Welcome to “State of Us” — A Necessary Conversation
The launch of State of Us opens with a frank, layered conversation between Ian O’Doherty and Graham Linehan, setting the tone for a podcast series […]
Articles by Rob Watson
Living in the Lie – Hypernormalisation and the Depths of the Collective Psyche
In his documentary HyperNormalisation, Adam Curtis paints a portrait of a world suspended in simulation—a world where people comply with fictions they know are false […]
Structure vs. Fragmentation – Cultural Signals in a Metamodern World
In the compelling YouTube video “Why Visiting Japan Changes You,” the viewer is drawn into a meditation on cultural coherence, social order, and the psychological […]
The Power and Perils of ‘Elite’ in Political Discourse
In our polarised political landscape, one word echoes across debates, rallying cries, and social media: elite. Whether it’s the left decrying billionaire excess or the […]
Dark Traits and the Crisis of Meaning – A Jungian Reflection on Identity, Shadow, and the Search for Wholeness
In a previous post, I explored how Freudian psychodynamics might be used to frame the emergence of trans-identification as a cultural phenomenon. Freud’s model of […]
Trans-Identity and the Depths of the Psyche – A Symbolic Perspective on Cultural Transformation
The conversation with Jaco van Zyl on the Beyond Gender podcast marks a significant shift in the cultural discourse surrounding trans-identification, moving away from surface-level […]
Recognition and Control – A Reflection on the Culture of Creative Constraint
The longer I work in community-based creative practice, the more I notice a persistent tension—between the organic, social flow of creative expression, and the rigid, […]
How Might Jung Have Understood Trans Identification? Exploring Archetype, Shadow, and Cultural Myth
How might Carl Jung have approached the contemporary phenomenon of trans identification? Would he have viewed it as a psychological condition, a cultural disruption, a […]
From Subculture to Showcase: How Edgy Comedy and Identity Language Became Mainstream Tools
In the evolution of public discourse, there is a recurring irony: what begins as a form of resistance often ends up as the very thing […]
Between Belief and Biology – Why Moral Relativism Misses the Point on Human Value
The recent exchange between The Guilty Feminist’s Deborah Frances-White and the hosts of the TRIGGERnometry podcast offered more than a culture clash—it exposed a deeper […]