The Jordan Harbinger Show

Bioweapons are cheaper and deadlier than nukes — and we're not ready. Biological Warfare author Annie Jacobsen breaks down how close we are to catastrophe.
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1367
What We Discuss with Annie Jacobsen:
The Soviet bioweapons program was not dismantled after the Cold War — it was absorbed. The State Department says Russia and North Korea run active illegal programs; China and Iran are of concern.
Bioweapons have a low barrier to entry, needing no uranium or missiles. Experts say one could be made in a basement with basic biology and AI help. The Pentagon rates bio the greatest overall WMD threat.
Pneumonic plague is 100% fatal without antibiotics within 24 hours. The US has roughly 100 special-pathogen beds for 340 million people, so hospitals would be overwhelmed on day one.
Soviet scientists inserted a euphoria gene into plague so the infected feel good, stay social, and spread it widely instead of staying home in bed.
Annie Jacobsen's message is pressure, not panic — a human-made problem has a human solution. Pause risky gain-of-function research, depoliticize the threat, and communicate clearly so leaders can act in time.
And much more...
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Probiotics, cleanses, leaky gut, worms — science or scam? Jessica Wynn digests the truth about your microbiome this Skeptical Sunday!
Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by writer and researcher Jessica Wynn!
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1366
On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:
Your gut is a genuine marvel, with 500 million neurons chattering up the vagus nerve to your brain. But "marvel" got rebranded as "malfunction" the second the wellness industry smelled money. The gut-brain axis is real science; the $62 kombucha is not.
"Scientists discover the sadness bacteria" sells. "We found a correlation we can't explain yet" doesn't. Depressed people do have different gut bacteria — but no one knows which is driving the bus. Correlation isn't causation, a lesson the internet forgets daily.
Those "parasites" in cleanse videos are mucus casts — your product coming back out, shaped like worms. "Leaky gut," "mucoid plaque," rope worms: catch-all diagnoses for being alive. The cleanse creates the problem, then sells you the repair kit. Perfect loop.
The pitch targets women for a reason: IBS hits them twice as often, and medicine spent decades calling their symptoms "just stress." Wellness says "your doctor won't listen, we will." That distrust is earned — but a real grievance doesn't make the $79 capsules work.
The good news is that your microbiome isn't broken, so stop trying to fix it. Eat a wide variety of real, whole and fermented foods, move your body, sleep, manage stress — and take real symptoms to a gastroenterologist, not TikTok. Boring, cheap, and it works.
Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!
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Your brother-in-law cut off the family, can't hold a job, and asks his girlfriend what he's feeling. Hostage, or willing prisoner? It's Feedback Friday!
And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1365
On This Week's Feedback Friday:
Your brother-in-law Tommy was the little brother you never had. Then a much older girlfriend rebranded herself as a "somatic trauma therapist," diagnosed him from a certificate mill, and helped him cut off everyone who loves him, all while living rent-free in his parents' basement. Can you free a hostage who keeps demanding pizza money?
You've got a hard-working husband, three kids, and zero doubt that he loves you, so why do you feel so lonely? He'll show up to any date night you plan, buy you flowers you don't even want, but what you crave is initiative: being thought about. You've said it for years and nothing changes. Are you asking too much, or is something sneakier hiding in the ask?
You and your ex split amicably, but somehow you became fluffy Frankie's full-time everything: vet, food, boarding, your whole life rearranged around her while he "borrows" your soul dog whenever it suits him, then rages that it's not 50/50. Now you want to end the sharing for good, but he turns scary when he's crossed. Do you even have the right, and how do you say it without lighting the fuse?
Recommendation of the Week: Wise — a money-transfer app Jordan leans on for sending cash across 80-plus countries and holding 40-plus currencies, with wire fees of a few bucks instead of the $30 to $50 a traditional bank charges. Clean UI, fast, and it does the exchange-rate math for you.
You're a finance-and-stats builder moonlighting on an algorithmic trading system — after shelving a therapy app that ate your sleep — and Jordan's own newsletter about nothing being "too far" has you spiraling on the real question: when is grit wisdom, and when is it just refusing to quit? How do you tell the last mile from a dead end?
Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com!
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Connect with Gabriel on Twitter at @GabeMizrahi and Instagram @gabrielmizrahi.
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A late text isn't a diagnosis and chemistry isn't destiny. Psychologist Dr. Max Butterfield is here to debunk viral dating advice with science.
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1364
What We Discuss with Dr. Max Butterfield:
Viral relationship advice converts ambiguous behavior into confident universal rules because certainty sells. The halo effect makes attractive people believable and provocative claims spread, while real science says "maybe, sometimes, it depends," which rarely goes viral.
"If he wanted to, he would" ignores that motivation and desire are separate systems. People stall from fear, old wounds, or being buried — not indifference. Knowing what to do isn't the same as doing it, so give people room before writing them off.
Separate the pattern from the story. A slow text reply is a pattern you can verify; "they hate me" is a story you author on top of it. Before committing to the worst version, tell yourself the most likely, least likely, and current story — most people default straight to worst-case.
A red flag isn't one bad moment — it's a pattern that makes your life worse instead of better. The clearest one is inconsistency: a partner who pays out like a slot machine. What you actually want is the "boring" change machine that reliably returns four quarters.
Audit every rule you hear — is it one anecdote or real data, and does it lean on always/never or honest hedges like sometimes? Then keep it simple: find someone you like, make sure they like you back, and try really hard to make it work.
And much more...
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Your niece accused her cousin of abuse, but her story doesn't add up. Now you fear your own sons could someday be falsely accused. It's Feedback Friday!
And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1363
On This Week's Feedback Friday:
You fell head over heels for your nieces and nephews years ago. Now one niece says one of your nephews — her cousin — touched her back when they were both kids, but to you, the pieces don't quite click. Your mother-in-law fast-tracked a report, and you're bracing for the day your own toddlers get accused. Are you wrong to doubt, and can the family knit itself back together?
Your retired parents made a shiny new neighbor who buys your kids gifts, invites himself to dinner, then floats a wildlife outing eight miles deep into empty federal land. Mom's charmed. Dad's convinced he's a grifter — or the opening act of a kidnap-and-ransom plot. Is your gut reading the room correctly, or are you quietly writing a cartel thriller starring Roger from down the block?
You're a closeted gay high-schooler in a town where that's a very big deal, and your parents snooped your phone, found your boyfriend, called you disgusting, and quoted scripture at you for hours. So you're pouring everything into a plan to launch a career in aerospace an entire ocean away. Is running that far a reasonable escape, or is something sneakier hiding within the question?
Recommendation of the Week: Anker Prime 3-Port Charger — the tidy little brick that retired the wad of five plugs Jordan used to haul around in his backpack.
An HVAC crew stepped on a sprinkler and flooded your entire house, destroying 90% of your belongings. The company swore it'd cover everything, then ghosted you, and now you're awake at 4 a.m. racking up credit-card debt while your eight-year-old keeps asking when you can go home. Do you lawyer up and sue, torch them on social media, or grit your teeth and wait?
Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com!
Connect with Jordan on Twitter at @JordanHarbinger and Instagram at @jordanharbinger.
Connect with Gabriel on Twitter at @GabeMizrahi and Instagram @gabrielmizrahi.
And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps!
Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!
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