We present one of America’s most notorious serial killers, the Truck Stop Killer. Also known as Robert Ben Rhoades, Ben acquired his fame after a police officer unsuspectingly checked on his semi-truck, parked haphazardly on the side of the road.
Read moreEp: 212 - Analyzing The Death of Elisa Lam - The Psychology Of A Murder Mystery (RELOADED)
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In this episode, Michael Drane discusses the mysterious disappearance and death of Elisa Lam.
In 2013, Canadian college student Elisa Lam was last seen in an elevator acting very strangely..some say it was foul play, while others suspect mental illness.
Was it a mental illness?
Was it foul play?
Was it drugs?
Who is ultimately responsible for this death?
Professor Michael Drane and Paranormal Investigator Jeremy Enfinger from the Weirdos and Wine Podcast discuss the possible reasons for her death.
Check out Michael’s Interview with
A&E Real Crime!
“If you have a predisposition to psychosis through a pre-existing condition like bipolar disorder, then a stressor or not taking your medications or even a lack of sleep can cause a manic or psychotic state,” Michael Drane, a forensic psychotherapist who has examined the Lam case, tells A&E Real Crime.
“I’m convinced that Lam was not fleeing an attacker or under imminent threat,” says Drane. “She isn’t displaying typical fight-or-flight mechanisms, such as hands up in a defensive posture and being more guarded, and she does exhibit some vulnerable body language.”
“When Lam briefly steps out of the elevator, however, Drane notes that her behavior does become somewhat erratic and seems more consistent with something like paranoid ideation, almost as if she is responding to internal stimuli.”
“She was likely in a psychotic state of some kind, which is totally possible with bipolar disorder,” says Drane. “It’s a disconnect from reality, because the stimulus in your head is more powerful than the external reality around you.” It’s possible, in Drane’s opinion, that Lam was under the influence of a substance of some kind, which could have overridden her psych medications if she were taking them. Or she may have stopped taking her medications altogether.
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Unpopular Culture Podcast is a psychology podcast hosted by Professor & Psychotherapist Michael Drane. With help from professionals in different fields, he seeks to shine light into the broken underbelly of society.
Listen as he takes on the psychology behind subjects like:
True Crime: serial killers, murders, stalkers, cults, forensic analysis
Psychology: mental illness, social phenomenon, mob mentality, psychoanalysis, etc.
Culture: Sexuality, Satanic Panic, love, Tv analysis, movie analysis.
We are an independent psychology podcast. Help us keep UPC free of ads and on the air. Please consider supporting the show and get access to our "Stalkers Only" archive, and help be a part of the creative process.
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Ep: 205 - The Six Types of Stalkers (Part 6) - The Psychology Of Contract Killers
Chester Wheeler Campbell is often described as a ladies man who loved fine clothing, liquor, and luxury. He was also the favorite contract killer for street gangs and mafia bosses alike.
Cambell planned his killings with great care, using sophisticated surveillance equipment far beyond anything used by intelligence agencies of his day. Cambell liked stalking his victims before killing them.
Read moreEp: 204 - Jeffrey Epstein “Filthy Rich” and The Unchecked Id - The Psychology of Jeffrey Epstein
We analyze the psychology behind the Jeffrey Epstein “Filthy Rich". Did he kill himself? Was it Murder? What kind of person would do this? Was he a psychopath? What was Ghislaine Maxwell's role.
Read moreEp: 194 - Scale of Evil, Part 11: The Abbotsford Killer - The Psychology of Murder
We continue The Scale of Evil Series with a forensic analysis on the case of Terry Driver, convicted murder. Driver ranks at level 16 of Dr. Michael Stone's "Gradations of Evil Scale".
Read moreEp: 188 - Laura Brand and Analyzing The Toolbox Killers - The Psychology of Serial Murder
We interview Laura Brand, a private investigator who helped find the location of 2 missing victims from the Toolbox Murders of the late 1970s. Laura Brand is one of the leading experts on serial killers and has worked with over 50 serial killers including Lawerence Bittaker (Tool Box Killers).
Read moreEp: 175 - (The John Frum Cult) Cults Vs. Religions - The Psychology of Cults
What are the fabled “Cargo Cults” of the pacific? Indigenous tribes that were overwhelmed by technology. So much that they began to worship the American Servicemen as gods. We explore religions vs. cults. What makes a cult?
Read moreEp: 172 - AMC's Better Call Saul & "The Svengali Effect" - The Psychology of Better Call Saul
If the characters in Better Call Saul were superheroes, what would their special power be? We will also discuss the “Svengali Effect” to see if Charles McGill’s accusations about Jimmy McGill are true. Is he a sociopathic mastermind? We are going to hold him up to the criteria of what it means to be manipulative sociopath to understand the psychology behind this beloved character.
Read moreEp: 171 - The Six Stalkers (Part 2) “The Shoe Fetish Slayer" - The Psychology of Stalking and Foot Fetishes - Jerome Brudos (Preview)
Jerome (Jerry) Brudos, a serial murderer from Oregon, is an example of the lust stalker, and the next subject of the 6 types of stalkers. Jerome Brudos is notable for his foot fetish, his obsession with women’s shoes, but also his escalating pattern of savagery.
Read moreEp: 161 - Scale of Evil (Part 8) Inadequate, Rageful Psychopaths - The Psychology of Murder
We look at level 13 on the scale of evil these are Psychopathic murderers with inadequate, rageful personalities.Ed Gein and Benjamin Nathaniel Smith as examples of these murderers. The Butcher of Plainfield or the Plainfield Ghoul, was a convicted murderer and body snatcher.
Read moreEp: 159 - Borderline Personality for "Bees with Boots - The Psychology of Borderline Personality Disorder
We discuss Borderline Personality Disorder. Attachment wounds and intense fear of abandonment lie at the heart of what is clinically known as Borderline Personality disorder. Many of us have features of this disorder. In this episode, we explain how this looks early and late in life, what to do if you have it, and how to get some help
Read moreEp: 158 - Manson Vs. Jones - The Psychology of Cult Leaders and Serial Killers (Preview)
We delve into what's the difference between a "Serial Killer" and a "Cult Leader". What is the psychological profiles of Jim Jones, and Charles Manson? We also discuss the differences between spree murder, and mass murder, using two of the most notorious villains in history.
Read moreEp: 157 - Netflix's "YOU" Season 2- Stalker Analysis - The Psychology of Stalkers, Psychopaths, and Murder
We dive into Netflix’s You Season 2. Michael Drane discusses the psychological profile of Joe Goldberg, Love Quinn, and Forty Quinn. He dives into the analysis of these characters and discusses how this effects the story. Haven’t seen Season 2 yet? Beware of spoilers!
Read moreEp: 156 - My Evil Twin 2 “The Silent Twins” - The Psychology of Twins and Psychopathic Behavior (Preview)
This is the fascinating case of June and Jennifer Gibbons, a.k.a "The Silent Twins. They were admitted to Broadmoor Hospital where they were held for eleven years. For most of us, our shadow is a metaphor for our darker side, a way to describe another part of us, but not for these ladies.
Read moreEp: 154 - The Christmas Killing Spree: The Psychology of Spree Murder
We investigate the worst spree killing in Dayton Ohio History. Over a 3-day period in December 1992, four young people embarked on a shooting rampage that left five people dead and three wounded. They would soon be known as the “Downtown Posse”.
Read moreEp: 150 - My Evil Twin - The Psychology of a Psychopath
Masha & Dasha were conjoined twins who were relentlessly experimented on by Russian Scientists. Though they shared a body, their psychological makeup different. It's widely claimed that Dasha was empathic, while Masha was a psychopath. Did nature or nurture cause this?
Read moreEp: 139 - Scale of Evil (Part 4) Semi-Psychopathic Jealous Lovers - The Psychology of Murder
We review Level 9 on the "Scale of Evil" with the case of Paul Snider, a semi-psychopathic killer who murdered Dorothy Stratten just as she was a rising star in movies and in Playboy Magazine.
Read moreEp: 123 - Cult Psychology: Order Of The Solar Temple
In this episode Michael Drane discusses the Order of the Solar Temple cult. Solar Temple gained worldwide notoriety when the burnt bodies of 74 of its members were found in Switzerland, Canada and then France. 23 bodies were discovered in a burnt-out farm in canton Fribourg. Another 25 bodies were found in canton Valais.
Read moreEp: 72 - The Psychology of the Mandela Effect - False Memory & Public Perception
The social phenomenon where the public has certain false memories dubbed the "Mandela Effect". It was first coined in 2013 after Nelson Mandela's death, because many people misremember him dying in prison in the 1980s.
Read moreEp: 67 - Black Mirror’s “Shut Up and Dance" - The Psychology of Pedophilia
THIS is the next episode in our Black Mirror coverage: Season 4 Episode 3 "Shut Up and Dance." *SPOILERS* for this episode. In this episode we welcome friend of the podcast, Ryan Lee. We discuss in this episode hacking (Money vs. Morality), and the psychology of pedophilia.
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