Spiritually Awake, Socially Inconvenienced: When Meditation Starts Working

The Handmaid's Tale Made Us Spiral: From the Stanford Prison Experiment to AI Dread

Kira and I sat down for what was supposed to be the Lion Women of Tehran book club episode and instead just riffed for almost an hour. I'd apologize, but the conversation was killer. First - the big news. We're not talking Lion Women of Tehran today because in a few weeks we're bringing MARJAN KAMALI, the actual author, onto the podcast. You have a few more weeks to grab a copy and read it before she's on, so go get it from your local bookstore, not some faceless website, and thank me later... the food writing alone will ruin you. Instead, Kira and I somehow went from The Handmaid's Tale to the Stanford Prison Experiment to AI to what we want people to remember about us when we die. No wine was involved. We don't know how we got there either. What's in this one: -Why Gilead feels less like fiction every single day, and what The Handmaid's Tale gets so unsettlingly right about how fast a society can turn -The Stanford Prison Experiment, what it actually showed about roles and groupthink, and a quick fact-check we owed you (listen for it — we corrected ourselves because Refuse to Subscribe means we hold ourselves to it too) -How propaganda and algorithms are doing the same thing to us in real time... and why you need to be policing your own feed -AI, creativity, and the genuinely terrifying conversation Jonny can't stop thinking about (shoutout Tristan Harris) -I asked Kira Passion vs. reason, and what we actually want people to say about us at the end If you haven't read The Handmaid's Tale, or haven't watched the show, fix that before you RElisten to this- I promise it hits different once you have. Go back and listen to our very first book club episode if you haven't, linked below, where Kira first put Lion Women of Tehran on my radar. And if you've got questions for Marjan, send them our way-Instagram, my website, Kira's DMs, all linked below. We're asking her your stuff too. Last thing: if this show means anything to you, hit follow and drop a 5-star rating right now before you do anything else. It costs you nothing and it means everything to us. Stay curious. Question everything. And refuse to fucking subscribe. -Jonny First Book Club Episode EVER (The Books That Make Us): https://open.spotify.com/episode/6mzlwmikrTR42AB9jvaYda?si=HhvRhELxTq6Eq116OAOTDQ [https://open.spotify.com/episode/6mzlwmikrTR42AB9jvaYda?si=HhvRhELxTq6Eq116OAOTDQ] Marjan Kamali's "Lion Women of Tehran" Recipes : (Hit "Download Recipes" and thank me later) https://marjankamali.com/books/the-lion-women-of-tehran/ [https://marjankamali.com/books/the-lion-women-of-tehran/] Tristan Harris on "Diary of a CEO: 'AI Expert: Here's What the World Will Look Like in Two Years'" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFU1OCkhBwo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFU1OCkhBwo] Instagram: @jonnythyne @kiraleclair Formal Reach Out for the Show: https://jonnythyne.com/reflect [https://jonnythyne.com/reflect]

Justin Deeley's 2AM Question in Paris: Passion or Reason?

This week I have Justin Deeley on the episode. You may know him from 90210 or Geography Club, or my personal favorite, and where I know him from, Drop Dead Diva. This whole conversation started when we were at work one night at the restaurant we both work at, and he brings up this 30 hour stint he had in Paris where he found himself at two in the morning in a restaurant having dinner with his wife, with a live jazz band, and this gentleman next to him posed him with the question, passion or reason? I was blown away by this really simple, albeit deep, question. So I said let's get on the podcast and talk it out. We begin there, and from there we really dive deep into the essence of human connection and how disconnection is behind many of our societal pitfalls today. We take it further into how you can find what you're passionate about in life, and then come out the other side on finding community and feeling fulfilled. We wrap up with Justin hearing some thoughts from other brilliant people I know on passion versus reason, and then him sharing an answer to a really vulnerable question, ending with his strong advice on it all. Justin's book recs and Patsy Rodenberg's videos are linked below. I loved every second of this one. Enjoy. Book Recs: The Master and His Emmisary by Iain McGilchrist The Cross of Redemption by James Baldwin Patsy Rodenberg Talks: The Second Circle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub27yeXKUTY&feature=youtu.be [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub27yeXKUTY&feature=youtu.be] Why I Love Theatre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9jjhGq8pMM&feature=youtu.be [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9jjhGq8pMM&feature=youtu.be]

Coming Out At 23: Andrew's Story of Hiding, Fear, and Finally Becoming Himself

If you came out early, this probably isn't your story. If you're still in it, it might be exactly your story. My boyfriend Andrew hid for more than a decade. He figured it out young and buried it, dated girls, deepened his voice to fit in, watched straight porn after gay porn so it would "cancel out", and told himself there was a right time coming... and then waited so long he almost forgot he was waiting. If you know that feeling. The one where everyone in your life has a version of you that isn't real, and you're so used to maintaining it you barely notice anymore. This episode is for you. Andrew has never told this whole thing out loud before. Getting caught by his parents for watching gay porn (we've all been there!) A fear he couldn't even explain to himself. The fraternity he joined that became one more place to hide, but eventually be accepted. The first kiss he was so scared of that he kept it a secret even from the people he trusted. And then the part nobody tells you about. He came out, and the world he was terrified of did not end. EVERYONE loved him. The only person who hadn't accepted him yet was him. Here's the thing we keep coming back to, and the thing I want you to actually hear. You don't have to come out to the whole world tomorrow. You don't have to have it figured out. You just need one person. One safe person who will sit in your corner and not flinch. Everyone has at least one. A friend, a cousin, somebody. Find them. That's where it starts. And if you're not in the closet but you love someone who might be, you can BE that person. You have no idea how much that one safe spot matters until you're the one who needs it. This one means a lot to me. Andrew was brave as hell to share it. Give it a listen all the way through, and if it hits, send it to the person who needs it. You never know whose ear it lands in. Side note: Recorded three times. Technical chaos every time. But we kept it anyway because some stories are worth fighting for. Apologies for any off-brand audio. Stay curious and question everything. If you need support: https://www.thetrevorproject.org [https://www.thetrevorproject.org] If you are a parent, friend, sibling, or just plain ally and want more information or want to know how you can support LGBTQ+ people: https://pflag.org [https://pflag.org] Past episodes to catch up on: First episode EVERRR with Nicole & Billy Cundiff, real estate tycoon and former NFL player: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6nOjMcT0hdRkYVm8WRKuFO?si=hQsQIKLkSMa3dwpa86y6yQ [https://open.spotify.com/episode/6nOjMcT0hdRkYVm8WRKuFO?si=hQsQIKLkSMa3dwpa86y6yQ] Some of the best advice I've ever received (Build Your Own Fucking Table) from my friend Maria Bertrand, filmmaker: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2EK0CDgpuhNsTOsGcKGdiB?si=j4tPXQSNT86pXgLSudu0Jg [https://open.spotify.com/episode/2EK0CDgpuhNsTOsGcKGdiB?si=j4tPXQSNT86pXgLSudu0Jg] A restaurant regular who turned into a dear friend who I have had some of the most enlightening conversations with, Craig Smith, founder of Swiss America and Author: Part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/749gt5pccDvdjB753N5t86?si=p5ItsVbTSZaoGpIMd4pjqg [https://open.spotify.com/episode/749gt5pccDvdjB753N5t86?si=p5ItsVbTSZaoGpIMd4pjqg] Part 2: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7g7OzJXIXqXA7GDziBILdn?si=9OO0CLlOTSeGyxWsb_o2HQ [https://open.spotify.com/episode/7g7OzJXIXqXA7GDziBILdn?si=9OO0CLlOTSeGyxWsb_o2HQ] https://open.spotify.com/episode/78SdJXuF7cT2UPrMa3Ea2Y?si=lDnZmCy-RLGsUvpc51fbmw [https://open.spotify.com/episode/78SdJXuF7cT2UPrMa3Ea2Y?si=lDnZmCy-RLGsUvpc51fbmw]

My Identity Is Bigger Than My Bedroom with Jen LeBlanc

Pride didn't get easier, it just got quieter for a while. This episode breaks that quiet. My guest is Jen LeBlanc: out since 1993, founder of the Pride Empowerment Network in southern New Hampshire, and the writer behind a gorgeous piece on why Pride still matters that's been living in my head since the day I read it. We talk about coming out to her mom in a Sears parking lot, the Glad Day Bookstore on Boylston Street where she found her own history hiding in plain sight, the women's studies class that changed everything, and why she thinks the backlash against trans people from inside our own community might be the most urgent conversation we're not having enough. This one's personal and it's exactly why Pride still matters. Why Pride Month Matters by Jennifer LeBlanc: https://www.nashuaindependent.com/why-pride-month-matters-in-our-community/ [https://www.nashuaindependent.com/why-pride-month-matters-in-our-community/] Pride Empowerment Network: https://www.instagram.com/pensouthernnh/ [https://www.instagram.com/pensouthernnh/] New Hampshire Organizations: https://603equality.org [https://603equality.org] https://manchestertrue.org [https://manchestertrue.org] https://blmnh.org [https://blmnh.org] Massachusetts Organizations: https://gayforgood.org/boston/ [https://gayforgood.org/boston/] https://glisten.org/our-chapters/ [https://glisten.org/our-chapters/] https://www.bagly.org/volunteer [https://www.bagly.org/volunteer] SoCal Organizations: https://lalgbtcenter.org [https://lalgbtcenter.org] https://gayforgood.org/losangeles/ [https://gayforgood.org/losangeles/] https://www.eqca.org [https://www.eqca.org] https://www.blmla.org [https://www.blmla.org]

Why Pride Still Matters: Queer Joy and the Original Refusal

Happy Pride, everyone. I'll be honest, I got a bit emotional in all of the ways while recording this one. This week I'm going solo to talk about what Pride actually is, why we celebrate it so loud, and why it matters more this year than it has in a long time. We start with a Margaret Cho bit that had me cackling (thank you, Confession Hole with Eric Willz), we call back to last week with the legendary Jackie Beat, and then we go where this show always goes, which is deep. I tell you the full story of Bobby Griffith and his mother Mary, the one I only gave you the highlight reel of last year. We get into Harvey Milk, Matthew Shepard, the brand-new numbers on where this country actually stands, and what is happening to trans rights right now, here and around the world. And then we climb back into the joy, because the joy is the whole point. The joy is the resistance. The joy is what freedom actually is when it gets a body and a dance floor. And if you have ever been on the fence about any of this, I made this one for you too. I promise I don't yell. If this moved you, do the thing I ask at the end. Send it to the person who came to mind while you listened. You know exactly who that is. Want to talk, or need a safe space? My DMs are open, and there's a submission form on the site. I read every single one. If you're a young queer person and today feels like too much, the Trevor Project is there 24/7. Call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678. You are needed here. Last Week's Episode with Jackie Beat: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Au7bZ7fBsx5oqdPvfFrLF?si=Z2imZV4uRrqAuzO0jZ3wxg [https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Au7bZ7fBsx5oqdPvfFrLF?si=Z2imZV4uRrqAuzO0jZ3wxg] Website Submission Form: https://jonnythyne.com/reflect [https://jonnythyne.com/reflect] Instagram and All: https://linktr.ee/Jonnythyne [https://linktr.ee/Jonnythyne]