Offline Thoughts – Details, episodes & analysis

In the early hours of 4 December 2024, 26-year old Luigi Mangione walked up behind UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and shot him dead. What followed was a five-day manhunt for Mangione. What made this case stand out in the public's imagination were many factors - an attractive and wealthy perpetrator from a powerful family, the theatre of the killing (a 3-D printed gun and silencer, engraved bullets, a manifesto railing against a broken healthcare system and corporate greed) and the public's jubilant support of the killer. But is Luigi the people's hero or a common terrorist?

Please send any thoughts and comments to offlinethoughts.podcast@gmail.com.

Materials you might find helpful:

Mangione Indictment – final as filed:

https://manhattanda.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mangione-Indictment-FINAL-as-filed.pdf

BBC (2024), Tracing the powerful family roots of suspected killer Luigi Mangione:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crl3jkjxp75o

BBC (2024), Who was Brian Thompson, healthcare CEO gunned down in New York?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgpl2qn7l5o

ABC News (2024), What we know about Luigi Mangione, Ivy League grad charged in CEO's murder:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/unitedhealthcare-ceo-shooting-suspect/story?id=116460289

CNN (2024), I never got the impression he would self-destruct:’ Friends of suspect in fatal CEO shooting left in shock:

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/09/us/luigi-mangione-what-we-know-monday/index.html

OnlyFans describes itself as a revolutionary platform that gives its creators the freedom to produce highly personalised content for their fans. It should describe itself as a platform for prostitution that lures young women into engaging in activities that will ruin their lives, stigmatise them and trap them in poverty. The stats are clear - the average OnlyFans creator makes $150-180 per month and approximately 80% of creators make less than $100 per month. Lily Philips and others like her are the exception that proves the rule.

Please send any thoughts, questions and comments to offlinethoughts.podcast@gmail.com.

Materials you might find helpful

The New York Time (2022), “The ‘E-Pimps’ of OnlyFans”. Accessed online:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/16/magazine/e-pimps-onlyfans.html

Delacosta, F. and Alexander, P. (1988), Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sex-Work-Writings-Women-Industry/dp/0860681548

Age gap relationships have existed since the dawn of time. There are many appeals for both parties - often the younger partner is looking for financial provision and protection, and the older partner is looking to hold onto their youth for a little longer. Whilst they're not necessarily always inherently predatory - they often are. Sometimes the younger partner only comes to realise this years later, long after the damage has been done.

Send any questions and comments to offlinethoughts.podcast@gmail.com and they will addressed in a future episode.

Materials you might find helpful:

Vouloumanos, V. (2023), Women Who "Dated" Older Men As Teens Are Sharing How They Realized They Were Actually Predators, And It's Heartbreaking', BuzzFeed, 21 September. Available at: https://www.buzzfeed.com/victoriavouloumanos/teen-girls-date-older-men-predatory (Accessed: 14 October 2024).

Shapiro, L. (2023), The Age Gappers', The Cut, 27 September. Available at: https://www.thecut.com/article/age-gap-relationships-couples.html (Accessed: 14 October 2024).

iNews. (2023) 'Older men dating younger women isn't automatically predatory', iNews, 10 October. Available at: https://inews.co.uk/opinion/older-men-dating-younger-women-isnt-automatically-predatory-3267630 (Accessed: 14 October 2024).

Heterosexuality as the standard, strict gender norms and negative LGBT societal messaging create in LGBT people feelings of shame, self-hatred and a deep desire to conform to the straight world - often at the expense of their own psychological well being. This episodes focuses on the symptoms of internalised homophobia and how to deal with it.

Send any questions and comments to offlinethoughts.podcast@gmail.com and they will addressed in a future episode.

Materials you might find helpful:

Williamson, I.R., 2000. Internalized homophobia and health issues affecting lesbians and gay men. Health Education Research, 15(1), pp.97-107. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/her/article/15/1/97/775710 [Accessed 9 Oct. 2024].

McGlotten, S., 2016. Can lesbians be misogynistic? The answer is yes — here’s why it happens. Bustle. Available at: https://www.bustle.com/articles/147623-can-lesbians-be-misogynistic-the-answer-is-yes-heres-why-it-happens [Accessed 9 Oct. 2024].

Stafford, A (2010). Uncompromising Positions: Reiterations of Misogyny Embedded in Lesbian and Feminist Communities' Framing of Lesbian Femme Identities. Core. Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/322497442.pdf [Accessed 9 Oct. 2024].

Cooper, A., 2016. Get Your Internalized Misogyny Away from My Dildo Collection. The Link Newspaper, [online] Available at: https://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/get-your-internalized-misogyny-away-from-my-dildo-collection[Accessed 9 Oct. 2024].

Ryle, L., 2013. Butch Please: Butch with a Side of Misogyny. Autostraddle, [online] Available at: https://www.autostraddle.com/butch-please-butch-with-a-side-of-misogyny-174442/ [Accessed 11 Oct. 2024].

The Guardian. (2024) 'Why the Tavistock gender identity clinic was forced to shut – and what happens next', The Guardian, 31 March. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/31/why-the-tavistock-gender-identity-clinic-was-forced-to-shut-and-what-happens-next (Accessed: 14 October 2024)

Sex, power, and corruption are inextricably linked. Control over others becomes easier when their deepest secrets are at risk of exposure. P Diddy and Jeffrey Epstein are examples of men who used people's vices against them (often through extortion and blackmail), before finally becoming victims of these same vices. They are the tip of the iceberg. Sexual blackmail and extortion is deeply baked into the deepest recesses of government and power structures, and sex has always been leveraged by both victims and villains alike to gain control. The most enduring and powerful of these vices is sex - which moral leaders such as Martin Luther King and political leaders such as John F Kennedy equally fell prey to. There are important lessons to be learned about the nature of power, sex and our vices.

While it's generally understood that high-end fashion brands market prestige and status, it’s less obvious how this same manipulation is mirrored in military recruitment, which primarily targets people from low-income backgrounds. Both these industries prey on people's insecurities and their need for self-worth, offering false promises of value and social mobility. By commodifying both goods and lives, luxury brands and the military create illusions of empowerment, when in reality, they profit from the sacrifices of the working poor and disadvantaged.

Send any questions and comments to offlinethoughts.podcast@gmail.com and they will addressed in a future episode.

Materials you might find helpful:

BBC. (2018, July 19). Burberry burns bags, clothes, and perfume worth millions. BBC. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44885983

Ilaria, M. (2018) 'The Chinese workers who assemble designer bags in Tuscany', The New Yorker, 16 April. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/16/the-chinese-workers-who-assemble-designer-bags-in-tuscany(Accessed: 28 September 2024).

Workers World (2022) ‘How the war machine ‘recruits’ poor, oppressed youth, 20 December. Available at: https://www.workers.org/2022/12/68299/ (Accessed: 28 September 2024).

Mass psychology is used to shape our beliefs, desires, and actions. Whilst we may be aware that the advertisement and public relations industries are specifically designed to manipulate our desires and behaviours - we sometimes don't realise that propaganda is endemic in our educational system, our politics and that we often don't know that we have been propagandised.

Send any questions and comments to offlinethoughts.podcast@gmail.com and they will addressed in a future episode.

Materials you might find helpful:

Achbar, M. and Wintonick, P. (dirs.), 1992. Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media. National Film Board of Canada.

Chomsky, N. and Herman, E.S., 1988. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books.

Lippmann, W., 1922. Public Opinion. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company.

64Facets, 2023. Iconic Diamond Marketing Campaigns. 64Facets Fine Jewelry. Available at: https://64facets.com/blogs/64facets-blog/diamond-marketing-campaigns [Accessed 22 September 2024].

Imposter Syndrome is that nagging feeling that you don’t deserve your achievements—that you’re a fraud, only succeeding due to luck, charm, or being the "best of a bad bunch". For women, people of colour, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, this can be a natural consequence of working in hostile environments with deeply entrenched systemic biases. Either way, the net effect is feeling out of place, second-guessing yourself, and downplaying your contributions. This episode discusses how to overcome imposter syndrome.

Send any questions and comments to offlinethoughts.podcast@gmail.com and they will addressed in a future episode.

Materials you might find helpful:

Clance, Pauline & Imes, Suzanne, “The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention”, https://www.paulineroseclance.com/pdf/ip_high_achieving_women.pdf

Tulshyan, Ruchika and Burey, Jodi-Ann, Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome, Harvard Business Review:

https://hbr.org/2021/02/stop-telling-women-they-have-imposter-syndrome

Bravata, Dena M et al. “Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Impostor Syndrome: a Systematic Review, Journal of general medicine, vol. 35,4 (2020): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7174434/

Martins, Julia “Unmasking impostor syndrome: 15 ways to overcome it at work”, Asana: https://asana.com/resources/impostor-syndrome

Jamison, Leslie “Why Everyone Feels Like They’re Faking It”, The New Yorker:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/13/the-dubious-rise-of-impostor-syndrome

Nance-Nash, Sheryl, “Why imposter syndrome hits women and women of colour harder”:

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200724-why-imposter-syndrome-hits-women-and-women-of-colour-harder

The myth persists that the way to get the love or friendship you desire is by pouring into the person you care about - whether that be energy, emotions or financial resources. Nothing could be further from the truth - it is the giver that becomes entangled in the relationship the more they give, making it near impossible for them to walk away as they fall prey to sunk cost fallacy. Meanwhile, because of the law of diminishing returns, the recipient appreciates the giver less with each act of care and kindness that is given. The only way out for the over-giver in this dynamic is to find a way to reverse the roles.

Please send your thoughts to offlinethoughts.podcast@gmail.com and they will be addressed in a future episode.

Some materials you might find helpful:

Women Who Love Too Much by Robin Norwood

Generous Person, or Over-Giver? Always Gift-Giving? by Andrea M. Darcy, Harley Therapy: https://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/counselling/generous-person-or-over-giver.htm#:~:text=Over%2Dgiving%20tends%20to%20come,or%20with%20the%20other%20person.

The Wound That Causes You To Over Give by Amy Chan, Heart Hackers Club:

https://hearthackersclub.com/the-wound-that-causes-you-to-over-give/

Jesus, the central figure of the Christian faith was over the course of centuries, white-washed from what he would have looked like - a Middle-Eastern, brown skinned, dark-haired and likely bearded man - to the white Jesus with light hair and light eyes that we know today. This transformation has not been by accident and its effects have not been without deep consequences on the psyche of all Christians and the material reality of people of colour.

Please send your thoughts to offlinethoughts.podcast@gmail.com

Episode notes:

Muhamad Ali - Why is Jesus white?, interview with Parkinson (1971): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eXdt1eGgCA

The Religion of White Supremacy in the United States by Eric A. Weed

The Mis-Education of the Negro by Dr. Carter G. Woodson

Who people believe rules in heaven influences their beliefs about who rules on Earth, Stanford scholars find, Stanford Report, by Melissa De Witte: https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2020/01/consequences-perceiving-god-white-man