Episode 2: Your emotions are the foundation of who you are, and in this episode, we look at how advertising, marketing, social media, and anyone who wants to influence you accesses your emotions as a matter of course (and as a matter of business).

Becoming aware and skilled with your own emotions certainly benefits you and your relationships, but it can also protect you from manipulation and help you develop a deep form of social intelligence.

Sadly, in endstage capitalism, our emotions are being monetized, and we're being funneled and fomo-ed into someone else's machine.

When we're going along with the crowd, or losing ourselves in the machine of social media, we need an off-ramp. Thankfully, knowing how to work with our emotions can be the key to finding our way to the exit and back to ourselves.

Also, a flying superhero pig from Tennessee and magical shoes may have something to do with it.

In this episode, Karla features her book, The Language of Emotions: https://karlamclaren.com/the-language-of-emotions-book/

And its accompanying workbook: The Language of Emotions Workbook: https://karlamclaren.com/loe-workbook/

And free! (real free; not internet free)

Her Emotional Vocabulary List (in 10 languages!) can help you track the emotions that are being evoked from you, forced onto you, and expected from you in the unregulated attention economy of endstage capitalism: https://karlamclaren.com/emotional-vocabulary-page/

Episode 1: How do we create (and survive) drastic changes? How do we leave unhealthy relationships, groups, belief systems, or entire identities? How do we take off-ramps when the crowd is pushing us forward, and how can we learn to create off-ramps for others -- especially when we've been taught to see them as our enemies?

These questions are crucial in a time when so many of us have been drawn into polarized belief systems and conspiracy theories that are tearing apart families, friendships, political parties, and the foundations of American governance itself.

But change and reclamation are possible at any time. Researcher, author, emotions and empathy expert, and cult survivor Karla McLaren, M.Ed. explores how we can reclaim ourselves and provide support for others.

We all need off-ramps when we're being separated from each other, and when we're being taught to see enemies in anyone not like us.

With personal stories, extensive research, emotional genius, empathic badassery, and humor, we explore how and why this bold American experiment has become a tragic powder keg, and how we can reclaim our good hearts, our good minds, and our good souls.

We can imagine, build, and maintain off-ramps for ourselves and each other.

In this episode, Karla mentions her newest book, Missing the Solstice (2025), available in paperback and on Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F6TRWRBZ