Factory Settings - Our Monkey Brains Weren’t Meant for the Epstein Files

Factory Settings - Our Monkey Brains Weren’t Meant for the Epstein Files

Curious about how others manage their sobriety journey when the addiction isn’t a substance, but information itself? Factory Settings takes a hard look at that with the Epstein story as ground zero. Bridget Phetasy and Jaren Montgomery compare their wildly different reactions to the Epstein files, using them as a lens on bias, obsession, and the limits of the human brain.

Bridget admits she’s been "freebasing" the Epstein content, tracing her fascination back to earlier reporting that made her think, "I totally would have been an Epstein girl." Her own history as a lost teenager makes the abuse of vulnerable girls hit close to home, and that personal hook pulls her deep into the headlines and court documents.

Jaren, a therapist with his own addictive tendencies, openly questions whether this topic is worth the emotional and mental energy it demands, saying he starts from "a place of skepticism" and measures evidence like a juror. Together they unpack why some people binge conspiracy content the way others binge alcohol or drugs.

There’s sharp chat about dopamine, "informational diabetes," and the way three and a half million redacted pages become "mad libs for conspiracy theorists." Jaren’s "million pennies" analogy neatly captures how piles of weak evidence can feel compelling, while still not adding up to solid proof. The conversation stays grounded in practical questions: What are you getting from this story? Why do you want to believe what you believe?

How much of your attention can you realistically give before it starts to damage your real life, relationships and recovery? If you’ve ever gone down a late-night rabbit hole that felt a bit like relapse, this episode might get you asking yourself a much tougher question: what is all this information really doing for you?