Pathologically Overanalyzing: Recent Episodes
Ben Maher
I think open conversations with friends are the most valuable treasure trove of information available to us. It is in these conversations that we get to the core of human nature, that we learn what really matters to people, what impacts their emotions, and how. I had many of those conversations in my day-to-day life and wanted to share. So I started recording. My name is Ben Maher, and on this podcast, I have conversations with my friends about love, friendship, family, mindfulness, motivation, acceptance, creativity, personal growth, and more, to get to the bottom of how people actually work.
Somewhat out of laziness, I go it alone for this one. Listen to me ramble about being very busy, but trying to stay grounded in what I'm doing, connecting to my human emotions, and considering our changing human values as AI becomes more prominent.
Mackenzie and I spoke about films as true art vs. commercial products, her narrow, hard-to-define criteria of what makes a film truly great, the effect of character and what makes good characters, and more. Enjoy!
How do you break the surface tension of a social circle? Are we comfortable with them stagnating, or do we always seek growth? How do different layers of circles merge? How important is proximity and shared activities in the maintenance of social groups? Zach and I discuss all these questions and more in this episode.
We did a deep dive on focus: the effect of having long-term focus on a singular goal, the necessity to exercise focus in the short and medium term, what helps focus, and what hurts it. We also discuss the interplay between focus and motivation, and the tension between focus and shame. All of this happens in the context of James's current medical school trajectory and my own goals with this podcast. Enjoy!
Also! There is intro music now! That is curtesy of my friend Joe Bosco, whose other work you can find on Spotify (check him out, he's fantastic).
Nina and I had an incredible conversation. We started by discussing personal aesthetics and dove into its connection with music taste. Then we thought about how the presence of friends in one's life is affected by age and setting. We made a bit of a jump to discuss romantic dynamics, and then jump again to discuss the meaning of work and creativity in our lives. Then we considered the role of diversity in early life and the present. We conclude by pondering whether Nina would've been friends with a younger me.
We talk parenthood, mindfulness, and then a bunch of politics. I hope you like that kind of thing.
Jack and I talked about a lot of stuff, it's a typical pod. Parents, childhood, transformation, you get the gist. Enjoy!
Matt and I spent a long time talking about broken systems, internal emptiness, and more. It's a long conversation lol. Enjoy!
Got the elusive Jeff on the pod. We talk about identity, drumming, appreciating the process, and more. Enjoy!
Here's a conversation with my friend Tess. We talked about right and wrong, motivations, preserving moments, free will, small talk, focusing in busy environments, and what love is. Oh, and a lot more. Enjoy!
Nitya and I talked about anxiety, the difficulty of publishing your creations, social dynamics with different sized groups, bluntness, and more. Enjoy!
I had Joe back on, we talked about plot twists, music, creativity, writing, the semantics of "fun," and more. Enjoy!
I got Charlie back on the pod to talk about his recent past, his near future, escapism, and a lot more. Enjoy!
We talked about maintaining play in an adult life, being dicks in high school, becoming more aware and considerate, Michael Jordan, Elon Musk, free will, and meaning. I quite enjoyed it. Hopefully you do too.
My cousin Stephanie honestly kinda makes me feel like a child with her insight and times in this conversation but hopefully that means it's valuable to you. She also talked about this idea of the "Law of One," which I thought was quite cool though difficult to grasp. Enjoy!
Had a chat with my friend Jess about relationships (romantic and otherwise), teaching, loving yourself, pursuit as escape, and more. Enjoy!
Had a conversation with my roommate Fernando! Follow along as we chronicle our friendship and take some interesting pit stop conversations along the way ... and then just keep talking about hopefully interesting stuff.
I had one of the most abstract conversations ever with my friend Ines. A lot of this was meandering, as it felt a little difficult to pin down anything due to that abstractness. But hopefully it's still enjoyable.
Sat down and talked with my friend Zach. We talk about some college stories, what to do with life afterwards, and a lot more. Enjoy :)
First time doing a remote podcast! A little bumpy but the conversation was great, because the company was great. Alvaro is a beautiful, insightful human and I very much loved talking to him. We talk about his recent move, what's changed in my life, and trying not to take things seriously despite so much intense emotion. I hope you enjoy.
Sat down with my friend Anthony this week. We talked about who would play us in a movie, Star Wars, Ukraine, living life on the track, and a lot more. Please enjoy! For my sake.
Finally back, I promise the next wait won't be as long. I went over to my friend Nina's house and we talked about priorities in life, socialization, acceptance of self, you know, the usual. I had fun though, hopefully you have fun listening.
I had a conversation with my friend Joe. You could also call him my love Joe. Not actually. I'm not gay. Unfortunately. BUT Joe is a wonderful human who inspires me and makes me laugh and we talk about some interesting shit.
Still Charlie. I'm sure you're sick of him. We talk about some more stuff and you don't have to worry about the fact that I'm not describing it here because if you just listen then you'll know ok?
Charlie and I continue our conversation. We talk about suicide, sadness, and some other stuff. We talk about some pretty dark shit in a pretty detached way, just a heads up.
I had a conversation with my friend Charlie. He's funny. So he makes me laugh. In this part, we talk about developing our social selves and a bunch of other stuff. After some feedback, I'm going to be splitting these conversations up to make each episode shorter and more digestible.
I had a conversation with my friend Paula. We talked about a lot of stuff, which even though I just listened to it, I'm currently forgetting as I write this description. I think I'm pretty preachy on this one, but hopefully it's not too insufferable.
I had a conversation with my friend Cristina. We talked about being creative, graduation, dating dynamics, and whether or not we'll ever see each other again. Hope you think it slaps as much as I do.
I had a conversation with my friend Michael. We reminisced on our shared time in college, taking a verbal trip starting in freshman year (with a few detours). We also talked about fear, intelligent political discussion, and what a chair is. Enjoy!
I had a conversation with my friend Mackenzie that I recorded and now am publishing. We talked about openness, middle school and high school, dating dynamics, parents, and more. I also found a few parts of myself that I wasn't a huge fan of.