Meredith for Real: the curious introvert

Is there an uptick of people claiming to be actual witches? When in history were witches NOT seen as evil? Is this commercialism packaged as a spiritual practice? Julie Walsh, PhD, is the Whitehead Associate Professor of Critical Thought & Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Her primary research focus is on metaphysics & the ethics of human freedom in the early modern period. In this episode, we talk about the historical origin of witches & word choice, the connection between female sexual satisfaction & witches, the 1400’s witch hunting manual & how time legitimizes magical practices If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 195: ROUNDING UP SUSPICIOUS WOMEN? THE AMERICAN PLAN  Host:  https://www.meredithforreal.com/  https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/ meredith@meredithforreal.comhttps://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert  Sponsors: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/  00:00 — Generations of witches in pop culture01:20 — First encounters with “I’m a witch”02:10 — The word wicce and its earliest meaning04:00 — Magic before evil: shifting definitions05:00 — Witch as a living, changing word06:10 — Salem isn’t the beginning07:00 — The 1487 bestseller that fueled hunts09:00 — Sex, power, and the devil’s contract10:30 — Why ridiculous ideas still matter11:30 — How witch manuals went viral13:00 — From Europe to Salem: ideology travels14:00 — What counted as a witch in 1690s Salem15:00 — Tituba’s confession and survival strategy17:00 — Executions, prisons, and spectral evidence19:00 — How do you defend against a ghost?20:00 — LSD bread or land grabs? Debunking theories22:30 — Property disputes and colonial lawsuits24:30 — From persecution to empowerment today25:30 — Why modern women claim “witch”27:00 — Moon cycles, ancestors, and ritual29:00 — Ancient solstice parties and survival31:00 — The risks of claiming witchhood32:00 — Are modern witches linked to the executed?34:00 — Saints, voodoo dolls, and cultural taboos36:00 — Whose magic gets mainstreamed?37:00 — Why old beliefs feel more “legit”38:30 — Tarot cards, tradition, and authority39:30 — Crystals, consumerism, and moon circles40:30 — Salem today: trinkets and tourism41:30 — Can spirituality resist commercialization?42:00 — Beyond WitchTok: finding your roots43:30 — Elders, ancestry, and empowerment through knowledge44:30 — Where history, nature, and identity converge45:00 — Closing thoughts + future book teaseRequest to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

When & why did circumcision begin (it’s not what you think)? What are the arguments for it & what are the experts saying? Sugar water instead of anesthetic?? Brendon Marotta is a filmmaker whose feature-length documentary, American Circumcision, won multiple awards & can be found on Amazon & YouTube. In this episode, we talk about the surprising history of circumcision, the practice today, parental consent & why this is so hard to talk about, but female circumcision isn’t.  This episode originally aired March 13, 2023. If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 293: THE SECRET LIVES OF MEN: MENTAL HEALTH CONFESSIONS! Guest: https://www.hegemonmedia.com/https://brendonmarotta.com/https://twitter.com/bdmarottahttps://www.instagram.com/bdmarotta/ Host:  https://www.meredithforreal.com/  https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/ meredith@meredithforreal.comhttps://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert  Sponsors: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/  00:00 — Why Americans still circumcise02:00 — Thought barriers around foreskin04:30 — Cultural hypnosis at work07:00 — The ripple effect on men’s lives09:00 — Masculinity, shame & silence13:00 — Who really benefits?14:00 — Circumcision’s strange beginnings16:00 — From “cure for masturbation” to medicine18:00 — Parental choice or medical coercion?21:00 — Relative vs absolute risk explained23:00 — Science, politics & cultural blame game27:00 — The baby restraint nobody wants to see28:00 — Sugar water instead of anesthetic29:00 — Trauma that lives in the body30:00 — Physical consequences & lost sensation33:00 — When men discover hidden trauma35:00 — Anger, intimacy & what’s really missing36:00 — The simplest solution of all37:00 — Where to find Brendon’s workRequest to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

Forget good news. How about just honest news? How did we get here? Guest Ken LaCorte unpacks the history of news production, behind the scenes of how it’s made, information vs entertainment & how human psychology ironically drives the train we’re all so desperate to get off. Ken LaCorte left main stream media in 2016 after nearly 20 years of serving in senior management at Fox News. Today he writes about censorship & media misconduct, but you might recognize from his YouTube channel called Elephants in Rooms, where he explores Uncomfortable truths & Awkward questions without sensationalism. If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 235: EPISTOCRACY: SHOULD WE BE PROTECTED FROM UNINFORMED VOTERS? Guest: https://www.youtube.com/@ElephantsInRoomshttps://substack.com/@kenlacorte https://x.com/KenLaCortehttps://x.com/Elephants_Rooms Host:  https://www.meredithforreal.com/  https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/ meredith@meredithforreal.comhttps://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert  Sponsors: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/  00:00 – Why the news feels like a Jerry Springer rerun01:15 – Ken’s shift from Fox News to YouTube truth-telling02:20 – The lost art of nuance in media03:10 – Was news ever really better “back then”?05:00 – Media bias from the 1700s to now07:15 – Internet clicks, candy headlines, and our appetite for outrage09:20 – Idiocracy and “we get what we deserve”10:30 – Are we living in the ugliest but most informed media age?12:00 – If it bleeds, it leads: truth or myth?14:00 – Long-form content as an antidote to manipulation16:00 – Why short clips often equal fake news19:20 – Lies told through technically true facts22:40 – Ken’s personal run-in with The New York Times24:30 – Is more information always the best cure?25:00 – Fairness Doctrine: would bringing it back fix anything?29:00 – How cable news killed equal-time rules31:00 – The rise of censorship—and why it made things worse33:00 – Teaching kids to spot spin (and why old folks may struggle more)35:20 – Why Ken trusts Joe Rogan over CNN37:00 – Media bias, advertisers, and following the money40:00 – The unspoken pressures inside big media companies42:00 – Why a thousand media voices beat just four43:00 – Ken’s go-to news sources worth checking out44:00 – Ground News, curiosity, and the hunt for nuanceRequest to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

Can we take psi seriously while maintaining critical thinking? Jeffrey Kripal, PhD, explores the YES AND of the ordinary & extraordinary. You’ll hear about precognition, poltergeists, Skinwalker Ranch, time travel, demons & X-Men. Jeffrey Kripal, PhD is the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He is also the author or co-author of thirteen books including, How to Think Impossibly: about souls, ufos, time, belief and everything else. If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 287: IF ALIENS ARE REAL, WHY DOES NO ONE CARE?  Guest: https://a.co/d/9OAQIWihttps://jeffreyjkripal.com/  Host:  https://www.meredithforreal.com/  https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/ meredith@meredithforreal.comhttps://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert  Sponsors: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/  00:00 – What sounds crazy now, but won’t later?02:15 – Meet Dr. Jeffrey Kripal: real-life Professor X04:10 – What happens when we stop “thinking possibly”?06:30 – Is impossible thinking actually pro-social?09:20 – Beyond self: why impossibility matters11:00 – The John story: a visit from the future15:05 – Why impossible experiences are deeply emotional17:15 – Meredith’s own “it’s gonna be okay” voice19:40 – Breaking time down like a fifth grader23:00 – Is time a function of the brain?26:00 – A child’s prank turns prophetic28:45 – Feeling special but set apart30:12 – “Think-with” vs. “listen-lite”32:18 – Stories that want to be told34:05 – Time as a sales pitch or reality?36:20 – Einstein, relativity & no universal “now”39:14 – Are precognitive visions real physics?42:02 – When religion calls it “the devil”45:15 – Poltergeists as psychokinesis48:20 – Skinwalker Ranch — entity or human?51:05 – Deception vs. evil53:40 – Closing the loop vs. living in openness55:12 – X-Men are real?57:20 – Why we embrace fantasy but reject realityRequest to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

Is psychedelic assisted therapy is BETTER than traditional talk therapy? You’ll hear how they’re different, how psychedelics may help not just the combat veteran or trauma survivor, but the functional griever (goes to work every day, acts like everything is fine, but having panic attacks out of nowhere). You’ll also hear about my own experience with psychedelics and different types of medicines for different types of grief. Michael Sapiro, PsyD, is an ordained Buddhist monk, poet & clinical psychedelic psychotherapist. In addition to working extensively with first responders, he is a psychological consultant for SWAT command & a member of a crisis negotiation team. In his new book, Truth Medicine, he details how psychedelic assisted therapy has helped many find peace, purpose and healing after loss & trauma. If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 278: MORBID OR SACRED? LET’S TALK ABOUT DEATH (WITH A DEATH DOULA) Guest: https://a.co/d/eK7nTrw https://www.michaelsapiro.com/ https://www.instagram.com/dr_mike_boise/ Host:  https://www.meredithforreal.com/  https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/ meredith@meredithforreal.comhttps://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert  Sponsors: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/  0:00 – Why psychedelics and grief belong in the same conversation1:10 – Meet the monk-turned-therapist exploring new ways to heal4:20 – How psychedelics shift what talk therapy can’t reach7:05 – The brain’s default mode network and why it matters9:00 – The surprising ways grief hides in everyday life12:45 – Why the “stages of grief” don’t tell the whole story15:40 – What happens when grief goes untended18:30 – What psychedelics reveal about anger, relief, and forbidden feelings21:50 – Ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin: how each one helps differently25:40 – Why preparation is everything before a psychedelic journey29:30 – What risks you should know before trying psychedelics32:45 – Self-guided journeys vs. guided therapy: what’s the difference?36:50 – How one client went from panic attacks to presence40:10 – How identities like “the grieving mother” can keep us stuck42:20 – Why grief isn’t about “getting it out” but tending it44:15 – Final insights on grief, psychedelics, and telling the truthRequest to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

In this episode, we discuss the difference between addiction & dependence, convenient diagnoses, compulsive sexual behavior within bipolar disorder & OCD, how to identify sex addiction & what recovery looks like.Dr. Joshua Grubbs is an addiction researcher who found his interest in sex addiction in college (not as exciting as it sounds). He’s since published over 100 papers on sexual compulsive behavior disorder & serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Center on Alcohol, Substance use & Addiction at the University of New Mexico.This episode originally aired February 13, 2023.If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 156: SHOULD SEX BE SAVED FOR MARRIAGE? Guest: https://twitter.com/JoshuaGrubbsPhD https://www.joshuagrubbsphd.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-grubbs-a3aa05267/ https://www.lifeafterpornography.com/privacy33621776 Host:  https://www.meredithforreal.com/  https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/ meredith@meredithforreal.comhttps://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert Sponsors: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/ 0:00 – Why we tackle taboo topics 2:16 – Is “sex addiction” just an excuse? 3:21 – Meet the researcher untangling the myth 5:41 – What really makes something an addiction? 9:11 – From ancient myths to modern labels 13:26 – Why novelty (not tolerance) drives porn use 17:51 – Cheater… or compulsive addict? 22:41 – When hypersexuality is a symptom, not a sin 26:41 – Addiction, OCD, or trauma response? 31:31 – How shame makes people self-diagnose 36:56 – The classic cases researchers look for 41:16 – Warning signs you shouldn’t ignore 45:51 – What recovery actually looks like 50:21 – Why you should be cautious online 54:11 – Where to learn more from Dr. Grubbs 56:31 – Next episode: psychedelics & griefRequest to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

Rachel Bernstein is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Cult Specialist & the Host of the IndoctriNation Podcast. She has spent the last 35 years helping former cult members & those who have had loved ones in cults, focusing on emotional abuse recovery, identity repair & moral injury. In this episode she explains the psychology of political allegiance, why religion & politics always fuse together, thought stopping cliches & media influence vs media manipulation.If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 229: IS YOUR HAPPINESS BEING POLITICIZED? CULTURE, CORTISOL & THE BRAINGuest: https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/rachelbernsteintherapy | https://www.instagram.com/indoctrinationpodcast/ | https://open.spotify.com/show/1prXo4iIxUfjYpfX671cUD?si=3522f54be4ae456f | https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/book--journal.html Host:  https://www.meredithforreal.com/  | https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/  | meredith@meredithforreal.com | https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  | https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert Sponsors: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ | https://uwf.edu/university-advancement/departments/historic-trust/Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

Michael Glawson is a PhD philosopher of science, technology, religion & ethics. As an ethicist, he has created corporate ethics training for government organizations & fortune 500 companies. In this episode, he puts into plain language the ever evolving world of AI. We cover Anthropic’s recent report of their AI technology blackmailing two of their executives in a recent sandboxed experiment, why AI isn’t as smart as you think, why AI can re-write its own rules, what experts think about our future with AI, the reality of robot romance & practical tips for the average person.If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 168: WELCOME TO THE FUTURE: AI, SMART CITIES & DATA NESTING DOLLSGuest: https://www.instagram.com/michaelglawson/ | https://www.facebook.com/michaelglawson | https://x.com/MichaelGlawson | https://linktr.ee/michaelglawson | michaelglawson@me.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/gmglawson/Host:  https://www.meredithforreal.com/  | https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/  | meredith@meredithforreal.com | https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  | https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert Sponsors: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ | https://uwf.edu/university-advancement/departments/historic-trust/Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

Before Lauren Sisler was an Emmy award-winning ESPN sideline reporter, she was an 18-year-old in her dorm room when she found out that her parents had died just hours of each other due to a hidden battle with opioids.When her world came crashing down, the next decade became a wrestling match with the truth. In this episode, she’s going to share her story & unpack her thoughts on legacy, shame & identity for what you’re sure to find as a more relatable American experience.We talk about how her parents secret financial problems & prescription drug addiction led to compartmentalized identities, the pain of truth vs the pain of denial & how shame & grief can create a confusing mess.If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 278: MORBID OR SACRED? LET’S TALK ABOUT DEATH (WITH A DEATH DOULA)Guest: https://www.facebook.com/LaurenSisler | https://www.instagram.com/laurensisler/ | https://x.com/LaurenSisler | https://a.co/d/ep7fTHcHost:  https://www.meredithforreal.com/  | https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/  | meredith@meredithforreal.com | https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  | https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert Sponsors: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ | https://uwf.edu/university-advancement/departments/historic-trust/Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

Our first ever FEED DROP SWAP! I'm personally endorsing UAP STUDIES Podcast because I know how much you all love the UFO topic! This week's episode is a sample of their show - an episode I picked that I think you'll love. Listening supports my show, but the real magic happens when you also subscribe to the UAP Studies Podcast & download a few episodes for later (they are doing the same for us)! The UAP Studies Podcast is hosted by Jason Guillemette, Dr Michael Glawson & Katie Paige. Each episode unpacks aspects of high strangeness with names you might know like Garry Nolan, Jacques Vallee & Michael Masters & promise to be the deep dive you’re NOT getting anywhere else.  This episode is with veteran investigative journalist George Knapp & you'll hear him reflect on his Netflix documentary experience, challenges in UFO journalism & Skinwalker Ranch stories you’ve never heard before!Guest podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uapstudies/ | https://www.youtube.com/@UAPStudies | https://www.linkedin.com/in/uapstudies/ |  https://www.facebook.com/uappodcast/ | https://x.com/UapStudies | https://open.spotify.com/show/5oK09tjBdQUKC6ypBqtoDu?si=b0c6ee2f28694153   Host:  https://www.meredithforreal.com/  | https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/  | meredith@meredithforreal.com | https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal  | https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert Sponsors: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ | https://uwf.edu/university-advancement/departments/historic-trust/Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/