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Do you ever feel like we're now living in some sort of alternative reality?

Like there was some glitch in the matrix and we diverged into some other universe in the simulation?

Sam Harris has a line "most people spend every waking moment of their lives in the 'movie' of their lives."

What happens when the illusion of that movie is broken?

Today Josh speaks with Sam McNerney about the Insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th, "alternative realities", the subterranean spaces online that fueled them, and the repercussions that occur when those "alternative realities" conflict with the "real world."

Some of the other things we dive into are:

• The growing division between Joe Rogan and his audience.
• Declining trust in institutions, mental viruses, and the rise of the conspiratorial "They."
• Bad incentives and how COVID was handled so poorly.
• Astroturfing, the "stolen election", and who influenced those that stormed the Capitol.
• Do we live in a "post-truth" world of alternative realities?
• The gamification of the media.
• How could we align the incentives for real institutional change?
• Can the next generation escape these feedback loops? How do we inspire that in a demoralized world?
• As a society, what are we optimizing for? What metrics do we measure that success by?
• How do we align the politically and socially divided on long-term goals?
• And much more.

Sam McNerney is an applied behavioral scientist, market researcher, and brand strategist based in Brooklyn, New York. He has worked with brands such as Walmart, Procter & Gamble, and CitiBank.

As a writer, he has interviewed business and academic leaders including Arianna Huffington, Andrew Yang, Jonathan Haidt, and Charles Murray – and his essays have been featured in publications like The Washington Post, Psychology Today, and Scientific American.

Now as an independent consumer insights specialist, he specializes in using surveys to help businesses answer questions about their customers that unlock the greatest value.

Connect with Sam:

• Website: sammcnerney.com
• Twitter: @SamMcNerney

Music by Kirby Johnston – check out his band Aldaraia on Spotify