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Andrew Cutler - Understanding Jordan Peterson
Andrew Cutler is a data scientist who blogs about psychometrics, evolution, and consciousness at “Vectors of Mind.” He and I teamed up to record an episode on the psychological and religious views of Jordan Peterson, a figure we consider to be the most influential psychologist of this century. We discuss influences on Peterson’s psychology, why his work has been so appealing to young men, the nature of his religious views, and how they changed as he became more famous. We end by discussing whether Peterson’s prescriptions are enough for a meaningful life, and whether he provides us with the ammo to overcome nihilism. Ultimately, Andrew and I see Peterson as an existentialist thinker who challenges his followers to overcome doubt and despair through right action.NOTE: I normally edit podcasts myself, but this time I tried using Riverside’s AI editing tools. As a result, there are fewer filler words, but some clicks, cuts, and bumps in the audio. Let me know what you think. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.Links:* Jordan Peterson Podcasts mentioned in the intro: * The Meaning Crisis: Resolution | Dr. John Vervaeke* Wisdom, Delusion, Consciousness & the Divine | Dr. Iain McGilchrist* The Immortality Key; Psychedelics and the Ancient Age | Brian Muraresku & Prof. Carl Ruck* Jordan Peterson, Maps of Meaning Lectures (2017)* Jordan Peterson, Personality Psychology Lectures (2017)* Jordan Peterson, 12 Rules for Life* Jordan Peterson, We Who Wrestle with God* Sam Harris + Peterson podcast on what is true* Jonathan Pageau + Peterson podcast on the perfect mode of being* Alex O’Conner + Peterson on how Peterson’s beliefs have changed This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.jonahdavids.com
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Ashley Frawley - Constructing a Crisis
Ashley Frawley is a sociologist at the University of Kent, a columnist at Compact Magazine, and the COO of Sublation Media. She joins me to talk about her new paper “Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs.” The paper explores how the narrative of a mental health crisis amongst UK university students was created and perpetuated, and what this teaches us about the expansion of mental health discourse and psychological categorization more generally.You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.Links:* Frawley et al., “Constructing a Crisis: Mental Health, Higher Education and Policy Entrepreneurs”* Frawley, et al., “Mental Health, Higher Education, and Regulatory Capitalism: Steering not Rowing.” * Ashley Frawley, Significant Emotions: Rhetoric and Social Problems in a Vulnerable Age* Ian Hacking, The Taming of Chance * Kenan Malik, The Meaning of Race* Cabanas & Illouz, Manufacturing Happy Citizens This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.jonahdavids.com
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Carolyn Gorman - School-Based Mental Health Gets an F
Carolyn Gorman is a Paulson Policy Analyst at the Manhattan Institute studying mental health policy. She joins me to discuss her new report “School-Based Mental-Health Initiatives: Challenges and Considerations for Policymakers,” which explores the history of mental health programs in schools and examines the limited evidence supporting their effectiveness. We talk about the different types of school-based mental health interventions and how they are used in classrooms today, whether pop psychology and therapy culture fill a vacuum in schools that religious/character/moral education would typically fill, and what schools can do to effectively improve student well-being. We conclude with some thoughts on whether there really is a youth mental health crisis, and the screen time/mental health debate.You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.Links: * Carolyn’s new report* Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ* Allen Frances, “No Treatment as the Prescription of Choice”* Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation* Carolyn’s review of the Anxious Generation This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.jonahdavids.com
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Jules Evans & Kristin Nash - Communicating Psychedelic Risk
Jules Evans is the Director of the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project and the lead author and editor of the Substack newsletter Ecstatic Integration. Kristin Nash is the executive director of the William G. Nash Foundation which focuses on harm reduction and psychedelic safety, and is involved with an important initiative to improve public communication on psychedelics as part of the new California psychedelic bill. The two join me on the podcast for an exploratory conversation on how to communicate the risks of psychedelic drugs. We talk about the variety and likelihood of adverse psychedelic experiences, the recent case of a pilot who tried to crash a plane while on mushrooms, whether it’s possible to truly consent to the psychospiritual changes brought on by some drugs, and the dangers of messaging psychedelics as a mental health treatment. We conclude by painting a picture of what we would want public health messaging around these drugs to be to reduce negative experiences and ensure those most at risk avoid them. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.Links:* Jules Evans, How to Communicate the Risk of Psychedelics* Jane Hu, 5 Questions for Kristin Nash* Canadian Psychedelic Survey* Jules Evans, Extended Difficulties Following the Use of Psychedelic Drugs* Huberman Lab, Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris: The Science of Psychedelics for Mental Health* Tate et al., Trends in Hallucinogen-associated Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations in California from 2016–2021* Andrew Cutler, Eve Theory of Consciousness 3.0 * Clinicaltrials.gov* Theo Von Describes the Difference Between DMT & Ayahuasca This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.jonahdavids.com
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1:33:12
William Fleming - Workplace Mental Health Isn't Working
William Fleming holds a PhD in sociology from The University of Cambridge, and is currently a post-doctoral research fellow at Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Center. He joins me on the podcast to talk about the lack of evidence for workplace mental health and wellbeing initiatives. William starts by giving a history of workplace wellbeing initiatives tracing back to the British Quakers who provided food, housing, and recreational facilities for their employees beginning in the 18th century. We then get into the popular “business case” for investing in employee wellbeing initiatives before turning to William’s research which finds that these have no effect. We conclude by discussing what changes to organizational practices can actually improve employee mental health, and tradeoffs between individual and collective wellbeing. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.Links:* William Fleming, Employee well-being outcomes from individual-level mental health interventions: Cross-sectional evidence from the United Kingdom.* Ellen Barry, Workplace Wellness Programs Have Little Benefit, Study Finds.* Jonah Davids, Corporate Mental Health Programs Don't Work.* Jesse Singal, The Quick Fix.* Kelly et al., Overload: How Good Jobs Went Bad and What We can Do about It.* David Graeber, B******t Jobs: A Theory.* Soffia et al., Alienation is not 'b******t': An empirical critique of Graeber's theory of BS jobs.* Simon Walo, ‘B******t’ After All? Why People Consider Their Jobs Socially Useless. * William’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Email This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.jonahdavids.com
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