Now she's leaning heavily on your brother-in-law to handle this mess and might flee the country. How entangled should you get in this financial and emotional hurricane?You're a millennial dad who grew up with uncensored internet access and saw things you shouldn't have as a kid. Now you have a six-year-old daughter of your own, and you're determined to protect her in an increasingly complicated digital landscape. What tools and strategies can keep her safe without fearmongering?You're a professional bird catcher driving 50,000 miles yearly with half the standard mileage reimbursement, no holiday pay, no overtime, and you don't get paid if another bird enters a store within 48 hours after you've removed one. Your employer actively prevents employees from communicating. What recourse do you have?Recommendation of the Week: The Ikigai vitamin caseYou've started dating a kind, funny guy who makes you feel comfortable in your own skin — but he doesn't brush his teeth regularly, needs to be "pushed in the right direction," and seems more concerned about you liking him than getting to know you. Is this mothering dynamic worth working through?Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com!Connect with Jordan on Twitter at @JordanHarbinger and Instagram at @jordanharbinger.Connect with Gabriel on Twitter at @GabeMizrahi and Instagram @gabrielmizrahi.And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/dealsSign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

4 Huhti 1h 22min