Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes bring actor, producer, and health and fitness advocate Joshua Murray on the show to discuss the new phenomenon of "looksmaxxing". What is it? What makes it different from other health trends? And what is wrong with it? Nathan, Joseph, and Josh discuss, along with Josh's new film "Gym Rat".

References and resources

Looksmaxxing definitions and analysis:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/looksmaxxing

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240326-inside-looksmaxxing-the-extreme-cosmetic-social-media-trend

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/looksmaxxing-may-point-to-deeper-body-image-issues-in-young-men-mental-health-expert-says

Social media causes looksmaxxing https://www.freyaindia.co.uk/p/how-social-media-feminised-us-all

Men falling behind drives looksmaxxing: https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/braden-eric-peters-clavicular-manosphere-looksmaxxing-masculine-ick-0h7hzhf0s

Websites

The Overthinkers.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes
Josh Murray: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3394219/

Millennials and Gen Z often feel more behind in life than previous generations did. They call this "milestone anxiety". But should we? And what should we do about it? Millennials Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss the ways they have--and continue to--feel behind and how they deal with it.

References and resources

Milestone anxiety: https://www.relate.org.uk/get-help/milestone-anxiety-rise-among-millennials-and-gen-z

Late bloomers: https://www.vox.com/advice/492291/late-bloomer-envy-milestones

Gen Z putting off milestones to buy a home:  https://fortune.com/2025/11/10/gen-z-delaying-milestones-housing-affordability-crisis-no-single-fix

Religious and conservatives way more likely to be married and have kids: https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/the-ideological-fertility-divide

https://ifstudies.org/blog/americas-growing-religious-secular-fertility-divide

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.com
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee/josephholmes

Everyone dreams of being a success. But how should we define success? Is it by external or internal standards? And what standards? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson welcome Grammy-Winning musical artist  Kevin Olusola and life coach Donovan Dee Donnell to discuss their new book "Designed to Succeed".

References and resources

Success definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/success

Why you should define success for yourself: https://www.stjohns.edu/news-media/johnnies-blog/how-do-you-define-success-tips-tricks

Problems with external success: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/everyday-resilience/202406/defining-success-on-your-own-terms

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes
Kevin Olusola: kevinolusola.com
Donovan Dee Donnell: donovandeedonnell.com

Book

Designed to Succeed: A Faith-Driven Blueprint to Building the Life You Were Created to Live: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310370124/?bestFormat=true&k=designed%20to%20succeed%20kevin%20olusola&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-ww_k1_1_13_de&crid=25MYANYDQMPZ9&sprefix=kevin%20olusola

Why does home matter? And how do we make it one that people want to stay in? Dr. Christie Purifoy discusses her book "A House to Call Home" with Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson on The Overthinkers

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes
christiepurifoy.com

Support for the death penalty is going down in America. But is this a sign of moral progress or moral decay? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes debate this question with political theologian and ethicist Dr. J. Daryl Charles. 

References and resources

American support  for the death penality going down: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/religious-statements/opinion-polls-death-penalty-support-and-religion?

Religious-secular divide on the death penalty: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/06/15/unlike-other-u-s-religious-groups-most-atheists-and-agnostics-oppose-the-death-penalty/

Dr. J. Daryl Charles Recommended Resources

J. Daryl Charles, van den Haag, Ernest, “On Deterrence and the Death Penalty.” Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science 60, no. 2 (1969): 141-47.

idem, “The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense”; accessible at the PBS “Frontline” website.

idem and John P. Conrad, The Death Penalty: A Debate. New York: Plenum Press, 1983.

J. Budziszewski, “Capital Punishment: The Case for Justice.” First Things (August 2004); accessible the First Things website

J. Daryl Charles, “Outrageous Atrocity or Moral Imperative?: The Ethics of Capital Punishment.” Studies in Christian Ethics 6, no. 3 (Fall 1993): 1-14.

idem, “Crime, the Christian, and Capital Justice.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 38, no. 3 (1995): 429-41.

idem, “Toward Restoring a Good Marriage: Reflections on the Contemporary Divorce of Love and Justice and Its Cultural Implications.” Journal of Church and State 55, no. 2 (2013): 367-83.

idem, “Capital Crime and Punishment: Reflections on Violating Human Sanctity.” Touchstone (September 2002): 29-35.

idem, “Lethal Rejection: Is Capital Punishment Barbaric, Uncivilized and Always Wrong?” Touchstone (September 2016): 30-36.

idem, “Capital Crimes and Capital Punishment.” Public Discourse (March 14, 2023); accessible at the Public Discourse website

idem, “Capital Crimes and Punishment.” Providence: A Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policy (September 22, 2025); accessible at the Providence website

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkers.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes
Dr. J. Daryl Charles: https://crcd.net/fellow/j-daryl-charles-phd/

Why do we have such a love for cozy comfort stories--whether they're books, movies, TV, or video games? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes welcome back Keelia Clarkson to discuss this along with her new book: "Chapter One Again: A Novel", the first of the Avila Falls series. 

References and resources

Searches for “cozy” and “comfort”: https://thecozyowlet.com/the-rise-of-cozy-reading-mystery-fantasy-and-more/

Why people watch “comfort shows”: 

https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1700/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/defining-memories/202212/play-and-repeat-why-we-watch-the-same-shows-over-and-over

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes
Keelia Clarkson: ivpress.com/keelia-clarkson
Chapter One Again: A Novel (Avila Falls Series): https://www.amazon.com/dp/151401372X/?bestFormat=true&k=chapter%20one%20again&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-ser_k0_1_17_de&crid=1ESWQJCIVVVRV&sprefix=chapter%20one%20again

Why do we have so much division today? How do we rebuild relationships across the divide? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson talk with Christian author and apologist Justin Brierly about his new show "Uncommon Ground", where he tries to do just that. 

References and resources

Increased US hatred for opposing political parties: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/08/09/as-partisan-hostility-grows-signs-of-frustration-with-the-two-party-system/

Increased feeling of division in UK: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/uks-sense-of-division-reaches-new-high-as-culture-war-tensions-grow-study-finds

Exposure can increase polarization: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1804840115

Don’t overstate political violence in US: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-u-s-in-a-new-era-of-political-violence-experts-say-its-complicated/

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee/josephholmes
Justin Brierley: justinbrierley.com

Are we shaped more by nature or nurture? Is biology or culture stronger in determining our choices? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss this topic, with Evolutionary psychologist Dr. Steve Stewart-Williams joining for the discussion, on this latest episode.

References and resources:

Defining nature vs nurture: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/nature-vs-nurture

Plato’s “inatism”: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/innatism

Aristotle and John Locke’s “tabula rasa”: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/psychology/tabula-rasa

Does Christianity make your life better? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss their experience of faith.

Websites
The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee/josephholmes

Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss the nature of "aesthetics"--appreciation for beauty and art--and why so many of us don't have the relationship with it we should.

References and resources

Aesthetics definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aesthetics

Aesthetics history and thought: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136466132100067X

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes

Christians talk a lot about grace. But how does one define grace? And in an age where morality seems to be on the decline, how does one balance grace and faithfulness to what's right? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss with author of "The Big Relief" and founder of Mockinbird Ministries, David Zahl. 

References and resources:

Grace definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grace

Protestant Grace definition: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-grace

Catholic Grace definition: https://www.catholic.com/tract/grace-what-it-is-and-what-it-does

Websites

The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjourneal.world
Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me
Joseph Holmes: linktr.ee/josephholmes
David Zahl: christchurchcville.org/david-zahl