everything is mental.

markkorthuis

A podcast hosted by Mark Korthuis exploring the psychological forces shaping our time, and the ways our inner lives intersect with our institutions, our communities, and our shared search for meaning in an increasingly complex world.

  1. 2025-02-15

    EP27: Confronting the Inner Storm: Aboard the Longship

    Any port in the storm. That’s what they say, right? But some storms, you don’t just ride out. Some storms are meant to break you open, strip away the old wood, and leave you staring at what’s left—raw, honest, real. It’s been two years since my last episode. In that time, I recorded several conversations but never released them. I got caught in the cycle of overthinking, chasing perfection, and losing sight of why I started this podcast in the first place. Funny how the mind works. It builds its own labyrinth, and before you know it, you’re pacing the same damn hallways, touching the same cold walls, thinking maybe if you run the pattern long enough, you’ll find a way out. But that’s not how it works. Not in life. You don’t think your way out of it. You walk. You fight. You let yourself be seen. You lean on the ones who’ve been there before, the ones who don’t flinch at the weight of your story because they’ve carried their own. The kind who have walked through fire and came out carrying something worth sharing. Today I’m joined by three men who've been there before. Good men. Not perfect men—real ones. John Trapp, Ryan Collins, and Cody Lakevold—serial entrepreneurs, business owners, and family men who are now the founders of Longship. Longship is a space where men can come together, drop the masks, and hold each other accountable in their growth—mentally, physically, and spiritually. What draws me to their work is its realness. It’s not about self-improvement as a buzzword. It’s about showing up, doing the work, and creating a community where men can support each other in becoming better versions of themselves. I’m grateful to be back. Let’s dive in.   For those interested in learning more about Longship you can visit www.longshipmen.com

    2h 3m
  2. 2022-09-30

    EP26: Jeff Booth Confronts Inflation & Technology

    “System problems with the type of magnitude the world is dealing with cannot be fixed by the system creating the problem. A different way of thinking is required.” - Jeff Booth   I have spent the past decade trying to understand why the mental health crisis worsens while stigma reduction efforts and funding for mental health services are on the rise. I used to think the problem was a lack of money, but what if the problem was the monetary system itself?   With inflation wreaking havoc across the globe and adding incredible stress and anxiety to millions of families, I thought it would be worth re-sharing my conversation with Jeff Booth from April of this year. Jeff and I discuss various themes from his recent book The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is Key to an Abundant Future, and how money, as it is currently structured, is serving to fragment our collective well-being.   Jeff’s key arguments: Our Economic System is Sick. Our debt-dependent economic growth has created an economic system that is not fit for purpose. As technological advancement accelerates into unprecedented territory, our need for inflation to support this system is being confronted by the natural force of deflation. We need to urgently rethink our approach. Technology is an Unstoppable Deflationary Force. The emergence of new technologies, such as self-driving cars, virtual reality, and additive manufacturing, will soon create unstoppable deflationary pressure on this system. Coupled with innovation in renewable energy and artificial intelligence, this deflationary pressure cannot be stopped through our model of currency debasement and debt. The Dangers and Possible Solutions. Our current approach is widening inequality and will inevitably lead to the discontent that sows the seeds for totalitarianism. While history tells us that policymakers will probably turn to further money printing and universal basic income as responses, a fuller reset is inevitable. We need to decentralize and fix our monetary system, and we need to confront the deflationary reality now rather than later.   Jeff has become a passionate advocate for Bitcoin as a tool to move us towards a fairer system based on truth and a free market of ideas, a system that moves us from scarcity to abundance. Fix the money, fix the world? Mark

    1h 18m
  3. 2022-01-15

    EP22: Tom Wolf and Chief Dale McFee Confront Pathological Altruism

    Pathological Altruism: Behavior in which attempts to promote the welfare of another, or others, results instead in harm that an external observer would conclude was reasonably foreseeable.   Over the holidays, I read a book by author Michael Schellenberger, "San Fransicko: Why progressives are ruining cities."    The book posits that progressive policies on homelessness, inequality, and crime have made the cities that progressives control worse, not better.    Schellenberger believes that the real problem isn't a lack of housing or money for social programs. The real problem is an ideology that designates some people, by identity or experience, as victims entitled to destructive behaviors. The result is an undermining of the values that make cities and civilization itself possible.   Mr. Tom Wolf appears prominently in San Fransicko. Tom is a former homeless heroin addict who has now become an advocate for recovery. While reading the book, I couldn't help but be impressed by Tom. He has the voice of lived experience combined with a pragmatic, empathetic, and non-ideological approach. I was thrilled he agreed to speak on this episode.   I was also grateful to have City of Edmonton Police Chief Dale McFee join in the conversation. Dale is a systems-oriented thinker who has been leading transformational change within Edmonton Police Force.   We discuss homelessness, addiction, mental illness, drug and housing policies, policing, and politics. We also draw on Tom's experiences in San Francisco to help us consider the type of policies our cities in Canada need to investigate further.   I loved this conversation and am grateful to have had the opportunity to listen to Tom and Dale grapple with some of the most intractable challenges of our time.

    1h 27m

Ratings & Reviews

4.1
out of 5
23 Ratings

About

A podcast hosted by Mark Korthuis exploring the psychological forces shaping our time, and the ways our inner lives intersect with our institutions, our communities, and our shared search for meaning in an increasingly complex world.