It's Not Just In Your Head

Email us: itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . - Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead -- Harriet’s other shows: WBAI Interpersonal Update (Wednesdays): https://wbai.org/program.php?program=431 Capitalism Hits Home: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPJpiw1WYdTNYvke-gNRdml1Z2lwz0iEH -- ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message...

"A Nation of Shopkeepers explores the unstoppable rise of the petite-bourgeoisie, one of the most powerful, but underexplored, classes in modern society." Our discussion with Dan covers: Stalled social mobility and bullshit jobs, who the petite-bourgeoisie are (traditional & new), the threat of losing social status and Dan pushes back against the idea of the "99%". We also...

Ikoi and Harriet take a critical look at the false promise of 'Trauma Informed Care' and how the psyche field often fails to understand the material conditions and the context of peoples lives. - Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . -- Harriet’s other shows: WBAI Interpersonal...

Why is the public discourse around vaccination either 100% good or 100% evil?  Ikoi along with our two guests, both of whom have suffered significant vaccine injuries but remain pro-vaccination, share their stories, experiences and nuanced opinions. -- Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.co...

"We Hear Only Ourselves is a study of utopia and its contradictions. If a  future beyond capitalism cannot be imagined, what is the place of  utopia today? The answer, Cashmore argues, lies beyond either idle  speculation or merely hopeful optimism. We Hear Only Ourselves seeks a  concept of utopia which is strengthened, not undermined, by its  contradictions. From the dialectics of the Frank...

Is identity based politics a weapon that has been used to 'divide and conquer' the left? We are joined by the author of the rather spicy book 'Here Be Monsters'.  We discuss the suppression of class understanding, the consequences of organizing around identity, and the revealing use of identity based language by Goldman Sachs, the CIA and the US military: a few players can change b...

Famed author of 'McMindfulness' returns to the podcast to discuss his latest article 'How the Life Coaching Industry Sells Pseudo-Solutions to Our Deepest Problems': "The cultural pressures to become a self-made individual have intensified at the same time that sources of social support have decreased. Enter the life coach." We discuss the many issues surrounding life coa...

"It's time for the Left to consider the pessimist a helpful guide out of the somnolence of capitalist realism." We dissect ideas and misunderstandings around optimism & pessimism, and how pessimism is a fundamentally critical position, whilst optimism breeds hubris and complacency. We discuss the cruelty of optimism, how self destruction can often be an act of autonomy against an...

Ikoi and Liam talk with author of 'This Must Be the Place', Shain Shapiro. We discuss re-conceptualizing music through a systemic lens, how it effects quality of life, building codes, work opportunities, mental health and its near total absence in public policy. "This Must Be the Place introduces and examines music’s relationship to cities. Not the influence cities have on music, but...

"By returning to the original tale of Narcissus, and the flower from which he takes his name, this book offers an alternative reading of narcissism..." Is their such a thing as healthy Narcissism? We chat with the author of 'Narcissus in Bloom - An Alternative History of the Selfie' about how the finger waving moralism surrounding 'selfies' requires further thought: If Na...

“There is more than one way to flourish as humans in this world” Harriet talks with anthropologist Francesca Mezzenzana about her work and parental experiences with the Runa of the Ecuadorian Amazon and the challenge of bringing up children to survive in a ruthless neoliberal hellscape. We discuss the export of middle class parenting ideology and how idea around good childcare are rooted in assump...

"Confidence culture constantly directs the problem & solution onto the self" We explore how confidence culture has spread into every sector of society, from self-help to the workplace and beyond.  Shani Orgad and Rosalind Gill draw on Foucault’s notion of technologies of self to demonstrate how “confidence culture” demands of women near-constant introspection and vigilance in the ser...

“Nostalgia is an unavoidable reaction to the traumas of the modern world” We speak to Grafton Tanner the author of The Hours Have Lost Their Clock: The Politics of Nostalgia. We discuss nostalgia as a historical disease, how time is NOT linear, imagined pasts, fake memories and the constant renegotiation of history. We also talk about the role of nostalgia in sitcoms and entertainment, the weaponi...

Popular YouTuber Elliot Sang quizzes Harriet and Ikoi on various topics: a brief history of the podcast, authoritarian family structures and school, the compartmentalization of mental health, personality tests & the ever changing self,  McMindfulness, diagnosis vs. curiosity and Harriet shares a fascinating story about a past client. We also discuss the problem of using digital platforms and n...

"Fun is a response to regimented lives" In response to two recent articles/papers, ' How to start having more fun' and 'A Liberating-engagement Theory of Consumer Fun' Liam presents various questions to Harriet & Ikoi regarding the role of fun in culture & therapy,  We discuss the modern invention of 'fun', whether fun is a 'waste of time' and the...

“...people participate in online shaming because they get an emotional payoff – that is, because it feels good to do it.” We discuss a recent published paper "Doing good or feeling good? Justice concerns predict online shaming via deservingness and schadenfreude". We talking about the value of moral outrage, the pleasure of seeing people fall, stigmatizing shaming vs re-integrative shami...

“In this world each man pisses in the other mans eye” Harriet and Ikoi discuss the recently released report by the U.S. Surgeon General ' Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation (The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community)'. We discuss the empty platitudes of the state, how kindness can (unfortunately) make you a sucker, how isolation is...

We chat about the excellent book 'Everyday Utopia' with author Kristen R. Ghodsee. We discuss why people are resistant to hearing about alternative ways of life, the role regret & shame plays in 'status quo bias' and why the traditional family structure no longer works (if it ever did!). Kristen illustrates how ‘Blue Sky Thinking’ is encouraged in corporate culture but not for...

"Land is expensive for housing and free for parking, and you wonder why we have a problem" We discuss a surprising and an often overlooked issue around sprawling urban design: the high cost of 'free' parking.  Tony highlights various important aspects to parking reform: how lower income households are subsidizing wealthier households, America's unexamined 'socialist'...

"They see something good and they want to destroy it" Joshua returns to share an in-depth story of his experiences being a minor in an adult prison. We discuss why prisoners often don't reach out for mental health support, how Joshua navigated an extremely hostile environment and the difficulty of trust & friendships. Joshua outlines 'prison politics' and the challenge of...

Ikoi offers a more nuanced perspective surrounding the OceanGate tragedy. References: Heuristic for protection against disasters: https://towardsdatascience.com/the-skin-in-the-game-heuristic-for-protection-against-disasters-eaa7bda8b026 The parable of the turkey: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hillennevins/2021/11/24/the-parable-of-the-turkey/ -- Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/itsno...

"Because things are so systemically bad, you actually have to demand more of yourself… everything is systemic but you still gotta be better” We continue the conversation with educator C. Derek Varn, discussing mental health issues among young students. We explore how the right-wing offers an appealing form of empowerment & agency around the idea/myth of meritocracy. We discuss survivorshi...

Public school teacher and host of the CDerickVarnVlog returns to discuss the Mental Health crisis amongst young students. We explore issues surrounding social media, the breakdown of community and subsequent rising rates of suicidal ideation in minority groups. We also explore falling literacy rates, choosing “not to compete” & the bitterness of non-competition, and how treating people like th...

"Assuming you live to be eighty, you have just over four thousand weeks..." We chat with author and journalist Oliver Burkeman about his latest book 'Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals'. We discuss the idea of time as a resource, the trap of efficiency, the fear of death and our willingness to be distracted. We also touch on JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out), the path throu...

We chat with building contractor and author Dan Kolbert about the need for - not only housing - but quality housing and the importance of Building Science. We discuss how cost and quality often don't go hand-in-hand, the problems with housing as a source of wealth, the mental health benefits (or not) of building a house, McMansions and the difference between a House vs a Home. We touch on the...