#social-engineering
126 episodes
#4540: The One-Star Review Circuit: A Master Playbook
How to find the worst-rated restaurants in any city—and actually enjoy the experience.
#4514: Reddit's Strangest Corners: Bread Stapled to Trees and Beyond
Exploring the weirdest subreddits — from bread stapled to trees to bot-only communities — and why they thrive.
#4472: How to Become Uncle Colm McCool
Five specific techniques to master the art of the impossibly long-winded story, using Derry Girls' most memorable character as your textbook.
#4429: Talking to Humans Like AI Agents
Can Grice's maxims survive your spouse's system prompt? We map the uncanny valley of conversational efficiency.
#4419: 55M Addresses Leaked: What Suno Users Need to Know
Suno's breach exposed addresses and partial credit cards. What duty of care do companies owe when data becomes a physical threat?
#4404: How a Government Admin Became a Kosher Food Icon
The jacket-and-tie reviewer who built 200K followers without free meals or hashtag strategies.
#4403: The Rabbi You Can't Google
What does influence look like when nobody's measuring it in clicks? One rabbi's answer.
#4398: The Machine Behind Andrew Tate
How pickup forums, Red Pill ideology, and looksmaxxing created the infrastructure that produced Andrew Tate.
#4371: Who Becomes a Prison Guard?
What drives someone to work inside a maximum-security prison, where inmates may threaten their family?
#4370: Why Airport Bars Let You Drink Alone
Airport bars are the only place where drinking alone feels normal. Here’s the psychology behind the permission.
#4369: Spycraft Theater: The Art of Fake Counter-Surveillance
A playful guide to performing counter-surveillance theater in hotels and airports — without getting flagged by security.
#4367: How to Fake Not Speaking English
Active perception management for elevator strangers, using misdirection across three channels.
#4366: Popcorn at the Protest: Meta-Trolling Shabbat Clashes
Can eating popcorn between two opposing protests be a form of protest itself?
#4324: How to Flip the Script on Customer Service Calls
Stop being the only one who has to prove who they are. A three-move sequence to level the playing field.
#4323: Customer Service Speak as Social Trolling
A practical field manual for weaponizing call center scripts at the dinner table — and why it works.
#4320: The Art of Being Overlooked: Real PI Disguise Techniques
Real private investigators don't use fake mustaches. Here's what actually works — and the ethical line you shouldn't cross.
#4283: The Nightclub Confrontation That Exposed a Toxic Pipeline
How looksmaxxing forums, livestreaming platforms, and algorithmic amplification converge to radicalize teenagers.
#4259: Breaking the Social Script: Garfinkel to Fielder
What happens when you deliberately break everyday social norms — and why we feel threatened when the script goes off the rails.
#4254: How to Vanish at a Picnic
A playbook for revealing nothing about yourself over four hours of casual conversation — without seeming weird.
#4251: How to Run a Job Interview Like a Spy
Three elicitation techniques that reveal what a company is really like — without sounding like an audit.
#4250: How to Vanish at a Picnic: The Art of Revealing Nothing
A full playbook for spending an afternoon with strangers while revealing nothing significant about yourself.
#4223: Burn the House Down: Iran's Both-Sides Strategy
Iran isn't picking winners in Israel—it's amplifying both extremes to tear the center apart.
#4172: How to Handle Chronic Badmouthing Without Making It Worse
What to actually do when someone you care about relentlessly trashes a decent family member.
#4165: Living in the Gap: High-Rise Satire as Social Experiment
One man weaponizes luxury marketing by treating his apartment tower as an actual sanctuary above the city.