Pour a glass of bourbon and settle in: Shrink the Nation returns with a clinically sharp (and frequently ridiculous) take on why so many Gen Z men are gravitating toward a harder-edged identity—where UFC/WWE aesthetics bleed into politics—and why the answer isn’t mockery, it’s empathy. Between Jefferson’s Reserve and a tall pour of Elijah Craig (yes, including the “fish barrel” origin myth), we trace how belonging, agency, and meaning got scrambled for young men—and how to unsnarl it without turning every disagreement into a cage match.

Dr. David, Rob, and Keith dig into the numbers (think: “65% not in relationships”) and the culture—Testo-Rage-Max jokes and all—while refusing the easy dunk. We map the psychology: how the non-college cohort became the swing lane, and how a myth-making machine (hello, WWE) offers black-and-white hero stories that feel like a rite of passage—even when they don’t deliver intimacy or purpose.

Pop Culture & Historical References:
• Willard Galen’s The Male Ego (with Rob’s combat-zone “book under the bed” origin story)
• Joseph Campbell on the loss of unifying myths (a.k.a. why we’re story-poor)
• Robert Bly’s Iron John and the missing rites of passage
• Mr. Rogers (as proposed walk-in music… and maybe a better model of strength)
• A-10 vs. F-35 (close air support and why modern “war myths” feel different)
• Ukraine’s trench reality and the search for a genuine shared purpose

Episode Highlights:
• What’s actually shifting: identity and culture more than stated ideology
• Why “belonging” beats “being right,” and how dominance never produces intimacy
• Mentors > algorithms: replacing 4chan/8chan rabbit holes with real guidance
• The empathy move: acknowledging the void (work, purpose, partnership) without pandering
• Why WWE-style mythmaking feels good—and how to build healthier rites of passage
• The “work as meaning” argument—and why the cool kids work

Prescription:
• If you’re not old enough to work, volunteer—try a local food bank (we shout out Feed My Starving Children) to feel purpose and community.
• Read Starship Troopers (the book, not the movie) for a clearer picture of duty and leadership.
• Consider service (yes, even the Army)—structured challenge can forge confidence and connection.

Plus: A frank detour through incel/sigma-alpha jawline nonsense and why the intimacy you want will never come from dominance—or from doomscrolling.

Join us for bourbon-fueled group therapy for America’s exhausted middle—equal parts compassion and provocation—where masculinity, myth, and mental health get the straight talk they deserve. Stick around for walk-in music picks (Shinedown’s “Sound of Madness,” anybody?) and some merch/newsletter teases.

This episode is for education and entertainment; it is not medical advice.

"Got Thoughts? Outrage? A Diagnosis of Your Own? Send us a text"

Support the show

Shrink The Nation is where America lies on the couch — and we pour the bourbon.
Hosted by board-certified psychiatrists and mental health pros with backgrounds in military, media, and systems thinking, we break down the psychology behind politics, culture, and public dysfunction.
Smart. Funny. Clinically sharp. Slightly buzzed.

Subscribe, rate, and share if you’re part of the exhausted middle looking for sanity in the noise.

For feedback or hate-listening invitations, hit us at socials@shrinkthenation.com.

Follow us everywhere: @shrinkthenation on X, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky

Shrink The Nation — On the Couch With America.

Pull up a seat—and maybe a plastic cup—because Uncle Sam is back on the couch, Old Crow Bourbon in hand. Not the fancy small-batch bottle… the gallon jug that once fueled the likes of President Ulysses S. Grant and Mark Twain, courtesy of Dr. James Crow’s 19th-century chemistry wizardry.

David and Rob blend history, psychology, and bourbon-soaked banter to dissect America’s collective unconscious, borrowing from Carl Jung’s big ideas: archetypes, the shadow, and the midlife transition. We trace the U.S. from rebellious young upstart (with a little help from Lafayette, France’s creepiest-but-most-useful friend), to reluctant World War hero, to the aging protagonist in need of a rewrite—picture Superman III’s brooding bar scene with Old Crow in the glass.

The question: can America gracefully step out of the hero archetype and into the wise mentor role? Or are we clinging to the cape until we turn into a parody of ourselves? Along the way, we take hard looks at the national “shadow”—slavery, inequality, and the gap between our founding ideals and lived reality—and call out our habit of slapping an Instagram filter over the whole thing.

This episode isn’t therapy, but it is an 80-proof reflection on what it means to be authentically American: proud but self-aware, fierce but adaptable, able to laugh at our own glorious clusterf*** of a national identity while still aiming for something better.

So pour a drink, settle in, and join us as we wrestle with the big question: what does Uncle Sam want to be when he grows up?

"Got Thoughts? Outrage? A Diagnosis of Your Own? Send us a text"

Support the show

Shrink The Nation is where America lies on the couch — and we pour the bourbon.
Hosted by board-certified psychiatrists and mental health pros with backgrounds in military, media, and systems thinking, we break down the psychology behind politics, culture, and public dysfunction.
Smart. Funny. Clinically sharp. Slightly buzzed.

Subscribe, rate, and share if you’re part of the exhausted middle looking for sanity in the noise.

For feedback or hate-listening invitations, hit us at socials@shrinkthenation.com.

Follow us everywhere: @shrinkthenation on X, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky

Shrink The Nation — On the Couch With America.

Shrink the Nation drags America onto the therapist’s couch for a bourbon-fueled, no-bullshit exploration of national identity, collective anxiety, and the messiness of being the world’s aging hero.

If the United States walked into therapy—boasting “I’m the greatest country on earth, but I feel divided and lost”—what would its psychological profile look like? The docs break down America’s diffuse identity disorder, hero complex, and midlife crisis, pulling zero punches and pouring plenty of Cooper’s Craft (and Tin Cup, with a drive-by from Dunkin’ Donuts).

Drawing on Carl Jung’s hero archetype, the crew unpacks why America is stuck between wanting to be “king of the hill” and not wanting to keep paying the price. Can a country have a personality disorder? Is our craving for unity just projection on a national scale? And what happens when the world’s quarterback refuses to hang up his jersey?

Pop culture gets its due, from Brett Favre and Tom Brady’s refusal to retire (seriously, leave Tom alone) to MrBeast as the new American idol. Plus, there’s advice for Uncle Sam (“Get a Corvette and some minoxidil!”), loving ridicule of our tens of listeners, and an honest prescription for national healing—embrace the messiness, say what you want out loud, and maybe—just maybe—settle for being the wise old man instead of the eternally jacked hero.

Referenced in this episode:

• Carl Jung’s “hero archetype” and shadow
• Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey
• Brett Favre, Tom Brady, and the struggle to retire
• MrBeast and the new American idol
• “Watchmen” (the movie and the comic)
• Cooper’s Craft Bourbon, Tin Cup, and Dunkin’ Donuts
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for national psychology

Best soundbites:

• “If America were a patient, it would be in a midlife crisis—driving a Corvette, but haunted by its past.”
• “You can’t just give up your throne and still be hailed as king.”
• “Embrace the messiness. Take three deep breaths and say, I’m a glorious clusterfuck—and that’s okay.”

Whether you’re a cynical patriot, a reluctant optimist, or just here for bourbon-fueled wisdom, this episode is your group therapy for the American mind.

"Got Thoughts? Outrage? A Diagnosis of Your Own? Send us a text"

Support the show

Shrink The Nation is where America lies on the couch — and we pour the bourbon.
Hosted by board-certified psychiatrists and mental health pros with backgrounds in military, media, and systems thinking, we break down the psychology behind politics, culture, and public dysfunction.
Smart. Funny. Clinically sharp. Slightly buzzed.

Subscribe, rate, and share if you’re part of the exhausted middle looking for sanity in the noise.

Send us your questions (or your defense mechanisms): socials@shrinkthenation.com
Follow us everywhere: @shrinkthenation on X, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky

Shrink The Nation — On the Couch With America.

Pull up a seat on the couch—bourbon not required but highly recommended—as Shrink the Nation tackles the psychological circus of presidential expectations. Why do Americans keep expecting their presidents to be Marvel superheroes (or at least build us flying cars)? Why does disappointment so often turn to scapegoating and hysteria? And what does infantile defense have to do with politics, family fights, or your group chat?

Dr. David, Rob, Keith, and Amit dig into the deep end of projection—the classic Freudian defense that explains why we pin all our hopes, fears, and hot takes on whoever is in the White House. From Reagan in a flying car to JFK’s legendary “affairs,” the crew dissects how childhood fantasy morphs into adult cynicism (and, sometimes, just more bourbon).

We break down:

• Why political projection isn’t just about hope—it’s about primitive psychotic defense (thanks, Melanie Klein, and yes, we explain “paranoid-schizoid split” in plain English).
• How society keeps falling for the “hero or villain” trap, whether it’s Salem witch trials, cult logic, or 4D chess politicians.
• Scapegoating in American life: what Different Strokes’ “bicycle man” and family therapy have in common with cable news.
• How media and social media feed the hysteria—and why no president, not even with snacks and a cape, can fix your life for you.
• Why the prescription is more local action, more personal responsibility, and (yes) more snacks.

Pop Culture & Citations:

• Bedtime for Bonzo, Different Strokes (“the bicycle man”), JFK & Marilyn Monroe, Salem Witch Trials, Melanie Klein (paranoid-schizoid split), DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), “4D chess,” the “attention economy,” Army resilience training (“hunt the good stuff”).

You’ll laugh, maybe groan, and definitely leave with a smarter, more integrated take on politics, leadership, and why looking for “the good” (even in Congress) is the sanest move you can make.

"Got Thoughts? Outrage? A Diagnosis of Your Own? Send us a text"

Support the show

Shrink The Nation is where America lies on the couch — and we pour the bourbon.
Hosted by board-certified psychiatrists and mental health pros with backgrounds in military, media, and systems thinking, we break down the psychology behind politics, culture, and public dysfunction.
Smart. Funny. Clinically sharp. Slightly buzzed.

Subscribe, rate, and share if you’re part of the exhausted middle looking for sanity in the noise.

Send us your questions (or your defense mechanisms): socials@shrinkthenation.com
Follow us everywhere: @shrinkthenation on X, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky

Shrink The Nation — On the Couch With America.

Pour a glass of bourbon and settle in: Shrink the Nation is back with a clinical (and irreverent) deep-dive into projection—how we heap our hopes, fears, and disappointments onto presidents, partners, and pretty much anyone who’ll stand still long enough.

Dr. David and Rob break down the classic Freudian defense (yes, with jokes about the “coked mind of Sigmund Freud”) and show how projection warps both politics and relationships. Why do Americans keep falling in love with presidential candidates, only to turn on them when they can’t deliver utopia? From FDR’s messiah complex and Kennedy’s “Camelot” mythos (shout-out to Jackie O and Family Guy’s take on 1930s boxing) to Obama’s “audacity of hope,” we dissect the burden every leader carries—and why we’re all doomed to be disappointed.

But it’s not just the White House: We call out Seinfeld (for teaching us how to break up over “man hands”), dig into media’s role in amplifying projections, and side-eye how social media makes the President feel like he’s texting from your toilet seat. Plus: a quick detour into AI and education, WALL-E, The Matrix, and why most politicians can’t fix your WiFi—so stop expecting them to fix your life.

Pop Culture & Historical References:

• Sigmund Freud’s original “blank screen” therapy
• Seinfeld (“Don’t model your life after Jerry”)
• Family Guy’s 1930s boxing bit
• FDR’s fireside chats
• The “Camelot” myth and JFK
• Marilyn Monroe’s infamous “Happy Birthday, Mr. President”
• Barack Obama’s “audacity of hope” campaign
• WALL-E, The Matrix (AI apocalypse anxieties)
• The evolution of media, from radio to TikTok
• Bacon & bourbon as the secret to longevity

Episode Highlights:

• How projection works—and why it’s usually unconscious
• The self-fulfilling prophecy of seeing your own flaws in others
• Presidential expectations vs. reality (and who actually has the power)
• Why nobody really understands government anymore
• The upside (and dangers) of AI in education
• Actual prescriptions: For your mental health, for your bourbon shelf, and for surviving another election cycle

Prescription:
Don’t just blame politicians or partners for your disappointment—ask yourself what you’re projecting. And before you expect someone else to solve your problem, see if they can even fix your router. (Spoiler: They can’t.)

Join us for another episode of bourbon-fueled group therapy for America’s exhausted middle—where Freud, FDR, and WiFi all collide.

"Got Thoughts? Outrage? A Diagnosis of Your Own? Send us a text"

Support the show

Shrink The Nation is where America lies on the couch — and we pour the bourbon.
Hosted by board-certified psychiatrists and mental health pros with backgrounds in military, media, and systems thinking, we break down the psychology behind politics, culture, and public dysfunction.
Smart. Funny. Clinically sharp. Slightly buzzed.

Subscribe, rate, and share if you’re part of the exhausted middle looking for sanity in the noise.

Send us your questions (or your defense mechanisms): socials@shrinkthenation.com
Follow us everywhere: @shrinkthenation on X, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky

Shrink The Nation — On the Couch With America.

Shrink the Nation is back on the couch with America for a special bonus episode—this time with bourbon, Gen Z anxiety, and a full unpacking of nihilism in modern life. David, Rob, and guest psychiatrist Amit pour up (literally—Basil Hayden, Bulleit, and Tin Cup all make cameos) and dive deep into why every generation thinks the next one is hopeless—and why we keep handing them the same script.

From the infamous “bicycle man” episode of Different Strokes to Jonathan Haidt’s The Coddling of the American Mind, we dissect the blame game of coddling, helicopter parenting, and tiger moms. Why does Gen Z catch so much flak? Is it their fault, or just the side effect of millennial and Gen X anxiety—latchkey-kid wounds with a social media twist?

You’ll hear sharp, funny, and brutally honest clinical insights—plus quotes from Jungian analyst James Hollis, (“The greatest challenge of the child is the unlived life of the parent”), and the kind of barroom wisdom only Shrink the Nation can serve: “Wish in one hand and shit in the other and tell me which one fills up quicker.”

Along the way: TikTok doomscrolling, the algorithm’s coddling cocoon, mental health stats that’ll make you pour another drink, and a side of Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy fatigue. Is nihilism the problem, or the side effect? Is there any way to find meaning (or just decent news) when every feed is custom-built for your pleasure or your panic? And why do Gen Z’ers terrify us almost as much as we secretly admire them?

Featuring actual listener hate mail (“take your nihilism and fuck off—all caps”), this episode is a bourbon-fueled, post-belief group therapy for the exhausted middle. Stay for the clinical wisdom; come back for the banter.

Cultural references:
Different Strokes, Blossom, Sesame Street, The Coddling of the American Mind (Haidt), James Hollis, The Illuminatus! Trilogy, John F. Kennedy, TikTok, Jeffrey Epstein.

"Got Thoughts? Outrage? A Diagnosis of Your Own? Send us a text"

Support the show

Shrink The Nation is where America lies on the couch — and we pour the bourbon.
Hosted by board-certified psychiatrists and mental health pros with backgrounds in military, media, and systems thinking, we break down the psychology behind politics, culture, and public dysfunction.
Smart. Funny. Clinically sharp. Slightly buzzed.

Subscribe, rate, and share if you’re part of the exhausted middle looking for sanity in the noise.

Send us your questions (or your defense mechanisms): socials@shrinkthenation.com
Follow us everywhere: @shrinkthenation on X, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky

Shrink The Nation — On the Couch With America.

Is anything even real anymore? Or have we all just become the meme?

In this episode, three psychiatrists pour a drink and psychoanalyze America’s creeping wave of nihilism—from institutional mistrust and generational cynicism, to why so many of us now look for meaning in conspiracy theories, anti-heroes, and online chaos.

The crew debates whether cultural nihilism is a symptom or a cause, how Gen Z’s outlook was shaped, why our institutions are crumbling in public trust, and how dopamine, memes, and bourbon all play a role in a society convinced nothing matters. (Spoiler: it’s not all bourbon.)

They wrestle with:

• Why so many of us are convinced that life—and politics—have lost meaning
• How conspiracy communities offer “meaning” when everything else feels empty
• Why nihilism is now the national mood (and not just a 90s movie punchline)
• Actionable, evidence-based prescriptions for fighting nihilism in your own life (with or without bourbon)

Stay for the prescriptive laughs, the existential debate, and some good old-fashioned cultural therapy. Because in an era where “the death of meaning” is trending, choosing connection and purpose may just be the most radical act of all.

Bonus:

• Learn how to spot nihilism in yourself (or your group chat)
• Find out why helping someone else might be the most meaningful thing you do all week
• Yes, we talk about “The Big Lebowski.”
• Yes, there’s bourbon. (No, you don’t have to drink.)

References and Cultural Credits:

• The Big Lebowski (film) – as the ultimate comedic commentary on nihilism
• Deadpool (film) – for cultural cynicism and the rise of the anti-hero
• Behind the Curve (Netflix documentary) – for conspiracy theory community and search for meaning
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl – for the therapeutic antidote to nihilism
• Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche – for the original “God is dead” and the philosophical roots
• The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt – for generational perspectives
• Watchmen (film) – for existential despair and meaning
• City Slickers (film) – for the “one thing” quote

Ready to pour a glass (or not) and fight the void? Hit play and let’s find some meaning—together.

"Got Thoughts? Outrage? A Diagnosis of Your Own? Send us a text"

Support the show

Shrink The Nation is where America lies on the couch — and we pour the bourbon.
Hosted by board-certified psychiatrists and mental health pros with backgrounds in military, media, and systems thinking, we break down the psychology behind politics, culture, and public dysfunction.
Smart. Funny. Clinically sharp. Slightly buzzed.

Subscribe, rate, and share if you’re part of the exhausted middle looking for sanity in the noise.

Send us your questions (or your defense mechanisms): socials@shrinkthenation.com
Follow us everywhere: @shrinkthenation on X, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky

Shrink The Nation — On the Couch With America.

In this wide-ranging episode of Shrink the Nation, Drs. David and Rob dive into the psychological underpinnings of modern American life. From the nation's grandiosity complex to the cognitive dissonance simmering beneath our politics and self-perception, the hosts weave together psychiatry, history, humor, and cultural critique. They reflect on the role of social media in distorting reality, unpack the national identity crisis, and introduce the powerful concept of ego integrity — the ability to stay whole in the face of contradiction. Along the way, they touch on classic TV references, political absurdity, and the enduring weirdness of being human in 2025.

Whether you're a clinician, a curious mind, or just exhausted by the noise, this episode offers sharp insights, dry wit, and a bourbon-soaked reminder that you're not alone.

Keywords: psychiatry, grandiosity, cognitive dissonance, social media, national identity, ego integrity, cultural references, mental health, personal insights, societal issues

"Got Thoughts? Outrage? A Diagnosis of Your Own? Send us a text"

Support the show

Shrink The Nation is where America lies on the couch — and we pour the bourbon.
Hosted by board-certified psychiatrists and mental health pros with backgrounds in military, media, and systems thinking, we break down the psychology behind politics, culture, and public dysfunction.
Smart. Funny. Clinically sharp. Slightly buzzed.

Subscribe, rate, and share if you’re part of the exhausted middle looking for sanity in the noise.

Send us your questions (or your defense mechanisms): socials@shrinkthenation.com
Follow us everywhere: @shrinkthenation on X, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky

Shrink The Nation — On the Couch With America.