Episodes

  • 1367: Annie Jacobsen | The Genes and Germs of Biological Warfare

    1367: Annie Jacobsen | The Genes and Germs of Biological Warfare
    Aug 11 2026

    Bioweapons are cheaper and deadlier than nukes — and we're not ready. Biological War author Annie Jacobsen breaks down how close we are to catastrophe.

    Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1367

    What We Discuss with Annie Jacobsen:

    • The Soviet bioweapons program was not dismantled after the Cold War — it was absorbed. The State Department says Russia and North Korea run active illegal programs; China and Iran are of concern.
    • Bioweapons have a low barrier to entry, needing no uranium or missiles. Experts say one could be made in a basement with basic biology and AI help. The Pentagon rates bio the greatest overall WMD threat.
    • Pneumonic plague is 100% fatal without antibiotics within 24 hours. The US has roughly 100 special-pathogen beds for 340 million people, so hospitals would be overwhelmed on day one.
    • Soviet scientists inserted a euphoria gene into plague so the infected feel good, stay social, and spread it widely instead of staying home in bed.
    • Annie Jacobsen's message is pressure, not panic — a human-made problem has a human solution. Pause risky gain-of-function research, depoliticize the threat, and communicate clearly so leaders can act in time.
    • 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!
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    • Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!

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    1 hr and 48 mins
  • 1366: Gut Health | Skeptical Sunday

    1366: Gut Health | Skeptical Sunday
    Aug 9 2026
    Probiotics, cleanses, leaky gut, worms — science or scam? Jessica Wynn digests the truth about your microbiome this 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 Jessica Wynn!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1366On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:Your gut is a genuine marvel, with 500 million neurons chattering up the vagus nerve to your brain. But "marvel" got rebranded as "malfunction" the second the wellness industry smelled money. The gut-brain axis is real science; the $62 kombucha is not."Scientists discover the sadness bacteria" sells. "We found a correlation we can't explain yet" doesn't. Depressed people do have different gut bacteria — but no one knows which is driving the bus. Correlation isn't causation, a lesson the internet forgets daily.Those "parasites" in cleanse videos are mucus casts — your product coming back out, shaped like worms. "Leaky gut," "mucoid plaque," rope worms: catch-all diagnoses for being alive. The cleanse creates the problem, then sells you the repair kit. Perfect loop.The pitch targets women for a reason: IBS hits them twice as often, and medicine spent decades calling their symptoms "just stress." Wellness says "your doctor won't listen, we will." That distrust is earned — but a real grievance doesn't make the $79 capsules work.The good news is that your microbiome isn't broken, so stop trying to fix it. Eat a wide variety of real, whole and fermented foods, move your body, sleep, manage stress — and take real symptoms to a gastroenterologist, not TikTok. Boring, cheap, and it works.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 jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!Connect with Jessica Wynn at Instagram (and Instagram!), and subscribe to her newsletters: Between the Lines and Where the Shadows Linger!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: HomeServe: Find the plan that's right for you: homeserve.comSimpliSafe Home Security: 50% off + 1st month free: simplisafe.com/jordanProgressive Insurance: Free online quote: progressive.comFlyKitt: 15% off: flykitt.com, code JORDANSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 23 mins
  • 1365: Strange Estrangement from Down in the Basement | Feedback Friday

    1365: Strange Estrangement from Down in the Basement | Feedback Friday
    Aug 6 2026
    Your brother-in-law cut off the family, can't hold a job, and asks his girlfriend what he's feeling. Hostage, or willing prisoner? 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 friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1365On This Week's Feedback Friday:Your brother-in-law Tommy was the little brother you never had. Then a much older girlfriend rebranded herself as a "somatic trauma therapist," diagnosed him from a certificate mill, and helped him cut off everyone who loves him, all while living rent-free in his parents' basement. Can you free a hostage who keeps demanding pizza money?You've got a hard-working husband, three kids, and zero doubt that he loves you, so why do you feel so lonely? He'll show up to any date night you plan, buy you flowers you don't even want, but what you crave is initiative: being thought about. You've said it for years and nothing changes. Are you asking too much, or is something sneakier hiding in the ask?You and your ex split amicably, but somehow you became fluffy Frankie's full-time everything: vet, food, boarding, your whole life rearranged around her while he "borrows" your soul dog whenever it suits him, then rages that it's not 50/50. Now you want to end the sharing for good, but he turns scary when he's crossed. Do you even have the right, and how do you say it without lighting the fuse?Recommendation of the Week: Wise — a money-transfer app Jordan leans on for sending cash across 80-plus countries and holding 40-plus currencies, with wire fees of a few bucks instead of the $30 to $50 a traditional bank charges. Clean UI, fast, and it does the exchange-rate math for you.You're a finance-and-stats builder moonlighting on an algorithmic trading system — after shelving a therapy app that ate your sleep — and Jordan's own newsletter about nothing being "too far" has you spiraling on the real question: when is grit wisdom, and when is it just refusing to quit? How do you tell the last mile from a dead end?Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com!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: The Cybersecurity Tapes: Listen here: thecybersecuritytapes.comBetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordanDripDrop: 20% off: DripDrop.com, code JORDANMint Mobile: Shop plans at mintmobile.com/jhsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • 1364: Dr. Max Butterfield | Challenging Viral Dating Myths with Science

    1364: Dr. Max Butterfield | Challenging Viral Dating Myths with Science
    Aug 4 2026
    A late text isn't a diagnosis and chemistry isn't destiny. Psychologist Dr. Max Butterfield is here to debunk viral dating advice with science.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1364What We Discuss with Dr. Max Butterfield:Viral relationship advice converts ambiguous behavior into confident universal rules because certainty sells. The halo effect makes attractive people believable and provocative claims spread, while real science says "maybe, sometimes, it depends," which rarely goes viral."If he wanted to, he would" ignores that motivation and desire are separate systems. People stall from fear, old wounds, or being buried — not indifference. Knowing what to do isn't the same as doing it, so give people room before writing them off.Separate the pattern from the story. A slow text reply is a pattern you can verify; "they hate me" is a story you author on top of it. Before committing to the worst version, tell yourself the most likely, least likely, and current story — most people default straight to worst-case.A red flag isn't one bad moment — it's a pattern that makes your life worse instead of better. The clearest one is inconsistency: a partner who pays out like a slot machine. What you actually want is the "boring" change machine that reliably returns four quarters.Audit every rule you hear — is it one anecdote or real data, and does it lean on always/never or honest hedges like sometimes? Then keep it simple: find someone you like, make sure they like you back, and try really hard to make it work.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/jordanK12: Learn more at k12.com/jordanNorthwest Registered Agent: Get more at northwestregisteredagent.com/jordanProgressive: Free online quote: progressive.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 30 mins
  • 1363: Allegations Untrue? Who's Next In the Queue? | Feedback Friday

    1363: Allegations Untrue? Who's Next In the Queue? | Feedback Friday
    Jul 31 2026
    Your niece accused her cousin of abuse, but her story doesn't add up. Now you fear your own sons could someday be falsely accused. 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 friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1363On This Week's Feedback Friday:You fell head over heels for your nieces and nephews years ago. Now one niece says one of your nephews — her cousin — touched her back when they were both kids, but to you, the pieces don't quite click. Your mother-in-law fast-tracked a report, and you're bracing for the day your own toddlers get accused. Are you wrong to doubt, and can the family knit itself back together?Your retired parents made a shiny new neighbor who buys your kids gifts, invites himself to dinner, then floats a wildlife outing eight miles deep into empty federal land. Mom's charmed. Dad's convinced he's a grifter — or the opening act of a kidnap-and-ransom plot. Is your gut reading the room correctly, or are you quietly writing a cartel thriller starring Roger from down the block?You're a closeted gay high-schooler in a town where that's a very big deal, and your parents snooped your phone, found your boyfriend, called you disgusting, and quoted scripture at you for hours. So you're pouring everything into a plan to launch a career in aerospace an entire ocean away. Is running that far a reasonable escape, or is something sneakier hiding within the question?Recommendation of the Week: Anker Prime 3-Port Charger — the tidy little brick that retired the wad of five plugs Jordan used to haul around in his backpack.An HVAC crew stepped on a sprinkler and flooded your entire house, destroying 90% of your belongings. The company swore it'd cover everything, then ghosted you, and now you're awake at 4 a.m. racking up credit-card debt while your eight-year-old keeps asking when you can go home. Do you lawyer up and sue, torch them on social media, or grit your teeth and wait?Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com!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 JORDANJack Archer: 15% off first order: jackarcher.com, code GETJACKPaka: Paka hoodie & crew socks: go.pakaapparel.com/jordanCastbox: Find, organize, and subscribe to the world's best podcasts: castbox.fmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • 1362: Danny Bate | Why English Spelling Is a Beautiful Mess

    1362: Danny Bate | Why English Spelling Is a Beautiful Mess
    Jul 28 2026
    Our alphabet is history's junk drawer. Why Q Needs U author Danny Bate traces letters back through 4,000 years of pictures, invasions, and happy accidents.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1362What We Discuss with Danny Bate:How the alphabet became civilization's 4,000-year-old junk drawer of borrowed symbols, stitched together from Egyptian pictures, Greek tweaks, and Roman branding: not a language at all, but a wildly successful technology shared across English, Spanish, and dozens of unrelated tongues.Why a capital A is secretly an upside-down ox, and Q is a monkey that kept its tail to this day, O began as a lashed human eye, and R traces back to an ancient word for "head" that still lives inside the Hebrew rosh.How dropping the vowels turned writing into an MP3 file. Semitic workers in Egypt around 1900 BC repurposed hieroglyphs into one symbol per consonant, trading the beauty of pictograms for something fast, portable, and simple enough to spread across the ancient world.Why English spelling looks broken at first glance. Letters sit frozen while sounds quietly drift, so Caxton's 15th-century printing press locked in words whose silent K's and GH's were once fully pronounced, leaving competing rules that only look like anarchy.What a gloriously messy alphabet can teach us about each other. Because our spelling fits no single accent perfectly, it clunkily serves everyone at once. Noticing that gap between speech and spelling is a standing invitation to be more curious and generous about how other people talk.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: Boll & Branch: 15% off first set of sheets: bollandbranch.com, code JORDANChime: Open an account in two minutes: chime.com/jhsFactor: 50% off first box: factormeals.com/jordan50off, code JORDAN50OFFHims Weightloss: Get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you: hims.com/harbingerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 23 mins
  • 1361: Creep's Snaps Turn Tide on Body Positivity Ride | Feedback Friday

    1361: Creep's Snaps Turn Tide on Body Positivity Ride | Feedback Friday
    Jul 24 2026
    You biked nude for body positivity. Years later, a predator posted the pics and your personal info online. How can you fight back? 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 friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1361On This Week's Feedback Friday:10 years ago, you rode naked through Philadelphia in the name of body positivity and silliness. Then a stranger's LinkedIn message informs you your nudes are live on an exposure site — posted by a serial creep who's quietly stalked a dozen women across two countries. You've filed a report and started reverse-doxxing him. So how do you actually bring this ghoul to justice?You're an agnostic-leaning-atheist dad shipping your whip-smart five-year-old off to a Christian private school, and she's already home reciting Sunday School certainties about Heaven, God, and why we're here. You want kids who interrogate ideas, not swallow them whole — but how do you plant healthy doubt without quietly torching her teachers or picking the fight for her?Recommendation of the Week: Peak Design — a gear-obsessed cult favorite (not a sponsor) whose magnetic phone case snaps onto a wallet, bike mount, tripod, or charging stand with zero fiddling, which Jordan calls a gamechanger for a serial bike-borrower and car-renter like himself.For 10 months, you loved a woman who was the kindest person alive sober — and a fork-throwing, credit-card-swiping, bouncer-brawling storm after a few drinks. You drank alongside her, made excuses, watched your own kids clock the change. Now it's finally over, and you're stuck on the hardest question of all: do you try to save her, salvage the wreck, or let her go?Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com!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: Chime: Open an account in two minutes: chime.com/jhsSimpliSafe: 50% off + 1st month free: simplisafe.com/jordanZazzle: 25% off first order: Zazzle.comConciergeMD: 20% off all services/memberships: conciergemdla.com/jordan, code JORDANSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • 1360: Scam Compounds | Out of the Loop

    1360: Scam Compounds | Out of the Loop
    Jul 21 2026
    SE Asia's scam compounds have grown into billion-dollar criminal empires. Nathan Paul Southern and Lindsay Kennedy bring us in from Out of the Loop here!Welcome to what we’re calling our “Out of the Loop” episodes, where we dig a little deeper into fascinating current events that may only register as a blip on the media’s news cycle and have conversations with the people who find themselves immersed in them. Investigative journalists Nathan Paul Southern and Lindsey Kennedy are here to help us understand what Southeast Asia's scam compounds are, how they've built criminal empires worth billions on the backs of trafficked humans, and how we can fight back against them.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1360On This Episode of Out of the Loop:What are scam compounds? What started as online boiler rooms has mutated into multinational criminal empires — CEOs, crypto treasuries, diplomatic cover, billions laundered. As Jordan quipped, it's LinkedIn with torture rooms — and now fighter jets are literally bombing the compounds.Underneath it all is human trafficking. Victims are lured by fake job ads, stripped of their passports, and forced to scam. When crackdowns hit, bosses flee and hundreds of thousands get dumped onto the streets — stranded, broke, and ripe to be trafficked again.The crackdowns look like justice but function like a heist. States get "captured" willingly, seize billions in assets, and keep the cash — while victims see none of it. Bosses vanish to China, the same ruling families cash in, and compounds get rebranded as prisons.Forget the idea that only "your granny" falls for this. These scams now run on bought data, AI deepfakes, and scripts impersonating police, tax offices, and airlines. They know your debt, your address, your fears — and can rattle anyone, at any income or education level.Your best defense is a pause and a callback. When a "detective," "tax officer," or "airline" pressures you, hang up and dial the real number yourself — and tell someone before sending a cent. Verification is free, and refusing to comply has real power.Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked into Cambodia in recent years and forced to work in the country's multi-billion-dollar cyber-scam industry. This fundraiser exists to support these survivors and help get them home safely! Please help if you can!And much more!Connect with Jordan on Twitter, on Instagram, and on YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on an Out of the Loop episode, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com 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: Ground News: 40% off unlimited access Vantage subscription: groundnews.com/jordanK12:  Learn more at k12.com/jordanBetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordanWayfair: Start renovating: wayfair.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 20 mins