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Kate Feldman's avatar

This was a great talk. Very clear and to the point. Glad to know Dr. Phillips.

Elizabeth McIlvaine's avatar

Simon, can the democrats hire Chris Krebs to help us protect the election? Or maybe some U.S. Attorneys or FBI agents from the Mueller investigation?

MariElena's avatar

Good to hear the obvious about the U.S., Russia and Ukraine stated out loud.

O’Brien’s analysis of the 2026 mid-terms is the most succinct that I’ve heard.

Also, Trump destroys anything that functions so that he can get as much cash out of it as possible.

SanPride's avatar

Sobering yet truthful about the challenges and OPPORTUNITIES we face as a nation. It struck me that what we’re going through is a true stress test of our democracy. Do we rise up, resist and defeat or succumb? Being part of the Hopium community gives me hope that we will prevail and in the process create a new America, one that is BETTER than than the America we left behind. Thank you for this incredible platform. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Cynthia Erb's avatar

This was so good.

Kathleen M. Eisenhauer's avatar

Wow! Thank you for this insightful interview!! Had to repost on Bluesky.

Laurie Stricks's avatar

An excellent and informative conversation. About to share it broadly

Paula Bamburg's avatar

Yes, protecting Putin and willingly jumping in front of that bus.

Paula Bamburg's avatar

In Munich Rubio looked like he was hypnotized while delivering trump’s words.

John Arrighi's avatar

Thank you for this amazing interview. You have introduced us to an important resource in Dr. OBrien.

Jo Burns's avatar

It has been obvious for anyone paying attention to Trump Peace Negotiations that they were NEVER about brokering peace. He is transactional and does not care about anyone or any other country. He is attempting his best to make a deal with Putin, I guess Trump Golden Moscow Motel? Same for the ‘Peace Board’. What a heretical creation. It is not about peace, it is about what he can grift, graft, or otherwise steal from lesser nations. He is already attempting to funnel US money into his peace board. Just another scam or pilfering and outright robbing. To top it off, I disagree with the assertion that trump is some high brow political operative. He is not. He is a greedy, narcissistic, bold faced lying, transactional creature. He is a mob boss.

Thanks for speaking these truths out loud! May it get spread far and wide. I still fear for our elections because the GOP is doing absolutely nothing EVERYTHING to suppress the vote, disenfranchise voters, and remove women’s rights.

Laura Havranek's avatar

Thank you Simon and Professor O’Brien, I learned a lot too today from the Hopium Chronicles. It really helped clear some of the smoke circulating around the speech or double speak from Rubio who is someone else operating out of his league. Democrats definitely need security consultants and cybersecurity in the worst way. The battle lies ahead

Lyn Gerry's avatar

I'm sure most here are familiar with Heather Cox Richardson. This video report stands out among all her excellent offers in importance. She covers many things, but I especially want to flag a nefarious bill in Congress to make it possible to allow Trump to steal our public lands and turn them over to corporations to be destroyed/exploited and the wave of destruction that would flow from that. This has not been in the headlines due to all the other horrible shit

https://youtu.be/HBuYkPIYx6o?si=lUWvlxTZkRAEJPVm

Lonnie E's avatar

"Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity," p158

DR. STEVEN HASSAN with Cambridge

social psychologist Dr. Sander van der Linden.

Psychological inoculation works by:

🔸️(a) forewarning people of an impending persuasion attempt (known as the 'threatening' phase), and

🔸️(b) by arming people in advance with the arguments and cognitive tools they need to,counter-argue and resist exposure to persuasive misinformation (known as the refutational pre-emption' or 'prebunking phase).

Or, as one BBC journalist writing about the experiment put it: 'Like Han Solo, you shoot first.'

https://youtu.be/oU8GGtZE5hQ?si=zjZuT36NPaTGlnak

Lonnie E's avatar

"Trump Didn't Happen by Accident: The

Psychological Hijacking of America"

Cult Expert- Dr. Steven Hassan with Alex Alvarová, a

journalist and political manipulation researcher.

🔸️How did we get here?

• the Trump era is not an accident; It's the predictable result of coordinated psychological and digital influence campaigns.

🔸️How do we fix this?

• Why arguing facts fails and compassion works better when

helping loved ones exit extremist belief systems

• How families and communities can counter cult dynamics

without shaming or confrontation

• Why real-world relationships, trusted experts, and critical

thinking are essential countermeasures to psychological

warfare

• How understanding cult tactics, hypnosis, and influence

methods restores personal freedom and democratic resilience

https://youtu.be/9_uloql3Nbo?si=Uf54NXov5pIpBCoy