In this special episode, I explore the powerful public response to monks walking peacefully across the United States. People cry, slow down, and gather—not because of belief or doctrine, but because of presence. Through a psychological lens, this episode examines non-reactivity, emotional containment, and what our response to calm reveals about the emotional state of modern life.

Many emotionally mature people believe that staying calm, fair, and reasonable will protect them. That composure will be met with respect. When that belief fails, the result is often confusion rather than anger. This episode explores why being reasonable does not make you safe, unpacking emotional dominance, projection, power dynamics, and the hidden cost of maturity in irrational systems. It’s about staying coherent without being naive.

One week into the new year, many people quietly realize something feels off. The calendar changed, but the clarity they expected didn’t arrive. In this episode, Professor RJ Starr explores why the new year often feels unsettling after the first week, unpacking the psychology of transition, expectation, and identity. This conversation offers language for a common but rarely discussed experience, without resolutions, hype, or pressure to reinvent yourself.

January is often framed as a reset, a fresh start where motivation is supposed to appear and everything finally feels different. For many people, that isn’t what happens. This final episode of 2025 explores why January often feels flat or unsettling, how New Year identity pressure forms, and why attention, not declaration, is often the healthiest way to enter a new year.

A short Christmas Eve reflection on the quiet power of attention. In a season full of movement and expectation, this episode offers a steady reminder that the most meaningful gift we give—to others and to ourselves—is presence. A gentle, grounding listen before the holiday begins.

Public acts of charity are everywhere online, but the presence of a camera changes the meaning of generosity. This episode explores why people perform kindness in public, how social platforms reward it, and what happens to the dignity of those being helped. A psychological look at the hidden costs of visible compassion in the age of social media.

Why do unfinished tasks stay in our minds long after we’ve set them aside? This episode explores the Zeigarnik Effect—the psychological tension that keeps incomplete work alive in memory—and how it quietly disrupts our focus, emotions, and sense of self. Learn why closure brings calm, and how finishing, releasing, or redefining tasks can restore inner order and peace of mind.

Honor once shaped how people lived—an inner compass linking values, behavior, and self-respect. Today, it’s been replaced by image, attention, and performance. This episode explores what honor means in modern psychological terms: how integrity becomes fragmented, how to reclaim it, and why living by principle still matters in an age of convenience.

Thanksgiving looks like connection, but often it’s performance. In this episode, RJ Starr unpacks the quiet anxiety that hides beneath gratitude—the emotional exhaustion of keeping peace, following the script, and mistaking harmony for love. What if real connection begins with permission, presence, and the honesty to simply be human together?

Manifestation is often treated as mystical or divine—but psychology tells a different story. This episode explores the real mechanisms behind why belief feels like magic: how focus, attention, and emotion shape our perception of reality. A grounded, human look at hope, control, and meaning in modern life.

Why do some people act responsibly when no one’s watching—while others stop caring the moment accountability disappears? In this episode, RJ Starr explores the psychology of the commons: how internal conscience, emotional regulation, and social belonging shape whether we see ourselves as caretakers or bystanders in everyday life.

A lighthearted classroom moment on Halloween becomes an exploration of something deeper: why we care how other people live. In this episode, RJ Starr examines the psychology of unsolicited opinions—the need for control, the comfort of conformity, and the emotional maturity it takes to let others be. A reflection on ego, empathy, and the quiet art of non-interference.

The desire to be real isn’t shallow — it’s one of the deepest human drives. What’s changed is the method, not the motive. We’ve learned to perform sincerity, to brand vulnerability, to curate imperfection. Beneath the performance, though, is a genuine hunger for coherence: to be one person across the many selves we inhabit. Becoming real, in this sense, is not about exposure or transparency — it’s about integration. It’s the quiet, ongoing work of inhabiting your own mind without needing an audience to confirm you exist.

Restraint isn’t suppression—it’s strength held steady. In this episode, Professor RJ Starr explores the psychology of restraint as a form of emotional clarity and self-command. In an age of constant reaction, he examines why the ability to pause, reflect, and choose deliberately may be the truest measure of freedom and maturity.

Self-righteousness feels like strength but often masks vulnerability. It comforts the person who wears it but corrodes the very connections it claims to protect. True wisdom balances conviction with humility. The goal isn't to be right at all costs, but to remain in relationship.

Mean world syndrome explains why a steady diet of fear based media can make everyday life feel hostile and unsafe. This talk traces the psychology behind that distortion, availability and negativity biases, hypervigilance, and the collapse of trust, then maps the modern engines of doomscrolling. Most important, it offers practical ways to reclaim perception, invest in local reality, and rebuild a grounded sense of safety.

Interruptions aren’t just slips of the tongue. They’re loaded signals that reveal power, anxiety, and the unspoken rules of our relationships. From politics to family conversations, cutting someone off tells us who feels entitled to speak and who is left unheard. In this episode, we look at why interruptions happen, what they communicate, and how to repair the damage they cause.

Cruelty rarely begins with villains. It begins with ordinary people, ordinary language, and ordinary justifications that make harm feel acceptable. Dehumanization strips others of their humanity, and moral disengagement silences our conscience. Together, they explain how we excuse the inexcusable—and how we can choose differently.

A special edition of “The Psychology of Us” podcast. Professor RJ Starr shares thoughts on living where your feet are, offering an existential psychology professor’s response to the cultural chaos of our time.

Entitlement isn’t just arrogance—it’s a way of seeing the world that assumes the rules don’t apply equally. From overindulgent parenting to consumer culture and social media validation, entitlement grows when desire and deserving become blurred. This episode explores its roots, its costs, and the path to healthier reciprocity.