People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Understanding the behaviors of autistic children, with Barry Prizant Jun 30, 2023

Show notes

A talk with Barry Prizant (barryprizant.com), author of the influential book Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism, and co-host of the Uniquely Human podcast. The focus is on understanding the experiences and behaviors of autistic people. Topics discussed include: understanding the underlying causes behind the sometimes seemingly inexplicable behaviors of autistic children; the various types of experiences contained within the label of 'autism'; the role that sensitivity to sensation and associated anxiety plays in autism; the question of how empathetic autistic people are; the causes of autism.

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

How do anxious behaviors affect a job interview?, with Simonne Mastrella Jun 22, 2023

Show notes

A talk with Simonne Mastrella, author of the research paper "Acting Anxious: The Impact of Candidates' Anxious Nonverbal Behavior on Interview Performance Ratings." Topics discussed include: the design of the study; her findings; whether they found any differences in gender or in the nature of the job interviewed for; and the challenges of using actors to emulate behaviors for a study.

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

Democracy is difficult and contains the seeds of its destruction | A talk with Robert Talisse Jun 10, 2023

Show notes

A talk with political theorist Robert Talisse, author of "Sustaining Democracy: What We Owe To The Other Side," which is one of the best book about American polarization I've read. We talk about: the limits and realities of democracy and what it can achieve; separating expected and healthy polarization from unhealthy, toxic polarization; what we owe to our fellow citizens even when we see them as very misguided and even dangerous; how extreme polarization can make our relationships and coalitions even with politically similar people suffer and fall apart.

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

Analyzing behavior in aviation security and other risk-assessment scenarios May 31, 2023

Show notes

Aviation security professional Philip Baum talks about analyzing behavior for aviation security and risk assessment purposes, and for security purposes in general. Topics discussed include: looking for deviations from the baseline behaviors normal in an environment; successes of behavioral analysis for security purposes; what can make some of this work controversial; thoughts on what aviation security does wrong.

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

Poker tells in a World Series of Poker Ladies Event hand, with Lara Eisenberg May 13, 2023

Show notes

A talk with poker player Lara Eisenberg, who won the 2021 World Series of Poker Ladies Event, and who cashed in a 2022 World Poker Tour event for $481,000. Topics we talk about include: how her thoughts about poker tells have changed over time; some specific behaviors from a poker hand from the Ladies Event; some behavioral patterns she noticed in herself; the anxiety involved in bluffing; and skydiving, which Lara has done competitively.

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

The illusions and deceptions in our memory and sense of self May 03, 2023

Show notes

A talk with social psychologist Anne Wilson about memory and how we define who we are. Topics discussed include: the nature of self; the nature of memory; the fallibility of our memories; the theory of temporal self appraisal (which is about how we experience ourselves as being close to or far away in time from different versions of ourselves); false memories; the role creative storytelling plays in constructing our views of self and the world; and political polarization.

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

My book Defusing American Anger, about U.S. polarization, is published Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

Some updates about: the release of my Defusing American Anger book (available at www.american-anger.com); some depolarization-aimed videos I put on YouTube; and my upcoming interview with Robert Talisse, author of Sustaining Democracy.

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

The stress and social isolation of leaving one's cult, with Calvin Wayman Apr 11, 2023

Show notes

Calvin Wayman was raised in a fundamentalist Mormon cult, with four mothers and 44 siblings. This world was everything he had known. At the age of 30, he left that world, and was effectively on his own, isolated from everything that had previously given his life meaning. We talk about that experience with a focus on the existential feelings of isolation and loneliness that accompanied it. Topics discussed include: how he began to question his world; factors he sees as present that made him someone willing to question things; Plato's allegory of the cave; The Matrix and our willingness to take the "red pill"; how his community and family reacted to his decision; the human desire for certainty; and more.

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

On psychopathy, dark traits, and "dark empaths," with Nadja Heym Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

I talk with Nadja Heym, a psychology researcher who specializes in dark traits, like psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism, and who has researched so-called "dark empaths": people with dark traits who have a good amount of empathy. We delve into some nuance in the area of psychopathy. Topics discussed include: How she defines psychopathic traits; The misuse of the term "psychopath" (and related misuse of other terms like "narcissist"); Can we say from a brain scan if a brain is "psychopathic"?; "Bad seed"-like concepts of how psychopaths arise; Can an environment (like a highly competitive job) make someone have more psychopathic traits?; What are "dark empaths"?

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

Can our contempt and rage help create the very things we're upset about? Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

When trying to convince people of the problem of polarization and the necessity for depolarization endeavors, a common objection from politically passionate people goes, "But the other side is horrible, so polarization makes sense." In this episode, I talk about one of the main counterpoints to that objection: that us-vs-them anger, in a non-obvious way, helps create the very things we're angry about. For this reason, if one wants to defeat extreme views on the other side (or on both sides), the way to achieve that goal is to take a depolarizing, anger-reducing, de-escalating approach.

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