meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The James Altucher Show

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

The James Altucher Show

James Altucher

Education, Business

4.62.7K Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2018

⏱️ 70 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This isn't your average business podcast and he's not your average host.

0:06.0

This is the James Altiger Show on the Choose Yourself Network.

0:11.0

Today on the James Altiger Show.

0:15.0

We love to label people, we love to dehumanize people,

0:20.0

we love to declare other people insane, you know, especially people that we don't like.

0:24.0

In a way kind of way I think I've gone from being the prosecution to the defense.

0:29.0

Over my career like I'm much more interested in trying to understand people who are kind of demonized and dehumanized

0:36.0

and when appropriate try and rehumanize them.

0:41.0

I think most people deserve that, not everybody but most people.

0:46.0

I want to ask about that and I highly encourage everybody to read all of your books

0:49.0

but like let's just talk about the psychopath test.

0:52.0

You have the guy who's in the hospital who seems to all our appearances totally normal

0:58.0

and he's even insisting I'm not a psychopath and the doctors of course say that's the exact thing a psychopath would say.

1:05.0

Well actually so his story is that when he was 17 he beat someone up badly

1:11.0

and he was on-remand in prison and his cellmate said to him,

1:16.0

you know you're looking up five to seven years in prison unless you bake madness.

1:22.0

And then you get sent to some cushy hospital and you have your PlayStation nurses and big pizzas.

1:28.0

So that's what he did so he faked delusions and hallucinations.

1:33.0

He said he told the prison psychiatrist that he wanted to watch women as they died

1:38.0

because it would make him feel more normal, which turns out is faking madness too well.

1:44.0

He didn't send him to some cushy hospital and they sent him to Bournemau asylum for the criminally insane.

1:49.0

So they sent him there and then he was stuck.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from James Altucher, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of James Altucher and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.