Crazy Together

Marcus is flying solo on this episode while Esme practices self-care. Today’s topic: Do people with adhd perform better under pressure?

Spoiler alert: Yes, we do. However, this is very much one of those “double-edged sword” issues. Sometimes, being great at something is a real challenge if that talent takes a physical and mental toll on our health and well-being. 

So in this episode, Marcus explains why peopl...

Marcus and Esme readily admit they are not perfect parents, but they do feel like they got at least one thing more or less right. They always prized, valued, and enjoyed time spent reading to their daughter. Eventually, their daughter learned to read on her own and, like most voracious readers, began to prize the time she spent reading to herself. While Marcus and Esme were proud of their girl’s reading skills and independenc...

Marcus and Esme are alive and well and (mostly) disease free! To celebrate their newly recovered health and ADHD Awareness Month (Happy Hard, everyone!) they’ve decided to discuss ADHD treatment options. And not just any treatment options, mind you. They’ve decided to discuss the type of treatment options they usually don’t entertain. 

For you see, Marcus and Esme are big believers in the combined powers of t...

In this week's Hyperfocus Bonus, Marcus and Esme pitch ideas to spice up ADHD awareness month. Then, Marcus identifies a plot hole in the 1990-something thriller The Fugitive, and Esme demands an end to the pumpkin spice- and apple cinnamon-bombardment of peoples’ olfactory senses during the fall season.

Happy Hard, everyone!

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Sickness has descended on the O’Kayvious household again, and this time Marcus and Esme are both down for the count. However, because they felt like they could use a shot of something fun and enjoyable they decided to replay their episode about whimsy from earlier this year. 

Join Marcus and Esme as they discuss whimsy, the rare social media trend that doesn’t seem to want to kill us. Marcus and Esme discuss why th...

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 (...

MKULTRA, Human Potential Movement-inspired sex cults, and “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland . . . these are just some of the topics Marcus and Esme make passing reference to in this week’s episode, so don’t get your hopes up.

Or, maybe you should get your hopes up! Because Marcus and Esme continue their discussion from last week about Carl Rogers, humanistic psychology, and person-centered psychotherapy. Th...

Some lessons have the power to open our minds, and to expand our understanding of the universe and the possibilities within it. 

Other lessons just scare the crap out of us. Or they reveal how something that seems pretty cool at first glance might actually be pretty stupid. 

Esme explains how she recently learned that the paper certain stores use to print receipts is actually fairly toxic!

And Marcus describes how a deep ...

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&r...

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 thin...

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 def...

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 t...

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 sudd...

It’s time for another Movie Night! What are Marcus andEsme watching, and why have they decided to leave the name of the film out of the episode title? 

Well, it’s not that they don’t trust you. They are just a little worried that their audience, who they know to be educated, refined, and highly responsive to specific stimuli and subject matter, might hesitate to press play if they knew what (and who) the movi...

What does it mean to go all in on something? Well, sometimes you have to go all in if you want to get all out. And even though the previous sentence made absolutely no sense whatsoever, we’re keeping it in the description because writing introductory paragraphs can be difficult.

In this week’s HYPERFOCUS BONUS, Marcus and Esme share two stories of going all in to achieve a goal. In part 1, Esme shares some strategies sh...

WARNING! This episode discusses the positive psychology movement’s fall from grace. As such, listeners who have endured the “horrors” wrought by positive psychology in schools and in the workplace might feel some degree of Schadenfreude, a fancy German word that means you’re happy because someone or something else is getting the shaft. Then again, you’re the one who’s been forced to bottle up you...

In defiance of the laws of grammar and common sense, Marcus and Esme ask the question, “What is the difference between two things that are very similar to one another, except in the ways in which they are different?”

In Esme’s case, she explores the ways in which two activities (watercolor painting and landscape design) can share very similar goals (artistic and aesthetic enhancement) but trigger her hyperfocus di...

Do you feel pressured to maintain a super positive attitude in the workplace? Are you sick of engagement surveys? Do you wish that the word “grit” was only used to describe the relative coarseness of sandpaper?  

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you might have a bone to pick with a scientific discipline and research movement known as positive psychology. 

According to Psychology Today, &...

Has Esme been lying about an important biographical detail? 

Longtime listeners will know that Marcus and Esme both come from the same county in southeast Pennsylvania, but they grew up on “different sides of the tracks.” For her part, Esme grew up in a part of Delaware County she lovingly refers to as “Deep Delco,” and enjoys pointing out the many ways in which Marcus’ upbringing was far cushier ...