Mind of State: Conversations on the Psychological Conflicts Stirring U.S. Politics & Society

Edited by Betty Teng, Jonathan Kopp & Thomas Singer

Drawn from the Mind of State podcast created by some of the co-authors and contributors to the New York Times bestseller, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, this compilation of conversations helps fit together the broken pieces of our American psycho-political jigsaw puzzle.

The Mind of State interviews are as relevant now as they were when Apple Podcasts featured the series as "New and Noteworthy" in 2019. These nuanced discussions offer insights and reflections from leading experts - on psychology, politics, race, religion, and more - to those of us struggling to make sense of our American political nonsense.

The book's chapters are divided into five sections that reveal persistent themes underlying our increasing distress, due to the interconnectedness of psychology and politics in the United States:

Why Truth Matters * Anxieties Of Race & Dominance * Acknowledging Death, Trauma & Loss * The Importance Of Myth In Politics * Democracy At Risk

Mind of State features interviews with the following luminaries:

Antoine Banks

Anne Barnard

Jessica Benjamin

Pauline Boss

Jules Cashford

Michael A. Cohen

Lisa Damour

William Davies

Megan Doney

Susan Fiske

Betty Sue Flowers

Justin Frank

Peter Glick

Anton Hart

Judith Herman

Adrienne Hollis

Ashley Jardina

Robert Jay Lifton

Eric Liu

Lilliana Mason

William "Scotty" McLennan

Nate Persily

Nancy Rosenblum

Thomas Singer

Hawthorne "Hawk" Smith

Sheldon Solomon

Michael Tansey

Eric Ward

Deva Woodly

Betty P. Teng, LCSW, MFA, is a psychoanalyst and trauma therapist who has worked with survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and childhood molestation at Mount Sinai Beth Israel's Victims Services Program in Manhattan. She is one of the authors of the New York Times bestseller, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump. Ms. Teng has spoken and written on traumaand its impacts for various conferences and media outlets, such as Slate and Vox. She currently sees couples and adults in private practice.

Jonathan Kopp is a communications strategist specializing in issue and positioning campaigns for candidates, causes, companies, and countries. He is a partner at FGS Global, a leading strategic communications and public affairs consultancy, helping clients navigate complex environments. Jonathan was a member of the Obama for America 2008 National Media Team, the Opposition Research & Rapid Response Team of the 1992 Clinton/Gore "War Room," and the Clinton Administration White House staff.

Dr. Thomas Singer is a psychiatrist and a Jungian psychoanalyst who trained at Yale Medical School and the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. He contributed a chapter to the New York Times bestseller, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump. In addition, he is the author/editor of many books and articles that include a series of books on cultural complexes that focus on Australia, Latin America, Europe, the United States, and Far East Asian countries. He has also coedited another series of books featuring Ancient Greece, Modern Psyche. He serves on the board of ARAS (Archive for Research into Archetypal Symbolism) and has been the coeditor of ARAS Connections for many years.