People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Understanding Republican-side animosity towards the media, with Yakov Hirsch Jan 20, 2024

Show notes

A talk about trying to understand Trump's anger at the American media, Republicans' anger at the media, and how this relates to toxic polarization in America. This is from a talk I had with Yakov Hirsch in late November 2023. Other topics discussed include: Trump-Russia media coverage; Americans' polarized views of Trump; the importance of trying to understand even those people we perceive as dangerous and harmful; American polarization and conflict dynamics in general.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.

The exaggeration of antisemitism, and the importance of understanding the "other side," with Yakov Hirsch Jan 14, 2024

Show notes

A second talk with Yakov Hirsch, who writes about the Middle East conflict and about "Hasbara culture": what he sees as the tendency of some Israel-defending people to be overly antagonistic and us-vs-them in their thinking (for example, unfairly framing criticism of Israel as "antisemitic"). If you haven't heard the first talk, I recommend that one. This talk is more general, regarding the nature of conflict, and about how conflict can make us perceive the world and the people around us in overly pessimistic and antagonistic ways, which in turn leads to more conflict. It's also about the importance of trying to have cognitive empathy for people we disagree with and see the world from their perspective; even for people we may think are harmful and dangerous. This will be followed by a second talk where Yakov and I talk about American polarization and polarized views of Trump.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.

The psychology behind the "need for chaos," a desire to "burn it all down" Jan 04, 2024

Show notes

A talk with Kevin Arceneaux, whose research found that a surprising number of people (around 40%) either agreed with or did not disagree with statements like “When I think about our political and social institutions, I cannot help thinking 'just let them all burn'?” In their paper, they called this a "need for chaos." We talk about what the study entailed, what they found, and what the factors might be that help explain the finding. We also talk about its relation to toxic polarization, and to social media. (This is a talk from 2021.)

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.

Psychology and behavioral clues in football, baseball, and other sports, with Jon Hoefling Dec 21, 2023

Show notes

A talk with Jon Michael Hoefling, a sports analyst, about reading behavioral tells and indicators in football, baseball, tennis, and other sports. We focus on a 2021 story that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a tell: how he positioned his foot before a play was a strong indicator of whether he'd run or pass. We also talk about reading tells and predicting actions in baseball, tennis, and other sports. One story we talk about was Andre Agassi claiming to once have had a very reliable tell on Boris Becker. (This is a reshare of a July 2021 episode.)

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.

Psychological strategies for dealing with extreme anxiety, with The Atlantic's Scott Stossel Dec 14, 2023

Show notes

A talk with Scott Stossel, author of "My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind." Scott is also national editor of The Atlantic. Scott's book is a history of the condition and treatment of anxiety, and also a personal history in which Scott talks honestly about his struggles with debilitating anxiety. I talk to Scott about what he's learned in his research and personal life about the factors behind anxiety and how we might, as much as we are able to, overcome it. We also talk about some fairly unexamined nuances about anxiety: for example, how the word can contain a multitude of very different experiences. I also talk about my own anxiety, which has been quite severe.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.

Lie detectors measure electrodermal activity: What is that? Dec 08, 2023

Show notes

I talk with psychologist Christopher Moyer about electrodermal activity (EDA), also known as galvanic skin response (GSR), which is what lie detectors measure. Topics discussed include: What are spikes in electrodermal activity actually telling us? We talk about its use in lie detectors. We talk about lowerings in skin conductance and what that indicates. We talk about the nature of stress; and how there can be good and bad stress. We talk about poker and gambling, including some gambling-related studies that measured electrodermal activity.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.

Reading dog and cat behaviors and human interactions, with Daniel Mills Nov 29, 2023

Show notes

Animal behavior researcher Daniel Mills talks about various aspects of the human-pet relationship, with a focus on his research. Topics include: dogs' abilities to read human emotions and how they do that; the effects of pets on our mental health; animals' ability to perceive images on a TV screen; the differences between the human and animal mind; pets' abilities to sense their owners arriving home from far away; how cats communicate relaxation to each other.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.

On the art of listening and the challenges of being an introvert, with Joel Berman Nov 20, 2023

Show notes

Joel Berman is a practitioner of Compassionate Listening (compassionatelistening.org). Joel has travelled to the Middle East and talked with Israelis and Palestinians about their experiences and grievances. Topics discussed: Joel's experiences in the Middle East; what the Compassionate Listening methodology entails; the bravery required for conflict resolution work; and both of our experiences being introverts with a lot of social anxiety.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.

Psychological tricks and strategies in door-to-door sales Nov 11, 2023

Show notes

A talk with two people with door-to-door sales experience. We talk about the tricks and strategies they used to close sales, and the psychological factors in why those strategies work. Topics discussed: verbal and physical sales scripts some companies use, and why they work; the use of ambiguous language in deception; the power of personal anecdotes in gaining rapport; the importance of getting a customer to commit in writing to the deal; how simply spending time together can build rapport and make a sale more likely. This is a reshare of a 2019 episode.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.

How does bias in news amplify political polarization?, with Vanessa Otero Oct 29, 2023

Show notes

Vanessa Otero is the creator of a popular and well respected media bias chart that ranks the bias of many news outlets, and she's the founder of Ad Fontes Media. Topics discussed include: the process her team uses to determine bias; the difficulties of determining what is "left" and "right" in a polarized and fast-changing political landscape; recognizing that everyone is biased and that the best we can do is try to reduce our bias; the relation between media bias and polarization; perceptions of the word 'misinformation' being liberal-leaning; liberal-leaning journalists' pushback to Trump being elected; and more.

Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.