What if the search result you trusted most was quietly chosen to change your mind?
Dr. Robert Epstein is a Harvard-trained research psychologist and the former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today. For more than a decade, he has studied how search engines, search suggestions, and video recommendations can quietly shift what people believe and how they vote. He has testified twice before Congress, and his team built America's Digital Shield, which he describes as the first nationwide system to capture the content tech companies send to real voters and children before it vanishes. In this conversation, Dr. Epstein explains why he says short-lived, invisible content is so hard to catch, why even people who notice the bias can still be swayed, and why he believes permanent monitoring is the only way to hold big tech accountable. We also get practical: a digital hygiene test you can take in under a minute, and the simple swaps he uses to protect his own privacy. These are Dr. Epstein's findings and views, and we work through them together. Stay with me.
Connect With Dr. Robert Epstein:
► Website: https://drrobertepstein.com
► X: https://x.com/DrREpstein
► America's Digital Shield (live dashboard, sponsor a field agent): https://americasdigitalshield.com
► My Digital Hygiene (mini test and full test): https://mydigitalhygiene.com
► My Privacy Tips: https://myprivacytips.com
► The Case Against Gmail: https://thecaseagainstgmail.com
► The Selfish Ledger (leaked Google video, Internet Archive copy): https://archive.org/details/GooglesTheSelfishLedger
► Brave browser: https://brave.com
► Proton (email): https://proton.me
Follow Dr. JC Doornick and the Makes Sense Academy:
► Makes Sense Substack - https://drjcdoornick.substack.com
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjcdoornick/
► Substack: https://substack.com/@drjcdoornick
► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/makessensepodcast/
► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrJCDoornick
Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast. This podcast explores topics that expand human consciousness and enhance performance. On the Makes Sense Podcast, we acknowledge that it's who you are that determines how well what you do works, and that perception is subjective and an acquired taste. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at begin to change. Welcome to the uprising of the sleepwalking masses. Welcome to the Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick Podcast.
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0:00:00 - 0:03:19: Cold open and what it is like to be Dr. Robert Epstein
0:03:19 - 0:06:24: Why he does this work and how America's Digital Shield captures ephemeral content
0:06:24 - 0:10:20: Eisenhower's warning and Dr. Epstein's go-vote reminder findings from the 2024 election
0:10:20 - 0:14:13: Why monitoring must be permanent and the $50 million funding goal
0:14:13 - 0:16:45: Who holds the power and Google's leaked Selfish Ledger video
0:16:45 - 0:21:00: Why monitoring is not optional, undecided minds, and the case against Gmail
0:21:00 - 0:25:52: Teaching digital hygiene, the two tests, and the phone in your pocket
0:25:52 - 0:28:55: Why people forget the threat and why young people need digital education
0:28:55 - 0:33:35: How much of what we believe is really ours, and the manipulation experiments
0:33:35 - 0:38:49: Funding the research, the personalization effect, and sponsoring a field agent
0:38:49 - 0:41:53: Testifying before Congress and what worries him most
0:41:53 - 0:45:15: Dr. Epstein on Google's reach into universities, news organizations, publishers, and Siri
0:45:15 - 0:48:08: Blockchain, entrenched monopolies, and the Google antitrust case
0:48:08 - 0:52:38: Do-gooders with power, a lasting legacy, and why laws move too slowly
0:52:38 - 0:56:24: Practical steps: Brave, Proton, and leaving Google software
0:56:24 - 0:59:07: Closing thoughts on the book, gratitude, and staying curious
0:59:07 - 1:00:02: Sign off
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