Shaping Opinion

Author, writer and advocate Brooke Siem joins Tim to talk about her own experience with doctors prescribing anti-depressants to long-term negative effects. Brooke is an advocate for the practice of safe de-prescribing for psychiatric drugs. In 2022, she published a memoir on her own struggles with antidepressant withdrawal. The title of that book is called, “May Cause Side Effects.” Brooke is also...

Author and crisis manager Evan Nierman joins Tim O’Brien to talk about cancel culture and its attacks on comedians and comedy in general. Will it kill comedy as we know it? And how can you defend yourself if the “cancel vultures” attack? Evan is the author of "The Cancel Culture Curse: From Rage to Redemption in a World Gone Mad." #cancelculture #comedy #entertainment #crisiscommunications #crisis...

Attorney Mark Chutkow joins Tim O’Brien to talk about a rare case where the parents of a mass shooter are prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to prison. Is this a one-off or a sign of things to come? That’s just one of the questions we discuss. #massshooter #schoolshooter #thelaw #crime This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episod...

Marian Tupy joins Tim to burst the myth that the world is overpopulated. Through his work, he has demonstrated that as the world’s population has grown, humankind has actually become more abundant. Marian is the founder and editor of HumanProgress.org , and a senior fellow at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity at the Cato Institute. He is the coauthor of: The Simon Abundance Index, Ten G...

Author and university professor Sanjai Bhagat joins Tim to talk about his research findings on ESG investing and what he calls “an inconvenient truth” about it. According to Sanjai, ESG investing is simply not living up to the hype, and he knows why. If your retirement funds are invested in ESG funds, or if your financial advisor wants you to invest in ESG funds, you need to listen to Sanjai. http...

Catholic artist Eric Armusik joins Tim to talk about the current trend at the Vatican to embrace ugly art at the expense of so much beauty it could showcase. Eric paints classical figurative art. His work is reminiscent of the old masters. His works are inspired by grand and vivid murals that he first saw in Gothic cathedrals as a child. But what caught my attention was a social media post from Er...

Author, writer and advocate Brooke Siem joins Tim to talk about her own experience with doctors prescribing anti-depressants to long-term negative effects. Brooke is an advocate for the practice of safe de-prescribing for psychiatric drugs. In 2022, she published a memoir on her own struggles with antidepressant withdrawal. The title of that book is called, “May Cause Side Effects.” https://traffi...

Author and crisis manager Evan Nierman joins Tim O’Brien to talk about cancel culture and its attacks on comedians and comedy in general. Will it kill comedy as we know it? And how can you defend yourself if the “cancel vultures” attack? https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Cancel_Culture_Raw_Audio.mp3 Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube: Is Cancel Culture Killing Comedy?, with Eva...

Attorney Mark Chutkow joins Tim O’Brien to talk about an unprecedented case where the parents of a mass shooter are prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to prison. Is this a one-off or a sign of things to come? That’s just one of the questions we discuss. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Parents_of_School_Shooter_Convicted_auphonic.mp3 Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube:     htt...

If you follow us on social media or have subscribed to our new Substack page you may already know we’ve been on hiatus in recent months. Most of the episodes you have heard since the start of the New Year have been encore episodes. Today, we have some good news. Starting next week, you will be seeing and hearing Shaping Opinion 2.0! https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Preview_-_Shapin...

Economist, professor and author Paul Rubin joins Tim to talk about the impact of socialism on the future, particularly among young people who tend to be the most supportive of it, but who stand to lose the most because of it. This is the focus of his new book called, “A Student’s Guide to Socialism: How it will trash your lives.” This episode was first released January 4, 2021. https://traffic.lib...

This is a Special Edition of the Shaping Opinion Podcast called “1979: City of Champions.” In this extended episode (90 minutes), we take you to when Pittsburgh became the “City of Champions,” and how its impact went well beyond the field, or just baseball or football fans. In the end, it’s about what sports can do to bolster an entire people who are going through hard times. Guests include: Kent...

Julia Parsons joins Tim to talk about her role as a code-breaker during World War II. Julia was part of a a team of Navy women stationed in Washington, D.C. during World War II who worked to decipher German submarine messages that were sent in secret code using the Enigma machine. Her work relied on the now legendary Bombe machine invented by Alan Turing. This episode was originally released on Ju...

Former CNN lead news anchor Aaron Brown joins Tim to tell his story from September 11, 2001, where he brought the event to 1.4 billion viewers around the world, live as it happened. It was Aaron Brown on that day, standing on a rooftop in New York City, bringing us one of the most historic and tragic moments of our generation in real time. This episode is part of our special series, “9/11: A Gener...

Author and professor Eric Heinze joins Tim to talk about freedom of speech and expression at the most fundamental level. He recently wrote a book on free speech, but it’s not exactly what you might expect. He explores free speech in a larger more fundamental context than America’s First Amendment. He talks about it in the context of universal human rights. Eric tells us about the thinking behind h...

Storyteller Margot Leitman joins Tim to talk about the art of storytelling, and how you can be a better storyteller.  Margot is an award-winning storyteller, best-selling author, speaker and teacher and a Moth Storytelling “GrandSlam” winner. This episode was originally released January 17, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/222_-_Margot_Leitman_Storyteller_auphonic.mp3 If you’...

If you like baseball you’ll love this interview. If you like Pittsburgh sports, you’ll love this interview. Former Pittsburgh Pirate closer and World Series Champion Kent Tekulve joins Tim in this special extended episode. Kent talks baseball, Pittsburgh, how to teach kids about sports, and somewhat about life. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Kent_Tekulve_-_The_Closer_auphonic.mp3...

FBI-trained hostage negotiator Scott Tillema joins Tim to talk about how to negotiate when the stakes are high, even when lives are on the line. Scott teaches organizations how to use the power of life-saving negotiation principles to get results. This episode was first released March 14, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/334_-_Scott_Tillema_Secrets_of_a_Hostage_Negotiator.mp3...

In this episode we hear from seven people who talked with Tim to answer the question, “What is the American Dream?”  Tim set out to get the answer to the question on the streets of his hometown, Pittsburgh.  You’ll hear from Vidya, Dwayne, Chuck, Leah, Jack, Tamara and Charlie. Each person was selected randomly in “man on the street” interviews, and we had no idea what they would say, but all of t...

Historian and author Christopher R. Browning joins Tim to talk about his study of the Holocaust and the “Final Solution” in Poland. In this episode, Christopher discusses his book, “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland” and how a group of otherwise average, everyday men turned into one of Hitler’s most prolific killing squads in World War II. This episode was...

Advocate, author and attorney Charles H. Rose, III, joins Tim to talk about the art of cross-examination in the court of law. Charles is a successful lawyer, a trial advocate, an author, and currently, he’s the Dean of the Pettit College of Law at Ohio Northern University. In this episode, he talks about one of the most dramatic features of any courtroom, the cross-examination of a witness at tria...

Cayce, South Carolina Police Chief Chris Cowan joins Tim to talk about something both of us wished we didn’t have to talk about. He tells the story of the recent and tragic loss of one of his officers who was shot and killed while responding to a call. He tells the story of and pays tribute to Officer Drew Barr. In the process, he tells the story of the risks and sacrifices police officers take ev...

Groundhog Club Inner Circle member John Griffiths joins Tim to talk about Groundhog Day and why a little town called Punxsutawney becomes the epicenter of weather prognostication one day a year. John is the handler of Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania ground hog famous around the world for predicting whether or not we have another 6 weeks of winter. February 2nd is better known as Groundhog Day....

Television host and producer Marc Summers joins Tim to talk about the classic Nickelodeon show that put him and the Nickelodeon cable network on the map, Double Dare. Before Double Dare, kids didn’t have their own game show and the Nickelodeon network was not as widely known as it would become after this crazy, messy, green slimy “party” that millions of millennials would rush home after school to...

Author Mark Seal joins Tim to talk with Mark about the subject of his popular new book about the making of The Godfather movie. The book is called, “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli.” Mark has is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair where he’s covered scandals, history makers and pop culture icons. This episode was originally released January 10, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopin...