Today I'm Having a GAS™ with Rob Henderson, talking all things Tony Soprano. The Soprano's is one of the most influential and impactful TV series of recent years.

Rob Henderson recently earned his PhD at Cambridge University specialising in human behaviour.

If you're interested to hear more from Rob, follow him at https://substack.com/@robkhenderson

Having a GAS™ is the podcast that talks to the great and the good of the creative industries, and in particular finds out what makes great music for film, for TV, for advertising; for dancing to, for cooking to, f*cking to, and more...

GAS™ Music is a music production agency in Manchester, UK. We compose and produce original music, create awe inspiring sound design and have a fully integrated audio post-production studio. We also have a great record collection, and welcome any additions, recommendations or criticisms.

http://www.gasismusic.co.uk​​​

Rob Henderson describes himself as follows on his website:
My name is Rob Henderson, and I write about human nature, psychology, social class, TV shows, movies, political and social divisions, and more.

I am perhaps most known for pioneering the concept of "luxury beliefs," a term I coined to describe a new way of understanding the American status system.

I grew up in foster homes in California. After working as a busboy, a dishwasher, and supermarket bagger, I joined the Air Force at the age of 17. Most of my enlistment was spent abroad, stationed in Europe and deployed in the Middle East.

Once described as “self-made” by the New York Times, I then obtained a B.S. in Psychology from Yale (thanks to the G.I. Bill) and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Cambridge (St. Catharine’s College), where I studied as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. I am currently a faculty fellow at the University of Austin, and have written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, and Quillette, among other outlets, and have appeared on several podcasts including Honestly with Bari Weiss, The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast, and Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson.

My forthcoming book will be published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. You can pre-order it here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/book...

According to Wikipedia...
Anthony John Soprano is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO crime drama television series The Sopranos, and portrayed by James Gandolfini. Soprano is a member of the Italian-American Mafia and, especially later in the series, acts as the boss of the fictional North Jersey DiMeo crime family (later called the Soprano family). Usually referred to as Tony, the Italian-American character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and showrunner David Chase, who was also largely responsible for the character's story arc throughout the show's six seasons. Gandolfini was ultimately cast in the role ahead of several other actors including Steven Van Zandt and Michael Rispoli. The character is loosely based on stories from and about an assortment of La Cosa Nostra figures and especially on real-life New Jersey mobsters Ruggerio "Richie the Boot" Boiardo, boss of the North Jersey Genovese crime family, and Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo, a former caporegime (capo) and "de facto" boss of the DeCavalcante crime family. Bobby Boriello and Mark Damiano II portrayed Soprano as a child in one episode each, Danny Petrillo played the character as a teenager in three episodes, and James Gandolfini's son Michael Gandolfini portrayed a younger version of the character in the 2021 prequel film The Many Saints of Newark.

In the first season, Tony is a caporegime and also serves as acting underboss for ailing acting boss Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile in the DiMeo crime family. Between the first and second seasons, he is promoted to street boss, a position he retains until the sixth season; his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano is the official boss up until early in the sixth season but has little or no actual power. Throughout the series, Tony struggles to balance the conflicting needs of his actual family—wife Carmela, daughter Meadow, son A. J., and mother Livia—with those of the Mafia family he controls. He often displays behavior traits characteristic of a violent sociopath, struggles with depression, and is prone to panic attacks. In the first episode of the series he seeks treatment from Dr. Jennifer Melfi, a character Chase modeled after his own psychiatrist, and remains in therapy on and off up until the penultimate episode of the series.

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