The Jordan Harbinger Show

Remember when Facebook was fun and Google actually worked? Cory Doctorow coined a term for what went wrong, and he's here to explain how we fight back.
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1280
What We Discuss with Cory Doctorow:
"Enshittification" is Cory Doctorow's term for how platforms decay. First they're good to users, then they abuse users to serve business customers, then they abuse everyone to claw back value for themselves. Facebook, Amazon, and Google all followed this playbook — and policy makers let it happen.
"Switching costs" are a deliberate policy choice, not an inevitability. Companies jack up the friction of leaving their platforms through design and lobbying, but regulations like phone number portability prove we can legislate friction down when we choose to.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act criminalizes fixing things you own. Security researchers who expose corporate sabotage — like the Polish train company bricking locomotives to extort customers — face harsher legal consequences than actual pirates.
"Algorithmic wage discrimination" is surveillance capitalism's newest trick. Apps like Uber track how desperate workers are and pay them less accordingly — the more rides you accept, the lower your future offers, turning desperation into a permanent wage ceiling.
You can fight back by supporting interoperability and making strategic choices. Use alternative services (like Kagi for search), follow advocates like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org), and remember: every time you demand the right to own what you buy, you're pushing back against enshittification.
And much more...
And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps!
Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!
Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!
Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!
This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:
Article: Visit article.com/jordan for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more
BetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordan
Bombas: Go to bombas.com/jordan to get 20% off your first order
ButcherBox: Free protein for a year + $20 off first box: butcherbox.com/jordan
Homes.com: Find your home: homes.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Could returning to the gold standard fix inflation? Nick Pell explains why this shiny solution might not be all it's cracked up to be on Skeptical Sunday.
Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by writer and researcher Nick Pell!
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1279
On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:
The gold standard wasn't some ancient monetary relic — it only emerged in 1821 when Britain pegged the pound to gold, with most industrialized nations hopping on board by the 1890s. It was abandoned during World War I because governments simply couldn't fund the war while maintaining gold convertibility.
Today's global economy is roughly $115 trillion, while all the gold ever mined is worth about $28.5 trillion — roughly a quarter of global GDP. This massive mismatch means returning to gold would require either revaluing it to astronomical prices or causing catastrophic deflation.
The appeal of the gold standard isn't really about the metal itself — it's about trust. People are drawn to money that doesn't depend on government promises or political whims. Gold represents certainty in an uncertain world.
A return to gold would likely benefit net exporters like China while punishing net importers like the United States. Trade imbalances would transform into gold hoarding, creating constant liquidity crises that global commerce simply couldn't survive.
The desire for "sound money" isn't misguided — it's the solution that's flawed. Better monetary policy rules, multi-asset pegs, or systems like Switzerland's debt-repayment requirements could provide the discipline people crave without nuking the world economy.
Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at [email protected] and let him know!
And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps!
Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!
Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!
Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!
This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:
Hiya: 50% off first order: hiyahealth.com/jordan
The Perfect Jean: 15% off first order: theperfectjean.nyc, code JORDAN15
Quiltmind: Email [email protected] to get started or visit quiltmind.com for more info
Homes.com: Find your home: homes.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Your sister's husband has a history of abuse, and just bought a shack in the middle of nowhere for them and the kids. What can you do? It's Feedback Friday!
And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at [email protected]. Now let's dive in!
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1278
On This Week's Feedback Friday:
Your abusive brother-in-law dragged your sister by her hair, has a traumatic brain injury linked to violence, and just bought a remote shack 5,000 kilometers from civilization — now he wants to move your sister and her kids out there. Are you overreacting, or is this a true-crime doc waiting to happen?
You and your wife adopted four kids from foster care — all with special needs from drug exposure and trauma — and your parents keep blaming their behavior on your parenting. Now they're sharing their opinions with other family members. How do you stand your ground while keeping the peace?
Your friend Lily started asking if you're better friends with her or Mary, accused Mary of "stealing friendships," and has confronted multiple people about their personalities. When you suggested therapy, she insisted she's already doing everything right. What do you do when someone's spiraling?
Recommendation of the Week: SlimFold Nano Soft Shell Minimalist Wallet
You read about the value of keeping goals to yourself — how silence can protect dreams from premature deflation — but at some point, you need to open up while networking and building relationships. So where's the line between strategic silence and sharing what you're working on?
Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at [email protected]!
Connect with Jordan on Twitter at @JordanHarbinger and Instagram at @jordanharbinger.
Connect with Gabriel on Twitter at @GabeMizrahi and Instagram @gabrielmizrahi.
And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps!
Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!
Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!
Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!
This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:
CookUnity: 50% off first week: cookunity.com/jordan or code JORDAN
Chime: Open an account in two minutes: chime.com/jhs
Bombas: Go to bombas.com/jordan to get 20% off your first order
Audible: Visit audible.com/jhs or text JHS to 500-500
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nuclear power could save the planet — so why are we terrified of it? Here, Rad Future author Isabelle Boemeke breaks down the science behind the stigma.
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1277
What We Discuss with Isabelle Boemeke:
Nuclear energy is the cleanest major power source available — producing no greenhouse gas emissions or particulate matter during electricity generation — yet public perception remains trapped in Cold War-era fears and Hollywood disaster imagery rather than modern scientific reality.
The math on safety is staggering: fossil fuels cause roughly four million premature deaths annually from air pollution, while even the most generous estimates attribute around 4,000 deaths to history's worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl — meaning you'd need 200 Chernobyls every year for nuclear to match fossil fuel fatalities.
Nuclear fuel is approximately one million times more energy dense than coal — a gummy bear-sized pellet of uranium contains the same energy as 2,000 pounds of coal — which translates to dramatically less mining, less land use, and a lifetime of personal energy consumption producing only a soda can's worth of spent fuel.
Germany's post-Fukushima decision to phase out nuclear power backfired spectacularly, leaving the country dependent on Russian gas (effectively funding the Ukraine war), while China's critiques of Fukushima's tritium release were pure theater — their own nuclear plants routinely emit more tritiated water during normal operations.
The infrastructure for a nuclear transition already exists — coal plants share nearly identical turbine and cooling systems with nuclear facilities, meaning workers can be retrained and sites repurposed, creating jobs in communities devastated by fossil fuel shutdowns while building genuine energy independence.
And much more...
And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps!
Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!
Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!
Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!
This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:
BetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordan
Fitbod: 25% off: fitbod.me/jordan
HexClad: 10% off: hexclad.com/jordan
Progressive: Free online quote: progressive.com
Homes.com: Find your home: homes.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why do we rubberneck accidents and binge true crime? Behavioral scientist Coltan Scrivner explains the surprising psychology behind our morbid curiosity.
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1276
What We Discuss with Coltan Scrivner:
Morbid curiosity isn't a character flaw — it's an evolutionary feature. The same instinct that makes us rubberneck at accidents helped our ancestors learn about threats without becoming victims themselves. It's your brain's built-in threat-assessment system, gathering intel from a safe distance.
Horror movies work because of a specific formula: an overwhelmingly powerful villain versus a vulnerable protagonist. That imbalance — think Pennywise hunting kids or Jason stalking camp counselors — triggers our threat-detection systems in ways action films simply can't replicate.
True crime's massive female audience isn't random. Women face threats primarily from people they know, so their curiosity focuses on spotting danger signals and understanding how predators operate. Men, who historically face violence from strangers, gravitate toward watching combat simulations like UFC.
Decades of research and millions of dollars confirm: violent video games don't create violent people. The Mortal Kombat moral panic of the nineties produced the ESRB rating system — but the generation raised on those pixelated fatalities turned out just fine.
Engaging with scary play — whether horror films, spooky games, or even childhood tag — actually builds emotional resilience. Kids who experience controlled fear learn to regulate anxiety, giving them psychological tools to handle real-world stress as adults. So don't skip the haunted house.
And much more...
And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps!
Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!
Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!
Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!
This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:
HelloFresh: Get $80 off your first order at hellofresh.com/jhs80
Bombas: Go to bombas.com/jordan to get 20% off your first order
DeleteMe: 20% off: joindeleteme.com/jordan, code JORDAN
Audible: Visit audible.com/jhs or text JHS to 500-500
Homes.com: Find your home: homes.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.