Third Factor – Details, episodes & analysis

Grappling with her daughter's trans identification was but one step in Stoic Mom's positive disintegration, leading her to truly sort out her values intellectually and grapple emotionally with what it truly means for an individual to live up to her unique potential. In this episode, she continues a conversation she's been having with Jessie on her own podcast, the Stoic Mom project, exploring Jessie's notion of "the paradox of weirdness" and the new counterculture, the meaning of virtue, the problems with mental health diagnosis as identity, and the role of gender in our culture.

• StoicMom Project Podcast: Butterflies Becoming
• StoicMom Project Podcast: "You're a Wizard, Harry" - A Conversation for the Abstract-Intense
• StoicMom Project Podcast: Perceiving a Higher Path - Jessie Mannisto Interviews StoicMom
• StoicMom's personal life philsophy (paywalled)
• Weirdos of the World, Unite: Jessie and Eliza Mondegreen chat about weirdness, confidence, and gender with Benjamin Boyce
• stoicmom.substack.com: see tab for member community
• Theme music from TELL YOUR STORY music by ikson™

Julian Adorney is fighting our toxic political culture, both by striving to understand polarizing issues intellectually and with nuance, and also by confronting the deep and challenging emotions that are at the root of some of our most hostile rifts.  We explore the role of community, mentorship, and faith (or at least some kind of "north star"), the process of sorting out what we value and why, and follow a tangent toward mental health.

• @Julian_Liberty on Twitter
• Julian's articles at the Foundation for Economic Education
• Braver Angels, the depolarization org at whose conference Jessie and Julian met
• Monica Guzman's book, I Never Though of It That Way (sponsored link)
• Theme music from TELL YOUR STORY music by ikson™
• Header by Pete Lindforth from Pixabay

Alasdair Gunn and Jessie reflect on Genspect's conference in Killarney, Ireland.  What does the experience of meeting online friends in person tell us about living well in the digital age, especially as people who sometimes privilege our minds over our bodies?

• Check out the program for Genspect's next conference, November 4-5, 2023 in Denver, Colorado, USA

After spending too much time arguing unproductively on social media as a younger man, Jefferson Shupe sought a way to pass on what he's learned to the next generation. The result is his YA novel, The Bathwater Brigade. It's the story of a college society with a tradition of intellectual curiosity and rigor—and when the administration ceases to share these values, its members must find a way to defend them.

• The Bathwater Brigade: Official Website
• Purchase The Bathwater Brigade in paperback, e-book, or audiobook at Amazon (sponsored) 
• Get to know Daryl Davis, the black musician who has convinced KKK members to turn in their hoods and who helped inspire Jefferson's novel. 
• The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, of which Jefferson is a member
• Braver Angels, a similar organization for which Jessie is a debate chair

What goes into making your voice sound good, and what does the nervous system have to do with it? Voice coach and author Laura Stavinoha talks about the challenge of transmuting overexcitability into talent, a process she learned first from experience.  Laura and Jessie discuss what really makes an effective speaker and how to overcome some challenges facing intense people who want to use their voices more skillfully.

Show Notes

• Read Laura's articles in Third Factor Magazine
• Check out Laura's book, Voice: A Multifaceted Approach to Self-Growth and Vocal Empowerment (sponsored Amazon link)
• Theme music from TELL YOUR STORY music by ikson™.

Would you believe that a socialist organization used to be a champion of free speech?  That combined with belonging and purpose grounded in ideas, was what inspired Jessie to sign up back in 2013. But when a new wave of members brought a different set of values, she had to figure out what she really valued—and make a difficult choice.

Show Notes

• The Austin Chronicle story: "Learning the Hard Way That Police and Democratic Socialists Rarely Mix," October 13, 2017
• Sadly, though not mentioned in the podcast, Danny died in October 2022.  Here is an obituary posted on the blog of a DSA caucus whose founders included many who were sympathetic to Danny at the time (including Jessie).
• The book we're discussing on September 17. 2023 is This Star Shall Abide by Sylvia Engdahl (also published as Heritage of the Star).  You can get it here or as part of a trilogy. (Please note that these are sponsored links.)
• If you'd like to read more about the book first, here's an article about it from an early issue of Third Factor Magazine.
• Theme music from TELL YOUR STORY music by ikson™.

Gen Z's not doing so hot.  At least, that's what it looks like from Margo Margan's perspective, and that's why she's drawn to the theory of positive disintegration, at least as long as it doesn't turn into yet another celebration of eggshell walking and (negative) maladjustment. 

In this episode, Margo Margan talks about why she founded a group at Third Factor all about "Maladjustment to Maladjustment," how her experience with a mental health misdiagnosis at an early age has influenced her trajectory, and a surprising place she's found belonging.

Show Notes

• In the magazine: All of Margo's articles
• At the forum: Third Factor's Maladjustment to Maladjustment Group Profile
• At the forum: Third Factor's Writers' Circle Group Profile 
• Margo's WordPress site, with a link to her Discord server
• The book we're discussing on September 17. 2023 is This Star Shall Abide by Sylvia Engdahl (also published as Heritage of the Star).  You can get it here or as part of a trilogy. (Please note that these are sponsored links.)
• If you'd like to read more about the book first, here's an article about it from an early issue of Third Factor Magazine.
• Theme music from TELL YOUR STORY music by ikson™.

What do we mean when we talk about the life of the mind?  What is the "intellect" and how can we use it well?  What are some of the hurdles that intellectually inclined people face these days - and that they've faced throughout history?  Jessie and community member Marie set the stage for one of our key themes with a 30,000 overview.

• The book we're discussing on September 17. 2023 is This Star Shall Abide by Sylvia Engdahl (also published as Heritage of the Star).  You can get it here or as part of a trilogy. (Please note that these are sponsored links.)
• If you'd like to read more about the book first, here's an article about it from an early issue of Third Factor Magazine.

Overexcitability is often the concept that draws people to the theory of positive disintegration—and that's a shame, because if you get stuck there, you'll miss what the theory is really saying.  In this pilot episode, Third Factor's founder and editor in chief draws on Kazimierz Dabrowski's original writings to explain what overexcitability is and why, though it often is a bad thing, it doesn't necessarily have to be.  Spoiler alert: it's all about this thing called multilevelness, which Jessie explains to set the trajectory for this new podcast.

Show Notes:

• Elaine Aron’s blog that mentions Dabrowski's concept of OE
• Third Factor's Introduction to Dabrowski's Levels and Dynamisms 
• Download all Dabrowski's books and relevant articles, including Michael Piechowski's papers on Levels I and II, at positivedisintegration.com.
• Theme music from TELL YOUR STORY music by ikson™.
• Header image by kinkate from Pixabay.