EFR 884: Yale Psychiatrist Explains the Science of Revenge (From Addiction to Forgiveness) and How Revenge Sabotages Your Health with James Kimmel, Jr.
Ever Forward Radio with Chase Chewning
Release Date: 07/10/2025
Ever Forward Radio with Chase Chewning
This episode is brought to you by and Author and mindset disruptor Carla Ondrasik unpacks the radical idea behind ‘stop trying’. Carla challenges the culturally accepted virtue of “trying,” revealing it as a fear response that keeps us stuck in inaction and self-sabotage. Through personal stories—from pitching hit songs to Cher to rewriting her own future through visualization—Carla shares why doing, not trying, is the true path to success. This conversation explores how trying shows up in our language, our relationships, and our goals, and offers clear, compassionate...
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In this second part of the conversation, Dr. Scott Sherr returns to unpack one of the most fascinating compounds in modern mitochondrial medicine — methylene blue. Once used as the first FDA-approved antimicrobial drug, methylene blue is now being rediscovered as a powerful mitochondrial optimizer that helps the body both produce and detoxify energy at the same time. Dr. Sherr breaks down how it enhances ATP production, improves focus, endurance, and recovery, and even helps with travel fatigue and brain fog. He explains how methylene blue works at the cellular level, why quality and...
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In this moving Veterans Day episode of Ever Forward Radio, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Benjamin Forest opens up about his personal battle with depression, grief, and identity loss after 25 years of service — and how psychedelics became a catalyst for healing, love, and authentic living. He and Chase explore the mental-health crisis among veterans, the epidemic of loneliness and suppressed emotion in men, and how plant medicine, breathwork, and community can help reconnect us to meaning and purpose. Forest shares insights from his book , explaining that true recovery requires vulnerability,...
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This episode is brought to you by . Tired, drained, and ready for a change? You are not alone. In fact, 94% of Americans experience some degree of mitochondrial dysfunction that is possibly leading to unwanted symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, weight gain, and even poor mental health. In this episode with Dr. Scott Sherr, MD you will learn how modern life has made us evolutionarily unfit for our environment, and why living in constant fight-or-flight mode leads to what he calls “the sympathetic spiral of doom.” Together, we explore early warning signs of cellular decline, the link...
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Olivia Amitrano — founder of Organic Olivia and now recording artist OLIVIA — returns to explore the art of reinvention, inner child healing, and overcoming the fear of the unknown. Olivia opens up about shedding the identity that built her success, rediscovering creativity through play, and learning to trust herself again after a period of deep change. She shares how solo travel, sobriety, and stillness led her back to her truest self, and how embracing imperfection and presence opened the door to her next evolution as an artist. Together, we discuss the courage it takes to outgrow...
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This episode is brought to you by , and Today I we sit down with psychotherapist and author Jessica Baum to explore how our earliest attachment patterns and trauma bonds shape the way we love, connect, and heal. Drawing from her groundbreaking new book , Jessica explains how the body stores implicit memory, why safety—not strength—is the gateway to healing, and how we can transform our nervous system responses to build secure, authentic relationships. Together, Chase and Jessica dive into the neuroscience of trauma healing, the difference between familiar love and real safety, the role...
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This episode is brought to you by , and In this high-energy episode, I sit down with Carl Daikeler, co-founder and CEO of BODi (formerly BeachBody), to uncover what it truly takes to stay fit, healthy, and motivated at any age—especially after 40. Carl shares the honest truth about hating workouts, why consistency trumps complexity, and how his own struggles inspired the creation of Shakeology and countless effective fitness programs. From breaking the myth of “more is better” to championing the power of 25-minute workouts, Carl explains how to build muscle, lose fat, and achieve...
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This episode is brought to you by and In this episode of Ever Forward Radio, I sit down with renowned Los Angeles plastic surgeon Dr. Susan Chobanian, MD—widely known as the Queen of Rhinoplasty—to uncover the truth behind nose jobs, revision surgery, and the emotional impact of plastic surgery. We explore everything from teen rhinoplasty and ethnic considerations to botched procedures, non-surgical nose jobs, and the crucial connection between aesthetic surgery and mental health. Dr. Chobanian shares what truly makes a great rhinoplasty candidate, why she champions the...
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This episode is brought to you by , , , and Today we sit down with hormone expert and bestselling author Dr. Mariza Snyder, DC to unpack the misunderstood phase of perimenopause—a time of powerful transition that affects every woman but is rarely talked about with clarity and compassion. Mariza defines what perimenopause really is (and how early it can begin), while highlighting symptoms like brain fog, mood shifts, energy crashes, and stubborn weight gain that are too often misdiagnosed or ignored. Drawing from both science and personal experience, she explains how estrogen...
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This episode is brought to you by , and In this powerful and timely episode of Ever Forward Radio, Chase sits down with Louisiana State Senator Patrick McMath, Chairman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, to discuss a growing national movement around children’s health, school nutrition, and public policy reform. Senator McMath dives deep into his groundbreaking Senate Bill 14 (Act 463)—a first-of-its-kind initiative to limit artificial dyes, additives, and sweeteners in school meals, introduce QR code ingredient transparency, and improve the overall nutritional standards in...
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In this gripping and mind-opening conversation, Yale psychiatrist and author Dr. James Kimmel Jr. joins us to explore one of humanity's most primal urges—revenge. Drawing from neuroscience, psychology, and personal experience, Dr. Kimmel explains how revenge mimics addiction in the brain and why many of us unknowingly suffer from “revenge cravings.” He shares a deeply personal story of nearly acting on revenge as a teenager, the lessons he learned as a litigator-turned-researcher, and practical, science-backed ways to break the cycle. From mass shootings and bullying to road rage and “revenge bodies,” this episode dives deep into the psychology of retaliation, the illusion of justice, and how forgiveness may be the ultimate act of self-healing.
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In this episode we discuss...
03:25 – What is revenge? Real-life examples and dangers
06:39 – Legal revenge: Lawyers as licensed avengers
11:30 – The definition of grievance and how it fuels revenge
16:00 – Mass shooters and "grievance collectors"
17:35 – Dr. Kimmel’s personal revenge story
25:02 – Masculinity, shame, and revenge
28:27 – Why revenge seems inevitable
30:15 – Why bullies see themselves as victims
33:38 – The monster isn't people—it's the craving for revenge
35:22 – Justice vs. punishment in addiction and revenge
37:54 – Can we solve revenge like an addiction?
40:45 – The neuroscience of revenge cravings
44:18 – Legal vs. illegal retaliation and the arrow of time
49:24 – Dr. Kimmel’s revenge addiction as a lawyer
53:06 – The pain of inflicting pain on others
56:04 – The Miracle Court mental role-play
58:45 – Neuroscience of forgiveness
01:00:05 – Justice vs. revenge: How language shapes violence
01:05:21 – Why revenge escalates: evolutionary roots
01:15:58 – Revenge body & revenge sex: healthy or harmful?
01:20:04 – Road rage and everyday revenge
01:21:26 – Hollywood’s revenge addiction: From Kill Bill to The Lion King
01:28:27 – GLP-1 drugs and reducing revenge cravings
01:32:43 – Forgiveness as the fastest cure
01:36:17 – Ever Forward
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