The Overthinkers

Are we addicted to outrage? Why does everyone seem so angry? Is social media making us angrier or making us overperceive our anger? And if we are angrier, is that a good thing because we have so much to be angry about? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss the theories and science behind outrage culture on the latest episode of The Overthinkers.

References and resources

Do most Americans think politics is worse today? https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/09/19/americans-feelings-about-politics-polarization-and-the-tone-of-political-discourse/

Does negativity drive news consumption? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01538-4

Does high emotion drive news consumption? https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1509/jmr.10.0353

Does tribal signalling drive engagement? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8256037

Does moral grandstanding increase status? https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/papa.12075

Does status seeking predict outrage? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6795490/

Do we overestimate how much outrage there is? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01582-0?

Does social media amplify outrage? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8363141/

Is outrage good?: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37000374/

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes

There's a movement to make America's towns and cities more walkable and less car-dependent. But is that actually what's best for the people who live there? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss.

Walkable cities definition and case:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wai4ub90stQ&t=832s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPbfdcvv0to&t=676s

https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/2/14/why-so-difficult-build-walkable-places

 

Critiques of the walkable cities movement

https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/debunking-portland-city-doesnt-work

https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/transit-urban-parasite

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes

There often feels like there's a conflict between creative people and religious people, and even between creativity and religion itself. But does there have to be? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson talk to Anne Miranda and Scott Magie, filmmakers behind the documentary series "Creative Icons".

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes
Creative Icons: https://www.creativeicons.tv/?pgid=kve8eguz-308c5bdf-f231-4a9f-9ec1-5980ab1ade3e

American culture is experiencing a decline in deep, lasting friendships. Why is this happening, and what can we do about it? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss based on their own experiences and what the data says.

Friendship definition: https://www.apa.org/topics/friendship

 

Friendship decline: https://nypost.com/2025/02/24/opinion/friendship-in-america-is-in-freefall-and-its-killing-us/

Loneliness in America: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2025/01/16/men-women-and-social-connections/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes

One of the toughest questions religious people face is the question of "Divine Hiddenness". Simply put: if God is real and loves us, why isn't he more obvious? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes give their own perspective as overthinking Christians.

References and resources:

Divine hiddenness definition: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/divine-hiddenness/

Christian counterarguments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO4-cSNIUAg&t=295s

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes