This week, The Thinking Mind is taking a short break. In this brief update, we highlight some recent favourite episodes, including conversations on Nazi psychology, the manosphere, mastering emotions, and a Thinking Films discussion on Taxi Driver - plus a preview of what’s coming next on the podcast.

Here is the link to the crowdfunding campaign for Tom Shkolnik's upcoming film A Life of Own's Own about psychoanalyst Marion Milner:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/BWdq6L4n?utm_campaign=sharemodal&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=shortlink

The Thinking Mind is presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

Website: alexcurmitherapy.com

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-186445029

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Today Alex and special guest Tom Shkolnik discuss the 1976 film Taxi Driver directed by Marin Scorcese and starring Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster.

Tom is the director of the 2012 British drama The Comedian nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2012 London film festival. He is the director of an upcoming film based on the book A Life of One's Own by psychoanalyst Marion Milner.

In this episode we discuss Scorcese and his filmmaking style, why Taxi Driver remains relevant today, the appeal of this film to young men, the schizoid personality type, the danger of the Drama triangle, as well as themes of loneliness, trauma and alienation.

Here is the link to the crowdfunding campaign for Tom's upcoming film A Life of Own's Own about psychoanalyst Marion Milner:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/BWdq6L4n?utm_campaign=sharemodal&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=shortlink

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-186445029

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Today Alex discusses the Louis Theroux documentary for Netflix Inside the Manosphere with psychiatry and psychotherapy registrar Dr. Rosy Blunstone - who also leads the the Thinking Mind Substack.

The Manosphere is defined as a varied collection of onlne content made by men, for men to promote masculinity. Communities within the manosphere include mens rights activitists (MRAs), incels (involuntary celibates), Men Going their Own Way (MGTOW), pick up artists and father's right's groups.

While the specifics of each group's beliefs sometimes conflict, they are generally united in the belief that society is biased against men due to the influence of feminism, and that feminists promote misandry (hatred of men). Acceptance of these ideas is described as "taking the red pill" a metaphor borrowed from the film The Matrix.

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-186445029

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Jack El-Hai is an American journalist and author who focuses most of his work on the history of medicine, the history of science, and other historical topics. He is the author of The Nazi and the Psychiatrist (2013) which has since been adapted into the 2025 film Nuremberg starring Russel Crowe.

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/p/2026-is-the-year-of-the-horse-but

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Dr Paul Goldsmith is a Consultant Neurologist with a special interest in evolutionary biology and its application to the challenges of modern life. In his new book The Evolving Brain, Dr Goldsmith draws on cutting-edge neuroscience and case studies from his clinical practice to accessibly explain how our brains work and how they evolved the way they did.

On this episode expect to learn:

- Why we were not designed for happiness.

- A new lens on goals: why passivity drags you down, why modern goals can lead to burn out, and how to rebalance for better wellbeing.

- Why loneliness is an essential feeling, and what modern society gets wrong about community.

- Practical takeaways: how to stay motivated, journaling to close mental “open loops,” and why dropping a goal can be progress.

- A provocative view on the “self”, and how holding it more lightly can reduce blame, rumination, and reactivity.

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/p/2026-is-the-year-of-the-horse-but

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Today Alex discusses the 2014 film Nightcrawler directed by Dan Gilroy. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal as an unhinged freelancer who seeks out violent events late at night in Los Angeles, so he can film them and sell the footage to a local TV news station.

We discuss the anti-social personality, the danger of bad incentives, how language can be used as a manipulative tool, the subtle insidiousness of content creation, red flags to watch out for when meeting new people and much more.

Presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/@thinkingmindblog/note/p-183600902?r=3tgitv&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Dr. Laith Al-Shawaf is an award-winning professor, research psychologist, and writer at the University of Colorado. His research focuses on emotions, cognitive biases, and personality & individual differences. He is the primary editor and curator of the 70-chapter Oxford Handbook of Evolution and the Emotions, published in 2024.

You can find his scholarly work, popular science writing, and podcast appearances on his personal website (laithalshawaf.com) and on his X profile, @LaithAlShawaf

FB: https://www.facebook.com/laith.alshawaf/ Instagram: @laith.alshawaf.psych

______________________________________________________

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/p/2026-is-the-year-of-the-horse-but

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Neil Agius is a Maltese former Olympian and world record-breaking ultra long-distance swimmer. Neil has completed some of the longest unassisted open-water swims in history, including record-breaking crossings between Sicily and Malta and a 142km non-stop world record in 2024. Most recently Neil completed the Gozo 7, swimming around the island of Gozo 7 times in 7 days.

Expect to learn:

- What it takes physically and psychologically to swim for 24 - 60 + hours

- The role of micro-goals, radical acceptance, visualisation, breathwork

- How a sense of purpose and social connection can sustain performance when the body is nearly depleted

- The importance of embracing failure, persistence, and much more.

You can find out more about Neil here: https://neilagius.com/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-174371597

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast