1102: College vs. Trades | Skeptical Sunday

You recently discovered that the person you've always thought was your uncle is actually your biological father, and suddenly it makes sense why you never really bonded with the man who raised you as his own. Now that he's on his deathbed, is it worth clearing the air and letting him know that you know the truth? 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/720 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: You just found out the man who abusively raised you isn't your biological father — the person you've always thought was your uncle is. Now that he's on his deathbed, should you tell him that you know the truth? Circumstances have made it necessary for your mother to move in with you until she can get back on her feet after being laid off, but you're in your 30s and it's really cramping your ability to date. How can you find a balance that benefits you both? After hitting rock bottom, you've visualized various ways to harm yourself. And even though you've never acted on them, should you take these intrusive thoughts as some kind of warning sign of problems you're not equipped to handle on your own? Or does everyone have these kinds of thoughts? How do you break the news to your old mentor that they've created a toxic work environment and earned a bad reputation for treating employees poorly when they try to leave? It turns out someone you've formed a serious relationship with once matched with your sister on a dating app, but they got into an argument before they could ever meet in person. Now she insists that you break up with him, and is making your life difficult for refusing. What's the right move here? 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. Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss our interview with Find Your Why, Start with Why, and The...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2 Sep 202251min

Reid Hoffman (@reidhoffman) is a co-founder of LinkedIn, investor at Greylock Partners, host of the podcast Masters of Scale, and co-author of the fully revised and updated bestseller The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career. What We Discuss with Reid Hoffman: Why you should think of your career as a startup — from the perspective of an entrepreneur rather than an employee. What it means to evoke a permanent beta mindset in which you treat every day like day one and commit your life to personal growth. Why it’s important to continually generate professional opportunities even if you're happy where you are. Why you should ignore hacky influencers who tell you to "begin with the end in mind" when it comes to your career (and what you're better off doing instead). The soft and hard assets you should be tracking to make yourself, as friend of the show Cal Newport has famously said, "so good they can't ignore you." And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/719 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! If you missed our earlier two-part interview with Reid Hoffman, don’t panic! You can catch up by starting at episode 207: Reid Hoffman | Mastering Your Scale for the Unexpected Part One! 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.

1 Sep 20221h 19min

Barbara F. Walter (@bfwalter) is the Rohr Professor of International Affairs at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego, and the author of the NYT bestseller How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them. What We Discuss with Barbara F. Walter: What does Barbara's research into causes and warning signs of civil wars around the world portend for the chances of such a conflict in the United States? What is an anocracy, and have you ever lived under one? Why societies transitioning toward or away from democracy are especially vulnerable to the threat of civil war. What makes some countries survive political instability without the violence of civil war while others rapidly succumb to it? Who is most actively pushing for civil war in the United States, and what are their grievances? And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/718 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss our conversation about national security, strategic empathy, and the societal benefits of immigration with former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster? Catch up with episode 410: H.R. McMaster | The Fight to Defend the Free World 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.

30 Aug 20221h 6min

While you're in the most fulfilling relationship of your life, how do you let your fairly conservative family know it's not quite what they'd consider traditional? 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/717 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: How do you let your straight-laced family in on the fact that you're in a fulfilling, polyamorous relationship with two other people you love dearly? You're a teenager whose parents never allowed you to go to public school, but they never homeschooled you, either. How can you be expected to make it in the outside world and improve yourself without an education? You recently lost your battle with a gambling addiction and blew far more money than you had. Two questions: are there legitimate debt relief companies, and how can you build positive habits to make you more resistant to your unhealthier impulses? Inviting your girlfriend and her daughter to live with you has turned into a nightmare. If you break up with her, you have to face the guilt of throwing a depressed single mother with a suicidal daughter out of your house and deal with the emotional pain of losing someone you care about. But are you being fair to yourself if you remain in this relationship? Your evangelical ex left you because his faith has convinced him that your gay relationship is a sin, but now he wants you back — even though he still holds these beliefs. Is there any scenario where this could actually work? 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. Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss our first interview with See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

26 Aug 202252min

Jo Marchant (@JoMarchant) is an award-winning journalist, speaker, and author of The Human Cosmos, The Shadow King, and the New York Times bestseller Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body. [Note: This is a previously broadcast episode from the vault that we felt deserved a fresh pass through your earholes!] What We Discuss with Jo Marchant: How to understand the power of placebos. How your immune system can be trained. Why stress kills and how to beat it. The importance of social relationships and how to boost them. Does believing in God make you live longer? And so much more… Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/716 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Did you hear our conversation with Desmond Shum, the former CCP insider and former husband of disappeared Chinese billionaire “Whitney” Duan Weihong? Catch up with episode 684: Desmond Shum | Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in China 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.

25 Aug 202253min

Cindy Otis (@cindyotis_) is a former CIA military analyst specializing in disinformation threat analysis and counter-messaging, and is the author of True or False: A CIA Analyst’s Guide to Spotting Fake News. What We Discuss with Cindy Otis: What is fake news, and why does it spread six times faster than real news? How is fake news different from satire? How does misinformation differ from disinformation? The historical consequences of using fake news to influence a population. How to spot fake news and inoculate ourselves (and our children) against its intended impact. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/715 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss the conversation we had with Tristan Harris, a former Google design ethicist, the primary subject of the acclaimed Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, co-founder of The Center for Humane Technology, and co-host of the podcast Your Undivided Attention? Catch up with episode 533: Tristan Harris | Reclaiming Our Future with Humane Technology 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.

23 Aug 20221h 6min

Adopted and raised by a loving family, you were still curious enough to seek out your biological parents and learn their story when you reached adulthood. It turns out you were the result of a forbidden tryst between a traveling American woman and the married Australian man who briefly employed her on his farm. When you reached out, your biological mother was happy to make contact, but your biological father? Not so much. In fact, he's been "happily" married for 50 years and refuses to admit he had any part in your existence -- probably because he'd then have to confess everything to his family. Now you're conflicted. Should you just let it go, or should you fly to Australia and surprise him at his front door where he can't continue denying that you're real? We'll try to find an answer 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/714 On This Week's Feedback Friday, We Discuss: Sure, social media is just algorithmic-enabled immaturity that is almost guaranteed to dampen whatever good mood you had going into it. But what's the good news? Nobody's forcing you to participate. [Thanks for the reminder, Ryan Holiday!] Should you force your biological father — who refuses to admit he had any part in your creation — to confront you in person and confess everything to the family he's had for 50 years? Your significant other of five years refuses to acknowledge their social anxiety as a problem, but it's always used as an excuse to get out of doing things with you in public. They say they're happy to stay in -- but you're definitely not. What do you do? Is "manifesting" just a woo-woo mental model used by successful people as an excuse to deal with the guilt of success or a way to explain their sheer luck in a cold universe that doesn't care if they live or die? Your last two relationships ended badly and bitterly. But now that you're in your 30s and dating someone you consider to be potential marriage material, you realize you've always been a serial monogamist and never really experienced the life of a freewheeling bachelor. Is it foolish to consider losing somebody who might be "the one" just to explore what you might be missing out on? How does Jordan retain all the information he takes in while reading and researching the work of guests ahead of interviewing them? Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com! Connect... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

19 Aug 202250min

Marion Nestle (@marionnestle) is the Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, and the author of Food Politics, Soda Politics, and Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat. What We Discuss with Marion Nestle: How food companies pay for research studies that distort science in their favor — at the expense of even the most health-conscious consumers among us. Why it's important to remember that food companies are businesses geared toward making money for their stockholders -- not service agencies operating in the public's best interests. Food companies band together to lobby Congress for laws that allow biased, industry-funded "research" to influence consumer habits with deceptive marketing language. When Marion tracked 168 food company-funded studies, she discovered that 156 concluded with results favorable to the sponsors' interests, and only 12 ended up with unfavorable results. The many ways food marketers mislead consumers and how to protect yourself and your family from this never-ending barrage of deception. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/713 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Miss the show we did with Dennis Carroll, the former USAID director for pandemic influenza and emerging threats? Catch up with episode 320: Dennis Carroll | Planning an End to the Pandemic Era 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.

18 Aug 20221h 3min