Also on the show this week, we check in with our pal @mikedoughty.bsky.social. He talks about making amends with the Soul Coughing audience after too much time spent sneering through songs. Plus, the enormous symbolic weight of an unplugged satellite dish. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

In some countries, depression, loneliness, and memory issues actually improve in middle age. Almost everywhere else, they at least stay steady. And in only ONE country, they get WORSE . I'll give you three guesses and you have to forfeit the first two. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

USA Fan in Eagle Mask at Sports Match

Alt: USA Fan in Eagle Mask at Sports Match

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Latest FREE newsletter has professors! One explains why American middle agers are so messed up and another explains why students are so anxious. Also: satellite dish depression trophies with @mikedoughty.bsky.social johnmoe.substack.com/p/rough-time...

Rough Times for Middle-Aged American, Students, Pig Soldiers

But Mike Doughty has claimed an unplugged satellite dish as a post-depression trophy

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Our latest free newsletter has interesting stories about codependence, the damage of religious abuse, and heat anxiety. IT ALSO HAS A STORY ABOUT ORCAS WHO EXPLODE FISH AGAINST ONE ANOTHER AS PART OF A WEIRD GAME. johnmoe.substack.com/p/ocean-thre...

After a severe trauma, she accepted a boyfriend's invite for a 4000-mile sailboat trip. Then covid hit and they couldn't dock anywhere. Then their crew left with all the provisions. Her book is called Worst Tits Ever. An episode about codependency and endless oceans. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

Good news! Psychedelic drugs are now clearly on the way to being legal, which is great because they can help a lot with chronic depression and PTSD The bad news? Looks like Big Pharma will control them. Our latest FREE newsletter has this and more stories! johnmoe.substack.com/p/i-am-screa...

AI bots like ChatGPT are pushing people to suicide, sending them into spirals of psychosis, and ruining marriages and families. Neither the free market nor litigation nor regulation are capable of stopping them. Unnerving update from Maggie Harrison Dupré. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

Latest FREE newsletter has a lot of good stuff about Jo Dee Messina and also, unrelatedly, soccer, Guster, your sixth sense, and sodas that have advanced degrees. Free, like I said. Subscribe! johnmoe.substack.com/p/chaos-isnt...

Chaos Isn’t a Hugger.

Jo Dee Messina, soccer mental health, your sixth sense sodas with doctorates, Guster

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Lively new episode with country music star Jo Dee Messina! We talk about music, hard times, Jesus, and why she would rather talk about Jesus than hard times. The faith-based approach to mental health and the secular approach have more in common than folks realize. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

This week is a best-of. One of our favorite episodes with one of our favorite writers in the world, Hanif Abdurraqib. It's ultimately about building a support network and, more loosely, connecting with other humans while carrying a mind that wants to get you down. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

New newsletter has info on this week's show with Hanif Abdurraqib, a vexing situation with a congressperson, some troubling police activity, new music to discover, Tolkien, and a barn John went to. johnmoe.substack.com/p/brilliant-...

Brilliant Writers, Absent Congressmen, Underdiscovered Music

Also some really bleak shit out of Federal Way, Washington, where I grew up

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John here. First I was rattled by the title of Elizabeth Roberts' book. Then I thought, well, let's interview her. She says reflexing shaming of some compulsive substance use in American culture drives people further apart. Bold complex arguments found here: maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

Therapy is great, you should do it. Explore your traumas, your childhood, get those clues. BUT! There's yet more evidence that a major cause for depression is just BRAIN INFLAMMATION. That and running with sticks in our FREE newsletter. johnmoe.substack.com/p/anxiety-am...

Anxiety Amusement(?) Parks! Also: Socrates or Soccerates?

Plus, grab some poles and get walking to improve your depresh

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Wonderful trip to the Anxietyland amuse(?)ment park with @gemmacorrell.bsky.social this week. Walking booze bottles! Elevator avoidance! The inherent anxiety-deflating qualities of pugs! Her book is very funny and painfully honest and so is our chat. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

Topics covered in this week's FREE newsletter: - RFK Jr. and your SSRIs - Joe Pantoliano recommends meditation, medication, masturbation - Bummed work-from-homers - OFFERMANQUEST johnmoe.substack.com/p/middle-age...

Middle-Agers Are More Depressed But Only The American Ones

Also, Joe Pantoliano has some advice that might make you uncomfortable

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We'll keep this simple. RFK Jr., the highest ranking public health official in the country, wants to take away Americans' SSRIs. So we asked a Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR) how much of this is rhetoric, how much is actual policy, and what her party is doing to stop it. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

New and FREE newsletter talks about things that may help your mental health (fruit juice, watching sports, talking to Jalen Brunson) and stuff that might not (diagnostic interviews). Plus Robyn Hitchcock and Talking Heads! johnmoe.substack.com/p/music-fund...

The iconic and surrealistic musician @robynhitchcock.bsky.social this week on creativity, neurodivergence, and being comfortably and fundamentally delusional. Among other topics covered: Syd Barrett, groovers, polka dots. A fascinating glimpse inside the artist's mind. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

Blake Mycoskie founded TOMS Shoes. That was where you bought a pair and then a second pair got donated. It was a hit, helped people, he sold it, made a mountain of money, and then spiraled into a suicidal depression. Doing better now and we talk to him. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

Brand new FREE newsletter has info on the administration's embrace of psychedelics, how incredibly wealthy people can - yep - still be a mental mess, and so. many. Jeffs. johnmoe.substack.com/p/trump-sudd...

Trump Suddenly Cool With Psychedelics, Which, Okay?

Also: mental illness doesn't care how rich you are, inflammation news, and many Jeffs

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It's simpler than you think to win on Jeopardy but maybe not easier. Plus, RFK Jr. wants your SSRIs, lead singer revelations, and AI therapist notes programs record your innermost thoughts. All in our latest FREE newsletter. johnmoe.substack.com/p/how-to-win...

How to Win on Jeopardy, Working Until You Are Broken, and (Yikes) AI Therapist Notetaking

Also, psychiatrists are worried about the Secretary of HHS taking away SSRIs

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Society tells you to work hard AND to always work harder than THAT. Makes you compare yourself to others, to always reach, to never be satisfied and to never have work boundaries. Thing is, that shit will KILL YOU. Zayna Youssef of the band Sweet Pill is our guest. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

Just before our interview started, Zayna Youssef of the band Sweet Pill told us it actually came at a perfect time. We didn’t know what that meant so we just hit record and asked her. The interview was heartfelt, healthy, moving, and totally unexpected. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

Amid a political hate campaign and an ICE surge, immigrant mental health is crashing hard. Depression, anxiety, traumatic stress all spiking. Learn why events in Minnesota make a leading immigrant advocate more hopeful than ever. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

Latest edition of our FREE newsletter covers your post-covid, post-traumatic stress and why that's affecting your view of hantavirus. Plus, why TMS works and why you're not as boring as you thought. johnmoe.substack.com/p/you-are-in...

You ARE in Post-Covid Traumatic Stress But You're Not Boring

Also, a tap dancing video you will enjoy

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New episode this week with Claude Steele on the subject of Churn. It's all about those groups at work or school you get in, the worry about how you're perceived in them, and what that long-term stress does to you. And how to make it better! maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

New free newsletter features the Faulkner quote John keeps returning to. Plus: Norwegian emotional suppression not working out well, Anxietyland, and multitasking being a bunch of nonsense. johnmoe.substack.com/p/billy-faul...

Billy Faulks With the Crucial Quote! Plus, Let's Examine Norwegians

And yes, the exhausting drive is over. Hit our goals. Let's all rest.

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New NON-MAXFUNDRIVE episode is up, featuring Benjamin Wagner, documentarian, musician, actual Mister Rogers neighbor, and former high powered executive who crashed hard then set out to find out why. Faulkner said "The past is never dead. It's not even past." CORRECT. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

Something we think is important in mental health is just checking in with your friends. So we do that on our show. As a special Max Fun Drive @maximumfun.org bonus episode, we touch base with our pal, the always brilliant and delightful @felicia.day. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...

Wonderful new episode up with the always funny host of Never Not Funny, Jimmy Pardo. He's been making that show for 20 years! We talk about comedy plus what divorce does to a kid, depresh, anxiety, booze, and getting healthy. Constantly striving and then BEING CONTENT. maximumfun.org/episodes/dep...