330 - Jon Ronson: Go Inside the Mind of A Psychopath

Jon Ronson writes about psychopaths. He created a test called "The Psychopath Test." And wrote about it. I had him on to learn what it means to be mad. He told me how to spot the signs (and how it starts to haunt you). He also told me stories. Lots of them. About kids trapped in mental hospitals. Secret cults planning to take over the world. His writing style is sort of humorist meets gonzo-esque journalism. He puts himself directly in the center of a conspiracy. That's where this episode will take you... into the mind of a psychopath. Show notes: Listen to Jon’s podcast “The Butterfly Effect” (season 1 was about the consequences of the tech takeover of the porn industry) "The Men Who Stare At Goats" by Jon Ronson The Men Who Stare at Goats (Movie) "So You've Been Publicly Shamed" (one of James’ favorite books) "The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry" by Jon Ronson "Them: Adventures with Extremists" by Jon Ronson Psychopathic Test (live show) "Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries" by Jon Ronson Justine Sacco (you can read about here in this New York Times article “How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life” https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html "Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions" by Johann Hari  R.D. Laing (the anti-psychiatrist who wrote “The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness” NOT Artie Lange the comedian) The Bilderberg Group (the group that extremists Jon met said “run the world”) Alex Jones, a “conspiracy broadcaster” (who you might know if you’ve seen InfoWars) Bill Hicks (American stand-up comedian) Jim Tucker (the journalist who helped Jon Ronson uncover more details about the Bilderberg Group), he wrote a diary about it called, “Jim Tucker's Bilderberg Diary: Reporter's 25year Battle to Shine the Light on the world Shadow Government”  Henry Kissinger AJ Jacobs, a good friend and bestselling author who wrote “The Year of Living Biblically”  Broadmoor Ssylum for The Criminally Insane Albert Dunlap (one the CEO’s Jon and I discuss as an example used in The Psychopath Test) Okja (the popular Netflix movie written by Joon-ho Bong and Jon Ronson  (here’s the trailer on YouTube) "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" (a TV show Jon recommends watching)  Bari Weiss (the New York Times columnist who’s an example of someone who’s pushing back against online shaming)  Emma Gonzalez, one of the high school student from Parkland who’s making waves in the movement to reform gun laws and one of the leaders of the March For Our Lives event  "I Am, Unfortunately, Randy Newman" (a documentary Jon Ronson worked on)    I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/podcast.   Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts Stitcher iHeart Radio Spotify   Follow me on Social Media: Twitter Facebook Linkedin Instagram ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air! ------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com ------------ Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotify Follow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn