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  • 150. Institutional Betrayal: The Science of Gettin’ Screwed Over

    150. Institutional Betrayal: The Science of Gettin’ Screwed Over
    Oct 22 2026
    Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences museum recently announced that after nearly 200 years of continuous operation, it was going to close its doors forever. Or rather, Drexel University, who assumed management responsibilities for the museum back in 2011, announced it would be closing the museum because, well, it just seems like nobody wants to go there anymore. This was very sad news in the O’Kayvious household. Both Marcus and Esme have fond memories of visiting the museum on field trips when they were kids. Esme also had the pleasure of staying in the museum overnight with her girl scout troop. It was a popular package the museum offered for many years that was both fun (there were plenty of activities and games) and vaguely disquieting (the taxidermied specimens watched you as you slept with their cold, black eyes). Marcus and Esme’s daughter is also a fan of the museum, having visited it at least once every year since she was 4 (not counting the COVID years). However, as the days and weeks passed, their sadness turned to confusion as details began to leak out from former employees and volunteers. Could it be that management decisions, may have contributed to the museum's financial difficulties? Their confusion then turned to frustration and bewilderment as community leaders and activists began to speculate that Drexel might be motivated by other factors, such how much money they might make by selling such a valuable piece of real estate. Eventually, the Okayvious clan just became downright angry. But at who? And for what reason specifically? It was hard to pin down. But they couldn’t shake the feeling that someone or something had betrayed their trust. And then they realized, hey, this phenomenon feels really familiar. Nowadays, it seems like any system people might have put their trust into in the past (e.g., our political system; the criminal justice system; our lousy, broken health care system, etc.) is willing to betray that trust whenever it suits their needs. Eventually it dawned on them that if a phenomenon really is so common and widespread, surely there must be a name for it. It turns out there is: it’s called Institutional Betrayal, and it might be one of the many factors contributing to the depression and anxiety epidemics in America. BUT! It doesn’t have to be. It turns out with a problem like this, naming the source of your distress can bring you closer to healing, and deciding whether you want to mourn what is lost, move on with your life, or fight back (non-violently). Marcus shares these lessons and more in this very special episode. Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com Contact us: https://www.crazytogetherpod.com/contact Sources for this episode include: Federico, Laura. “The Heartbreak of Institutional Betrayal.” Psychology Today, 14 June 2025. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/identity-in-disruption/202506/the-heartbreak-of-institutional-betrayal Freyd, Jennifer J. “Institutional Betrayal Research Home Page.” University of Oregon, https://dynamic.uoregon.edu/jjf/institutionalbetrayal/ Freyd, Jennifer J.. “Center for Institutional Courage.” Center for Institutional Courage, https://www.institutionalcourage.org/ Smith, Carly Parnitzke, and Jennifer J. Freyd. “Institutional Betrayal.” American Psychologist, vol. 69, no. 6, 2014, pp. 575-584. DOI: 10.1037/a0037564. PDF hosted by the University of Oregon, https://dynamic.uoregon.edu/jjf/articles/sf2014.pdf “Institutional Betrayal Magnifies Post-Trauma Effects of Unwanted Sexual Activity.” University of Oregon News Archive, 8 Mar. 2013, https://pages.uoregon.edu/digital/uonews-archive/archive/news-release/2013/3/institutional-betrayal-magnifies-post-trauma-effects-unwanted-sexual-act.html DePrince, Anne P. “When a Trauma Is Also a Betrayal.” Psychology Today, 16 Nov. 2022, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/awareness-action/202211/when-trauma-is-also-betrayal Crimmins, Peter. “Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences Museum Is Closing.” WHYY, 1 Sept. 2026, https://whyy.org/articles/academy-natural-sciences-museum-drexel-closes/ Yu, Alan. “What Went Wrong at Philly’s Academy of Natural Sciences? Former Museum Staffers Point to Years of Missteps.” WHYY, 2 Oct. 2026, https://whyy.org/articles/academy-of-natural-sciences-closing-explainer/
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    55 Min.
  • 149. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: Self-Care, Psychopathy, and Halloween Preparations

    149. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: Self-Care, Psychopathy, and Halloween Preparations
    Oct 16 2026

    Esme’s back! And within the first few minutes of the episode, she confirms that: a) she’s doing what she needs to to take care of herself, b) Marcus is not a psychopath, and c) Canada’s worst export is the thistle weed which bears that proud country’s name.

    Marcus and Esme also discuss the amount of mental bandwidth required to make appropriate preparations for the Halloween season, and an upcoming intervention Esme has planned to help the family manage their interior space better. Marcus briefly muses upon the value of adding a neurotypical person to the household, but immediately disavows the idea, knowing that the three current neurodivergent members of the house would make that person’s life a living hell.

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    Our theme music

    • Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch: • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun... Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp
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    35 Min.
  • 143. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: Church for Broads and the Fate of Principled Irish Musicians

    143. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: Church for Broads and the Fate of Principled Irish Musicians
    Sep 25 2026

    Marcus and Esme make an effort to watch the same TV shows and movies together whenever possible. However, subject matter sometimes interferes and results in one of them begging out of the viewing experience. Case in point: Esme recently watched a program that Marcus noped out of in the first five minutes of the first episode once it became clear the tragic death of a young child was one of the key plot points. But Esme pressed on (with Marcus’ blessing, of course). She shares her impressions of a new classic British cop drama that, incidentally, is NOT about a church where one might go to pick up women (as its name implies).

    Marcus then shares his two cents on the recent controversy singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has made for himself, and salutes the integrity of the musicians who left his tour. In particular, Marcus calls out Aaron Rowe and the band Beoga –* two Irish acts with a lot more to lose than their American counterparts. He also provides some much needed context for listeners who might not know who Ed Sheeran or Macklemore are because they have managed to craft beautiful aesthetic bubbles for themselves.

    Also, Esme provides an update on her continued success with her “watercolor habit” and Marcus identifies the one thing that would make the act of watching football a lot more manly.

    *NOTE: The em dash in the second paragraph is NOT AI generated. It was put there by a real human being who thinks and writes tangentially and refuses to abandon a useful punctuation mark just because some people think it’s an automatic sign that a piece of content was written by a glorified Google search result. The author in question has been using parentheticals since he was writing term papers on an ancient word processor and he’s not about to stop now.

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    Our theme music

    • Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch: • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun... Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp
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    29 Min.
  • 136. False Memories, Abuse, and Power: Part 1

    136. False Memories, Abuse, and Power: Part 1
    Sep 3 2026
    How would you react if someone told you they could link such seemingly disparate topics as the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and ‘90s, the discrediting of a once popular form of psychotherapy, and the criminal trials of Robert Durst, Harvey Weinstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell all in one podcast episode? Would you say “that’s crazy”? Well, it’s not crazy. It’s Crazy Together. Please enjoy the sudden burst of goosebumps. In today’s episode, Marcus and Esme discuss the work of Elizabeth Loftus, PhD. Dr. Loftus, in addition to being the link to the aforementioned topics above, is best known for her contributions to our understanding of the malleability and fallibility of human memory. Through decades of research and advocacy, she has reshaped how the mental health and the criminal justice system now thinks about repressed memories and recovered memory therapy. These contributions have helped exonerate a great number of people who had been falsely accused and convicted of crimes they did not commit. She has also provided expert testimony for the defense in the trials referenced previously. You read that right: defense attorneys for Epstein and Maxwell hired Loftus to provide expert testimony at trial about the unreliable nature of human memory. They then used her research and findings as part of their efforts to discredit survivors’ accounts of the abuse they suffered at the hands of the most prolific sex traffickers in modern history. Oh, and she also sold her services to the defense team who represented that guy who burped a murder confession into a hot mic. So . . . yeah, it's probably fair to say she has a complicated legacy. And in today’s episode (and next week’s episode for that matter, because there’s a lot of ground to cover), Marcus and Esme try to discuss that legacy with the nuance and perspective it deserves. However, they also acknowledge that . . . dude, this sh*t just feels wrong. This is the second high profile and highly influential mental health professional they’ve covered in relatively short order who – one might argue* -- have commoditized their life’s work for financial gain**. And so Marcus and Esme find themselves asking: a) What is the role of mental health professionals when it comes to identifying and calling out the systemic injustices that are negatively impacting people’s mental health and wellbeing, and, b) What should we expect mental health professionals to do when their treatments or research are used by the wealthy and powerful for their own purposes (e.g., exploiting workers, avoiding accountability, etc.)? *Additional notes *These Em dashes are NOT AI generated. They were entered by someone who thinks and writes in asides and REFUSES to sacrifice much needed punctuation marks just to prove he’s not a frickin’ robot. ** See episodes 131 and 133 about the rise and fall of Positive Psychology for the first example. Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com Contact us: https://www.crazytogetherpod.com/contact Sources for this episode include: Marsh, Ann, and Greta Lorge. “How the Truth Gets Twisted.” Stanford Magazine, Nov.–Dec. 2012, https://stanfordmag.org/contents/how-the-truth-gets-twisted. “Ghislaine Maxwell Trial: ‘False Memory’ Expert Testifies for Defence.” BBC News, 17 Dec. 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59688787. Otgaar, Henry, et al. “The Return of the Repressed: The Persistent and Problematic Claims of Long-Forgotten Trauma.” Perspectives on Psychological Science, vol. 14, no. 6, 2019, pp. 1072–1095. PubMed Central, PMC6826861. “Misinformation Effect.” ScienceDirect Topics, Elsevier, 2026, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/misinformation-effect. Memon, Amina, and Mark Young. “Desperately Seeking Evidence: The Recovered Memory Debate.” Legal & Criminological Psychology, vol. 2, no. 2, 1997, pp. 131–154. Cogprints, University of Southampton Web Archive, https://web-archive.southampton.ac.uk/cogprints.org/642/1/memon.rec_mem_review.html. “Dispatch From the Repressed-Memory Legal Front.” Psychiatric Times, https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/dispatch-repressed-memory-legal-front. Luna, Kaitlin. “Speaking of Psychology: How Memory Can Be Manipulated, with Elizabeth Loftus, PhD.” American Psychological Association, last updated Aug. 2023, https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/memory-manipulated. Stollznow, Karen. “False Ideas About False Memories.” Psychology Today, 3 Mar. 2022, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/speaking-in-tongues/202203/false-ideas-about-false-memories. Our theme music Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch: • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun... Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp
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    1 Std. und 9 Min.
  • 137. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: British Things That Do or Don’t Deliver

    137. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: British Things That Do or Don’t Deliver
    Sep 4 2026

    There is a strong connection between dopamine and the things we find entertaining. Our brains release dopamine when we anticipate we’re going to enjoy something, like playing a game or watching a movie. It pushes us to take action. When we find something we like, we get another little shot of dopamine to reinforce the behavior. But, when it turns out we don’t enjoy that which we pursued, well, cue the sad trombone.

    In this week's HYPERFOCUS BONUS, Marcus and Esme discuss some recent experiences they’ve had while chasing that rewards anticipation cycle. In Marcus’ case, he describes his lifelong interest in a 600-year-old English legend that has NEVER ONCE delivered for him, no matter how much he hopes it will. For her part, Esme shares her relative success with two British shows she discovered recently.

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    Our theme music

    • Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch: • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun... Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp
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    29 Min.
  • 138. False Memories, Abuse, and Power: Part 2

    138. False Memories, Abuse, and Power: Part 2
    Sep 10 2026
    WARNING: It’s part 2 of Crazy Together’s exploration of the research and legacy of Elizabeth Loftus, PhD and emotions are running high! Loftus, as you’ll no doubt recall from last week’s episode, is best known for her contributions to our understanding of the malleability and fallibility of human memory. She’s also well known for consulting with and providing expert testimony at trial for the defense in some of the most high profile cases in recent memory. And not just any cases, mind you. Cases in which it looked like some of the absolute worst people in recent memory were finally going to face justice. Why does she do it, and what are some of the far reaching impacts of her continued endeavors in the criminal justice system? Well, that was the topic Marcus and Esme planned on tackling in this episode. And the funny thing is, they really felt like they had a plan heading into part 2. They had an outline with time slots reserved for discussing Loftus’ rationale as well as a summary of some of the criticism that has been leveled against her. It seemed pretty straightforward. But that plan went straight out the window as they began parsing out Loftus’ rationale and considering the implications of all the criticism she’s received. Before long, it became apparent that their plan for capping their discussion of Loftus’ work with the same nuance and perspective they tried to bring to last week’s episode was a pipe dream. Now, they’re just pretty pissed off, so much so that one of the hosts has had to recuse themselves from today’s episode. What has them so upset? You’ll have to listen to find out. Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com Contact us: https://www.crazytogetherpod.com/contact Sources for this episode include: Ahmed, Waheed. “Elizabeth Loftus’ 25,000 Subject False Memory Research: How Covert Narcissists Erase Your Truth.” Medium, Psyche Pedia, 31 Jul. 2025. https://medium.com/psyche-pedia/elizabeth-loftus-25-000-subject-false-memory-research-how-covert-narcissists-erase-your-truth-7bbfb47fd8bf.Brewin, Chris R., and Bernice Andrews. “False Memories of Childhood Abuse: Are Therapists to Blame?” The Psychologist, 7 June 2017, British Psychological Society, https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/false-memories-childhood-abuse.Drouin, Michelle, Jody M. Ross, and Tara L. Cornelius. “Current State of ‘Lost in the Mall’: Implications for Expert Witness Testimony on the Reliability of Childhood Memories.” Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, published online 13 Oct. 2025, Taylor & Francis, https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2025.2556461.Fomina, Maria. “The Misinformation Effect.” The Decision Lab, 12 Aug. 2021, https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/psychology/the-misinformation-effect. Loftus, Elizabeth F. “The Repressed Memory Controversy.” American Psychologist, vol. 49, no. 5, 1994, pp. 443–445. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.49.5.443. Loftus, Elizabeth, and Katherine Ketcham. Witness for the Defense: The Accused, the Eyewitnesses, and the Expert Who Puts Memory on Trial. St. Martins Press, 1991. McMaugh, Kate, and Warwick Middleton. “The Rise and Fall of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation.” ISSTD News, 21 Jan. 2020, International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, https://news.isst-d.org/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-false-memory-syndrome-foundation. Richards, Laura. False Memory Expert Testified for the Defence. Laura Richards, 8 Feb. 2020, https://www.thelaurarichards.com/my-two-cents/false-memory-expert-testified-for-the-defence. Stollznow, Karen. “False Ideas About False Memories.” Psychology Today, 3 Mar. 2022, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/speaking-in-tongues/202203/false-ideas-about-false-memories. Winton, Richard. “ ‘False Memory’ Expert Testified for O.J., Bundy; Now, Harvey Weinstein.” Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2020, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-06/false-memory-expert-testify-harvey-weinstein-trial. “Ghislaine Maxwell Trial: ‘False Memory’ Expert Testifies for Defence.” BBC News, 17 Dec. 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59688787. “Misinformation Effect.” ScienceDirect Topics, Elsevier, 2026, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/misinformation-effect. Our theme music Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch: • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun... Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp
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    46 Min.
  • 139. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: Can’t Get Enough of Your Emotional Cues, Babe

    139. HYPERFOCUS BONUS: Can’t Get Enough of Your Emotional Cues, Babe
    Sep 11 2026

    September 12 is a very special date, because it was on that date in the year of our lord nineteen hundred and forty-four that a special man was born. A man whose bass-baritone voice, soulful grooves, and silky-smooth string arrangements would serve as the soundtrack for many a romantic evening. Who knows, his voice might even have accompanied (and possibly inspired) your very conception, which would be a beautiful and wondrous thing to consider, if not for the fact that it also meant you’d have to acknowledge that your parents were getting their freak on. But it would be worth it, because it would mean that your addition to this mortal coil was heralded by no less of a legend than Barry White. Marcus wishes him a happy birthday and pays tribute to his legacy with such suitably grandiose and over-the-top prose that Esme had to turn away from the mic to avoid snort laughing directly into it.

    For her part, Esme reveals a shocking discovery about a common cosmetic procedure that would only be shocking to someone who hasn’t recently received that cosmetic procedure. Because it turns out that receiving a procedure that renders one’s facial expression somewhat muted for a period of time might also impact their ability to feel surprise, joy, sadness and any number of other emotions. Esme shares what she has learned, acknowledges she has only scratched the surface of available research, and teases the possibility of returning to the subject on a full-length episode of Crazy Together in the near future.

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    Our theme music

    • Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch: • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun... Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp
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    34 Min.
  • 140. A Mostly Good News Story About Person-Centered Therapy: Part 1

    140. A Mostly Good News Story About Person-Centered Therapy: Part 1
    Sep 17 2026

    Marcus believes the Road Runner cartoons are some of the greatest existential and allegorical works of art ever created. While this might feel like more of a Friday topic, we assure you it is directly relevant to today’s discussion and will make complete sense if you listen to the whole episode.

    In this week’s episode, Marcus and Esme discuss the work and legacy of yet another influential psychologist. This time, they’re discussing Carl Rogers, one of the founders of humanistic psychology and the primary developer of person-centered psychotherapy. However, unlike the last two profiles they did, they find his legacy to be much less complicated. And while they acknowledge Rogers is by no means perfect, and that his theories have generated a fair amount of criticism over the years, they take comfort in the knowledge that it seems as though he never stopped thinking about the best interests of the patients and clients he served. So, it’s a (mostly) happy story!

    Visit our website: crazytogetherpod.com

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    Sources for this episode include:

    • McLeod, Saul. “John B. Watson: Contribution to Psychology.” Simply Psychology, 6 Sept. 2026, https://www.simplypsychology.org/john-b-watson.html.
    • McLeod, Saul. “Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy).” Simply Psychology, 28 Apr. 2025, https://www.simplypsychology.org/client-centred-therapy.html.
    • “Carl Rogers, PhD: 1947 APA President.” American Psychological Association, June 2021, https://www.apa.org/about/governance/president/carl-r-rogers.
    • Yao, Lucy, and Rian Kabir. “Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy).” StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK589708.
    • Rogers, Carl R. The Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1939. Internet Archive, https://ia801902.us.archive.org/2/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.166832/2015.166832.The-Clinical-Treatment-Of-The-Problem-Child_text.pdf.
    • Rogers, Carl. “Dealing With Breakdowns in Communication.” ListeningWay, https://www.listeningway.com/rogers1-eng.html.
    • 250 WPM. This One Skill Can Transform Every Conversation. YouTube, uploaded by 250 WPM, 10 Sept. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtLwcR3-pZQ.

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    • Midnight—Declan DP [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch: • Midnight — Declan DP | Free Backgroun... Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/midnight-declan-dp
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    54 Min.