Personality Crisis

Gary Trauner, three-time Democratic candidate for federal office in Wyoming, joins us again to discuss current politics. Today’s topics include Janet Mills dropping out of the Maine Senate race, Gary’s take on Jon Ossoff, who he thinks gets the message right, SCOTUS’ repeal of the Voting Rights Act, and Gary’s belief that parsing Trump’s nonsense is a fools’ game.Because John Cole was under the weather, DougJ (NYT Pitchbot) and mistermix interview Gary. 

Episode 11 of Personality Crisis is a little different than our usual political fare.  This one has John Cole interviewing Dylan Ris, who is a creative writer and composer living in LA.  Dylan and John have a wide-ranging discussion about what’s keeping Hollywood from green-lighting anything but derivative copies of already successful franchises.  John also expresses his opinions about who should be in the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, other than Oasis.Dylan’s latest project is a movie about what happens when a 70’s glam rock star becomes the host of a British television show:https://wefunder.com/rogerwodehouse

Mark Jacob is the former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, and former Sunday editor at the Chicago Sun-Times. He’s the co-author of 11 books, mostly on history.In our second episode with Mark, he and John Cole talk about the future of journalism.  Topics include Mark’s advice to someone just starting out, the disparity in financing between left and right “influencers” and Mark’s current projects.Mark’s Substack Stop the Presses: https://www.stopthepresses.news/Courier is a journalism initiative that supports Mark’s Substack and other journalism:  https://couriernewsroom.com/Mark’s recommended links:Jennifer Schulze’s Substack Indistinct Chatter: https://jenniferschulze.substack.com/Greg Sargent at The New Republic: https://newrepublic.com/authors/greg-sargentPro Publica: https://www.propublica.org/

Mark Jacob is the former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, and former Sunday editor at the Chicago Sun-Times. He’s the co-author of 11 books, mostly on history.In this episode, the first of two with Mark, he and John Cole talk about the history of the New York Times and why it has consistently missed the moment, going back to the turn of the last century.  If you’re interested in this topic, Mark has a piece on it at his Substack, called “The New York Times is on the wrong side of history”:  https://www.stopthepresses.news/p/the-new-york-times-is-on-the-wrongMark’s Substack Stop the Presses: https://www.stopthepresses.news/Courier is a journalism initiative that supports Mark’s Substack and other journalism:  https://couriernewsroom.com/Mark’s recommended links:Jennifer Schulze’s Substack Indistinct Chatter: https://jenniferschulze.substack.com/Greg Sargent at The New Republic: https://newrepublic.com/authors/greg-sargentPro Publica: https://www.propublica.org/

Mark Histed is a neuroscientist by day, but in his personal capacity, he has a deep interest in how to re-build and sustain local media.  Today’s audio-only podcast with Mark, DougJ (NYT Pitchbot) and mistermix focuses on Mark's interests that he pursues in his personal capacity, including the concept of media as a public good, how that media could be financed, why wealthy donors probably aren’t the answer, and what can’t be done by individual reporters on their own Substacks.  Here’s Mark’s Linktree, with all of his links:  https://linktr.ee/markhistedLinks to some of the sites/authors Mark discusses:Rebuild Local News:  https://www.rebuildlocalnews.org/Micah Sifry’s Critique of the Substack model: https://theconnector.substack.com/p/the-bad-news-echo-chamber-of-proElizabeth Spiers: https://linktr.ee/elizabethspiersThe Democracy Policy Network:  https://democracypolicy.network/

Gary Trauner ran for Congress in Wyoming twice, and for Senate once.  In 2006, he lost the closest race in the nation to incumbent Barbara Cubin.  Gary talks about his history as a candidate, what it takes to run as a Democrat in a red state, and what it was like to interact with the national Democratic infrastructure. He’s dealt with both the DCCC and DSCC, as well as the consultants they wanted him to hire.  He also gives us a rundown on the sad state of Democrats in the reddest state in the country, Wyoming.   This episode is something you don’t see or hear all the time:  a politician who shares his frank take on his experiences with the Democratic establishment.  More about Gary:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Trauner

In this episode, John Cole interviews Dr. Genevieve Guenther.  Dr Guenther is a former Renaissance scholar who turned to climate research and activism after having a child and becoming increasingly alarmed about the world her son could inherit after she died. She is now an expert in climate communication. Using her training in rhetoric and cultural politics, as well as social-science research, she works to revamp the ways that we talk about the urgent need to phase out coal, oil, and methane. She is guided by the conviction that our language for the climate crisis is largely inaccurate and misleading, and that fixing this problem requires us not just to reframe talking points, but to recognize how our speech itself—what we say and what we don’t say about climate change—upholds a dangerous status quo.Dr Guenther is the author of The Language of Climate Politics, an examination of the propaganda underlying the fossil-fuel economy.  Genevieve Guenther’s website:  https://genevieveguenther.com/The non-profit she founded:  https://www.endclimatesilence.org/

Steve M of No More Mister Nice Blog has been blogging since 2002.  Steve’s posts are always smart and often prescient. On this episode of Personality Crisis, NYT Pitchbot a.k.a. Doug J interviews Steve to discuss topics including why Steve got the anti-vaxx trend right years before everyone else, and how Steve views the history of the Democratic Party.John Cole couldn’t make the taping of this pod, but don’t worry, he’ll be back for the next one.  Also, Pitchbot had a little bit of an audio issue at the start that’s fixed a few minutes in.

Oliver Willis is an OG blogger, and in this episode of Personality Crisis, another OG blogger, John Cole of Balloon-Juice  talks with Oliver about the past, future and timidity of the Democratic Party.  Oliver and John are joined by Kal El, Oliver’s dog.Oliver is one of the first political bloggers in the world, launching his site in 2000.  Oliver spent 13 years working for Media Matters, reporting on conservative misinformation.  Today, he’s a senior writer for the American Independent.Oliver’s links:Substack:  https://www.oliverexplains.com/Blog:  http://oliverwillis.com/BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/owillis.bsky.social

In the second episode featuring Brooke Harrington, Professor of Economic Sociology at Dartmouth, John Cole and Harrington discuss her harrowing experiences with the Danish immigration authorities.  She was arrested for testifying before the Danish parliament about her academic work.  The episode delves into the reasons and tactics for the Danes’ limiting immigration and prosecuting immigrants.Harrington is the author of many articles and books on the concentration of money and power in the hands of a wealthy few. Her latest book is Offshore:  Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism, a study of “how the shadowy global system of offshore finance fuels economic crises and austerity while also undermining democracy and the rule of law.”  Her prior book, Capital without Borders: Wealth Managers & the One Percent, is an account of how the 1% holds on to their wealth.Harrington’s recent articles include Trump Is Like F.D.R.—Only in Reverse in the New York Times and What the Broligarchs Want from Trump in the New York Times.  She also had an experience with the Danish immigration authorities which she related in I Almost Lost My Career Because I Had the Wrong Passport in the New York Times.Harrington’s website:  https://brookeharrington.com/Her pinned thread on Bluesky listing all of her broligarchy work:  https://bsky.app/profile/ebharrington.bsky.social/post/3lggwkxbi5c2nHer books: Offshore:  https://brookeharrington.com/books/offshore-book/Capital without Borders:  https://brookeharrington.com/books/capital-without-borders/Articles:Trump is Like F.D.R. – Only in Reverse:  https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/opinion/trump-musk-doge-trust.htmlWhat the Broligarchs Want from Trump: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/11/broligarchy-elon-musk-trump/680788/I Almost Lost My Career Because I Had the Wrong Passport:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/opinion/immigration-law.html

In the first episode of two, John Cole interviews Brooke Harrington, Professor of Economic Sociology at Dartmouth.  The discussion begins Harrington’s experiences as a young woman working in Silicon Valley and transitions into a discussion about the mentality and obsessions of the broligarchs who come from that place, and ends with her insights into what can be done about these guys. Harrington is the author of many articles and books on the concentration of money and power in the hands of a wealthy few. Her latest book is Offshore:  Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism, a study of “how the shadowy global system of offshore finance fuels economic crises and austerity while also undermining democracy and the rule of law.”  Her prior book, Capital without Borders: Wealth Managers & the One Percent, is an account of how the 1% holds on to their wealth.Harrington’s recent articles include Trump Is Like F.D.R.—Only in Reverse in the New York Times and What the Broligarchs Want from Trump in the New York Times.  She also had an experience with the Danish immigration authorities which she related in I Almost Lost My Career Because I Had the Wrong Passport in the New York Times.Harrington’s website:  https://brookeharrington.com/Her pinned thread on Bluesky listing all of her broligarchy work:  https://bsky.app/profile/ebharrington.bsky.social/post/3lggwkxbi5c2nHer books: Offshore:  https://brookeharrington.com/books/offshore-book/Capital without Borders:  https://brookeharrington.com/books/capital-without-borders/Articles:Trump is Like F.D.R. – Only in Reverse:  https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/opinion/trump-musk-doge-trust.htmlWhat the Broligarchs Want from Trump: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/11/broligarchy-elon-musk-trump/680788/I Almost Lost My Career Because I Had the Wrong Passport:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/opinion/immigration-law.html

Important note:  This episode includes a frank discussion of suicide.  In this episode, Nick Carmody and John Cole have a wide-ranging discussion about the psychology of politics.  He and John discuss dopamine hits and conspiracy theories and cult-like behavior, narcissistic personality traits in Trump and others, and how Nick’s personal history brought him to his realizations about the role of narcissism in today’s politics. Nick Carmody, M.S., J.D., is a psychotherapist and lawyer in Denver, Colorado.  He has appeared on close to two dozen podcasts to speak about political psychology.  In April 2022, he was invited to speak as a guest on TEDx about the “Psychology of Dictatorship” after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.  In April 2024, he was part of a multidisciplinary project analyzing why young men are increasingly attracted to political violence.  Nick has written over 140 articles about political psychology. Since June 2022, he has served on the Executive Board of the World Mental Health Coalition.In 2010, Nick experienced two life-changing Traumatic Brain Injuries (eight months apart). The changes in brain functioning, personality, and emotional processing (along with other intense personal experiences such as childhood sexual abuse, exposure to Cluster B Personality Disorders) created an obsession-like need to understand and confirm these experiences, and served as motivation to go back to school and work in the field of psychology. Nick’s experiences with trauma have shaped a very unique life experience that created an unconventional path to a career helping people who have similar lived-experiences.Nick has a substack:  https://nickcarmody.substack.com/  He also has a Patreon with more of his articles:  https://www.patreon.com/NickCarmodyHere are some of Nick’s work relevant to what we talked about today:Applying addiction models to help explain tribalism, confirmation bias, and even conspiracy theories/Qanon | Nick Carmody JD, MS PsychIs Qanon morphing into a religion? | Nick Carmody JD, MS PsychDissecting the Anti-vax "depopulation" conspiracy theory... | Nick Carmody JD, MS PsychDissecting the Fraudulence of Steve Bannon's "America First".... | Nick Carmody JD, MS PsychDealing with disordered people as society and in our personal lives.... | Nick Carmody JD, MS PsychAnalyzing the neuropsychology of the "hedonic reward" of revenge politics... | Nick Carmody JD, MS PsychAnalyzing Why Kids Struggle with Device Dependency/Addiction | Nick Carmody JD, MS PsychElon Musk's Desperate Need for Validation... | Nick Carmody JD, MS Psych