Seize the Moment Podcast

On episode 221, we welcome Randy Fertel to discuss the rich history of improv, hot cognition and cold cognition, the importance of a liberal arts education for creativity, Trump's charisma and use of off the cuff comments to charm his audience, the neuroscience of creativity, Saturday Night Live and how those comedians embodied the dark side of improv, improv as a symbol of authenticity and why that connects with an audience, trauma and reintegration into the community, and how to cultivate a "yes and" mindset. Randy Fertel is a writer, scholar, and philanthropist, best known for his work exploring the intersections of improvisation, culture, and politics. Fertel holds a PhD in English and American literature from Harvard and has taught at institutions such as Harvard and Tulane. His previous works include A Taste for Chaos: The Art of Literary Improvisation and The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak, a memoir of his family's New Orleans culinary legacy. He is the president of The Fertel Foundation and The Ruth U. Fertel Foundation, supporting various cultural and educational causes. His latest book, Winging It: Improv's Power & Peril in the Time of Trump, delves into how improvisation shapes our world—from the arts and neuroscience to politics and social media. | Randy Fertel | ► Website | https://www.fertel.com ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/rfertel ► Twitter | https://x.com/rfertel ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/rfertel ► Linkedin | https://linkedin.com/in/randy-fertel ► Winging It Book | https://bit.ly/3zLKJ0A Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast

On episode 220, we welcome Jason Stanley to discuss the rising tide of fascism among Republicans, the pivotal role education plays in cultivating it, the divided US and how winning came to override all other values, the authoritarian war on intellectualism, fascist historical revisionism and why the history written by fascists is based on fear and pride, the fascist tendency to target minority groups and the necessary creation of scapegoats, unionizing as an antidote to fascism, Putin's rise to power, and the misguided attempts of populism to address corruption. Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. He is the author of six books, including How Fascism Works and How Propaganda Works. Stanley is a member of the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School and serves on the advisory board of the Prison Policy Initiative. He writes frequently about authoritarianism, democracy, propaganda, free speech, and mass incarceration for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Project Syndicate, and many other publications. His new book, available now, is called Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. | Jason Stanley | ► Linktree | https://linktr.ee/erasinghistory ► Website | https://campuspress.yale.edu/jasonstanley ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/jasonstanley680 ► Erasing History Book | https://bit.ly/4dbbsBD Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast

On episode 219, we welcome Alice Driver to discuss the widespread labor violations of the meatpacking industry, Tyson's treatment of its workforce, how the company is able to employ undocumented immigrants, the Arkansas law that allows child labor, how prison labor is used to keep company costs low, the political power of the industry and how government subsidies help sustain it, and the various personal stories of the people working in Tyson's factories. Alice Driver is a James Beard Award-winning writer from the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. She is the author of More or Less Dead (University of Arizona, 2015) and the translator of Abecedario de Juárez (University of Texas, 2022). In 2024, she won the Lukas Work-in-Progress Prize from Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard for her newest book, a: The Immigrants Taking on America's Largest Meatpacking Company (One Signal Publishers). | Alice Driver | ► Website | https://www.alicedriver.com ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/alice__driver ► The Life and Death of the American Worker | https://amzn.to/3X5tpeR Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast

On episode 218, we welcome Constantine Sandis to discuss the manifestations of transphobia, why feeling you're in the wrong body isn't delusional, the errors of segregation, ways of addressing the placements of trans people in sports, how biology and culture may interact to form trans identities, the rates and common causes of detransitioning, the sensationalism behind transphobic reactions, epistemic injustice and why we question trans identities unfairly, Imane Khelif and the olympic boxing controversy, and the consequences of assuming widespread deception from trans individuals. Constantine Sandis is Director of Lex Academic, Visiting Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. His books include The Things We Do and Why We Do Them, Philosophy of Action: An Anthology, and Human Nature, and From Action to Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Reasons and Responsibility. His newest book, coauthored with Danièle Moyal-Sharrock, is called Real Gender: A Cis Defence of Trans Realities. | Constantine Sandis | ► Website | https://www.constantinesandis.com ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/csandis ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/csandis ► Bluesky | https://bsky.app/profile/csandis.bsky.social ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/csandis ► Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/constantine-sandis-723454a4 ► Real Gender Book | https://bit.ly/46YA7bb Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast

On episode 217, we welcome Bill Sullivan to discuss the burgeoning field of epigenetics, why genes are better thought of as dimmers rather than light switches, the antipsychiatry argument against mental illness and why all mental illnesses are organic, what we discovered about the microbiome, the Libet experiments and whether they cast doubt on free will, how genes and parasites affect personality development and change, why it's difficult for people to understand and accept genetic determinism, fraud in the field of medications purporting to affect gene expression, the ACE studies and their implications for mental health, and how identical twins can be reared in the same environment and exhibit different personalities. Bill Sullivan is the author of Pleased to Meet Me: Genes, Germs, and the Curious Forces That Make Us Who We Are (National Geographic Books), which has been translated into a dozen languages. Sullivan is the Showalter Professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where he studies infectious disease. He received his Ph.D. in Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania and has published over 100 papers in scientific journals. An award-winning researcher, teacher, and science communicator, Sullivan has been featured in a wide variety of outlets, including CNN, Fox & Friends, CBS News, ESPN, The Doctors, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, TEDx, The Scientist, and many more. He has written popular science articles for National Geographic, Discover, Scientific American, Washington Post, WIRED, Psychology Today, The Conversation, and more. He is an editor and writer at PLOS SciComm, chairs the Editorial Advisory Board for ASBMB Today, and serves as a board member of the John Shaw Billings Medical History Society. Visit him at authorbillsullivan.com and on X/Twitter @wjsullivan. | Bill Sullivan | ► Website | https://authorbillsullivan.com ► Twitter | https://x.com/wjsullivan ► Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/billsullivanjr ► Pleased to Meet Me Book | https://amzn.to/3Lkp95L Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://bit.ly/3xLHTIa

On episode 216, we welcome Mark White to discuss the philosophy of Captain America, how his moral perfectionism informed his decisions and affected him afterward, the clash of morals in his rivalry with Iron Man, why being hard on himself benefited his community, the similarities and differences of deontology and utilitarianism, if we can consider his stubbornness as a moral failing, the qualities he embodied when he was recreated as a fascist, why algorithms don't excuse us from having to make moral choices, and why we hope for others not to have the same degree of moral responsibility that Captain America has. Mark D. White is a Professor of Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY who has written widely on superheroes and philosophy, including in the books Batman and Ethics and the A Philosopher Reads… series, as well as contributions to many volumes in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series. His new book, available now, is called "The Virtues of Captain America: Modern-Day Lessons on Character from a World War II Superhero, Second Edition." | Mark D. White | ► Website | https://www.profmdwhite.com ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/profmdwhite ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/profmdwhite ► Captain America Book | https://amzn.to/3zz4XKN Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://bit.ly/3xLHTIa

On episode 215, we welcome Roberto Olivardia to discuss Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, its comorbidity with other mental health struggles and learning disorders, ways Roberto learned to manage his own ADHD, how it affects relationships and how to address it in them, why teachers in the past were unable to cope with it in their students, the stigma and shame that may accompany it, why Leon was considered to be a weird kid, the controversy about its existence, and why neuropsychological testing often misses it. Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D., is a Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Instructor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. He maintains a private psychotherapy practice in Lexington, Massachusetts, where he specializes in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), executive functioning issues, and issues that face students with learning differences. | Roberto Olivardia | ► Website | https://www.additudemag.com/author/roberto-olivardia-ph-d ► Adonis Complex Book | https://amzn.to/3v4Os6X Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666

On episode 214, we welcome Tom Chivers to discuss Bayesian statistics, how their counterintuitive nature tends to turn people off, the philosophical disagreements between the Bayesians and the frequentists, why "priors" aren't purely subjective and why all theories should be considered as priors, the difficulty of quantifying emotional states in psychological research, how priors are used and misused to inform interpretations of new data, our innate tendency toward black and white thinking, the replication crisis, and why statistically significant research is often wrong. Tom Chivers is an author and the award-winning science writer for Semafor. His writing has appeared in The Times (London), The Guardian, New Scientist, Wired, CNN, and more. He is the co-host of The Studies Show podcast alongside Stuart Richie.His books include The Rationalist's Guide to the Galaxy, and How to Read Numbers. His newest book, available now, is called Everything Is Predictable: How Bayesian Statistics Explain Our World. | Tom Chivers | ► Website | https://tomchivers.com ► Twitter | https://x.com/TomChivers ► Semafor | https://www.semafor.com/author/tom-chivers ► Podcast | https://www.thestudiesshowpod.com ► Everything is Predictable Book | https://amzn.to/3UJTOxD Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast

On episode 213, we welcome Edward Simon to discuss the mythological history of the tale of Faust and Mephistopheles, god and the devil in theology, whether both figures can represent internal struggles between right and wrong, why so many identify with Faust's decisions, whether the story implies that willful ignorance is just as evil as maliciousness, how Faust was redeemed in Goethe's telling, whether denial of his dark side contributed to Faust obsessively pursuing power and pleasure, the mischaracterization of the seven deadly sins as extreme prohibitions, modern cautions about Faustian bargains, and how Viktor Frankl's emphasis on meaning can be a check on our hedonistic temptations. Ed Simon is the executive director of Belt Media Collaborative and editor in chief of literary journal Belt Magazine. A staff writer for LitHub, his essays and criticism have appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Paris Review Daily, the New Republic, the Washington Post, and Aeon. His new book, available July 9th, is called Devil's Contract: The History of the Faustian Bargain. | Ed Simon | ► Website | https://edsimon.org ► Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/edsimonwriter ► Devil's Contract 1 | bit.ly/PenguinRandomHouse1 ► Devil's Contract 2 | https://amzn.to/3UuFl8p Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast

On episode 212, we welcome Mark L. Ruffalo to discuss the misunderstanding of the so-called "medical model" of psychiatry, why there's a gap between mainstream medicine and trauma-informed care, the ways in which biology and environment interact to produce mental illness, the difference between responsibility and blame, Judith Herman and the historical misuse of personality labels to mistreat women, how Lithium saved lives, modern psychoanalysis and its misrepresentation in pop culture and academia, addressing the stigma of mental illness, resolving the problem of poly-diagnosis, the DSM as the punching bag of contrarian academic thought, and the chemical imbalance hypothesis as the foundation for psychotropic medications. Mark . Ruffalo, M.S.W., D.Psa., is a psychotherapist in private practice in Tampa, Florida, and serves as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and Adjunct Instructor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine. He has broad clinical experience in the psychoanalytic treatment of mood disorders, personality disorders, and psychosomatic illness, and has particular interest in the psychotherapy of schizophrenia. | Mark L. Ruffalo | ► Website | https://www.drruffalo.com ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/MarkLRuffalo ► Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-l-ruffalo-71929063 ► Psychology Today | https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/mark-l-ruffalo-msw-dpsa Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast