Guest
Actor Penn Badgley (YOU, Gossip Girl) and therapist Dr. Nura Mowzoon join Rainn Wilson to explore how media and modern television distorts our understanding of love, relationships, and passion. Together, they dive into why people mistake conflict for passion, how media reinforces unhealthy romantic ideals, and the deeper psychological impacts of romantic media on young people. Penn also opens up about the unintended consequences of portraying toxic love on-screen and the complexities of attachment and commitment in real life. This conversation challenges popular narratives of love, highlighting the dangers of media-fueled misconceptions. Penn Badgley is an actor known for his roles as in Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl and Joe Goldberg in YOU, where he portrays characters that grapple with complex and often unhealthy romantic dynamics. Off-screen, he explores the intersection of spirituality, relationships, and media influence. Penn and Nura are touring colleges and universities to provide their Can We Talk? series of discussions with students. To have them come lead a discussion at your school, reach out below! More about Can We Talk? @canwetalkseries In this episode, we discuss: 00:00 Penn Badgley Exposes Television’s Toxic Love Stories 03:15 Why Are We Obsessed with Unhealthy Relationships? 07:30 Conflict vs. Passion: The Lies We’ve Been Told 13:45 Penn Badgley: The Truth About Joe Goldberg from YOU 18:55 The Wounded Good Guy vs. The Bad Boy: Which Is Worse? 25:00 Are We Addicted to Outrage? 32:20 Social Media’s Dirty Secret: Fueling Conflict and Division 38:50 The Secret to Disagreeing Without Destroying Relationships 45:30 Can You Really Humanize Your Enemy? Thank you to our sponsors! LMNT: Waking Up app (1st month FREE!): Fetzer Institute: MERCH OUT NOW! SUBSCRIBE to our Clips channel: @SoulBoomClips Sign up for our newsletter! Watch WISDOM DUMP: Follow us! Instagram: TikTok: @soulboom Sponsor Soul Boom: partnerships@ Work with Soul Boom: business@ Send Fan Creations, Questions, Comments: hello@ Send fan mail! PO Box 2180 Toluca Lake, CA 91610 Shipping via UPS/FedEx? 10063 Riverside Dr PO Box 2180 Toluca Lake, CA 91610 Executive Produced by: Kartik Chainani Executive Produced by: Ford Bowers, Samah Tokmachi Companion Arts Production Supervisor: Mike O'Brien Voicing Change Media Theme Music by: Marcos Moscat Channel Branding Artwork and Graphics: Jack Sjogren Intro Animation by: Sophie Ansari Set Design: Ashley Hasenyager - Designer Casey Hallenbeck - Set Decorator Ray Maxwell - Construction Coordinator Dino Bortoli - General Foreman #SoulBoom #PennBadgley #RainnWilson #YOUNetflix #YOUOnNetflix #GossipGirl
