HS 185 – How to Spot a Psychopath with Douglas E. Richards

Douglas E. Richards has been widely praised for his ability to weave action, suspense, and science into riveting novels that brilliantly straddle the thriller and science fiction genres. He is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of WIRED, its sequel, AMPED, THE CURE, and six critically acclaimed middle-grade adventures enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

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A former biotech executive, Richards earned a BS in microbiology from the Ohio State University, a master’s degree in genetic engineering from the University of Wisconsin (where he engineered mutant viruses now named after him), and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Richards currently lives in San Diego, California, with his wife, two children, and two dogs.

Here’s a brief selection of the description for “The Cure,” his latest work:

Psychopaths cause untold misery. If you found the cure for this condition, just how far would you go to use it? Erin Palmer had a devastating encounter with a psychopath as a child. Now a grad student and scientist, she’s devoting her life to studying these monsters. When her research catches the attention of Hugh Raborn, a brilliant neuroscientist who claims to have isolated the genes responsible for psychopathic behavior, Erin realizes it may be possible to reverse the condition, restoring souls to psychopaths. But to do so, she’ll not only have to operate outside the law, but violate her most cherished ethical principles. “The Cure” is available on Amazon.com and you can learn more about Douglas at http://douglaserichards.com

Narrator: Welcome to the Holistic Survival Show with Jason Hartman. The economic storm brewing around the world is set to spill into all aspects of our lives. Are you prepared? Where are you going to turn for the critical life skills necessary for you to survive and prosper? The Holistic Survival Show is your family’s insurance for a better life. Jason will teach you to think independently, to understand threats and how to create the ultimate action plan. Sudden change or worst case scenario, you’ll be ready. Welcome to Holistic Survival, your key resource for protecting the people, places and profits you care about in uncertain times. Ladies and gentlemen, your host, Jason Hartman.

Jason Hartman: Welcome to the Holistic Survival Show. This is your host Jason Hartman where we talk about protecting the people, places, and profits you care about in these uncertain times. We have a great interview for you today and we will be back with that in less than 60 seconds on the Holistic Survival Show. And, by the way, be sure to visit our website at HolisticSurvival.com. You can subscribe to our blog which is totally free, has loads of great information, and there’s just a lot of good content for you on the site. So make sure you take advantage of that at HolisticSurvival.com. We’ll be right back.

Start of Interview with Douglas E. Richards

Jason Hartman: It’s my pleasure to welcome Douglas E. Richards to the show. And he is going to talk to us today about a topic that is probably rather important because maybe we’ve all bumped elbows with, experienced, or had bad experiences with a psychopath, yes, literally. And we’ll talk about that today. Douglas’s latest book is entitled The Cure. He’s had an outstanding rise to prominence in his writing and his books have fantastic reviews, so it’s a real pleasure to welcome him from San Diego today. Douglas, welcome, how are you?

Douglas E. Richards: Thanks, Jason. Great to be here, I’m good.

Jason Hartman: Well, it’s good to have you. So, psychopaths, I think we’ve all dated one, worked with one, done business with one. Now, of course, there’s a legitimate clinical definition and an anecdotal experience and those may be different, but I don’t know – maybe you can define what is a sociopath, what is a psychopath, and what is the difference between a psychopath and a psychotic? Are those different?

Douglas E. Richards: Yeah, they are. If you don’t mind, let me back up just for a second. Let me just tell you how I became an expert in this area. So, I write thrillers kind of like Michael Crichton used to do in the sense that in the present day they have all kind of the action and the twists and turns and all that good stuff that you find in thrillers. But by the same token, they have some science fictional elements, but the most important thing is they’re driven by accurate science. And he was an MD and I have a Masters in molecular biology. So, I do meticulous research on my kind of thriller science fiction novels.

Jason Hartman: It’s great when it’s all backed by real science rather than just airy fairy fiction.

Douglas E. Richards: I think so, especially for this one because I think people really need to learn about what makes a psychopath tick. So, I started this one. I was reading research that there are differences in brains between psychopaths and non-psychopaths. There was startling new research that was being done and I was fascinated by this, so I started thinking maybe I could write a novel around this and I started doing research.

And I always thought it was kind of a Hannibal Lector type that was a psychopath, so serial killers, they were psychopaths, and they are typically. But what I learned in the research is that really 1% of the population can be classified as psychopathic which is astonishing to me. And a lot of them are kind of white collar psychopaths. And so there’s something called the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-revised that you use to diagnose it, and that’s kind of a mouthful. But basically they’re looking for a set of behaviors. They have to interview a subject and take a history. And the behaviors are a psychopath is utterly selfish, has no conscience or empathy, ruthless, predatory, cold and calculating, so that’s kind one side of the psychopath.

The other side is they can be unbelievably charming. They can be charming, charismatic, they’re smooth talkers, they’re brilliant liars.

Jason Hartman: You’re reminding me of Ted Bundy as you say that.

Douglas E. Richards: Yeah. Actually, they have no shame or embarrassment. So, if you catch them in a lie where you and I would get super embarrassed, it doesn’t faze them at all. They just move on and tell a bigger lie. So, in my view, it reminds me of a politician. It’s almost like being a psychopath is a job requirement for a politician. So, they have this dichotomy where they’re utterly ruthless and selfish and they see the world as prey and they’re predators – and they’re just serial users.

So, it’s not just the Hannibal Lectors. Like you said, it’s the person in the office next door, the guy who stabs you in the back with a smile, lies to your face, super charming, sucks up to the boss, poisons you behind your back, takes credit for your work, and I think we’ve all kind of known people like that – or the guy who moves in with his girlfriend and sucks her dry financially and emotionally and then spits her out and moves on without a care in the world. So, this is the kind of person we’re talking about. And so when I was learning that this was so prevalent in the population, I got even more interested in writing this novel. So, I called up a guy at the University of Wisconsin medical school who actually goes into prisons and conducts brain scans on psychopathic murdering rapists. And I asked him how is this done? So, the guard brings you a psychopathic murderer with a Hannibal Lector mask.

Jason Hartman: Yeah, you’d think it’s like the movie, right? But not at all.

Douglas E. Richards: Exactly. They’re unrestrained. My jaw dropped, and I said, well, how many guards go in with you into this little room where you conduct the brain scan with this psychopathic murderer? And he said none. And I couldn’t believe it. But he went on to explain that it turns out that they make model prisoners because they’re manipulated, they play the system. Whatever they have to do to get better treatment, they pretend to become born again Christians, they join group counseling, anything where they can get better treatment, so, unlike the movies where you think you’d be in huge danger, but really not so much. So, all of this I thought was fascinating. And a lot of that made it into the first few chapters of the book.

Jason Hartman: Yeah, fantastic. Define those differences, though, if you would because a lot of people, as I’ve kind of opened with, feel like they’ve dealt with a psychopath or they might say that flippantly, “Oh, you’re a psycho!” or talk behind someone’s back and say that. I’ve certainly heard it before. I mean, is there really a clinical…I mean, I know there is a clinical definition, but is it accurate?

Douglas E. Richards: So, it is subjective. It takes an expert to assess whether you’re a psychopath or not. And it’s kind of a continuum. So, some people are more psychopathic than others and you get into a certain range you are. So, the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath – and there are some people who don’t really recognize any difference – they think they’re basically the same, but at the top of the field like Robert Hare who is the glue of this field, defines psychopath as somebody who’s more born that way, and a sociopath is more made. So, it’s more kind of a genetic thing with a psychopath. They’re just a bad seed. So, their mother could be mother Teresa and their father could be Gandhi that could grow up in a loving environment and they’re still going to be psychopathic. It’s just in their nature.

A sociopath, it’s more environmental, so they’re raised in a brutal mob family. They could become a brutal mob enforcer and murderer, but they could still love their kids and their wife, whereas a psychopath doesn’t love anybody but themselves and isn’t loyal to anybody but themselves.
So think Casey Anthony. In my view, she’s a perfect example. Here’s a woman whose child is missing for a month, she doesn’t report it, she’s out partying with her boyfriend, having the time of her life. When it’s discovered, she blames the nanny and said the nanny kidnapped her. When that turns out to be a lie, she changes gears and says that she was molested by both her brother and her father. And the prosecuting attorney said that she was the greatest liar he had ever seen. So, I mean that’s kind of classical. They see the world as theirs for the taking and they don’t make any kind of emotional connection or have any empathy for anybody else.

Jason Hartman: So, you say that Casey Anthony is a perfect example, but does that mean she did it? I’m kind of curious what your take is on that. It sure seems like it, huh?

Douglas E. Richards: I would bet so. I haven’t done a personal interview with her and a history with her, so I can’t for 100% say that she’s a psychopath, but boy I would not be surprised at all. She really fits the profile. Now, a psychotic is different and it’s unfortunate that psycho is used for both.

Jason Hartman: Right.

Douglas E. Richards: It’s an abbreviation. But a psychotic is out of touch with reality. So, they hear voices. Like the guy in Washington at the Navy Yard, he heard voices before he shot up a bunch of people. That’s more psychotic. A psychopath is chillingly sane. A psychopath knows right from wrong. They just don’t care.

Jason Hartman: So, it’s a distinction there. What about a sociopath?

Douglas E. Richards: As I was saying, a sociopath has more environmental influence. They have many of the same behaviors – they’re ruthless, but they can be loyal and they can love other people, where a psychopath is really incredibly selfish. And to give you in the differences in the brains of a psychopath and a non-psychopath, if I were to hook up electrodes to your head and show you a picture of a chair and a picture of a woman getting brutally beaten, different parts of your brain would light up. So, when you saw the woman getting brutally beaten, the more emotional area of your brain would light up. For a psychopath, their brain sees that the same way. I mean, they are just not wired for emotional connection or empathy. And they also don’t have fear the way you and I have fear. So, if I hook you up and measure your heart rate and your sweat level and show you something that should evoke fear, your heart will race and you will sweat a little bit – a psychopath, not. And if you look at the brain structure, even in the area of the brain that are connected to the fear centers, the connections aren’t the same as in our brains.

And what that means is, you and I, if we’re contemplating a dangerous activity, a deceitful activity, we get stressed about it, we get anxious about it. But a psychopath just forges ahead. And if they’re going to do a criminal activity or something ruthless, it doesn’t faze them at all. They’re fearless.

Jason Hartman: So, that’s an interesting analysis because some would just call them daring or brave, right?

Douglas E. Richards: Yeah, absolutely. They’re cold and callous and calculating. And it’s a different animal than you and I.

Jason Hartman: Yeah, wow, amazing. So, is there any advice that you would have for dealing with people like this? They’re just roaming around in the general population, aren’t they?

Douglas E. Richards: Absolutely. So, I think the more you know about what makes a psychopath tick, the better off you’ll be, number one. So, for instance, in my book The Cure, there’s a lot of accurate information about some of the things I’ve been talking about to help people kind of recognize them when they see them. Books like that are I think helpful so you know what kind of animal you’re dealing with. Because I think the more compassionate we are, the less we’re able to believe somebody can really be like this. I mean, it’s almost easier to be fooled the more empathy you have because you can’t even imagine. Just like we’ve all worked with people like that who would just lie right to your face without blinking and you think how can they possibly do that?

But when you kind of see them as a different animal, almost a different species, it helps you understand what you’re up against and what they’re capable of. So, number one is educate yourself. Number 2, they’re brilliant at zeroing in on your weaknesses and vulnerabilities. The more you understand yourself, the better you can protect yourself.

So, these people are social chameleons. Whatever they need to do to ingratiate themselves and use you…If you’re valuable to them, they’ll find a way to use you. If you’re not valuable to them or you’re standing in their way, they’ll find a way to destroy you, they’ll poison you behind your back. But if you’re useful to them and if they need to be a shoulder for you to cry on, they’ll do that. If they need to suck up, they’ll they do that. If they need to be gregarious, they’ll do that. Whatever it takes, they’ll know what it takes. They’re great at sizing you up and being a social chameleon and being what they have to be to get what they want. So you have to kind of be aware of that.

And I think, finally, the most important thing is get second opinions. Because they’re so smooth, they’re such great con artists, these people even fool the scientists who study them for a living. Like the guy I talked to at the medical school at The University of Wisconsin, he said he’s been fooled by them. They’re so smooth and charming – he even studies them for a living and he’s fooled. So, when you have somebody in the office, give second opinions, check around. I mean, if he’s charming you, you start noticing some worries and behavior and he plays it off – because they’re great at lying as you catch them in something – they’ll make you think that 2 +2 is 5. So, what you need to do is you need to talk to other people because other people that they don’t need sometimes can see their true nature. So, with you, if they want to use you, they’ll have the charm and they’ll have the mask on and they’ll fool you.

Jason Hartman: It’s interesting you mentioned sort of casually, said “he”. I wonder if there’s a gender distinction. Are there more male psychopaths than females or is it more like the issue of – this subject is a bad subject – suicide. I’ve heard more women attempt it but more men succeed at it. So, I’m wondering if like we know about more male psychopaths because maybe they act out in a more noticeable way like Ted Bundy. You talked about Casey Anthony, but I don’t know. Is there anything gender wise that makes a difference?

Douglas E. Richards: It’s funny that you ask that. I think it’s a great question. In my own mind, and you caught me saying “he” a lot. In my own mind, I think of psychopaths as being more male than female. But the truth is that they really aren’t.

Jason Hartman: I mean, in the movies they’re portrayed that way unfairly. Let me guess. They’re probably white, male and Christian, which is the most discriminated group in America nowadays.

Douglas E. Richards: Absolutely. But the truth is about 20% of our prison populations, both male prisons and female prisons are made up of psychopaths, so people who really study this have shown that. So, it really is kind of equal. And what interesting, I did one radio show where there were callers that called in and what I found fascinating – and I got a bunch of emails after the show from people and they were saying “You know, the women are more insidious.” Because if you’re an attractive woman, you can use sex, you can use your natural appeal and allure. And there are people that wrote me that were just trapped in marriages. And after they heard me talking about it were convinced that they married a psychopath and they just feel so trapped that they have nowhere to go. And the woman, if they tried to leave them, would destroy their lives.

Jason Hartman: There’s a great movie about that and the female lead in it is so attractive. It’s called Dream Lover. I can’t remember who that is. Is that Megan Fox? No, I think it’s another one, but a beautiful brunette. And she just ruins this guy’s life. And I can’t say the spoiler, but at the end she ends up institutionalized and he sort of gets even. I’ll leave it at that.

Douglas E. Richards: No, I gotta tell you, I really opened my eyes, the emails that I got, that I think the women are potentially even more dangerous than the guys because I think if you’re an attractive woman, I think a woman can use sex as a more powerful weapon maybe than a man can and you’re completely unscrupulous. So, it is kind of equal male and female thing.

Jason Hartman: So, what else should people know about it? I would assume that the area of the functional magnetic resonance imaging, the FMRIs, is really making great strides in this field and understanding psychopaths and understanding if people are lying or not. I mean, it’s basically like a form of mind reading like you talked about earlier. You can put an image of something in front of someone and read which area of their brain lights up, I mean that’s mind reading, isn’t it?

Douglas E. Richards: Yeah. I think you’re exactly right. And it’s fascinating when you really think about the structural differences and then relate them to their behaviors. And one of the things I like to do in my novels is a lot of food for thought and a lot of ethical and philosophical issues in my novels. And so, for example, this woman in the novel, she has a devastating encounter as a young girl with a psychopath, so she has this kind of visceral interest in psychopaths. And she studies them and devotes her life. And one thing she wants to do is find a remote diagnostic. And because there’s differences in the brains, it’s feasible that you can do that, that it’s giving off slightly different electrical patterns.

And you know that people are already using brainwaves to control videogames. I don’t know if you’re aware…And artificial limbs. So this is already happening. So, what if you had a keychain in your pocket and when you got within 50 feet of a psychopath, it would buzz?

Jason Hartman: There’s an app for that.

Douglas E. Richards: Yeah, that’s exactly right. That’s a great idea, on your phone, an app, a psychopath app. I love that. You’re the first person who’s ever said that.

Jason Hartman: It’s my idea, remember.

Douglas E. Richards: I’m gonna steal that. From now on, I’m gonna say it’s my idea. So, the phone buzzes when you’re near a psychopath, but the ethical question is what would you do with that information? So, as I said, a lot of psychopaths, they’re ruthless and despicable, but they haven’t been convicted of any crimes. So, what would society do with that information? I mean, would society be justified in monitoring the psychopath even before they’ve done anything? So, that’s kind of an interesting ethical question that I play with in the book.

So that’s her goal, this researcher, the heroine in the book. And then she’s approached by somebody who thinks he can cure the condition and so that’s why the book is called The Cure. So, he says, “Look, I think I can cure this.” But in order to do that, she’s going to have to go outside the law and violate her ethical principles. But that brings up another interesting philosophical item which is these people wouldn’t want to be cured. So even if you were able to cure it, psychopaths don’t see anything wrong with themselves.

Jason Hartman: Yeah, it’s like the smoker. They’ve got to want to quit or nothing works unless you want to do it.

Douglas E. Richards: And psychopaths, they think they’re superior to the rest of us. I mean, not only do they not want to, they think that you and I are soft and emotional and overly compassionate and weak and that we’re rubes. And they feel like we’re sheep and they’re the wolf and they see nothing wrong with being the wolf. So, the last thing they would want is to be cured. So, would you force it on them? And just like in prisons, sex offenders have a choice of I think being castrated.

Jason Hartman: I don’t think they have that choice, but I think it should be a choice. I mean, that makes a lot of sense. But the other thing is I’m not sure that actually cures them or solves the problem completely, does it?

Douglas E. Richards: I don’t know. I haven’t researched very much on that, but from what I’ve read, I think it really does reduce…You mean the castration?

Jason Hartman: Yeah.

Douglas E. Richards: I think it really does reduce.

Jason Hartman: Why don’t they unclog the prisons and let these guys out with castration and maybe an ankle monitor or something or restrict them to their homes so we can change some tax dollars, I don’t know.

Douglas E. Richards: I’m all for saving tax dollars, especially my own. But I think you have a point. And I think it makes a lot of sense, but it’s a slippery slope. Taking psychopathy, would you force a cure on a psychopath? And I think maybe if he was Ted Bundy you could make a stronger case than the guy in the office next door who’s unscrupulous. So, there’s a lot of tricky ethical issues involved.

In fact, I get into something in the book called trolleyology which is an ethical thought experiment. It’s actually a field in ethics. Have you ever heard of it? It’s called trolleyology.

Jason Hartman: I have never heard of that.

Douglas E. Richards: When I first researched it, I thought that was a joke, but there’s a huge body of literature. And if you Googled it you’ll find a lot of stuff. So basically it’s a thought experiment. So, suppose that you are on a set of tracks and you see a trolley coming down the tracks and you’re at a mechanical switch, so you can pull a lever and the train will go onto a different track, right? So, on its present course, it’s gonna kill 5 people. There’s 5 people, they’re just standing there on the tracks for whatever reason. The train’s out of control, it’s gonna hit these 5 people. But you have a split second, you can change the track, and on the other track is one person and it’s gonna kill the one person.

So, the first basic question in trolleyology is would you switch the train? And most of us say yes. Most people say absolutely. You pull the lever, the train goes and kills one person instead of 5. It’s that kind of base case. But then there’s a whole series of experiments. The second is what if that one person is your mother. Now, it’s a little bit harder, isn’t it?

Jason Hartman: Sure.

Douglas E. Richards: So then another question is now let’s suppose you’re above on a bride and you see the train heading towards 5 people, and if you jumped in front of it, you’re a skinny guy, it wouldn’t stop it – you’d be killed and so would the 5 people, but there’s a really heavy guy standing next to you. And I didn’t make this up. This is really a thought experiment in the field of trolleyology.

So, there’s a super heavy guy standing next to you on the bridge, and you realize if you push him down onto a track, literally throw him under the bus, under the train, you save 5 people. Okay, this time most people wouldn’t do it, whereas before it’s the same math. It’s one person dies and 5 people live. But you have to be the instrument of the guy’s death. So rather than just pulling a lever, you’re actually pushing this guy in front of the train, most people wouldn’t do that. But what’s interesting is a psychopath would. Psychopaths are much more likely to just do whatever the math says.

Jason Hartman: They’re more logical, yeah. Well, I don’t want to say they’re more logical. I shouldn’t give them that compliment, but in a way they are. I mean, is that a fair statement?

Douglas E. Richards: Well, they’re more cold hearted.

Jason Hartman: They’re cold hearted logic.

Douglas E. Richards: They’re coldly calculating. They’re coldly calculating. Like you, if it’s your mom on the other track or your kid on the other track, you’re thinking holy heck – I get it – it’s one person versus 5 people – but how are you going to have the train kill your own child? So, for you, that just is an incredibly difficult choice. For a psychopath, they don’t make a connection to anybody. It’s just 1 versus 5. It’s not the same.

So, in some ways, some circumstances, they could potentially make better leaders. I mean, if you look at the Star Trek movie, the recent one, where Kirk is always jeopardizing the entire crew for Spock, the needs of the many versus the needs of the one. Are you familiar with Star Trek?

Jason Hartman: Oh yeah, of course. That sounds like Marxism to me. I mean, I didn’t like that Spock said that.

Douglas E. Richards: Yes. And it’s funny because they say that but Spock and Kirk continue to not listen to it. They say to each other, even when they’re jeopardizing other people, so it’s kind of interesting. And if you think about the differences between our heroes and our villains in terms of psychopathy, they have a lot of similarities. Look at James Bond. He’s ruthless, he’s charming, he’s manipulative, he can lie really well. He’s got like a lot of the characteristics of a psychopath. The difference is though that he’s loyal. He has loyalty to other people. So that’s really the principal difference.

Jason Hartman: He has loyalty to the people we like.

Douglas E. Richards: Right, exactly right.

Jason Hartman: That’s kind of like saying one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. It sort of depends which side you’re on.

Douglas E. Richards: Well, a psychopath is only on his side or her side. So, they’re not loyal to anybody. And I get what you’re saying that it does depend on what side you’re on. Another interesting thing is that psychopaths don’t tend to be rampage shooters. People kind of feel like there’s an epidemic of psychopaths out there.

Jason Hartman: Right.

Douglas E. Richards: And there are, but not the ones people think about. So, the Bernie Madoffs of the world or Jerry Sanduskys of the world, Casey Anthony and Scott Peterson, those are more of the psychopaths in my view. But I’d rather study where they looked at 10 rampaged shooters and they ask the question “Are they psychopathic?” and really only 2 out of the 10 were psychopathic, the others were psychotic. And that’s because psychopaths are really selfish and they do stuff for a gain and rampage shooting, you typically end up being shot in the end yourself usually. So, I think people think that rampage shooters are psychopaths, but they tend not to be one.

Jason Hartman: Yeah, it wouldn’t be logical for them because it wouldn’t be selfish enough for them to be a mass shooter, right?

Douglas E. Richards: Yeah, because they’re going to end up dead most likely. At the end, they usually get shot.

Jason Hartman: Right, yeah, almost always. Very interesting stuff.

Douglas E. Richards: In today’s world, though, with these high profile cases, it does make you look at the news a little bit different. When you look at the politicians, when you look at Anthony Weiners of the world who are really utterly shameless and you kind of have to wonder are there any politicians – and I won’t take sides, I personally have my own strong feelings about different politicians, but if you follow it at all, you know how brilliant politicians are at lying and how they can say something one day that’s even recorded, that they’ve written down, that’s been recorded, and then they’ll say the exact opposite the next day and they’ll say they never said it even though there’s recorded evidence.

Jason Hartman: Politics is a disaster. I think the Washington Redskins, the sports team, they’re gonna change their name and they’re gonna take Washington out because they’re embarrassed. I thought that was a good riddle I heard the other day. Isn’t that good? That and there’s an app for knowing where psychopaths are – you can use both of those. How does that sound?

Douglas E. Richards: I love that. This is great. I’m getting a lot of good material.

Jason Hartman: Fantastic. Well, Douglas, hey, give out your website if you would, and tell people where they can find you and then I’ve got another question for you.

Douglas E. Richards: Okay. So, I’m at www.DouglesERichards.com and the website is kind of under construction, but there’s some historical stuff there. I encourage people to find me on Facebook to keep more current. I’m at Douglas E. Richards Author, is my Facebook name. And even if you don’t want to friend me, I have no privacy settings. I’m pretty sure you can see everything that’s on there.

Jason Hartman: Good stuff. Are you working on your next book?

Douglas E. Richards: I am. I’m deep into it and I can’t really talk much about it. It’s double secret probation. I can’t talk much about it, but I’m pretty excited about it. I think it’s really gonna be a good one. And, again, it’s kind of the signature of thriller, science fiction, lots of ethics and science and philosophy and twists and turns and all that stuff. So, hopefully that’ll come out in the next 6 to 12 months. The publishing business is a dinosaur.

Jason Hartman: I know. It’s a total dinosaur. I mean, you can publish a Kindle book tomorrow, but your regular book it takes 18 months for some odd reason. I have no idea why.

Douglas E. Richards: It’s crazy, it’s really crazy.

Jason Hartman: It really is. That is an industry that’s struggling to figure itself out and I think it’s going to continue for a while. But one last question for you, Douglas. There’s a lot of talk today – and it’s actually played in with some of these mass shootings they say, I don’t know if that’s true but people speculate about it – and that is the subject of bullying. And I want to see is there a connection to bullies and psychopaths or sociopaths? Where does the bully mentality come into the mix?

Douglas E. Richards: I think that there’s absolutely a connection. When you’re looking at the checklist to try to categorize somebody as a psychopath or not, you look at the subject history. And history of bullying as a child is very meaningful. So psychopaths use whatever tools they have to to get whatever they want. They won’t let anything stop them. They feel they’re entitled to anything they want. So, if they need to be charming to get it, they’ll do that. If they need to bully you and intimidate you, they’ll do that.

And psychopaths, they get off on conning people. I mean, a lot of psychopaths will lie even when the truth will do because it’s fun for them. It’s fun for them to feel superior and to put you on and to be proud they can fool you. And bullying, who knows what kind of crazy wiring produces a Ted Bundy, whereas a lot of psychopaths are really more of the Bernie Madoff style. But bullying – it’s a great question because it’s absolutely part of the psychopathic playbook.

Jason Hartman: Yeah, very interesting. Well, Douglas E. Richards, thank you so much for joining us today and keep up the good work. I’m looking forward to your next book.

Douglas E. Richards: Thank you, Jason. I really appreciate it.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us today for the Holistic Survival Show. Protecting the people, places and profits you care about in uncertain times. Be sure to listen to our Creating Wealth Show, which focuses on exploiting the financial and wealth creation opportunities in today’s economy. Learn more at www.JasonHartman.com or search “Jason Hartman” on iTunes. This show is produced by the Hartman Media Company, offering very general guidelines and information. Opinions of guests are their own, and none of the content should be considered individual advice. If you require personalized advice, please consult an appropriate professional. Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

Transcribed by Ralph

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