Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Subject in Mental Health
Obsessive-compulsive disorder has come up in 3 episodes across 3 podcasts in TMT, including The Joe Rogan Experience, Modern Wisdom, Stuff You Should Know. 3 people have made recorded remarks about it.
What people said
Josh ClarkCo-host of Stuff You Should Know
Clark explained that Hughes likely wore tissue boxes as disposable sterile slippers.
“he was basically using tissue boxes as disposable sterile slippers”
Stuff You Should Know: Howard Hughes in Las Vegas (May 28, 2026) · Listen from 17:28
Clark said Hughes clearly had some form of OCD, evidenced by his minute instructions such as 12 steps for opening a can of peaches.
“he wrote 12 steps to opening a can of peaches and putting it in the bowl that it would be served in”
Stuff You Should Know: Howard Hughes in Las Vegas (May 28, 2026) · Listen from 15:41
Andrew HubermanAmerican neuroscientist, professor at Stanford School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab podcast
Huberman defined clinical OCD as a condition where performing the behavior strengthens rather than relieves the compulsion.
“The more you engage in the behavior, the stronger the compulsion gets”
The Joe Rogan Experience: #2553 - Andrew Huberman (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 1:03:36
Chuck BryantCo-host of Stuff You Should Know
Bryant said Hughes's germophobia likely stemmed from his mother constantly checking him for signs of polio.
“his mother was a germophobe and constantly worried about little Howard getting sick from polio”
Stuff You Should Know: Howard Hughes in Las Vegas (May 28, 2026) · Listen from 53:42
Coverage over time
Podcasts
- The Joe Rogan Experience · 1 episode
- Modern Wisdom · 1 episode
- Stuff You Should Know · 1 episode
Episodes
#2553 - Andrew HubermanThe Joe Rogan Experience · Sep 14, 2026 · 2 h 46 min
Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman talks with Joe Rogan about his new book, psychedelic therapy, stress, neuroplasticity, peptides and medical gatekeeping.
Couples Therapist: Why Your Brain Turns Your Partner Into An Enemy - Stan Tatkin -#1146Modern Wisdom · Sep 5, 2026 · 1 h 9 min
Couples therapist Stan Tatkin tells Chris Williamson why attachment biology, threat memory and the absence of explicit agreements wreck long-term relationships.
Howard Hughes in Las VegasStuff You Should Know · May 28, 2026 · 49 min
Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant recount Howard Hughes's reclusive, drug-addled years at the Desert Inn and his buying spree that reshaped Las Vegas.