You're invited: The Magical Overthinkers podcast

I’m making something new! And I want you to be a part of it.

My new podcast!

UPDATE: The Magical Overthinkers podcast is out now!

As soon as I began writing The Age of Magical Overthinking, I knew I’d run into a similar conundrum as Cultish, where I’d simply come across too many interesting topics to be able to cover them all in the book. So, the way that Sounds Like A Cult was born out of a desire to continue talking about groups along the cultish spectrum, I decided pretty early that I’d want to spin a podcast off of The Age of Magical Overthinking. The result is MAGICAL OVERTHINKERS, a show about digital-age delusion, where every episode is dedicated to a subject I can’t stop overthinking about—from narcissism to nostalgia. 

Each week’s show will open with a heart-on-its-sleeve mini audio essay from yours truly, followed by an interview with an expert guest, where I’ll ask the unfiltered questions that only an overthinker would ask. The podcast is basically an overthinker’s guide to the zeitgeist’s buzziest, most curious and anxiety-provoking topics. Bottom line: It’s a show for people who want to think less about the things that don’t matter and more about the things that do.

I’m thinking of asking the same question at the start of each interview to sort of disarm the guest and get us all on the same wavelength as “magical overthinkers”: What’s the most irrational thing you’ve done lately? (Or the most irrational thought-spiral you’ve had?) And then I’ll end each interview with a few recurring questions to help us all process/move on from the topic at hand. And of course there will be lots of stimulating conversation, helpful tools, and fun segments along the way.

Here’s more about the show (and how you can get involved)…

PODCAST OVERVIEW

From extreme celebrity worshippers to people with master’s degrees basing their real-life choices on Mercury’s whereabouts, there's a lot of nonsense out there these days. More than ever, actually. We’re living in the so-called “Information Age,”... but… why does more information seemingly cause the world to make less sense??

If you identify as an overthinker, a thought-spiraler, or someone who’s just always asking what the hell is wrong with people’s brains (including and especially your own), then welcome to the club: The MAGICAL OVERTHINKERS club. This podcast is here to make some sense of the senseless. To help quiet the cacophony in our heads for a while. Or even hear a melody in it.

BACKGROUND & TONE

I, like a lot of people in 21st Century America, feel overwhelmed, burnt out on screens, and so isolated that I’ve semi-lost trust in my ability to make wise choices… which doesn’t exactly inspire hope in others’ decision-making either. The digital age causes us to overthink and underthink all the wrong things. For example: Why do I feel 100% confident diagnosing my ex with borderline personality disorder (rest assured, I have no psychology degree), but overanalyzing some irrelevant Instagram comment keeps me up at night??

MAGICAL OVERTHINKERS will combine the debunking vibes of Maintenance Phase and You’re Wrong About, the empathy of Terrible, Thanks For Asking and Dear Sugars, the off-the-cuff humor and tea-spillage of Normal Gossip, but also the erudition and rigor of Death, Sex & Money and (my fav pod of all time) RadioLab. 

I am fortunate to live with a film & video game composer (my partner Casey made the iconic Sounds Like A Cult theme music), and with his help, this show’s sound design and musical treatment will transport listeners into a fun house they won’t want to leave. Using all the invaluable lessons I’ve learned while producing Sounds Like A Cult, I’m hoping to make MAGICAL OVERTHINKERS the kind of smart yet optimistic, relatable show that each listener will feel was made specifically for them!

SO WHAT’S THE STATUS OF THE SHOW??

I am finally booking guests and getting production underway, and I’d LOVE to involve you newsletter subscribers in the process. Please let me know if you have topic/guest suggestions!! Every episode title is going to be structured like, “Overthinking About Burnout,” “Overthinking About UFOs,” “Overthinking About Buying a House,” etc. etc. 

I already have Dr. Ramani Durvsula from the Navigating Narcissism podcast booked for my “Overthinking About Narcissism” pilot episode, and author Sloane Crosley is booked for an episode connected to her forthcoming memoir about grieving a dear friend, who died by suicide. 

I’m planning to launch the show sometime in late May or early June!

Also PLEASE let me know if there are any questions you definitely want me to ask Dr. Ramani for my “Overthinking About Narcissism” episode. The angle is that these are not *typical* interview questions, but rather overthinker-type questions—the shit you secretly google late at night but can never find a satisfying answer to. Nothing is too irrational or paranoid, so give me your worst!