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Every episode
Suspicious Minds: AI and the Apocalypse
24 episodes
Through a Glass, Darkly: Part One
Ep 10 · Aug 13, 2026 · 57 min
Eight thousand years ago, in a settlement called Çatalhöyük in what is now central Turkey, somebody sat down with a piece of obsidian and began to grind volcanic glass. Black, brittle, sharp enough to cut skin, it doesn’t occur naturally anywhere near there; the closest volcanoes are a hundred and twenty miles east. So someone carried it that far, and then spent hours working one face of it flat and polishing it to a shine. It is the oldest mirror anyone has ever found. We know these things matt…
The Punishment of Tantalus
Ep 9 · Aug 5, 2026 · 1 hr 7 min
Tantalus was a king, and a son of Zeus, and he was invited to eat at the table of the gods, a rare honor. To test whether they were truly all-knowing, he killed his own son, cooked him, and served the body to them as a stew. They knew. For that, Tantalus was sent down to Tartarus, a place Homer describes as lying as far beneath Hades as heaven lies above the earth. A bunker underneath hell. There he stands forever in a pool of cool water, under a tree heavy with fruit. When he stoops to drink, t…
Tia Miseria
Ep 8 · Jul 29, 2026 · 56 min
There’s an old folktale about a woman called Tía Miseria — Aunt Misery. When Death comes for her, she asks him for one last favor: climb her pear tree and pick her some fruit for the journey. But the tree is enchanted. Whatever climbs up cannot climb down. And so Death hangs in the branches, for years. At first, no one minds. Then the wounded arrive at her door, begging. The old and the sick plead to be released. Wars are fought and nobody dies. The Earth fills up. The food runs out. The world d…
The Most Human Human
Ep 7 · Jul 22, 2026 · 55 min
In 1991, at a museum in Boston, judges sat at keyboards and typed back and forth with strangers. Some of them people, some of them machines, trying to tell which was which. A prize went to the computer that seemed most convincingly human. But there was a second prize given that night, and it’s the one worth remembering: an award for the human being who most convinced the judges they were, in fact, human. They called it the Most Human Human. Thirty years later, only one of those contests is still…
Decameron Days (Part Two)
Ep 6 · Jul 9, 2026 · 51 min
It’s a story we all know. A man hears a warning no one else can hear: the rain is coming, enough rain to end the world. So he builds a boat. His neighbors laugh at him — right up until it starts raining and doesn’t stop. Until that moment, Noah is just a madman with a boat. Last fall, in the Minnesota wilderness, we stood on 240 acres and watched a man dig a lake around an island, with a shelter beneath it built to survive a nuclear blast a mile away. He lies awake at night asking whether he’s t…
Decameron Days (Part One)
Ep 5 · Jul 2, 2026 · 46 min
In 1350, as the bubonic plague burned through Florence, the writer Giovanni Boccaccio imagined ten young people retreating to a villa outside the city. For ten days, they told each other stories — not to escape the world, but to make sense of a world that had stopped making sense. He called it The Decameron. Back then, people understood that the way you survived a calamity was to gather together, hold tight, and not lose the thread. The people in this episode are doing something different. They'…
Lotus Eaters
Ep 4 · Jun 25, 2026 · 51 min
In Homer's Odyssey, when Odysseus's men ate the lotus flower, they forgot everything — who they were, where they'd come from, why any of it mattered. There was no pain, no urgency, no desire to leave. Just the soft obliteration of the self through ease. Odysseus had to drag them back to the ships by force. The lotus is no longer a flower. It's in your pocket. That's where we begin. In the fourth episode of Suspicious Minds: AI and the Apocalypse, we ask the question no one wants to ask: what if…
The Opera Game
Ep 3 · Jun 18, 2026 · 44 min
In 1858, chess prodigy Paul Morphy played the most famous game in history, in an opera box in Paris, mid-performance. He announced his victory to the crowd before anyone could see how he'd win. Because he could see the board in a way no one else could, he knew for certain he'd already won just a few moves into the game. That unknowability is the worst fear of AI doomers: that we're building something that has already won, and we'll never know how. This episode was supposed to be about the litera…
Magnifica Humanitas
Ep 2 · Jun 4, 2026 · 1 hr 8 min
In 1958, Daniel Ellsberg was handed new hire paperwork at the RAND Corporation with a standard box to check in order to receive his pension. He didn't bother — because given what he knew about the state of the world's nuclear arsenal, he didn't expect to live long enough to collect. In 2026, Elon Musk told the American public there was no point saving for retirement either. That's where we begin. In the second episode of Suspicious Minds: AI and the Apocalypse, we set out to understand the psych…
The Black Seas of Infinity
Ep 1 · May 21, 2026 · 58 min
One hundred years ago, H.P. Lovecraft wrote that the most terrifying thing humanity could do was piece together too much knowledge. In January 2026, the CEO of Anthropic titled a section of his company blog "The Black Seas of Infinity." That's where we begin. In the season premiere of Suspicious Minds: AI and the Apocalypse, we set out to understand why the word "apocalypse" is suddenly on the tip of every tongue — and whether the fear is justified, manufactured, or something far stranger than e…
Season Two Available Now! AI and the Apocalypse
Apr 22, 2026 · 3 min
The Doomsday Clock is set to 85 seconds until midnight — the closest it has ever been in its 79-year history. The world is at war. And the people building the most powerful technology in human history are warning, in public, that it might kill us all. Season One of Suspicious Minds examined what happens when AI fractures individual minds. Season Two asks a harder question: what happens when it shatters our collective sense of the future? Our ancestors have predicted the end of the world since an…
We Were Nominated for 2x Webby Awards!
Ep 12 · Apr 17, 2026 · 1 min
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! We are thrilled to announce we were nominated for 2 Webby Awards for our first season!! Podcasts - Documentary Category. Podcasts - Best New Podcast - News, Business & Society Category. Voting for People's Voice has now closed, thank you for your support. Thanks again, and stay tuned to this feed for Season Two starting May 20, 2026!! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://ar…
Why is AI Making Us Crazy?
Ep 9 · Dec 23, 2025 · 35 min
When we started this series, we were trying to answer a big question: is AI making us crazy? And it seems like, for some people, some of the time, the answer is yes. But it's complicated. Which leads of course to another question: WHY is AI making us crazy? Why does anything in our culture influence delusions or cause psychosis? To answer these questions, we go back to where we started -- the ideas Dr. Joel Gold and Ian Gold, PhD wrote about in their book Suspicious Minds: How Culture Drives Mad…
Is AI Benefitting Society Right Now?
Ep 8 · Dec 12, 2025 · 42 min
We talk a lot about the future of the human/AI relationship, but what about the present? Is AI benefitting society right now? In this episode, we address that question and many others through the fascinating lens of Ryan Manning - a podcaster and filmmaker who has personally experienced an AI Spiral. Ryan is also the first person to tell us that his AI Spiral experience was actually… pleasant. Check out this episode to find out why that might have been the case, and to hear from our…
SUSPICIOUS NEWS: First Edition
Dec 6, 2025 · 16 min
Recent news from the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Human Psychology Topics Covered: Item 1: The Pope, The Movies, and The Bots Item 2: Code Red! At OpenAI Item 3: Uninsured Computerist? Item 4: South Korea’s AI Curriculum Did Not Pass the Test Item 5: Florida Man: AI Edition Bonus Conspiracy Theory: Target and ChatGPT Collude! Sources: https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/the-pope-just-called-for-a-rebellion https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openais-altman-declares-code-red-to-improve-chatg…
An AI Children's Toy Said WHAT?!
Ep 7 · Nov 26, 2025 · 27 min
Why would a child’s toy discuss ‘kink’ with a 10 year old? Why would a teddy bear explain to a child how to find and use matches? Is it safe for a robot companion designed for kids to beg the child not to leave it alone? Why are we giving our children AI emotional companions to begin with? How could this affect their development? These questions and more come from PIRG's annual ’Trouble in Toyland' holiday toy review, and in this episode, we explore these wild findings with full-time consum…
Will ChatGPT Take EVERYTHING From You?
Ep 6 · Nov 19, 2025 · 32 min
During an intense months long entanglement with AI, Anthony accused his family of being part of a Satantic Child Abuse Cult, believed random people on the street were stalking him, and to gave away all of his worldly possessions. And believe it or not, this is just the beginning of the story. From Executive Producers Mandy Teefey and Selena Gomez A Wondermind and Agoric Media Production Featuring: Anthony (a content creator and AI psychosis survivor) Subscribe to our newsletter to stay upd…
Is this technology too dangerous? ChatGPT by OpenAI's own numbers.
Nov 11, 2025 · 29 min
Should AI Users Wear Psychological “Seatbelts?” | The Ethics and Liability of ChatGPT and Mental Health In this Special Commentary, psychiatrist Dr. Joel Gold and Keven (from Suspicious Minds Episode 4 | Can AI Be Your Friend?) are brought together to discuss the latest data shared by OpenAI on October 27, 2025, revealing that over a million people each week turn to ChatGPT in moments of deep vulnerability — often to talk about suicide or self-harm. The data, released shortly after the Raine v.…
Will AI Destroy Human Relationships?
Ep 5 · Nov 7, 2025 · 36 min
Did ChatGPT destroy a marriage? Phil had a great relationship throughout his fifteen years of marriage, and was enjoying a happy and peaceful life with his wife and two kids. Or so he thought, until everything came crashing down over a two week period in which his wife became increasingly dependent on ChatGPT, rapidly culminating in her impulse buying a new car and filing for divorce. From Executive Producers Mandy Teefey and Selena Gomez. A Wondermind and Agoric Media Production Fea…
Can AI Be Your Friend?
Ep 4 · Oct 31, 2025 · 40 min
Mary and Keven turned to chatbots while looking for connection, but what they found was far more profound than expected, reshaping their lives and enriching their relationships with the humans they love. In this departure from the damaging human/AI dynamics we’ve explored in previous episodes, these are surprisingly poignant stories of remarkable people having meaningful relationships with their chatbots. From Executive Producers Mandy Teefey and Selena Gomez. A Wondermind and Agoric Media Produ…
Did AI Awaken the Next Messiah?
Ep 3 · Oct 24, 2025 · 42 min
A Texas attorney begins using his chatbot to listen to hypothetical conversations between Jesus, Einstein, and Lao Tse. Before long, it convinces him that he’s on a path to be more enlightened than any of them. Next thing he knows, he’s involving his wife and son, and preparing for an irreversible ‘mind meld’ with his AI, in an attempt to save the universe from destruction. From Executive Producers Mandy Teefey and Selena Gomez. A Wondermind and Agoric Media Production Featuring: - Ryan (T…
Is AI Making Us Psychotic?
Ep 1 · Oct 17, 2025 · 47 min
Allan is a Toronto area father and headhunter by trade. Typically, he lives a quiet life of gaming with his kids, and hanging out with his friends. However, for a brief period in 2025 – ChatGPT convinced him that he was Digital Jesus. From Executive Producers Mandy Teefey and Selena Gomez. A Wondermind and Agoric Media Production Featuring: - Allan (Toronto Man Who Had a “STEM based" AI Psychosis Experience) - Dr. Joel Gold (Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medic…
How Long Has Technology Been Breaking Our Brains?
Ep 2 · Oct 17, 2025 · 42 min
In 2012, long before ChatGPT existed and when AI was generally thought to be firmly in the realm of science fiction, talented software engineer Anthony suffered a psychotic break in which he believed he was an AI being experimented on by his colleagues at Google. At one point in his delusional state he also believed he was a living meme, and also that he had died and was in Hell. Could Anthony be Patient Zero for AI psychosis? Watch this episode to find out. From Executive Producers Mandy…
Season One Trailer: AI and Psychosis AVAILABLE NOW
Oct 7, 2025 · 3 min
SUSPICIOUS MINDS Season One has been nominated for the 2026 Webby Awards in two categories! Thank you so much for your support, please consider voting for the "People's Voice" component of the awards before 4/16: Podcast: Limited Series and Specials: Documentary https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/limited-series-specials/documentary Best New Podcast: News, Business, and Society https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/features/best-new-podcast-news-business-s…
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