I'm betting that I'm not the only one trying to figure out how to engage in constructive dialogues in today's divided social landscape, so in this episode of Subject to Change, I explore several open questions: Is emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-regulation, etc.) really enough to prepare us for difficult conversations, or is there much more to it than that - particularly when it comes to challenging deeply-embedded social systems?...
In the words of Timothy Snyder: “Do not obey in advance.” On October 18th, millions of Americans will gather across the nation to say ‘No’ to authoritarianism. This episode opens with audio from my solo experience at the first No Kings Protest in Downtown Los Angeles back in June. I share excerpts and offer a felt-sense of the experience, of peaceful resistance and love in action. Then I take a critical look at 'followership' and at how...
In the words of Timothy Snyder: “Do not obey in advance.” On October 18th, millions of Americans will gather across the nation to say ‘No’ to authoritarianism. This episode opens with audio from my solo experience at the first No Kings Protest in Downtown Los Angeles back in June. I share excerpts and offer a felt-sense of the experience, of peaceful resistance and love in action. Then I take a critical look at 'followership' and at how...
This episode of Subject To Change was recorded 2 days ago. I was in all the feels at the start of this episode 🥴... sharing because I wanna normalize feeling wobbly right now. Then, I offer a reality check around the left-to-right pipeline. I share about recent TDP blowback, both publicly and behind-the-scenes, & its ironic overlap with mainstream satire-censorship. We revisit the topic of shame, specifically how apologist shame can lead...
This episode is dedicated to American psychiatrist and author Robert Jay Lifton, who recently passed after decades of research into the psychology of totalism. “Doctrine over person” is one of Lifton’s eight criteria of thought reform; it’s widely considered to be a defining characteristic of the cultic headspace. But how exactly does it function? Meet T Brown. In 1997, T entered a Sufi group as a free-thinking, openly gay man. But he...
This episode is dedicated to American psychiatrist and author Robert Jay Lifton, who recently passed after decades of research into the psychology of totalism. “Doctrine over person” is one of Lifton’s eight criteria of thought reform; it’s widely considered to be a defining characteristic of the cultic headspace. But how exactly does it function? Meet T Brown. In 1997, T entered a Sufi group as a free-thinking, openly gay man. But he...
I've divided this episode of Subject to Change into four chapters: Satire (5:28) Turns out, there's a TikTok account heckling the same launch that I've been speaking critically about here on the pod. Is it distasteful according to wellness-cult standards? For sure. Do I think that's part of its brilliance? Absolutely, and I'll tell you why. The Eagle & The Crow (21:54) There's a viral post circulating with a parable about an eagle & a...
Risk is relative, and fascism places everything in perspective. As such, this episode puts an end to ‘Org’ aliases (because, why not?) before reiterating the purpose that has been core since the 'cult'ure series inception. It was never about one specific brand or a few bad players. It's about every one of us owning up to our complicity and passive acceptance of cult-capitalistic norms. Did you know that the once-fringe Wellness Industry is...
Risk is relative, and fascism places everything in perspective. As such, this episode puts an end to ‘Org’ aliases (because, why not?) before reiterating the purpose that has been core since the 'cult'ure series inception. It was never about one specific brand or a few bad players. It's about every one of us owning up to our complicity and passive acceptance of cult-capitalistic norms. Did you know that the once-fringe Wellness Industry is...
In the opening to this episode of Subject To Change, I share details about work I did as a wellness grifter when I was fresh out of Nia (2007-2009) for another mind-body fitness empire. I didn't know it, but I was re-enacting colonizer logic and creating top-down leadership models because capitalism teaches wellness influencers that this is really the only way to get ahead. Did you know that the (once-fringe) Wellness Industry is worth more...
