Episode 130: Hasan Minhaj’s ‘True Lies’ / Narcissistic Personality disorder

Doctor Vs Comedian

Today, the guys discuss the controversy surrounding comedian Hasan Minhaj and the recent New Yorker article ‘Emotional Truths’ by Clare Malone (1:52). Ali summarizes the bombshells in the article, including the fact that several of the stories Minhaj recounts in his stand up specials were untrue. The guys then compare Hasan’s case to other famous cases including Stephen Rannazzisi, who lied about being in the Twin Towers during 911 and news anchor Brian Williams who lied about being shot down in a military helicopter. The guys then discuss how the article causes one to re-evaluate Minhaj’s stand-up specials and if they feel the controversy will jeopardize him inheriting ‘The Daily Show’ from Trevor Noah.

Then the guys discussing Narcissistic personality disorder (30:23) (N.B. there is no evidence Hasan Minhaj has this disorder). Asif talks about the Greek myth it is based on as well as the diagnostic criteria. Asif discusses how it is diagnosed and how ‘countertransference’ can be a clue to the treating therapist that a patient has NPD. Asif then talks about the treatment and tip for practitioners who are seeing a patient with NPD. Finally the guys discuss whether Donal Trump had NPD and how psychiatrists were reminded to refrain from armchair analysis of public figures in 2016.

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Music courtesy of Wataboi and 8er41 from Pixabay

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Show notes:

• Hasan Minhaj’s “Emotional Truths”: https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/hasan-minhajs-emotional-truths
• Lying in Comedy Isn’t Always Wrong, but Hasan Minhaj Crossed a Line: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/arts/hasan-minhaj-comedy.html
• The League star admits he lied about 9/11 escape: https://ew.com/article/2015/09/16/league-rannazzisi-lied-911
• Free Brian Williams: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/revisionist-history/free-brian-williams
• Current understanding of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-advances/article/currentunderstanding-of-narcissism-and-narcissistic-personality-disorder/4AA8B04FB352F8E00AA7988B63EBE973
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556001/
• Psychiatrists Reminded To Refrain From Armchair Analysis Of Public Figures: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/08/13/489807468/psychiatrists-reminded-to-refrain-from-armchair-analysis-of-public-figures