Shrink The Nation is a psychology podcast about politics, media, and American insanity — hosted by board-certified psychiatrists who drink bourbon and actually know what they’re talking about.
Each week, we take whatever the news is lighting on fire and ask a better question:
What the hell is going on psychologically?
We break down current events as they’re actually experienced — through fear, ego, narcissism, tribalism, and spectacle — and explain why smart people keep getting pulled into dumb arguments.
This isn’t a lecture.
It’s a conversation.
We argue with each other, bust each other’s balls, laugh at the absurdity, and use real psychology to make the chaos intelligible — without yelling, moralizing, or pretending everything’s fine.
You’ll hear sharp psychological takes on politics and culture, explanations that make you say “ohhh… that makes sense,” dark humor, bourbon-fueled honesty, and frameworks you can reuse when the next news cycle melts down.
We’re not here to calm you down.
We’re here to help you see clearly — and enjoy the process.
Shrink The Nation is for anyone who wants to understand what’s happening, laugh a little at the madness, and come back next week feeling smarter than they did last time.
Shrink The Nation is a psychology podcast about politics, media, and American insanity — hosted by board-certified psychiatrists who drink bourbon and actually know what they’re talking about.
Each week, we take whatever the news is lighting on fire and ask a better question:
What the hell is going on psychologically?
We break down current events as they’re actually experienced — through fear, ego, narcissism, tribalism, and spectacle — and explain why smart people keep getting pulled into dumb arguments.
This isn’t a lecture.
It’s a conversation.
We argue with each other, bust each other’s balls, laugh at the absurdity, and use real psychology to make the chaos intelligible — without yelling, moralizing, or pretending everything’s fine.
You’ll hear sharp psychological takes on politics and culture, explanations that make you say “ohhh… that makes sense,” dark humor, bourbon-fueled honesty, and frameworks you can reuse when the next news cycle melts down.
We’re not here to calm you down.
We’re here to help you see clearly — and enjoy the process.
Shrink The Nation is for anyone who wants to understand what’s happening, laugh a little at the madness, and come back next week feeling smarter than they did last time.
Your feed isn’t a therapist. It’s a slot machine with a PhD in you. We unpack how variable-reward dopamine loops keep you scrolling, why that “next swipe” feels irresistible, and how the feed learns your spikes (anger, fear, validation) to pay you in tiny hits of maybe.
Then the psychology: the algorithm doesn’t invent your defenses, it industrializes them. Projection (“they’re the liars”), splitting (good tribe vs bad tribe), and dodging cognitive dissonance scale up into mass delusions that feel truer than reality because they fit identity. That’s how curated reality turns into civic reality.
We map the Zeigarnik effect (brains hate open loops), autoplay as a craving cue, and why your prefrontal cortex’s brakes fail at midnight doomscroll o’clock. Also: the attention economy, micro-promises to micro-audiences, and the collapse of a shared fact set that democracy needs to function.
Not a doom sermon; a practical one. Humans have panicked over every new medium since Plato complained about writing, and we adapted. Seatbelts for dopamine, guardrails for feeds, and norms that make tech liveable.
Bourbon roll call: Basil Hayden, a high-rye Beam sibling (63% corn, 27% rye, 10% malted barley). Yes, we time-stamped the mash bill so you don’t have to.
Prescriptions
Smart, provocative, clinically grounded. Also petty about autoplay.
Education and entertainment only; not therapy.
"Got Thoughts? Outrage? A Diagnosis of Your Own? Send us a text"
Shrink The Nation is where America lies on the couch — and we pour the bourbon.
Hosted by board-certified psychiatrists and mental health pros with backgrounds in military, media, and systems thinking, we break down the psychology behind politics, culture, and public dysfunction.
Smart. Funny. Clinically sharp. Slightly buzzed.
Subscribe, rate, and share if you’re part of the exhausted middle looking for sanity in the noise.
For feedback or hate-listening invitations, hit us at socials@shrinkthenation.com.
Follow us everywhere: @shrinkthenation on X, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky
Shrink The Nation — On the Couch With America.