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Magical Overthinkers

Overthinking About Revenge

Magical Overthinkers

Amanda Montell & Studio71

Education, Science, Society & Culture

4.3636 Ratings

🗓️ 17 September 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Revenge is one of our oldest fantasies. It's sharp, seductive, but rarely as satisfying as it promises to be. This week, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by lawyer, author, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, James Kimmel Jr. to overthink our obsession with revenge: why it feels so good in theory, why it rarely delivers in practice, and what it reveals about our deepest wounds and longings. Together, they explore how the brain processes revenge almost like an addictive substance - flooding us with momentary relief, then keeping us hooked in a cycle of suffering. From the neuroscience of vengeance to the quiet, radical possibility of letting go, this conversation opens up a gentler path through pain. A soft spiral into anger, control, and the sacred art of breaking the cycle. Further Reading: The Science of Revenge by James Kimmel Jr. - Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at⁠ ⁠⁠https://SHOPIFY.COM/magical⁠ Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to ⁠https://Zocdoc.com/MAGICAL⁠ to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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1:13.9

Zocdoc.com slash magical.

1:20.4

Welcome to the Magical Overthinkers podcast, a show for thought spirallers, exploring the subjects we can't stop overthinking about.

1:32.3

From going no contact with your loved ones to social media comparison.

1:37.3

If you can relate to the feeling that despite living in the information age, the world only seems to be making less sense. Or if you can

1:45.8

connect to the idea, that for some mysterious reason, it just feels especially hard to exist as a

1:51.5

human in the world right now, then you're in the right place. This podcast is here to make

1:56.6

some sense of the senseless, to help quiet the cacophony in our minds for a little while,

2:02.4

or even hear a melody in it. I'm your host Amanda Montel. Today, we're overthinking about

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