Ever been too embarrassed to ask a question, challenge a claim, or admit you might be wrong? Welcome to the world of shame — one of humanity’s oldest social control tools and a significant impediment to critical thinking. In this episode of My Idiot Brother Questions Everything, we dig into how shame hijacks our brains, narrows our reasoning, and keeps us quiet when we should speak up.

From Galileo’s public recantation to McCarthy-era blacklists, from virtue signaling to social media pile-ons, we look at how public humiliation has been used to keep people in line — and how it still shapes political tribes and online debates. We also explore how to push back: separating ideas from identity, building psychological safety, and being accountable without taking the walk of shame when we're wrong.

It’s history, psychology, and a little comedy — because if you can’t laugh at your own embarrassing mistakes (or ours), you’re probably missing the point.