Masters of Influence

The profile that determines your insurance rate, your job prospects, and even whether you committed a crime, was built from behavior it fundamentally cannot interpret? And what if “I have nothing to hide” is the exact wrong response to that problem? --- This week we’re talking about context collapse — the structural reason every algorithmic system in your life misreads you, and why it can’t be fix...

In every case, you can’t argue back. There’s no mechanism for reading your intent. No mechanism for hearing your side. The context has already been collapsed. The pattern has already been matched. The identity has already been assigned. It all started with Amazon labeling my mother a Nazi, and now algorithms are starting to rule our lives. We are creating algorithms that run our lives, determining...

You've armed yourself with data, studies, and airtight logic — and it still didn't work. That's not a coincidence. Facts don't just fail to persuade; they often make people more resistant. This episode explains the psychological mechanism behind that phenomenon and what to do instead. In this episode, you'll learn… Why presenting more evidence frequently strengthens opposition — a documented pheno...

Why do climate scientists lose debates to coal lobbyists? Why do epidemiologists lose to anti-vaxxers? Why does your uncle dismantle your PhD cousin every Thanksgiving? Because they’re playing different games. One side is trying to be right. The other side is trying to win. And winning is easier. This week we break down why being smart is actually a disadvantage in public debate. Turns out when yo...

Okay, now that we, over here at Masters of Influence, have recovered somewhat from the shootings, we can dedicate some brain matter to critical thinking. To get there, imagine this scenario: a teacher says to a 6-year-old and to a thirteen year old that when a feather hits a glass, the glass breaks. Then the teacher asks each, What happens when a feather hits a glass. A 6-year-old says, “That’s st...

My ambition is to empower people to become more critical thinkers and recognize the importance of power, how it’s being used, where it’s being used and how to both defend against it as well as claim some for themselves. Ourselves really, especially in this time of feeling powerless, how do we claim some power. It is not to only talk about politics. I’m interested in how we apply these rules to pol...

We’re watching something disturbing unfold in Minneapolis, and it’s not what you think. The threat isn’t the guns. A woman is dead, killed at point-blank range by the cowards at ICE, and that’s not the worst of it. As bad as murder is, it’s a distraction. What everyone gets wrong is that they engage with the content, debate it, and get sucked into a world where they define the terms and create the...

We invited Dr. Keeper Sharkey and Reesë Tuttle onto Masters of Influence expecting a conversation about digital apocalypse. What we got instead was a meditation on consciousness, creativity, and what makes us human. The Setup I’d been marinating in the breathless quantum computing headlines touting quantum supremacy, the end of encryption, and the unmatched capacity of these machines. The narrativ...

Here’s the thing: you can believe you can fly unaided. You can convince yourself that it’s true. Your friends can tell you that it’s true. But when you go to the top of a building and jump off, you will fall. So what does it mean when those in charge make decisions based on made-up information? We may all soon find out what it’s like to hit the pavement… What We Cover * The eight levers of power—a...

For decades, one of America’s quiet superpowers was the boring reliability of government execution. The snowplow didn’t care if you voted Republican or Democrat—it cleared your street either way. The VA processed claims. The IRS answered calls. The EPA enforced regulations consistently, regardless of who appointed the administrator. That neutrality? It’s a feature, not a bug. Political leadership...

On Monday (October 20, 2025), the NY Times Editorial Board posted a long, drawn-out analysis desperately claiming that there is a moderate “middle.” They are looking for something that doesn’t exist. That is not to say that there aren’t moderates — there are. In fact, when polled without political bias, Americans tend to agree on what we want. The problem is the attempt to shoehorn a middle betwee...

There are two things I remember from negotiation 101. The first thing is to focus on needs, not positions. This means that rather than stick unwaveringly to your list of demands, you consider the other side’s needs. Understanding their needs allows you to develop new solutions you hadn’t considered. We even learned to tap our pencils on the table to remind our co-negotiators to remember needs when...

From the FBI's Most Wanted to Privacy Advocate: They Own You When a former hacker who spent years on the FBI's Most Wanted list teams up with his daughter who started college at 13, the conversation about digital privacy gets real fast. Jesse "Hackah Jak" Tuttle and his daughter Reesë join us for a raw discussion about surveillance capitalism, the death of childhood freedom, and why we're sleepwal...

October 14th, 1962. A U-2 spy plane snaps photos that change everything: Soviet missiles in Cuba, capable of reaching most of the United States within five minutes. For the next 13 days, every decision could end human civilization or save it. Here's what should terrify you: if Kennedy had used the same decision-making process that led to the Bay of Pigs disaster, you wouldn't be reading this. We'd...

What happens when loyalty becomes more important than truth? When agreeing with the boss matters more than being right? In this episode, we dive deep into one of the most dangerous forces in leadership and decision-making: the crushing pressure for conformity that silences dissent and leads to catastrophic decisions. While the FBI now uses polygraph tests to root out employees who might dare to cr...

The AI Surveillance State Is Here (Carole Cadwalladr's Substack is here: https://broligarchy.substack.com/ ) Bottom Line: Peter Thiel's company Palantir is building a massive government surveillance system using your tax dollars—and it's already operational. The Numbers $billions in in active government contracts $257 million ICE contract to track people using "hundreds of data categories" from FB...

Hey there! Just wrapped up our latest episode with Joe and it's got me looking at my phone differently. We dove deep into something that's been bugging me for months – how did we go from being reasonably good at spotting BS to... well, whatever this is? Turns out, we've been falling for fake news since literally the beginning of written language. I'm talking about a 1523 pamphlet showing a creatur...

I apologize in advance for disturbing your sleep. Honestly, I want to bring some levity to the situation, but holy cow that was hard last week (when we recorded) and that was BEFORE we started talking about war with Iran. But this isn’t a news podcast. We’re interested in the plodding forces of power, and last week, while we were all watching troops march into California and debating the latest po...

This week, we dive deep into the dangerous world of false economies - policies that appear to save money but actually cost us more in the long run. If you’re wondering what I mean, think of every Republican savings program. From healthcare cuts that increase emergency room visits to bond auctions that signal America's declining credibility, we explore how short-sighted thinking creates long-term d...

This week felt like an inflection point in American politics, with significant changes happening across multiple fronts. From Musk's departure to court rulings pushing back against overreach, we explore the shifting dynamics of power and policy. Headlines This Week: * Musk exits government after 130 days (Jeff predicted 6 weeks, Joe predicted 200+ days) * Senate blocks the "Bamboozle Bill" over co...

Join us in pondering the fluidity of opinions on little things like why the same terrible people who donate to a Clinton foundation have undue influence, while it’s okay for Trump to take 8x that amount. Is it better that politicians receive payments directly rather than to their campaign funds? One thing is clear: understanding the rules you work by is optional these days, at least if you follow...

Hey there, Incentives are a powerful force. That’s why we spend so much time trapped in the prisoner’s dilemma and make terrible decisions for ourselves and society as a whole. The solution in crime? A Mob Boss. It turns out that the same may be true in politics. The Mob Boss Solution What's the solution to this dilemma? Organized crime figured this out long ago. The mob boss creates an external t...

Hello Friends, Democrats attack each other while the rest of us stand back and look at our political systems and wonder how the hell we got here and how we can break out of it. I do anyway, and if you read past this sentence, I imagine you do too.. This is certainly a good news/bad news sort of situation, since the reason why is pretty clear. John Nash figured it out in a bar in the 1940's. Instea...

(psst, if you’re here, you might want to join us on the 13th here . ) Hey there, Well, this is interesting. Earlier this year, the conservatives were surging in Canada. Trudeau’s moment had passed, the cost of living and other social issues were weighing on the public conscience, and, well, after a decade, the population itched for new. The conservatives were polling, by some estimates, 20 points...

In this thought-provoking episode, hosts Jeff and Joe continue their exploration of Robert Greene's "48 Laws of Power," focusing on two critical laws of adaptability and survival: Law 36: Disdain Things You Cannot Have The hosts examine how showing contempt for what you can't obtain can become a powerful strategic move Historical example of Pancho Villa: How American pursuit elevated his folk hero...