Cooler Heads

Jess and Johnny

Everything’s on fire — and everyone’s yelling. Hot takes. Bad faith. Outrage as a business model. But here’s the thing: when everyone’s losing their mind… keeping yours is a radical act. This is Cooler Heads — where we cut through the noise, torch the BS, and talk like adults. No panic. No propaganda. Just cooler heads prevailing.

  1. A Very Bloomsday Episode!

    Jun 16

    A Very Bloomsday Episode!

    It’s June 16th — Bloomsday — and Johnny just finished one of the most legendary challenges in all of literature. In this episode, the crew celebrates his completion of James Joyce’s Ulysses, unpacking who Leopold Bloom really is, what it’s like to surrender to Joyce’s stream-of-consciousness prose, and how emerging from the other side of this 265,000-word masterpiece quietly changes you. A perfect listen for anyone who’s read it, abandoned it, or is still summoning the courage.

    1h 2m
  2. I Survived A Congressional Campaign

    Jun 11

    I Survived A Congressional Campaign

    This week, Jess emerges from the strange and exhausting world of California politics after helping run a campaign for Nancy Pelosi’s open congressional seat. We unpack the consultants, cash, dirty tricks, viral moments, manufactured narratives, and genuine human connections that define modern campaigns. What happens when months of effort, hope, and adrenaline all culminate in a single election night and what’s left behind when the signs come down and everyone goes home?

    54 min
  3. Jurassic Farce

    May 30

    Jurassic Farce

    This week, friend of the show Ilya joins us as we explore the strange world of dinosaur denialism and the history of early paleontology. Rather than dismissing skeptics out of hand, we try to steelman some of their arguments and ask a deeper question: why should anyone accept the scientific method in the first place? From the fierce competition surrounding early fossil discoveries to the birth of a new scientific discipline, we examine how evidence earns trust, why some people are drawn to grand narratives over careful analysis, and how to pursue truth in an age where shock often wins out over truth.

    1h 6m
  4. Ave Machina

    May 22

    Ave Machina

    From Vatican roundtables on AI ethics to rabbis revisiting the legend of the golem to AI-generated fatwas in the Islamic world, the world’s major religions are confronting a strange new question: what happens when humanity creates something in its own image? This week, we explore faith, technology, and the possibility that there may be another ghost entering the machine.

    1h 11m
  5. Helena Blavatsky and the Theosopher’s Stone

    May 7

    Helena Blavatsky and the Theosopher’s Stone

    This week, we descend into the occult stacks with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky as our guide. Special guest Dr Marina Alexandrova of The University of Texas at Austin joins us to unpack the strange, sprawling world of Theosophy: imperial Russian mysticism, Eastern and Western esoterica, hidden masters, cosmic truths, and the utterly unbelievable life of the woman behind The Secret Doctrine. Check out some of Dr Alexandrova’s recent work: https://www.whitefungus.com/ https://lit-verlag.de/isbn/978-3-643-91580-1/

    1h 7m
  6. Homeward Bound

    May 1

    Homeward Bound

    This week, we speak with Johnny’s sister, Kristie, about the excitement of living abroad—the adventure of new places, fresh connections, and building a life somewhere new. We also touch on the feeling of being a stranger in a strange place, and how that experience shapes identity, independence, and connection while navigating expat life and being single abroad.

    1h 8m
  7. Gettin’ Sassy

    Apr 20

    Gettin’ Sassy

    This week: chaos in the Middle East — the Iran war, ceasefires, and Strait of Hormuz brinkmanship — plus a blunt look at what Donald Trump’s foreign policy even is (if anything). Then we pivot to something far more human: a striking, intimate conversation between Ben Sasse and Ross Douthat on mortality, meaning, and how to live when time is suddenly finite.

    1h 4m
  8. Man O’ Man

    Apr 3

    Man O’ Man

    This week, we unpack Louis Theroux’s newest documentary, “Inside the Manosphere” alongside a heated Jubilee face-off featuring Jillian Michaels and body positivity activists—two equal and opposite extremes in the ongoing battle of the sexes. When both sides push to the edge, what does a way forward actually look like?

    59 min
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About

Everything’s on fire — and everyone’s yelling. Hot takes. Bad faith. Outrage as a business model. But here’s the thing: when everyone’s losing their mind… keeping yours is a radical act. This is Cooler Heads — where we cut through the noise, torch the BS, and talk like adults. No panic. No propaganda. Just cooler heads prevailing.

Information

  • Creator
    Jess and Johnny
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Jess and Johnny
  • Show Website
    Cooler Heads

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