Misguided: The Audio Edition — Introduction (Free Episode)

I’m launching Misguided: The Audio Edition right here on the newsletter. It’s a chapter-by-chapter audio companion to the book, with updated commentary on everything that’s happened since it went to press. Today, that series begins, and this first episode is free for everyone.

Before you hit play, let me tell you a little more about what this project actually is and why it exists.

Why this series

When my book Misguided came out in early 2025, one of the most common things people told me was that they wished there was an audio version. So did I. My publisher explored it but ultimately couldn’t make it work, so I decided to make it myself. And the more I worked on it, the more I realized this format has real advantages over a straight recording of the book.

Misguided can be dense in parts as I pack in a lot of social science research. That was intentional as I wanted every major claim backed by evidence, and I didn’t want to oversimplify. But that also means it can be a lot to absorb all of those scientific studies. This audio series gives you the core insights from each chapter in a focused, listenable form, without all the footnotes and detailed study breakdowns slowing things down. The nuances from the evidence-based insights are all still there, in the print and digital editions, if you want to go deeper. Think of this as the essential version, the ideas you should walk away with, presented as directly as I can manage.

And then there’s what I’m calling the author’s update.

Each episode has two parts. A summary of the chapter’s core research and arguments. And then my own unscripted commentary, where I go from “author presenting the book” to “author reflecting a year later.” This covers what I’d add now, what’s happened in the world since the book went to press, and how the science connects to the moment we’re actually living in.

That last part is where things get interesting, because the world has moved significantly in the year since I finalized the manuscript. The chapter on rebuilding trust in public health institutions reads very differently in 2026. So does the chapter on the future of AI and misinformation. And the chapter on how political identity shapes what we believe, well, the evidence keeps piling up.

The book came out about a year ago. I think it’s more relevant now than when I wrote it.

What’s coming in the series

Here’s the full lineup. Each episode covers one chapter, with a summary of the key research and my updated commentary.

This first episode is free for everyone. Episodes 2–8 are for paid subscribers only. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading, this is a good moment to try the format before you decide.