The Truthfulmanipulation Podcast

Hosts Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid examine who should set the rules for artificial intelligence: the public through accountable government or the companies and investors who profit from it. They explore how...

Hosts Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid attend a Ypsilanti Township town hall on the University of Michigan–Los Alamos research computing project to probe key issues: the 200 jobs originally touted versus roughly 30...

In this episode of Truthful Manipulation, hosts Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid investigate whether Republicans or Democrats have done more harm to their own constituents by comparing party promises to real-world...

Hosts Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid explore what character looks like when there’s no audience, using everyday moral tests—like returning a shopping cart, accidental overchange, workplace credit-stealing, online...

Hosts Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid examine tribalism, confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, and how technology and social media amplify our tendency to defend our side and condemn the other. Using examples from...

In this second anniversary episode, hosts Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid review 102 episodes tracing how personal manipulation patterns—fear, flattery, false urgency, and loyalty tests—reappear in institutions...

In this episode, Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid unpack what happens when wealthy entertainers and investors enter politics: how spectacle distracts the public, elites reshape rules behind the scenes, and everyday...

In this episode, hosts Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid examine how private equity, venture capital, and extreme wealth can prioritize returns over people, using fees, debt, and euphemisms to extract value from...

Hosts Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid explore how small shortcuts and rationalizations lead people to habitual cheating, erode trust, and create long-term consequences in families, workplaces, and public life. They...

Hosts Dave and Daniel examine why positions don’t guarantee worthiness, the warning signs of bad leadership, and the manipulations that protect incompetence. They offer practical steps for followers and organizations to...

Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid define and expose the dangers of buffoonery and shenanigans—foolishness performed with confidence and organized confusion—showing how they appear in politics, workplaces, families, and...

Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid unpack "main character syndrome" — people who turn every situation into a performance, weaponize feelings, and avoid accountability. They explore how this pattern shows up in families...

On this episode of Truthful Manipulation, hosts Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid examine America’s 250th anniversary and ask whether our democracy can endure. They explain how manipulation, dishonesty, and division...

This episode examines what happens when public figures outgrow—or turn on—the people meant to manage them. Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid walk through the stages of opportunism, rationalization, and panic, outline...

<p>This episode examines what happens when public figures outgrow—or turn on—the people meant to manage them. Dave Kelsey and H. Daniel Mujahid walk through the stages of opportunism, rationalization, and panic, outline...