People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Why is criticism of Israel so often described as antisemitic?, with Yakov Hirsch Oct 22, 2023

Show notes

A talk with Yakov Hirsch, who thinks that some Jewish people have exaggerated ideas about the amount of antisemitism in the world, and overly pessimistic ideas about the nature of antisemitism. This can make some Jewish people see disagreement, criticism, and conflict too often through the lens of antisemitism. Hirsch ties this into the Israel/Palestine conflict, and also relates this to a long-running debate about the "banality of evil" (which relates to, amongst other things, the motivations of Nazis during the Holocaust). We talk about Hirsch's ideas in the context of conflict dynamics and conflict resolution: for example, the tendency in conflict for people to have distorted views of people on the "other side."

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

Our psychological need for certainty and closure: Is that our biggest weakness? | with Maria Konnikova Oct 14, 2023

Show notes

Maria Konnikova is the best-selling author of the books The Biggest Bluff, The Confidence Game, and Mastermind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes. Topics discussed include: the human desire for certainty and story/narrative, and our discomfort with ambiguity and uncertainty; how she decided to get into poker and write The Biggest Bluff; why she finds poker such an interesting game; how one can pursue a career one finds interesting and rewarding.

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

The hidden meaning behind orchestra conductor gestures, with Ming Luke Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

A talk with orchestra conductor Ming Luke (mingluke.com). Topics discussed include: what a conductor's body language and gestures can communicate to the orchestra; how small differences in gestures can sometimes result in significant musical differences; the difference in conducting styles that can exist between conductors; the role conductors play and the benefits they bring; the leadership and managerial skills required to be a strong conductor.

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

Examining behavior bullshitter Dr. Jack Brown, who spreads bad behavior info to many Sep 16, 2023

Show notes

This episode is about "behavior bullshit." There are many self-proclaimed behavior experts spreading bad, misleading, and irresponsible concepts about human behavior, and some of these people are quite popular. This episode focuses on Jack Brown, one of the more egregious offenders amongst behavior bullshitters. Other topics discussed include: eye-quadrant behavior analysis (for example, someone looking to upper right); NLP (neuro-linguistic programming); some of the common bad ideas in behavior bullshit ; the use of ambiguous language to make one's background seem impressive; and more.

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

Understanding MAGA rage, with ex-Trump voter Rich Logis Sep 11, 2023

Show notes

To reduce toxic polarization, I think it's important to understand the us-vs-them political narratives around us. This is a talk with Rich Logis, who describes his journey as going "from ultra-MAGA to Never-Trump." Rich was an involved pro-Trump activist, who'd written many political op-eds and who volunteered for pro-Trump causes, and who, in 2021, switched to being very critical of Trump and MAGA. I ask Rich about the reasons he was enthusiastic about Trump: what the sources of his anger were, and why he viewed Hillary Clinton winning in 2016 as an "existential threat." We discuss some of the more rational reasons behind Trump support, and why he believes most Trump voters are good people, and why liberals should care to understand Trump voter perspectives. We talk about the nature of us-vs-them conflict and how it distorts our thinking and emotions. We talk about what led to his abrupt change of mind when it came to Trump and MAGA.

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

Common scams and how they exploit psychological and social weaknesses Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

A talk with Martina Dove, author of the book "The Psychology of Fraud, Persuasion and Scam Techniques," about some common scams you and people you know might encounter (phishing scams, "pig butchering" scams, romance scams, wrong-number-text scams, and more). We discuss how these scams work, including how they can prey on our psychological and social weaknesses, and some strategies for how to avoid them.

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

Rethinking narcissism: Is some narcissism healthy? What are the psychological roots of toxic forms? Aug 25, 2023

Show notes

Craig Malkin is the author of "Rethinking Narcissism: The Secret to Recognizing and Coping with Narcissists," in which he describes the spectrum of narcissism: how it can be healthy to have positive illusions about one's self and one's life, as long as those illusions don't become pathologically unhealthy and toxic. Topics discussed include: the spectrum of narcissism, as Craig sees it; common misconceptions about narcissism; the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, which is the basis of many people's understanding of narcissism; the phenomenon of people calling others "narcissists" for weak reasons; and existential and psychological factors that can lead to more narcissistic ways of engaging with the world.

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

Psychological similarities between couples therapy and resolving political conflict, with therapist Bill Doherty Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

A talk with Bill Doherty, a relationship therapist and the co-founder of Braver Angels, a political depolarization-aimed group. Topics discuss include: his approach to couples counseling; thoughts on dealing with the common situation where one partner is much more interested in healing the relationship than the other; the importance of seeing our role in a conflict, and why that can be hard for us; how he got into the depolarization work; the similarities he sees between relationship counseling and political depolarization work; the psychological principles that have informed Braver Angels' approaches; thoughts on what we are asking of people who want to help with depolarization work.

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

The weird behaviors of people under anesthesia, with anesthesiologist Dr. Ashita Goel Aug 02, 2023

Show notes

A talk with anesthesiologist Ashita Goel about her work. Topics include: the sometimes strange behaviors of people under anesthesia; the hypnotic and "truth serum"-like effects of anesthesia; factors in determining drug dosage; the various states one can put people into; why anesthesiologists often seem outgoing and fun; the viral video of the man who woke up from anesthesia and didn't recognize his wife; and more.

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

Psychological factors in lizard-people beliefs, and other unlikely conspiracy theories Jul 15, 2023

Show notes

A talk with psychology researcher Mikey Biddlestone, who specializes in conspiracy theory beliefs, about some of the more psychological factors that can make belief in conspiracy theories more likely. We talk about "just world" beliefs (beliefs that the world is largely just and fair) and how those might relate to conspiracy-minded thinking. Other topics discussed: how narcissistic and antisocial personality traits can relate to such beliefs; how we might define what is an unreasonable level of conspiracy-minded thinking; how conspiracy-minded thinking relates to anti-establishment views; the survey result that showed that 12 million Americans believe in "lizard people"; and how conspiracy-minded thinking ties into political polarization.

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

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