Origin Story with David McIntosh Jr

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#148 Jimmy Carr: 2026 Predictions on AI, Politics, Social Media and Dopamine

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Dec 28, 2025

Guest

Jimmy Carr

Jimmy Carr, the sharp-witted stand-up comedian and TV host, dives deep into the challenges young men face today, from navigating dating to overcoming addiction to porn. He sheds light on how AI is transforming our world and discusses the waning trust in traditional institutions. With an emotional touch, Carr reflects on grief and loss, sharing heartfelt stories about his mentors. Plus, hear his perspectives on discipline, agency, and the evolving role of humor in life and relationships, blending laughter with keen social insights.

01:15:09

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Episode notes

insights

INSIGHT

Fix Basics Before Pathologising Feelings

Mental health often mixes software (media diet) and hardware (sleep, exercise, alcohol).
Address physical basics first before pathologising normal sadness or anxiety.

volunteer_activism

ADVICE

Show Up To Become Who You Claim

Build daily habits that prove who you say you are by showing up consistently.
Use routines like gym attendance to give the world irrefutable proof of your identity.

insights

INSIGHT

Comedy Is Shared Friendship

Comedy builds friendship by removing filters and creating shared intimacy with audiences.
Audiences remember how comedians made them feel more than specific jokes.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Dating Signals: Safety and Competence

01:00 • 1min

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Comedy Origins and Early Influences

02:18 • 3min

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Media Diet, Mental Health, and ADHD

05:00 • 4min

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Discipline, Boundaries and Imposter Syndrome

08:52 • 36sec

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Arenas, Stand-up Feedback, and Movie Ambitions

Building a Career: Stage, DVDs and Reworking Material

14:48 • 5min

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Comedy as Friendship and Live Connection

19:31 • 2min

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Dark Humour's Purpose and Reproduction

21:07 • 2min

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Choosing Partners by Shared Laughter

22:50 • 3min

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Advice to Young Men: Porn, Games, and Agency

25:35 • 2min

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Drinking, Social Isolation and Relationship Balance

28:03 • 2min

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Dealing Young People In: Agency Over Empathy

30:31 • 3min

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Politics, Fourth Turning and Institutional Trust

33:03 • 4min

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Podcasts, Institutions and Cultural Change

37:10 • 1min

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Working-Class Agency and 'Woke' Critique

38:11 • 3min

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Luck, Work Ethic and the Long Game

41:33 • 2min

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Pre-show Mindset and Serving the Audience

Laughs, Family and Personal Traits

48:16 • 2min

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Sean Lock: Meeting, Influence and Legacy

50:00 • 5min

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Grief, Talking To The Dead, and Funerals' Power

55:15 • 3min

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Eulogy Virtues vs Resume Virtues

58:26 • 3min

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Fate, God, AI and Human Institutions

01:01:51 • 3min

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AI, Industrial Revolutions and Future Work

01:05:05 • 2min

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Private Struggles: Dyslexia and Body Image

01:07:16 • 2min

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Geopolitics: Pax Americana and a Multipolar World

01:08:56 • 4min

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Legacy, Fatherhood and What Matters

• Mentioned in 10 episodes

Why we love

The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love

Helen Fisher

In this book, Helen Fisher uses fMRI brain scanning to investigate the brain circuitry of romantic love, arguing that it is a primary mating drive hardwired into our brains by millions of years of evolution. Fisher discusses romantic love among peoples around the world, the activation of brain regions associated with intense addiction when in love, and the evolution of love. She also explores other primary mating drives such as lust and attachment, and the future of romantic love in the digital age.

#171

• Mentioned in 109 episodes

The Fourth Turning

What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny

Neil Howe

William Strauss

The Fourth Turning illuminates the past, explains the present, and reimagines the future based on a provocative theory of American history. The authors identify a distinct pattern where modern history moves in cycles, each lasting about the length of a long human life, composed of four twenty-year eras—or 'turnings'—that comprise history's seasonal rhythm of growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth. The book offers bold predictions about how America’s past will predict what comes next, particularly focusing on the roles of Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials during times of upheaval.

#41

• Mentioned in 228 episodes

Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

Written in 1931 and published in 1932, 'Brave New World' is a dystopian novel set in a futuristic World State where humans are bred in vitro and predestined into a rigid social hierarchy. The novel explores themes of technological advancement, social conditioning, and the loss of individuality and freedom. The story revolves around characters such as Bernard Marx, an Alpha who questions the society, Mustapha Mond, the World Controller, and John, a 'Savage' from a reservation who introduces elements of emotion and individuality into the highly controlled World State. The novel critiques the optimism of technological progress and its potential to create a society that values stability and happiness over humanity and freedom.

#341

• Mentioned in 69 episodes

Enlightenment Now

Steven Pinker

In 'Enlightenment Now', Steven Pinker presents a comprehensive argument that the values of the Enlightenment—reason, science, and humanism—have been instrumental in the progress of human society. He challenges the prevailing pessimism in modern discourse by presenting empirical evidence that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise globally. Pinker uses data and graphs to illustrate improvements in various aspects of human life, such as increased life expectancy, reduced child and maternal mortality, and advancements in medicine and technology. He also addresses the psychological biases that lead people to underestimate these improvements and emphasizes the importance of continuing to uphold Enlightenment ideals to ensure further progress.

Jimmy Carr is back. Jimmy Carr is one of the most recognisable comedians on the planet: world-touring stand-up, TV host, and author - famous for brutal roasts and surgical one-liners.

But in this episode, you get the sharper edge and the deeper thinking: why 2026 is going to feel like a turning point and how young men can get control back.

Jimmy is one of the most respected comedians in the world: a world-touring stand-up, TV host, and author known for brutal one-liners and zero mercy…

but in this episode you get the full range - savage comedy and the deeply human side. We talk about dating, masculinity, porn, cheap dopamine and why so many young men feel stuck - then we go way bigger: AI as a new “god”, the end of old institutions, how podcasts replaced mainstream media, and why politics is entering a genuinely weird new era.

And then the episode turns: Jimmy opens up about grief and love - remembering Sean Lock (including the first joke Jimmy ever heard him say, and why he felt like a father figure), the impact of losing his mum Nora, and a beautiful tribute to Janey Godley and what she said about Jimmy behind the scenes.

Expect to learn:

Why women select for competence and what “safety” really signals.

Jimmy’s advice to young men: porn, risk, rejection, and building a real life

The loneliness trade-off: liver damage vs social isolation How J

immy thinks about anxiety, discipline, and “life assignment”

Sean Lock’s legacy — and what it’s like to lose someone you built a career beside Grief, funerals, and the difference between resume virtues and eulogy virtues AI, institutions, and why the next decade could get very “interesting”and much, much more.

Partners

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Neutonic

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Neutonic.

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00:00 — Young Men Are Stuck

01:52 — Jimmy’s Back: Glasgow Banter

04:18 — “Media Diet” & Mental Health

07:27 — ADHD, Boundaries & Discipline

08:23 — Arenas, Imposter Syndrome, Movies

13:46 — Early Comedy Influences

16:21 — How You Build Confidence

17:32 — First Glasgow Joke (DVD Era)

18:52 — Comedy = Friendship

20:28 — Why Dark Humour Helps

22:16 — Dating: Safety, Competence, Chemistry

24:48 — Advice to Young Men: Porn, Games, Asking Girls Out

27:09 — Drinking vs Isolation

29:28 — Dealing Young People In: Agency Over Empathy

31:35 — Trump + Debate vs Deliberation

32:28 — Fourth Turning + Class Politics Flip

34:31 — Podcasts Replaced Mainstream Media

36:52 — “Be Of Service” — Working-Class Agency

37:46 — “Woke”, Status & Suicidal Empathy

39:19 — Jimmy’s Come-Up: Luck + Work Ethic

42:29 — Pre-Show Mindset

44:32 — Jimmy’s Laugh + His Mum

47:48 — Sean Lock: First Meeting + Legacy

53:54 — Grief, Mortality & Talking To The Dead

55:18 — Funerals: Eulogy vs Résumé

01:01:31 — AI, God & The Future

01:04:26 — Secret Struggles: Dyslexia, Body Image, Work

01:07:24 — Pax Americana Ending + The World Shifting

01:10:29 — Kids, Legacy & Meaning

01:13:18 — Janey Godley Tribute

Instagram: @davidmcintoshjr

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/davidmcintoshjr/about

Substack: https://substack.com/@davidmcintoshjr?

Merch: https://originstoryclub.co.uk/

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