Psyche

What comes  after   toxic masculinity? In this solo episode, I take a deep dive into Ben Almassi’s book  Nontoxic: Masculinity, Allyship, and Feminist Philosophy —a work that has stayed with me both intellectually and personally. Rather than simply critiquing harmful forms of masculinity, Almassi asks a more difficult and necessary question: if masculinity can be toxic, what might a  non-toxic mas...

In this episode, I explore one of the most haunting and philosophically rich interviews ever recorded: a conversation between  Ernest Becker  and  Sam Keen , conducted in a hospital room in Vancouver just months before Becker’s death in 1974. Becker, best known for  The Denial of Death , understood this interview as a test of everything he had written about mortality, illusion, heroism, and the hu...

In this episode, I take a deep dive into  I Don’t Want to Talk About It  by  Terrence Real , a landmark work that changed how we understand depression in men. Male depression often doesn’t look like sadness. It shows up as anger, withdrawal, numbness, overwork, or a quiet collapse of intimacy. Drawing from Real’s insights and my own work as a psychotherapist, this episode explores how shame, emoti...

In this episode, I explore a concept that immediately stopped me in my tracks:  the otrovert . I first encountered this idea when my wife shared an article with me and said,  “This feels like you.”  The article introduced the term  otrovert —someone who isn’t quite an introvert or an extrovert, but a person who can enjoy people deeply while still feeling fundamentally outside of groups. That momen...

In this episode of the  Psyche Podcast , I bring together philosopher  Eugene Thacker’s   In the Dust of This Planet  and Junji Ito’s Uzumaki  to explore a deeper, colder form of horror—one that isn’t psychological, symbolic, or easily explained. Thacker writes about the  “world-without-us” : a reality that exists beyond human meaning, care, or control. In  Uzumaki , that idea takes shape as a spi...

In this solo episode, I introduce the work of psychoanalyst  Karen Horney , one of the most important—and often overlooked—figures in the history of psychoanalysis. Trained in Freudian theory yet deeply critical of its limits, Horney helped shift psychoanalysis away from instinct and biology and toward relationships, culture, and anxiety. I explore her life and intellectual world, including her in...

In this episode, I sit down once again with my friend Barry Taylor, and what begins as a check-in about life after loss unfolds into one of the most honest, surprising, and wide-ranging conversations we’ve had yet. Barry opens up about the recent passing of his mother—what anticipatory grief prepared him for, and what it couldn’t. We talk about dementia, family histories that leave their mark long...

In this episode, I explore how philosopher Eugene Thacker’s ideas about pessimism, horror, and “the world-without-us” unexpectedly illuminate the heart of existential therapy. Thacker argues that moments of dread, uncertainty, and limit-experience reveal the limits of human control and understanding—and these moments show up in the therapy room all the time. I talk about how existential therapy he...

In this episode, I sit down with my friend and returning guest, Luke Grote, to explore one of the most intense, provocative, and fascinating chapters I’ve ever read. Luke recently sent me a chapter from his upcoming book — a piece he describes as the best work he’s ever written — and after reading it, I have to agree. It’s part theology, part philosophy, part psychoanalysis, and part prophetic cri...

In this solo episode, I dive into Peter Wessel Zapffe’s haunting “existential elk” theory of consciousness — the idea that our self-awareness is both magnificent and unbearably heavy, like oversized antlers we were never built to carry. The topic resurfaced after my friend Aaron Inkrott recently shared the metaphor with me, and it immediately brought me back to when I first encountered it years ag...

In this solo episode, I explore the ancient alchemical phrase  solve et coagula —“dissolve and coagulate”—and how it offers a powerful metaphor for the work of psychotherapy. Drawing from my experiences as a psychotherapist, I look at why real transformation often requires a softening or breaking down of old stories, identities, and defenses before anything new can take shape. I discuss how therap...

In this episode of  Psyche Podcast , I sit down with philosopher and Lacanian theorist  Todd McGowan  for a deep exploration of  Frantz Fanon’s engagement with G.W.F. Hegel . Together, we unpack how  Black Skin, White Masks reimagines Hegel’s master–slave dialectic through the lens of colonialism, race, and psychic struggle. Todd explains how thinkers like  Alexandre Kojève  shaped the 20th-centur...

In this solo episode, I explore what Erich Fromm and Frantz Fanon can teach us about suffering, freedom, and what it means to be human. I’m not speaking as a scholar — I’m speaking as a  psychotherapist  who sits with real people in real pain every day. This is my humble, subjective take on how their ideas show up in the therapy room. I look at how both thinkers believed our struggles aren’t just...

In this episode, I talk with  Tyrique Mack-Georges , a PhD student in philosophy at Penn State, about the deep connections between  Frantz Fanon  and  Jean-Paul Sartre . We explore how both thinkers help us understand the systemic nature of racism, the power of language in maintaining or challenging colonial systems, and Fanon’s vision of a  new humanism . Tyrique shares how his Caribbean backgrou...

In this solo episode, I explore  Frantz Fanon’s ambivalence toward religion —how he wrestled with the sacred, the modern, and the so-called “primitive.” Drawing on Federico Settler’s thought-provoking essay, I reflect on Fanon’s complex relationship with Catholicism, Islam, and indigenous spirituality, and how those tensions shaped his vision of liberation and the “new man.” I’m also excited to sh...

In this episode of the  Psyche Podcast , I sit down with Dr. Peter Hudis for a rich and energizing conversation on the life, thought, and legacy of Frantz Fanon. As I mention at the start of our discussion, Peter’s book  Frantz Fanon: Philosopher of the Barricades  has been one of the most accessible and illuminating introductions to Fanon I’ve ever encountered. If you’ve wanted to understand Fano...

In this episode of  Psyche Podcast , I sit down with  Daniel José Gaztambide  to talk about his brilliant new book  Decolonizing Psychoanalytic Technique: Putting Freud on Fanon’s Couch . This was one of my favorite conversations to date — part intellectual exploration, part personal exchange, and entirely alive with the spirit of Fanon’s revolutionary thought. Daniel and I trace the roots of his...

In this solo episode, I dive into the electrifying intersection between Zeal & Ardor’s genre-bending music and Frantz Fanon’s revolutionary psychology of liberation . I trace the origins of Zeal & Ardor — from Manuel Gagneux’s provocative “what-if” experiment blending slave spirituals and black metal — to their evolution into a powerful exploration of history, rage, and rebirth. Through Fa...

In this episode of  Psyche Podcast , I sit down with Dr. Sinan Richards to explore his brilliant article  “The Logician of Madness: Fanon’s Lacan.”  Our conversation dives into the deep intellectual currents connecting Frantz Fanon and Jacques Lacan—two thinkers often treated as distant but who, as Sinan argues, share a surprisingly intimate lineage. We trace Fanon’s early psychiatric influences a...

In this episode, I talk with Jungian analyst and musician  Rodney Waters  about his remarkable thesis,  The Orphic Descent . Rodney explores how the myth of  Orpheus  reveals the deep psychological and spiritual power of  music —its ability to connect opposites, suspend suffering, and awaken what’s lifeless within us. We trace his journey from classical pianist to Jungian analyst and discuss how ...

In this solo episode, I take a deep dive into the life of  Frantz Fanon , tracing his journey from his early years in  Martinique  to his groundbreaking work as a psychiatrist and revolutionary thinker. I explore how Fanon’s experiences growing up under French colonial rule shaped his understanding of identity and freedom, his formative time studying medicine and psychiatry in  France , and his cl...

In this episode of  The Psyche Podcast , I sit down with psychoanalyst, scholar, and author  Derek Hook  to explore the intersections between  Frantz Fanon ,  Jacques Lacan , and the work of  decolonial psychoanalysis . Drawing from Derek’s new book,  Fanon, Psychoanalysis, and Critical Decolonial Psychology: The Mind of Apartheid , we discuss how Fanon both used and transformed psychoanalysis to...

In this episode of  Psyche Podcast , I sit down with Erik Butler—the translator of Byung-Chul Han’s  Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and the New Technologies of Power —to explore Han’s piercing critique of our digital age. Together, we trace the book’s philosophical roots in Foucault, Heidegger, Nietzsche, and Deleuze & Guattari, while unpacking Han’s distinction between biopolitics and psychopo...

In this episode of  Psyche Podcast , I sit down once again with Elisabeth Schilling to dive into Byung-Chul Han’s  The Crisis of Narration . Our conversation winds through the healing power of stories, the hero’s journey, and how narrative shapes our sense of meaning and belonging. We reflect on Han’s critique of our data-driven age and explore what’s lost when narrative gives way to information o...

In this episode, I dive into Carrie Jenkins’ book  Sad Love: Romance and the Search for Meaning . At first glance, the title might make you think it’s all about heartbreak—but what Jenkins actually offers is a fresh way of thinking about love:  eudaimonic love . I talk about Jenkins’ background as a philosopher at the University of British Columbia, her creative approach to love, and why she moves...