Crazy Together

In this week's Hyperfocus Bonus, Marcus and Esme pitch ideas to spice up ADHD awareness month. Then, Marcus identifies a plot hole in the 1990-something thriller The Fugitive, and Esme demands an end to the pumpkin spice- and apple cinnamon-bombardment of peoples’ olfactory senses during the fall season.

Happy Hard, everyone!

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Sickness has descended on the O’Kayvious household again, and this time Marcus and Esme are both down for the count. However, because they felt like they could use a shot of something fun and enjoyable they decided to replay their episode about whimsy from earlier this year. 

Join Marcus and Esme as they discuss whimsy, the rare social media trend that doesn’t seem to want to kill us. Marcus and Esme discuss why the trend has taken off, and whether or not there is any hard, scientific evidence to suggest that it might be a good thing (spoiler alert: believe it or not, there kinda’ is). They also share some of the whimsical interests and activities that bring a little fun to their lives, encourage straight guys to give whimsy a chance (it might actually encourage women to choose you and not the bear), and encourage listeners to not overthink whimsy, because then it won’t be whimsical anymore. 

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Marcus and Esme make an effort to watch the same TV shows and movies together whenever possible. However, subject matter sometimes interferes and results in one of them begging out of the viewing experience. Case in point: Esme recently watched a program that Marcus noped out of in the first five minutes of the first episode once it became clear the tragic death of a young child was one of the key plot points. But Esme pressed on (with Marcus’ blessing, of course). She shares her impressions of a new classic British cop drama that, incidentally, is NOT about a church where one might go to pick up women (as its name implies). 

Marcus then shares his two cents on the recent controversy singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has made for himself, and salutes the integrity of the musicians who left his tour. In particular, Marcus calls out Aaron Rowe and the band Beoga –* two Irish acts with a lot more to lose than their American counterparts. He also provides some much needed context for listeners who might not know who Ed Sheeran or Macklemore are because they have managed to craft beautiful aesthetic bubbles for themselves. 

Also, Esme provides an update on her continued success with her “watercolor habit” and Marcus identifies the one thing that would make the act of watching football a lot more manly.

*NOTE: The em dash in the second paragraph is NOT AI generated. It was put there by a real human being who thinks and writes tangentially and refuses to abandon a useful punctuation mark just because some people think it’s an automatic sign that a piece of content was written by a glorified Google search result. The author in question has been using parentheticals since he was writing term papers on an ancient word processor and he’s not about to stop now.

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MKULTRA, Human Potential Movement-inspired sex cults, and “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland . . . these are just some of the topics Marcus and Esme make passing reference to in this week’s episode, so don’t get your hopes up.

Or, maybe you should get your hopes up! Because Marcus and Esme continue their discussion from last week about Carl Rogers, humanistic psychology, and person-centered psychotherapy. They discuss the highs and lows of the back half of his career, and the factors that eventually led to the decline of interest and influence of Rogers’ work in the psychological community. However, they also identify recent efforts by members of the positive psychology movement to re-engage with humanistic psychology traditions in an effort to inject some much-needed compassion and social awareness in their theories and treatments.

And they actually do make more than just passing reference to “The Troubles,” MKULTRA, and sex cults, so you can revel in those stories as well. 

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Some lessons have the power to open our minds, and to expand our understanding of the universe and the possibilities within it. 

Other lessons just scare the crap out of us. Or they reveal how something that seems pretty cool at first glance might actually be pretty stupid. 

Esme explains how she recently learned that the paper certain stores use to print receipts is actually fairly toxic!

And Marcus describes how a deep dive into the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings (i.e., the famous battle in 1066 in which William the Conqueror defeated the Anglo-Saxon king of England and began the Norman Conquest of England) only served to remind him that, sometimes, history is just the byproduct of self-important people doing stupid things.

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Marcus believes the Road Runner cartoons are some of the greatest existential and allegorical works of art ever created. While this might feel like more of a Friday topic, we assure you it is directly relevant to today’s discussion and will make complete sense if you listen to the whole episode.

In this week’s episode, Marcus and Esme discuss the work and legacy of yet another influential psychologist. This time, they’re discussing Carl Rogers, one of the founders of humanistic psychology and the primary developer of person-centered psychotherapy. However, unlike the last two profiles they did, they find his legacy to be much less complicated. And while they acknowledge Rogers is by no means perfect, and that his theories have generated a fair amount of criticism over the years, they take comfort in the knowledge that it seems as though he never stopped thinking about the best interests of the patients and clients he served. So, it’s a (mostly) happy story!

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September 12 is a very special date, because it was on that date in the year of our lord nineteen hundred and forty-four that a special man was born. A man whose bass-baritone voice, soulful grooves, and silky-smooth string arrangements would serve as the soundtrack for many a romantic evening. Who knows, his voice might even have accompanied (and possibly inspired) your very conception, which would be a beautiful and wondrous thing to consider, if not for the fact that it also meant you’d have to acknowledge that your parents were getting their freak on. But it would be worth it, because it would mean that your addition to this mortal coil was heralded by no less of a legend than Barry White. Marcus wishes him a happy birthday and pays tribute to his legacy with such suitably grandiose and over-the-top prose that Esme had to turn away from the mic to avoid snort laughing directly into it.

For her part, Esme reveals a shocking discovery about a common cosmetic procedure that would only be shocking to someone who hasn’t recently received that cosmetic procedure. Because it turns out that receiving a procedure that renders one’s facial expression somewhat muted for a period of time might also impact their ability to feel surprise, joy, sadness and any number of other emotions. Esme shares what she has learned, acknowledges she has only scratched the surface of available research, and teases the possibility of returning to the subject on a full-length episode of Crazy Together in the near future. 

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WARNING: It’s part 2 of Crazy Together’s exploration of the research and legacy of Elizabeth Loftus, PhD and emotions are running high! 

Loftus, as you’ll no doubt recall from last week’s episode, is best known for her contributions to our understanding of the malleability and fallibility of human memory. She’s also well known for consulting with and providing expert testimony at trial for the defense in some of the most high profile cases in recent memory. And not just any cases, mind you. Cases in which it looked like some of the absolute worst people in recent memory were finally going to face justice. 

Why does she do it, and what are some of the far reaching impacts of her continued endeavors in the criminal justice system? Well, that was the topic Marcus and Esme planned on tackling in this episode. And the funny thing is, they really felt like they had a plan heading into part 2. They had an outline with time slots reserved for discussing Loftus’ rationale as well as a summary of some of the criticism that has been leveled against her. It seemed pretty straightforward.

But  that plan went straight out the window as they began parsing out Loftus’ rationale and considering the implications of all the criticism she’s received. Before long, it became apparent that their plan for capping their discussion of Loftus’ work with the same nuance and perspective they tried to bring to last week’s episode was a pipe dream. Now, they’re just pretty pissed off, so much so that one of the hosts has had to recuse themselves from today’s episode. 

What has them so upset? You’ll have to listen to find out. 

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There is a strong connection between dopamine and the things we find entertaining. Our brains release dopamine when we anticipate we’re going to enjoy something, like playing a game or watching a movie. It pushes us to take action. When we find something we like, we get another little shot of dopamine to reinforce the behavior. But, when it turns out we don’t enjoy that which we pursued, well, cue the sad trombone.

In this week's HYPERFOCUS BONUS, Marcus and Esme discuss some recent experiences they’ve had while chasing that rewards anticipation cycle. In Marcus’ case, he describes his lifelong interest in a 600-year-old English legend that has NEVER ONCE delivered for him, no matter how much he hopes it will. For her part, Esme shares her relative success with two British shows she discovered recently.

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How would you react if someone told you they could link such seemingly disparate topics as the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and ‘90s, the discrediting of a once popular form of psychotherapy, and the criminal trials of Robert Durst, Harvey Weinstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell all in one podcast episode? Would you say “that’s crazy”?

Well, it’s not crazy. It’s Crazy Together. 

Please enjoy the sudden burst of goosebumps.

In today’s episode, Marcus and Esme discuss the work of Elizabeth Loftus, PhD. Dr. Loftus, in addition to being the link to the aforementioned topics above, is best known for her contributions to our understanding of the malleability and fallibility of human memory. Through decades of research and advocacy, she has reshaped how the mental health and the criminal justice system now thinks about repressed memories and recovered memory therapy. These contributions have helped exonerate a great number of people who had been falsely accused and convicted of crimes they did not commit.

She has also provided expert testimony for the defense in the trials referenced previously. You read that right: defense attorneys for Epstein and Maxwell hired Loftus to provide expert testimony at trial about the unreliable nature of human memory. They then used her research and findings as part of their efforts to discredit survivors’ accounts of the abuse they suffered at the hands of the most prolific sex traffickers in modern history. 

Oh, and she also sold her services to the defense team who represented that guy who burped a murder confession into a hot mic. 

So . . . yeah, it's probably fair to say she has a complicated legacy. And in today’s episode (and next week’s episode for that matter, because there’s a lot of ground to cover), Marcus and Esme try to discuss that legacy with the nuance and perspective it deserves. 

However, they also acknowledge that . . . dude, this sh*t just feels wrong. This is the second high profile and highly influential mental health professional they’ve covered in relatively short order who – one might argue* -- have commoditized their life’s work for financial gain**. And so Marcus and Esme find themselves asking: a) What is the role of mental health professionals when it comes to identifying and calling out the systemic injustices that are negatively impacting people’s mental health and wellbeing, and, b) What should we expect mental health professionals to do when their treatments or research are used by the wealthy and powerful for their own purposes (e.g., exploiting workers, avoiding accountability, etc.)? 

*Additional notes

*These Em dashes are NOT AI generated. They were entered by someone who thinks and writes in asides and REFUSES to sacrifice much needed punctuation marks just to prove he’s not a frickin’ robot.

** See episodes 131 and 133 about the rise and fall of Positive Psychology for the first example.

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