598: Gently Sequestering a Questionable Counselor | Feedback Friday

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 with human nature instead of against it, making persuasion feel effortless rather than forced.Environmental cues shape our experiences more than we realize. Classical music makes wine taste more expensive, heavier cutlery makes food seem more premium, and tempo controls how fast we eat. Our senses are constantly being orchestrated without our awareness.Next time you're pitching yourself or your idea, resist the urge to list every qualification and benefit. Pick your strongest single message and let it breathe. Your audience's brain will reward clarity with credibility, turning restraint into your most persuasive tool.And much more...And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign 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!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: SimpliSafe Home Security: 50% off + 1st month free: simplisafe.com/jordanRag & Bone: 20% off: Rag-Bone.com, code JORDANProgressive Insurance: Free online quote: progressive.comHomes.com: Find your home: homes.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

20 Tammi 1h 22min

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 womb typically become left-handed. Your fetal position and which direction you turned your head may have sealed your southpaw fate.Left-handers possess a larger corpus callosum — the neural bridge connecting both brain hemispheres — enabling faster communication between the two sides. This biological quirk gives lefties advantages in multitasking, creative problem-solving, and activities requiring rapid information processing like video gameCultural conditioning has historically punished left-handedness, associating it with everything from uncleanliness to witchcraft. Schools once forced children to switch hands, and in some cultures today, using your left hand for eating remains taboo — a lingering echo of pre-toilet paper hygiene practices.Celebrate your brain's beautiful asymmetry — whether you're a lefty or righty. Try using your non-dominant hand for everyday tasks on August 13th (International Left-Handers Day) to appreciate how deeply ingrained handedness really is. It's a humbling reminder of how wonderfully weird human development can be.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 Jessica Wynn at Instagram and Threads, and subscribe to her newsletters: Between the Lines and Where the Shadows Linger!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign 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!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: Quiltmind: Email jordanaudience@quiltmind.com to get started or visit quiltmind.com for more infoMomentous: 20% off first order: livemomentous.com, code JORDAN20Homes.com: Find your home: homes.comProgressive Insurance: Free online quote: progressive.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

18 Tammi 51min

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 helping us with this one!]Your sister-in-law has burned through a $100k inheritance on vacations, alienated the entire family with vicious voicemails, and is now hunting down your daughter's friends to badmouth everyone who's cut her off. You've been nominated as the family's designated messenger of doom — but how do you deliver a "we're done forever" speech with compassion?You've weathered seven moves, two abortions, and a trailer lifestyle with your husband — but now that you're ready to settle down and start a family, he seems to have ghosted his own future. He told you he didn't believe in marriage, yet you married him anyway. Now you're daydreaming about other relationships — is this marriage salvageable, or are you just delaying the inevitable?Recommendation of the Week: Flighty Flight Tracker AppYou went on a passionate rant about airplane window shade etiquette, and the internet had opinions. From claustrophobic flyers to grandmas photographing clouds to rhinestone-cowboy-hat disco balls — listeners are pushing back hard. Is keeping your shade open a cardinal sin, or are you the unreasonable one?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! Sign 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!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: BetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordanDeleteMe: 20% off: joindeleteme.com/jordan, code JORDANHomeServe: Find the plan that's right for you: homeserve.comDripDrop: 20% off: DripDrop.com, code JORDANHomes.com: Find your home: homes.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

16 Tammi 1h 15min

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 moved kids between rooms during the raid, hiding evidence of what Jamie calls "animalization."The organization weaponizes family bonds through "disconnection" — if you leave or question the doctrine, you lose everyone you've ever known. Jamie's own mother, still in Scientology, has been turned against him as part of ongoing psychological operations.Despite being functionally illiterate at 19, Jamie escaped and rebuilt his life from scratch — earning admission to the London School of Economics and eventually authoring six books. His story proves that no amount of early deprivation can permanently define your trajectory.And much more...And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign 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!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: Northwest Registered Agent: Get more at northwestregisteredagent.com/jordanCape: 33% off for six months: cape.co/jordanharbinger, code Jordan33Boll & Branch: 15% off first set of sheets: bollandbranch.com, code JORDANBetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordanHomes.com: Find your home: homes.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

13 Tammi 1h 31min

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, hyperinflation, shortages, and mass migration followed.Venezuela matters strategically to the US because it sits near the Panama Canal and Gulf Coast refineries — making it a pressure point for energy markets, migration flows, and criminal networks. China and Russia have both moved in, treating the instability like an open house.Nicolás Maduro wasn't so much a supreme leader as a traffic cop managing competing mafias. The country's power structure fractured into factions — military, political, criminal — each with its own incentives, making any clean transition extremely difficult.Venezuela's story is a reminder that resource wealth without strong institutions becomes a trap — but it also shows that populations who've experienced democracy and prosperity tend to push back. That memory of better times can become the foundation for rebuilding.And much more!Connect with Jordan on Twitter, on Instagram, and on YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on an Out of the Loop episode, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!Connect with Ryan McBeth at his website, Twitter, Instagram, and on YouTube. If you’d like to stay on top of what’s happening in the world, subscribe to Ryan’s Substack!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign 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!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: Tonal: $200 off: tonal.com, code JORDANQuince: Free shipping & 365-day returns: quince.com/jordanSimpliSafe: 50% off + 1st month free: simplisafe.com/jordanProgressive: Free online quote: progressive.comHomes.com: Find your home: homes.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

11 Tammi 1h 18min

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 great remote job, supportive friends, even a boyfriend. But four months in, he shows more affection to your dogs than to you. Is he avoidant, not adept at communicating his feelings, or just not that into you?You're an Emmy-nominated video journalist managing severe endometriosis and recovering from e.coli. You documented your six-hour work restriction — but when your company's "Super Bowl" event arrived, your team bailed and the CEO criticized your performance. Do you have legal standing here? [Thanks to HR professional Joanna Tate for helping us with this one!]Recommendation of the Week: Custom StationeryA software engineer and hiring manager has a hot take for job seekers who've applied to 600 positions with no luck: Mashing "Quick Apply" on LinkedIn might actually be hurting you more than helping. What's the real strategy for landing a high-paying role in this market?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! Sign 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!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:BetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordanCape: 33% off for six months: cape.co/jordanharbinger, code Jordan3Homes.com: Find your home: homes.comAG1: Welcome kit: drinkag1.com/jordanSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9 Tammi 1h 11min

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 life — and the dopamine-hijacking effects mirror how hyper-palatable processed foods rewire taste preferences.A basic Centrum Silver multivitamin taken daily for two years delayed global brain aging by over two years and episodic memory decline by nearly five years in older adults, contradicting decades of "expensive urine" dismissals from the medical community.Your brain's best friend might be sitting in your gym bag. Creatine at 10 grams daily accumulates in brain tissue, eliminates afternoon energy crashes, and supercharges cognitive performance under stress — a cheap, evidence-backed hack anyone can start today.And much more...And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign 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!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: Noom: Go micro for macro results: noom.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

6 Tammi 1h 26min

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 spiraling after her husband's affair. The other woman is harassing her, possibly killed her dog, and Mary attempted suicide but refuses all help. You're still grieving your own dad. How do you support someone who won't let you in?Your boyfriend is the "best employee" at his job, yet his boss won't commit to a salary number after two months. Worse, he discovered he's been illegally denied sick pay since 2020 under New York law. Should he fight for what's owed and risk retaliation — or stay quiet and hope for the best?Recommendation of the Week: Bartender for MacYour father lost millions in 2008 and has spent 17 years chasing entrepreneurial pipe dreams while refusing therapy. He's 62, unemployed, and relying on you and your brother for hope he can't generate himself. Should you buy him a car for Uber — or is that just enabling the fantasy?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! Sign 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!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: Bombas: Go to bombas.com/jordan to get 20% off your first orderFitbod: 25% off: fitbod.me/jordanHomes.com: Find your home: homes.comAG1: Welcome kit: drinkag1.com/jordanSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2 Tammi 1h 19min