A Think First Podcast with Jim Detjen
Think First is a short-form podcast that makes you pause — before you scroll, share, or believe the headline.
Hosted by Jim Detjen, a guy who’s been gaslit enough to start a podcast about it, Think First dives into modern narratives, media manipulation, and cultural BS — all through the lens of gaslighting and poetic truth.
Some episodes are two minutes. Some are ten. It depends on the story — and the energy drink situation.
No rants. No lectures. Just sharp questions, quick insights, and the occasional laugh to keep things sane.
Whether you’re dodging spin in the news, politics, or that “trust me, bro” post in your feed… take a breath. Think first.
Visit Gaslight360.com/clarity to sharpen your BS filter and explore the 6-step clarity framework.
🚨Distorted (Advanced Copy) is set to release on October 14, and pre-orders are now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Reserve your copy today — and join me in cutting through the distortion.
Paperback and Kindle: Amazon
Hardcover: Barnes & Noble
Episodes
87 episodes
#80 DNA and the Soul · The Architecture of Continuity
What if DNA isn’t just a code of flesh, but the anchor of something older?In this episode, Jim Detjen explores the thin line between biology and belief — from inherited trauma and quantum biology to the question of whether consciousness ...
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Episode 80
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21:53
#79 Ten Headlines, One Comet, and a Cold.
Between Air Force Academy swim meets, a fiftieth-birthday celebration, Harvard Parent Weekend for two kids, a Distorted publishing deadline, and a world-class case of COVID — Jim’s finally back behind the mic.This wee...
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Episode 79
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11:13
#78 Diversity Is Our Strength — Until You Disagree
At 3:31 a.m. in Minneapolis, a sound echoes through the dark — a call that now defines a city’s new idea of “inclusion.”From that single moment, this episode unpacks the story we’ve all been sold: that diversity automatically makes us st...
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Episode 78
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29:30
#77 Weight of the World · Is the Obesity Epidemic a Side Effect or a Strategy?
Something about the obesity epidemic doesn’t add up.Despite decades of “awareness,” our population keeps getting sicker, younger, and more dependent — while the system built to fix it keeps breaking profit records.In this episode ...
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Episode 77
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25:33
#76 When the Government Stops, Military Families Still Pay.
When Washington shuts down, the headlines talk about politics. But at kitchen tables in Kansas, California, and overseas bases, it’s military and veteran families who feel it first.In this episode, Jim Detjen unpacks the gap between the ...
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Episode 76
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15:45
#75 Wikipedia · The Internet’s Biggest Gaslight
They told us Wikipedia was the “free encyclopedia anyone can edit.”What they didn’t tell us is how it edits you back.In this episode of Think First, Jim Detjen pulls apart the myth of Wikipedia’s neutrality — exposing how...
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Episode 75
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20:33
#74 Walter Russell and the Gaslight of Science: Madman, Mystic, or a Thousand Years Too Soon?
In 1921, artist-turned-polymath Walter Russell claimed to spend 39 days in a coma-like “illumination,” tapping the very “source of all knowledge.” His revelations became The Universal One — a sweeping vision of reality as crystallized ...
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Episode 74
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16:44
#73 Are Mormons Christian? The Michigan Shooting & Narrative Distortion
A tragic shooting at an LDS church in Michigan sparked a viral fight online — not just about violence, but about identity. Commenters claimed, “Mormons aren’t Christian.” Others insisted, “Christianity is under attack.”...
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Episode 73
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11:08
#72 Distorted · Read It Before the World Does
For three years, I’ve been building something bigger than this podcast.It’s called Distorted: How Gaslighting and Poetic Truth Bend Our Perception of Reality.And now — before the hardcover and paperback release in Februar...
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5:29
#71 Jimmy Kimmel, Charlie Kirk, and the Line Between Satire and Spin
When Jimmy Kimmel tied the “MAGA gang” to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, it wasn’t just a joke — it was a spark. The fallout got his show suspended, affiliates pulled the plug, and even the FCC weighed in. Was it satire gone wrong… or political ...
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Episode 71
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6:44
#70 Bad Therapy: How the DSM Made Fragility a Feature, Not a Bug
What happens when the manual for diagnosing mental illness stops being a guide for doctors… and starts shaping childhood itself?In this episode of Think First, we trace how the DSM widened the map — turning sadness into depressi...
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Episode 70
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20:33
#69 Charlie Kirk’s Assassin · The Family Made the Call. The FBI Took the Bow.
Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah. The rifle is recovered, the suspect arrested, and the bullets reportedly engraved with ideology.It wasn’t the FBI that solved the case. It was a father who picked up the phone and turned in his own ...
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Episode 69
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5:20
#68 We Pay. They Podium. — How U.S. Clubs and Colleges Train the World’s Olympians
America’s college sports system is the best in the world — but who’s really reaping the rewards? In swimming, more than 15% of NCAA athletes are foreign, with some top programs like University of Florida running over 60% inte...
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Episode 68
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12:57
#67 Engraved Bullets · How the Charlie Kirk Story Is Already Being Written
Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah.The rifle has been found. The bullets were engraved with words tied to ideology.And before the facts are even settled, the headlines are already at war — some calling it a “shooting,” others a...
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Episode 67
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5:18
🚨 By Popular Demand: The New Era Begins for Think First
The people spoke — and we listened. After a long late-night dinner at Cowboy Star in Colorado Springs with Don and Sarah Marbauch of Arizona — a retired fighter pilot, Air Force Academy grad, clarity advocates, and unofficial ambassadors of com...
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2:12
#66 Why Gas Pumps Are Still So Slow · The Psychology of Pump-Time Manipulation
It’s 2025… and gas pumps are still painfully slow. Is it really outdated tech? Or is your time at the pump being deliberately hijacked for something else?In this episode of Think First, we unravel the subtle gaslighting behind p...
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Episode 66
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5:53
#65 The Coin Shortage That Wasn’t · Think First
Remember those little signs at checkout in 2020?“Due to a national coin shortage, please use exact change or pay with card.”Was it really about supply chain disruption — or was it a quiet nudge to push us further into a c...
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Episode 65
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5:52
🔍 Ep. 3 The Cindy James Tapes · Patterns of Fear
By 1983, Cindy James had reported over a dozen attacks.But each incident followed the same script:No witnesses.No suspects.No evidence.Police began to doubt her.Doctors prescribed medication.And her own ...
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7:16
🔍Ep. 2 The Cindy James Tapes · Someone’s Watching
Cindy James always said it started small.Phone calls with no one on the line.Notes left on her windshield.Footsteps outside her window — when no one was there.By the time police finally started paying attention, Cindy had ...
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7:09
🔍 Ep. 1 The Cindy James Tapes · Hog-Tied Truth
A woman is found dead — hog-tied, drugged, and strangled.But police don’t call it murder.They call it suicide.In the opening chapter of The Cindy James Tapes, we examine the haunting death of Cindy James — a 44-year-old ...
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6:20
#64 Cursive · The Poetic Truth Behind Its Erasure
Cursive wasn’t just elegant — it was untraceable.So why did American schools suddenly erase it… while students in France, India, and China still learn it today?In this episode of Think First, we examine the poetic truth that cur...
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Episode 64
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5:53
#63 Ballerina Farm · The Poetic Truth Behind Perfect Motherhood
A Juilliard ballerina. A JetBlue heir. Eight kids. And a farm in Utah with 20 million followers.Ballerina Farm is wholesome, nostalgic, and almost too perfect. But is it empowerment through motherhood—or a carefully curated illusion?...
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Episode 63
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7:31
#62 Cracker Barrel • Minimal Isn’t the Problem. Meaningless Is.
Cracker Barrel spent $700 million on a makeover. New interiors. A new menu. A new logo.The company says the heart of the brand hasn’t changed. But when a logo stops telling the truth — when it could belong to anyone — it stops belonging ...
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Episode 62
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6:10
#61 NIL Unmasked · How College Sports Went Pro Without Saying It Out Loud
The rules of college sports just changed forever — and not everyone’s playing fair. In this episode of Think First, Jim Detjen pulls back the curtain on NIL — Name, Image, and Likeness — to show how athletes are getting paid, how the N...
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Episode 61
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8:34
