1242: Christopher Whitcomb | A Life Among Spies Part One

You've been considering deleting your Facebook account for quite some time, but a close relative seemed shocked you would consider such a thing -- as if deleting Facebook would somehow delete you from the face of the earth. How can you delete Facebook without becoming persona non grata in your circle of family and friends, and since when did social media become mandatory for your very existence in their eyes? And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Jason DeFillippo (@jpdef) 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: https://jordanharbinger.com/224. On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: Got a question about relationships, sex, or dating for therapist Emily Morse? Drop us a line and we'll pass it along for a future episode! You have a severe fear of public speaking and hate yourself for performing poorly when you've given it a try. How can you overcome this? You'd like to keep two ex-flames in your network, but they can't seem to stay in contact without trying to rekindle a relationship you don't want. Should these connections be salvaged? What do you do when you feel like you must choose between a life you want to live or the less desirable life that could help your parents financially? Do you ever have to choose between taking some magical leap or playing it safe when it comes to entrepreneurship? How do you ensure the people you befriend on LinkedIn are quality connections rather than opportunistic junk mailers? Are you obligated to endure the presence of an aggressively transactional networker in your community? How can you delete your Facebook account without falling off the face of the planet? Life Pro Tip: Close to missing your flight? Go to a help center, request wheelchair assistance, have them push you through the airport in record time, and tip big! Recommendation of the Week: Running from COPS -- Headlong Season 3 Quick shoutouts to Bri and T! 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 Jason on Twitter at @jpdef and Instagram at @JPD, and check out his other show: Grumpy... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

12 Jul 201954min

Bryan Johnson (@bryan_johnson) is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and founder and CEO of Kernel, a company developing advanced neural interfaces, and OS Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage science and technology companies. What We Discuss with Bryan Johnson: Why humanity needs to co-evolve with artificial intelligence if we are to survive as a species. What future literacy is and why it's crucial for understanding the role humanity will play in the decades to come. The steps being taken to comprehend what makes biological systems fail in order to improve their capabilities. How privacy inequality could create more of a disparity between people than economic disparity ever could. Why Bryan advises us to be skeptical of advice -- and how we can discern between what's applicable to our own situation and what's completely useless. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://jordanharbinger.com/223 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Live your best life online with Dashlane -- the safe, simple way to store and fill passwords and personal information. Find out how Dashlane keeps you secure where others fail and get 10 percent off for being one of the first 200 to try it at dashlane.com/jordan! 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 Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

11 Jul 20191h 13min

Matt McCarthy (@drmattmccarthy) is an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell, a staff physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and the author of Superbugs: The Race to Stop an Epidemic. What We Discuss with Matt McCarthy: How antibiotics are abused on a large scale by industrial agriculture, prescription-happy doctors, and mysophobic hand washers. Why antibiotic abuse is resulting in the fast-track evolution of once easily vanquished bacteria into superbugs from which we have no known protection. How herd immunity works, and why you may be at risk for contracting a once-eradicated disease thanks to anti-vaccination propaganda. Why the FDA approval process takes so long for new drugs to safely come to market, and how this hinders innovation in a profit-driven pharmaceutical market. How genetic editing through new CRISPR technology may be our best hope for quickly reacting to rapidly adapting superbugs. And much more… Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://jordanharbinger.com/222 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course! Disgraceland is a true crime podcast about musicians getting away with murder. If you love true crime and you love music, get ready to love Disgraceland here! 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 Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9 Jul 20191h 7min

You and your significant other of six months planned on using your parents' vacation home for a romantic weekend getaway together, but now your parents have decided to join you. The problem: your parents and significant other haven't met yet. You're confident they'll get along great, but you want to make sure you set up the occasion for the best chance of success. Here's our take on how your significant other can meet the parents without a meltdown. And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Jason DeFillippo (@jpdef) 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: https://jordanharbinger.com/221. On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: What's the right way to introduce your significant other to the parents when you'll unexpectedly be vacationing together soon? After basically being raised by wolves, how can you build a healthy cleaning schedule or routine? Is it just about learning how to establish new habits? Your best friend's ex-girl didn't used to be yours, but you'd like it if she could be. What are the pros and cons of exploring the possibility? You have no interest in having kids, so when is the right time to bring it up in the dating cycle so you're not wasting anyone's time or being presumptuous? How might Jordan calculate the way he asks a guest questions during an interview to prompt answers that haven't been given on a dozen other podcasts? Matt Gallant from BiOptimizers gives us some straight talk about the way different probiotics affect (or in most cases, don't affect) gut health. While your grandmother has an undiagnosed mental disability and caring for her is taking its toll on your mother, she doesn't qualify for the local nursing home. What are your options? Life Pro Tip: When arguing, try restating the main points of the other person's argument back to them and have them do the same with you. Recommendation of the Week: They Come for Us at Night: Inside China's Hidden War on Uighurs by Isobel Yeung, Vice A quick shoutout to Mario Scian from Denmark! 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 Jason on Twitter at @jpdef and Instagram at See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

5 Jul 20191h

Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) joins us for this deep dive into what it takes to cultivate the mindset of abundance that seemingly makes generosity possible, and how to overcome the evolutionary blips in our programming that make it so counterintuitive. "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." -Paul McCartney What We Discuss with Gabriel Mizrahi: Why the mindset of scarcity is your survival mode default that urges you to see the world as a zero sum game and hoard your resources accordingly. What you can do to reconcile this scarcity mindset with one of abundance that seemingly permits you to give generously without remorse. How you can begin practicing the behavior of generosity even before you've fully sold yourself on the belief of abundance. The many ways that tiny repetitions of generosity act to strengthen the muscles of abundance with giant gains. A smattering of good advice for cultivating abundance, and (we hope) an abundance of even better advice for making generosity second nature. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://jordanharbinger.com/220 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 Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

4 Jul 201951min

Adam Savage (@donttrythis) is a special effects designer, educator, actor, former cohost of MythBusters, current host of Savage Builds (both on Discovery Channel), and author of Every Tool's a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It. What We Discuss with Adam Savage: What you have to gain by paying heed to your obsessions. The sublime benefits of real expertise. How deadlines spur action past the bottleneck of intended perfection. The universality of imposter syndrome. How an expanded vocabulary leads to unexplored solutions. And much more… Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://jordanharbinger.com/219 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course! Build Your Network with Travis Chappell is a podcast for aspiring professionals who want to grow their inner circle and sharpen their relationships. Listen here! 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 Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2 Jul 20191h 1min

When a longstanding policy — whether official or not — was a serious tipping point in the decision to accept your current job, are you right to feel like you've gotten the old bait-and-switch treatment when it's axed nine months after you started? If so, how do you engage leadership to renegotiate terms? We'll tackle this and more on this Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Jason DeFillippo (@jpdef) 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: https://jordanharbinger.com/218. On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: If your not-so-close family members are unapologetically crummy to you and your fiance, is it time to cut them out of your life? When you don't click with people your own age, what are the pros and cons of dating someone 17 years older than you? Nine months ago, you chose your job over other offers because it had flexible perks that are now being axed. How do you engage leadership to renegotiate terms? While networking in your field, you meet the same people at different events. The problem: you remember them, but they don't remember you. How can you stand out? You want to leave factory life behind and relocate closer to your kids, but you're 40 and don't have the skills for a different job. What's your best next step? Even though you're curious about your own genetics, are you right to be wary of the potential privacy concerns that arise from taking a home DNA test? You're speaking at a conference on behalf of your company where many industry leaders will be attending. How can you best network during your time offstage? You've lost respect for a friend who would rather waste their money than repay an old debt. Is this resolvable, or is it time for the friendship to move on? Life Pro Tip: Don't just thank someone when they do something for you. Tell them what it means to you. Example: Rather than saying “Thanks for the ride,” say “Thanks for the ride! You saved me a bunch of time. You saved me a bunch of phone calls. You saved me a bunch of effort. I really appreciate it!” A quick shoutout to Tomas Conefrey for his kind donation! 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 Jason on Twitter at @jpdef and Instagram at @JPD, and check out his other show: Grumpy Old Geeks. Sign...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

28 Jun 201943min

Matt Schrier is an American photographer who survived seven months as an Al-Qaeda captive in Syria before escaping, and the author of The Dawn Prayer: A Memoir. What We Discuss with Matt Schrier: How Matt Schrier was captured by Al-Qaeda just 45 minutes away from the border on his way out of Syria in 2012. How making his captors laugh on day one of his captivity got him special treatment from a usually unforgiving crowd. What Matt did to survive and plan an escape in spite of an unhelpful, self-sabotaging cellmate. Why Matthew feels betrayed by the FBI and the US government for putting intelligence gathering over the safety of Americans imprisoned by terrorists. Why, even after becoming the first American to escape from Al-Qaeda and his feelings of betrayal from his own government, he has no regrets about going to Syria in the first place. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://jordanharbinger.com/217 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Why do people keep resisting new things? That's the question the Pessimists Archive podcast tries to answer. Each episode travels back in time to the moment a new technology or innovation was introduced and explores why everyone was freaking out about it. Give Pessimists Archive a listen here! 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 Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

27 Jun 20191h 43min