When Power Stops Explaining Itself: Venezuela, Numbness, and the Psychology of Control

Politics feels chaotic because the story holding it together has collapsed. Shrink the Nation explains the psychology behind power, anxiety, and control so you can actually understand what’s happening.

In this episode, psychiatrists Dr. David and Dr. Rob examine why a series of extreme events — including the U.S. capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, the sudden shift from “drug protection” to oil extraction, and talk of acquiring Greenland — landed with so little emotional impact.

This isn’t a policy debate. It’s a psychological diagnosis.

Why does unprecedented use of power feel strangely normal? What happens when leaders stop caring whether their explanations make sense? And how does a society become numb to actions that once would have triggered outrage?

Drawing on clinical psychology the hosts break down collective dissociation, reaction formation, black-and-white polarization, and the collapse of coherence as a governing principle. They explore how repeated crises condition the public to adapt rather than resist — and why “we can, so we do” is a warning sign, not a strategy.

This episode is about recognizing the pattern, naming what isn’t being said, and understanding what comes next when power no longer feels the need to explain itself.