People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

Did MK Ultra actually accomplish anything impressive in brainwashing- and mind-control-related areas? Did the US government, as some people claim, create "Manchurian candidates," who would kill on command? In this episode, I talk with Stephen Kinzer, author of “Poisoner in Chief,” a book about the head of MK Ultra, Sidney Gottlieb. We discuss the strange, disturbing reality of MK Ultra—and the many exaggerations made about it over the years. While pop culture and deceptive gurus (like Chase Hughes) spread tales of the program achieving amazing and scary psychological control, Kinzer describes a disorganized and amateurish series of experiments that harmed many people but failed to demonstrate anything impressive. We explore why MK Ultra has become a perfect canvas for all sorts of paranoid ideas and wild speculations, and why the lack of evidence of anything approaching actual mind control hasn’t stopped people from confidently claiming otherwise. If you’ve ever wondered what’s real—and what’s myth—about MK Ultra, you'll probably appreciate this talk.Topics discussed: the myths versus the realities of the MK Ultra program; what makes MK Ultra such a perfect case for people to imagine and believe all sorts of things; what Operation Mockingbird was and its relation to MK Ultra; the hypnotist George Estabrooks and his wild claims of mind control; the idea that Sirhan Sirhan was brainwashed to kill RFK; the likelihood of large plots succeeding in the modern age; the more realistic and banal ways that governments try to “control people’s minds” by persuading and shifting opinions in the modern age; and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vincent Denault once believed he was learning how to read people’s hidden thoughts through analyzing body language. As a young lawyer in Quebec, he attended behavior analysis and “synergology” trainings that promised the ability to detect lies and determine hidden thoughts from small gestures and movements. But after digging into the research, he realized much of what he’d been taught wasn't true. In this talk, Vincent describes that journey and we explore how body-language myths spread through trainings, media, and YouTube behavior “experts.” We also discuss his research on how judges use behavior to assess witness credibility, his views on Paul Ekman, and his views on how bad-behavior-information spreaders protect themselves from criticism and responsibility. Along the way, we examine why nonverbal behavior still matters in human interaction—just not in the reliable lie-detection ways many people assume.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does someone who makes wildly grandiose claims about mind control, interrogation mastery, neuroscience credentials, and secret military psychology operations gain more than 1.5 million YouTube subscribers—and land appearances on shows like Joe Rogan and Diary of a CEO—without anyone vetting his story? I’m joined by ex-CIA officer and fraud-exposer Kent Clizbe (kentclizbe.com), and we take a hard look at Chase Hughes’ actual Navy record and compare it to his many lies, exaggerations, and ambiguous statements about his credentials. We dig into the specific stages of Chase’s military career, his claims of Harvard and Duke neuroscience education, his belief that we live in a simulation (and that psychedelics have helped see the code of that simulation), his pick-up artist background, and his grandiose claims about his psychological knowledge. If you’re interested in how cults of personality and false gurus work—and how even experienced professionals and major platforms can help these people on their rise to popularity—this deep dive into Hughes’ background and the psychology of modern con artistry is one you won’t want to miss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Epstein files release has resulted in many people seeming to lose their minds: engaging in moral panic, having hysterical overreactions, filtering for worst-case interpretations of ambiguous data, images, and emails. Using a video from the political influencer Kyle Kulinski (who has 2M+ YouTube subscribers) as a case study, I examine how ambiguous snippets—like an audio clip of people seemingly talking about killing deer — get instantly, emotionally interpreted by Kyle and others as highly suspicious evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Why are smart, influential people speaking with absolute certainty about what pixelated photos and ambiguous recordings and emails tell us? Why are people claiming to find evidence of cannibalism in the files? What does all this catastrophizing and ultra-pessimistic thinking tell us about our toxic political polarization problem, and our tendency to assume the worst when our perceived enemies are involved? If you’re concerned about paranoid, conspiracy-minded thinking, and how that ties into our political divides, this episode will help you understand why emotional reasoning is so rampant, and why it’s important to fight against it, when we see others doing it, and within ourselves — not just for the sake of society, but for our own mental health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many view the fact that they are here, experiencing the world, as something insanely improbable... but what if it were instead entirely inevitable? The philosopher Arnold Zuboff walks us through a mind-bending argument, which he calls universalism (aka open individualism), where the improbability of your existence vanishes. It doesn’t matter which sperm met which egg, or how your ancestors got together, or how anything at all in the past unfolded, because wherever there is first-person experience, there is the same “I." Zuboff’s new book "Finding Myself: Beyond the False Boundaries of Personal Identity" features a foreword by Thomas Nagel (author of “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?”), who says that many will view the claim as “incredible, even outrageous” — but says it is too well argued to be ignored and an "important contribution." We discuss why Zuboff sees universalism as resolving many of the core quandaries of consciousness that are puzzled over, and why he's entirely certain it's the right view. Other topics include: how universalism ties into views of a multiverse and the anthropic principle; how it ties into ideas of religion and a higher power, and more. If you’ve ever lain awake at night wrestling with the sheer weirdness of being alive at all, you’ll want to listen to this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What actually works to avoid violent outcomes when someone is armed, emotional, and on the edge? I talk with former FBI chief hostage negotiator Gary Noesner, author of Stalling for Time, about the psychology of high-stakes crisis situations — including lessons from Waco (part of which he was present for) and other cases Gary explains the “paradox of power” (why pushing aggressively often backfires), and why most so-called hostage situations are really emotional crises, not bargaining contests. We also discuss the limits of reading body language and behavior, the power of active listening, and the importance of tone of voice and how you phrase things.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What actually makes negotiations work—and why do so many “tough” tactics backfire? In this episode, Zach talks with professional negotiator Andres Lares about why the most effective deals rarely come from trying to win at all costs. Drawing from sports contracts, Fortune 500 negotiations, and decades of real-world experience, Andres explains the “power of nice,” the importance of looking for creative win-win approaches, and why public posturing can kill agreements. They also dig into the hype around body language—what’s useful, what’s overblown, and what actually matters when you’re trying to read and influence people in the real world. Andres also talks about his views on AI-assisted sales-presentation-analysis programs (like Gong and Chorus). We also talk about the realism, or lack of it, in the movie Jerry McGuire. Andres is the CEO and Managing Partner of Shapiro Negotiations Institute (SNI), and the co-author of “Persuade: The 4-Step Process to Influence People and Decisions.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Eric Robinson, a recently retired Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and former pastor, about what actually works in real-world interrogations—and what doesn’t. Drawing on 24 years in the FBI, Eric explains why techniques like friendliness and rapport are so powerful, discusses the use of silence to induce information-sharing, and talks about the importance of asking only a single question at a time. Eric also explains why he thinks nonverbal “body language” cues are not useful in law enforcement and interrogation settings. Other topics include: the reasons why so many people talk at length to police, despite it being so well known that you should ask for a lawyer; the downsides and risks of deceiving people to try to get information and confessions; some body language ideas discussed in Joe Navarro’s books; Eric’s opinions on the lie detector; and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Doug Teschner and Beth Malow—co-authors of the book Beyond the Politics of Contempt—about an aspect of bridge-building/depolarization-aimed work that rarely gets discussed: the backlash. We dig into the criticisms and skepticism that people on both “sides” throw at bridge-building efforts—claims that it’s naive, weak, morally compromised, or even a form of complicity with the "bad guys." We talk about why contempt can feel justified and righteous, how protest and resistance can unintentionally fuel us-vs-them cycles, and why simply “listening” is often seen as legitimizing harmful views. If you’ve ever thought “that empathetic bridge-building stuff all sounds nice, but now isn’t the time”—or if you’ve rolled your eyes at such work altogether—there’s a good chance this conversation addresses some objections you have.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with former CIA officer Kent Clizbe about his exposure of Wayne Simmons, a man who spent more than a decade on Fox News posing as a CIA counterterrorism expert—but who was a fraud and serial liar. And we talk about how that case mirrors the case of Chase Hughes, who claims to know advanced, top-secret techniques and intelligence, and who has gained many fans, but who is a clear fraud. Topics discussed: how Kent met Wayne Simmons; why he suspected rather quickly he was a fake; how Kent’s intuition about Wayne relates to Kent’s system of holistic contextual analysis, which Kent has a book about; and the negative impacts on Kent’s life from questioning Wayne Simmons. We dig into the psychology of belief, the social and career incentives that keep scams alive, and why fans and followers resist evidence even after it’s laid out clearly.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Jackie Miller, host of the podcast “Out of Crazy Town: Your Guide to Divorcing a Narcissist.” Jackie shares her personal story of escaping a coercively controlling, psychologically abusive marriage—and how that led her to try to help others navigating similar nightmarish situations. We talk about how these relationships evolve from subtle manipulation into abusive domination and control; and we talk about the mind-bending psychology of narcissistic abuse—projection, gaslighting, smear campaigns, and the delusional self-justifications that can make these people nearly impossible to understand. We also talk about why victims often seem “crazy” to outsiders, how abusers weaponize children and the legal system, and why staying calm in the face of harassment can be the most powerful defense.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can you really tell who’s lying just by watching their body language? Are there any practical takeaways you can reliably and regularly get from studying nonverbal behavior in interrogation/interview settings? In this episode, I, Zach Elwood (author of some popular books on poker tells) talk to Chris Shelton, host of Speaking of Cults (speakingofcults.com). We take a hard look at the booming industry of alleged “body language experts,” behavior-based deception detection, and viral interrogation analysis (popular on YouTube and video platforms). We unpack why confident claims about blinks, posture, eye direction, and micro-movements are often misleading, how pseudoscience sneaks into true crime media and even law enforcement, and why innocent people can easily be anxious and seem suspicious under pressure. We discuss if there are realistic uses of body language in interrogation and other real-world settings, and what that might look like. If you’ve ever been persuaded by a YouTube body language "expert," this conversation might change how you think about behavior. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aemula is a new kind of news media platform that’s trying to tackle a big problem: the fact that the structure of our news media leads to various outcomes that amplify toxic polarization. Instead of the usual “engagement = more exposure” logic, Aemula flips the incentives. You read an article, then you tap a simple Support or Disagree button — and those signals build a living map of Aemula’s community: a 3D social network graph showing how readers, writers, and articles relate (without slapping on ill-defined partisan labels like 'left' and 'right' - labels that often unintentionally amplify us-vs-them, team-based thinking). Aemula creator Don Templeman and I discuss: Why left/right-type labels can be a misleading way to understand beliefs or categorize content; How Aemula uses social network analysis to map out relationships and ideological groupings in an objective, data-driven way; How Aemula’s social network can help define a sort of ideological center, and how promoting content from the widely supported regions of the network can help reduce polarization; How the blockchain aspect of Aemula makes it self-governing and therefore infinitely scalable ; How Aemula’s approach could matter even more in an AI world, where chatbots and LLMs need better sources than “Reddit + Wikipedia”. If you’ve ever felt like the incentives of the media ecosystem seem destined to drive us further apart — I think you’ll appreciate learning about Aemula's paradigm-shifting approach to the news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many people, Trump represents a uniquely dangerous figure in American history. But what if the contemptuous, maximally pessimistic ways many people talk about Trump and Republicans help put more "wind in the sails" of polarized, polarizing leaders like Trump? Are we in a self-reinforcing feedback loop of contempt and anger? In this talk for Richard Davies' series How Do We Fix it? (www.howdowefixit.me) Zachary Elwood argues that excessive contempt for each other is the problem underlying all other political discord and democracy-erosion problems. He and Richard discuss how liberal contempt for conservatives can create a feedback loop that empowers highly antagonistic and us-vs-them leaders, why our worst-case caricatures of the other side are so tempting and yet so wrong, and why changing how we talk about the "other side" can make us more persuasive and effective, not weaker. Learn more at www.american-anger.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with journalist Ellen Huet, whose new book Empire of Orgasm digs into the strange origins and evolution of Nicole Daedone and OneTaste, and goes into more detail than the Netflix doc titled Orgasm Inc. We talk about where OneTaste’s orgasmic meditation practices actually came from, how Daedone built a movement around it, and how that movement shifted into something far more high-control and ultimately criminal. Topics discussed include: What counts as coercion when adults voluntarily join a group they can technically leave at any time? Where’s the line between unconventional lifestyle experimentation and exploitation? We talk about Nicole’s appeal, why people found her so compelling, and why charisma often has more to do with the listener than the speaker. And we discuss the paradox that makes groups like this so powerful: people can experience genuine benefits and connection at the very same time that harmful dynamics are unfolding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many people think there are telltale signs of lying — shifty eyes, nervous fidgeting, maybe a quick smile — that can give someone away to trained observers. But according to decades of research, that’s a myth. Still, some scientists push back on that consensus. A recent paper by well-known researcher David Matsumoto (of the company Humintell) argues that combinations of nonverbal cues might be highly useful for revealing deception. In this episode, I talk with deception researcher Tim Levine, author of Duped and creator of truth-default theory, about whether that claim holds up — and what the science says about our ability to read lies using body language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever wondered how tracking people actually works? You’ve probably seen a lot of Hollywood depictions of how law enforcement track people over external terrain, and maybe you’ve wondered what’s real and what’s exaggerated. I talk with Rob Speiden, an instructor in what’s called “sign cutting." Rob breaks down real search-and-rescue, law-enforcement, and military use-cases; why “broken twigs” and deep foot prints are actually weak evidence; how pros actually determine the age of sign using weather history and side-by-side comparisons; and why disciplined interviewing at the start of a mission can save hours later. He’s blunt about the limits of tracking, too—like why you can’t easily deduce someone’s weight from track depth alone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’ve probably heard of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). It’s a popular thing. It’s the foundation for the work of popular life/business coach Tony Robbins, and there are many other popular trainers and “gurus” who have used NLP ideas as the basis for their work. The con artist Chase Hughes, whose lies and unethical behaviors I’ve examined on this podcast, is one such false guru whose origins are in NLP. This is a reshare of an episode from Chris Shelton’s “Speaking of Cults” podcast, which you can find on YouTube. We talk about: the history and origins of NLP and the ideas it contains; the good and the bad in NLP; my own experiences working for 6 months in the NLP industry; how people like Chase Hughes and other obvious charlatans succeed at gaining popularity (e.g., Chase Hughes being promoted by Joe Rogan and Dr. Phil); how Joe Rogan's and Chase Hughes' popularity relate to political polarization; and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it possible that internet communication, by speeding up and distorting our interactions, is agitating us and deranging us? Is it possible that by putting human interactions “on speed,” the internet amplifies some of the darker aspects of our social psychology? Are we being driven crazy by this technology? If the internet is deranging and dividing us, what are the psychological processes by which it does that? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A major barrier to reducing toxic polarization is that so many of us—especially those who are highly politically involved—see our current toxic conflict as clearly the other side’s fault. People in both groups focus on the grievances that alarm them most but often struggle to understand what bothers their adversaries. From the outside, our opponents’ complaints can look minor, silly, or misinformed compared to our concerns, which we (naturally) see as legitimate and based in reality. The more we subscribe to these narratives, the more we risk becoming arrogant, convinced that “you’d have to be an idiot” not to see which group is worse and more at fault for our conflict and division. All this serves to fan the flames of toxic polarization. This episode looks at how both political groups build their polarized, angry narratives where "it's all the other side's fault." This is a reading of a piece published on The Liberal Patriot: https://www.liberalpatriot.com/p/its-all-the-other-sides-fault Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if your sense of existence, your self-awareness, isn’t unique at all—but the very same “I” that exists in everyone, everywhere? What if you and I—and everyone—are essentially the same person? In this episode, I talk with Joe Kern, author of “The Odds of You Existing,” about Open Individualism: the radical view that there is only a single subject of consciousness, which is shared by all aware beings. Put another way: instead of seeing your odds of existing—your odds of being self-aware at this moment—as being extremely low, it’s a view of your existence as inevitable, because wherever there is a conscious being, your awareness must be present. Joe and I explore the logic of this idea, how it challenges our assumptions about identity and existence, and what it implies about death. Other topics discussed: religion, the idea of souls, free will, and the multiverse. Joe’s site is at applebutterdreams.wordpress.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The documentary "Bad Vegan" was about Sarma Melngailis’s nightmarish journey from successful New York City restaurant owner to Rikers inmate jailed for stealing millions. How did this happen? Sarma was the victim of a narcissistic con man named Anthony Strangis, who manipulated her into believing (or semi-believing) a number of wild, delusional ideas (like that he might be a non-human being with immense, other-worldly powers). He used this strange hold over her to persuade her to give him large amounts of money (much of which he blew at casinos). I talk to Sarma about her experiences. We talk about: what led to her being so emotionally vulnerable that someone like Strangis could manipulate her; the factors that can lead someone to believe things that most people see as clearly ridiculous lies; why she dislikes the “Bad Vegan” documentary maker for his editing choices; the huge emotional challenge of trying to rebuild and stay positive after such nightmarish, debilitating events; her new book "The Girl With the Duck Tattoo." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does nostalgia do to our minds — and our wallets? In this talk with Jannine Lasaleta, we talk about her research into the surprising psychological and emotional effects of nostalgia. Why do people become more generous and loose with money when they’re feeling nostalgic? How are companies — and even political campaigns — harnessing nostalgia to influence us? What’s the link between our craving for “authentic” experiences, like sourdough baking or retro products, and our longing for meaning?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 2024, I went on a five-day solo retreat in the mountains of New Mexico. It was the first time I’d ever really committed to meditation, and to my surprise it turned out to be a deeply meaningful and lasting experience. In this episode, I talk about what led me to try it, what those days of fasting, solitude, and meditation were actually like, and the unexpected effects I noticed afterward in my everyday life. I also share some of the doubts and anxieties I carried into the experience, why meditation had always felt out of reach for me, and why this retreat nevertheless managed to shift something fundamental in how I relate to myself and to stress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does the word “psychopath” really mean—and how often are we getting it wrong? Can someone have some psychopathic traits and still be empathetic? How often are we embracing simplistic ideas of what the terms psychopath and sociopath mean? Are those online “Are you a psychopath?” quizzes harmless fun, or could they actually shape how we see ourselves? And what about all the CEOs, politicians, and anti-heroes people quickly label as psychopaths—are there really so many psychopaths around us, or are people often just seeing what they want to see? Can having a highly competitive job (like a lawyer) make you act in more psychopath-associated ways? I talk with Dr. Nadja Heym, a researcher who specializes in psychopathy and other so-called “dark” personality traits. We explore the myths, the science, and the nuance: from the difference between traits and full-blown disorders, to the surprising ways environment and upbringing can shape these behaviors, to what her research says about the so-called “dark empath.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with sports psychology and behavior researcher Philip Furley about how athletes' body language communicates far more than we realize — and how it can affect teammates, opponents, judges, and even the outcome of the game itself. Other topics discussed: celebratory behaviors and how that can influence perceptions of people, including judges; behaviors and strategies of penalty kickers and goalkeepers in soccer; some specific behaviors from recent World Cup games; challenges in finding general behavioral patterns in sports; athletes' anxiety; and ways people might make practical use of his research findings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk to psychologist Richard Bentall about psychosis, schizophrenia, and the psychological roots of mental illness. Bentall is the author of the well known book "Madness Explained." We explore how symptoms like hallucinations and delusions can often be traced to trauma, stress, and isolation—and how the label of “schizophrenia” may obscure more than it explains. We also discuss the fine line between delusions and widely shared beliefs, how social connections help shape our sense of reality, and why understanding madness as a human response—not just a brain disease—can reduce stigma. I also share some of my own struggles with mental health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psychologist Anne Wilson studies how we construct our identities over time—how we remember the past, imagine the future, and tell ourselves stories that shape who we believe we are. In this episode, we explore why our memories are often less reliable than we think, and how that inaccuracy might actually be a feature, not a bug. Anne shares insights from her work on temporal self-appraisal theory, including surprising research showing how people often rewrite their pasts to make it seem like they're always improving. We also talk about how memory malleability impacts mental health, relationships, and political polarization. Why do people remember the same childhood in radically different ways? Why do people recall their past selves as worse than they actually were?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if we’ve been thinking about narcissism all wrong — and some forms of it are not only normal, but healthy? Why do we so often confuse genuine confidence or ambition with something pathological? Could your most “humble” or “selfless” friend actually be showing a hidden form of narcissism? And how might political polarization be pushing all of us to act a little more narcissistic than we’d like to admit? I talk with Craig Malkin, author of the book "Rethinking Narcissism: The Secret to Recognizing and Coping with Narcissists," in which he explains that narcissism is a spectrum. It’s healthy and normal to have some positive and grandiose illusions about your place in the world, as long as those illusions don’t become pathologically unhealthy and toxic. Topics discussed: the spectrum of narcissism, ranging from more normal forms of narcissism to pathological, malignant, dangerous forms; common misconceptions about narcissism; existential and psychological factors that can lead to more malignantly narcissistic traits and behaviors; the phenomenon of people overzealously labeling others narcissists; the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (the basis of many people’s understanding of narcissism) and how it works. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk to Barry Prizant, author of the popular book "Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism," about the often misunderstood world of autism. We explore the idea that many so-called “autistic behaviors” are actually meaningful responses to stress, overwhelm, or attempts to communicate—and that looking for the “deep why” behind people's behavior is essential. We talk about sensory sensitivity and the complexities of the autism label. Barry shares stories from his decades of work, including surprising examples of how kids can use quotes from TV/movies to express their needs and fears. We also discuss empathy, the concept of autism as a different cultural style of communication, and how society’s need for people to “act normal” can cause harm. Even if you don’t know much about autism, you'll like this episode if you're interested in behavior, psychology, or communication.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do we feel so unsettled and agitated when the world doesn’t make sense? In this episode, I talk with psychologist Steven Heine about his Meaning Maintenance Model — a theory that explains how we react when our sense of meaning is threatened. We explore how disruptions to our mental frameworks can lead us to double down on our beliefs, seek comfort in nostalgia, or shift our focus to other sources of meaning. We discuss what this tells us about political polarization, existential crises, and even how psychedelics and surreal art can shake up (and sometimes heal) our sense of reality. If you’ve ever wondered why ambiguity and uncertainty can feel so deeply uncomfortable—and what we might do to avoid it—this episode is for you. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can blockchain tech reinvent journalism—and reduce toxic political polarization in the process? Zach Elwood talks with Don Templeman, founder of Aemula (Aemula.com), a radically new kind of news platform. Inspired by the decentralization and transparency of cryptocurrency and other blockchain-based technologies, Aemula aims to create a bias-resistant newsroom of the future—one where algorithms are public, incentives reward nuance, and toxic polarization is nudged downward by design. Whether you're a blockchain skeptic or a media reform enthusiast, this is a conversation about what's broken in journalism—and one bold idea for fixing it. Learn more at aemula.com. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maybe you’ve heard that you can get clues about whether someone is lying by what direction they look when they talk. The most common form of this idea is that if someone is looking up and to their left, they’re more likely to be accessing real visual memories (associated with truth), and if they’re looking up and to their right, they’re more likely to be constructing visual images (associated with lies). But there is no basis for this; in fact, many studies have found evidence against that claim. This idea and other more broad ideas about eye movement clues were popularized by NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), a school of thought whose core ideas have been debunked time and time again. In this episode, I talk to Tim Levine, a respected deception detection researcher. We talk about: the eye direction idea; the huge amount of b******t in the pop behavior analysis space (e.g., shows like the Behavior Panel); reasons why the spreaders of this b******t are so popular and successful; what the science says about using behavior to detect deception; why it’s so difficult to use behavior to detect deception; the idea that you need to establish “baselines” for people to aid you in reading them; how behavioral patterns in games/sports can differ from more real-world non-game scenarios; confirmation bias in the behavior analysis space, and how even smart researchers can be unreasonably biased in favor of their own ideas; Paul Ekman’s work; and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many Americans think Trump is harming democracy; they see him as acting undemocratically in various ways. At the same time, Republicans and Trump supporters can view Democrats/liberals as themselves acting in highly undemocratic ways: as embracing various beliefs and actions that violate the spirit of democracy. I talk to Elizabeth Doll, who has worked in the political depolarization/bridge-building space for several years; she is currently the Director of Braver Politics for the organization Braver Angels. She is also someone who has been frustrated with various stances of liberal “defenders of democracy” that she sees as undemocratic and hypocritical. Topics discussed include: why anti-Trump people should want to understand these criticisms; various Republican-side views that liberals have behaved “undemocratically,” the debate over the electoral college; the debate over adding Supreme Court justices (stacking the court); the ambiguity in the word “democracy” and how that ambiguity leads to many things being called “undemocratic,"; why trying to understand each others' concerns is important for reducing toxicity, and more. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk about hypnosis and mind control with Martin S. Taylor, a well known British hypnotist (hypnotism.co.uk). Martin is known for his stage hypnosis act but also for educating people about hypnosis and removing the illusions and mystique surrounding it. There are some people who make astounding claims that they can control and manipulate people using hypnosis. Some even claim they can get people to do things against their will and their ethics. Some of these people claim they can do this quickly, within minutes, and that they can teach you to do the same. There are clearly some impressive things you can do with hypnosis (as Martin will attest) — but there are also clearly many unethical and deceptive people in the NLP/hypnosis/influence space who exaggerate what you can do with it. In this talk, Martin and I try to separate fact from fiction — reality from b******t. Topics discussed include: How did Martin get into hypnosis? What’s going on in a stage hypnosis act? What psychological factors lead to people acting in unusual and extreme ways in those settings? Is there such a thing as a hypnotic “trance”? Is it a special state? Martin’s thoughts on hypnosis used for therapy and self-help. MK Ultra and other government programs related to mind control and brainwashing. The importance of being skeptical about grand claims about hypnosis and mind control.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March of 2024, the newsman and sports commentator Keith Olbermann tweeted that the “Supreme Court had betrayed democracy” and called for it to be “dissolved.” This was the second time he’d called for the Supreme Court to be dissolved: he did that also in 2022. This is a review of some of Olbermann’s more unreasonable and incendiary behavior over the last twenty years, with a focus on his political rage and how that relates to America’s toxic polarization problem. Because clearly there are many people around us, like Olbermann, with extreme contempt toward their political opponents, and a lot of biased, unreasonably certain takes about all sorts of events and happenings. What might we learn from Olbermann's behavior? Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk to Dr. Jess Snitko, who has researched online dating and other online communication, about the signals and messages we send, intentionally and unintentionally, with dating app profiles and pictures. Jess earned her Ph.D. in Media, Technology, and Society from Purdue University in 2020. Topics discussed: Factors in pictures and profiles that cause people to swipe right or swipe left; the so-called “duck-face” expression some girls make in photos; men’s shirtless photos; men who post pictures of holding a fish or posing with dead animals; bathroom mirror selfies; pictures of partying and drinking; group photos and problems with those; cropped photos where an ex is being removed from the picture; how first impressions can be prone to errors; and more. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if I told you the left-right political spectrum was an illusion? What if I told you there is no “left” or “right”? My guest is Hyrum Lewis, co-author of The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America. They argue that we’ve embraced a simplistic, faulty idea of an essential “left/liberalism” and an essential “right/conservatism.” And that, similar to embracing a faulty medical idea (like the old theory of the four humors), embracing a faulty political theory has hurt us in major ways. For one thing, it creates a perception that instead of there being many different issues, there is just a single issue (left versus right) and that choosing the right “team” gains you access to all the right ideas. Embracing that concept in turn amplifies conflict and anger, by making our divides seem like a war between two set and essential ideologies. It makes it easier to embrace a good-versus-bad way of seeing our political divides. Topics include: why Hyrum believes the left-right spectrum is an illusion; common objections to their idea; how persuasive political thinkers have found their idea; the ways in which language and foundational concepts can amplify divides; the horseshoe theory; ways we might speak and write in better ways about our political disagreements, and more.   Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every time I go in Trader Joe's, the checkout person asks me a question of some sort. I used to think everyone there was just happy and friendly, but then I heard reports that it was more of a rule or strong encouragement that employees talk to customers. I read conflicting reports about this online and wanted to talk to someone who'd worked at Trader Joe's, to see if she could shed some light on this. I talk to Twiggy, who has a YouTube channel (youtube.com/@TwiggysDollHospital) and who makes custom dolls (twiggysdollhospital.com). Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fraud Chase Hughes, whose major lies and unethical behaviors I’ve examined in past episodes, continues to succeed in getting popular podcasts with large audiences to interview him. Chase recently appeared on the podcast The Diary of a CEO with host Steven Bartlett; he also appeared on Patrick Bet-David’s podcast (PBD podcast). He's also been on Dr. Phil's show, and on Leon Hendrix's podcast DRVN. I examine some clips from Chase's appearances on a couple of these podcasts, as a public service announcement to the millions of people who may have recently learned about Chase and become fans. I recap some of the absurd claims Chase has made. I talk about why I think these podcasts keep interviewing him, and what it tells us about the internet information ecosystem. I examine an early podcast interview where the host told me for Chase's bio he just wrote what Chase said and didn’t vet it, which is what many of these podcasts have done. More podcast appearances; more seeming legitimacy. For the first episode of mine about Chase’s many lies, search online for “Chase Hughes lies” and you’ll probably see it near top of search results.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In June of 2024, I got an op-ed published in TheHill.com about Elon Musk's polarization -- specifically his affective polarization, which refers to how people perceive and treat their political opponents. Like many in our highly polarized, righteously angry society across the polical spectrum, Elon Musk treats the "other side" with much contempt and disdain. You can often find him insulting and demeaning people on his social media platform, as well as claiming to know with high certainty the hidden, malicious motives in his opponents' minds. In this episode, I read my op-ed and add some additional observations. Topics discussed include: How high-contempt approaches help create pushback from opponents and in that way are self-defeating; The importance of distinguishing 'what we believe' from 'how we engage'; How conflict influences more and more people, on both "sides," to behave in high-contempt ways; How we might criticize "our side" in order to encourage better ways of engaging. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brian Dunning, creator of the podcast Skeptoid, made a documentary that brings a skeptical, analytical eye to the recent UFO craze – including those three famous UFO videos released by the Pentagon that got a whole lot of attention in a 2017 New York Times article. His documentary has the tongue-in-cheek title “The UFO Movie They Don’t Want You To See” and you can find it at www.briandunning.com/ufo. I think more people need to see Brian’s movie; it explained a lot and now I feel like I finally understand those videos. It’s been surprising how little attention the more rational, analytical explanations for those videos have gotten. If you’re someone who’s seen those videos and thought “What the hell is going on?” I think you’ll want to watch Brian’s movie. In this short episode I focus on one specific explanation for one of the videos in question. (I recommend watching my YouTube video version of this episode.) Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I thought it'd be interesting to read a very dumb book from 1969 called "Face Reading: A Guide to How the Human Face Reveals Personality, Sexuality, Intelligence, Character, and More." It's about finding meaning in people's physical facial characteristics; not about reading emotions or expressions. To be clear: this is a very bad book with no sense/logic to it, basically astrology-like, and I'm reading it because I was curious what it said and thought some other people would find it interesting. I'm generally curious about the weird things people believe; also curious about some stereotypes that were present about facial characteristics in the 60s era. I thought it was an interesting relic and some other people might also think so.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I ruthlessly interrogate an 8-year-old about her belief in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and other magical creatures.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A piece I wrote for my Defusing American Anger Substack (learn more at american-anger.com) about the psychological aspects of how toxic conflict grows and builds. When you see the self-reinforcing aspects of conflict, it helps you also see the importance of working to reduce political contempt (even as you may have various fears and grievances and anger about your political opponents). If you have skepticism about the ideas in this piece, I would ask you if you'd be willing to read my ebook on this topic, Defusing American Anger. If you want a free copy, email me via my american-anger.com website and I'll send you one. This is an extremely serious problem and I think to help solve it we need more people to consider ideas that may, at first, make them uncomfortable.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a recent Fox News interview, Trump was asked whether he thought there would be chaos and violence if he won the election, and his response included mentioning that, if necessary, the National Guard or other military might be needed. Many framed this response as indicating that Trump would go after his political opponents and those who opposed him using the military, leaving out the context that the question asked was about election-related violence. I discuss what this incident can teach us about our toxic political divides. Topics discussed include: Republican-side grievances and how incidents like this relate; how conflict leads us to filter things in more pessimistic and negative ways; the self-reinforcing nature of toxic political polarization; the importance of trying to understand your opponents’ narratives; how understanding doesn’t require agreeing; Trump’s “bloodbath” language and similar highly negative reactions to that; the ease with which we can be biased without even realizing it, and more. Learn more about my polarization work at american-anger.com. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the documentary Money Electric, filmmaker Cullen Hoback put forth the theory that developer Peter Todd was Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin. In this episode, I talk to cryptocurrency expert Jeremy Clark (pulpspy.com)  about this theory, with a focus on the language and behavior of Peter Todd. We discuss: the 2010 forum post by Peter Todd that forms the backbone of Hoback’s theory; Peter’s behavior in the film when confronted, which many people saw as suspicious and strange; the difficulties of relying on nonverbal behavior for clues; and how simple, neat, and exciting stories can attract us. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Nextdoor app, a fake account succeeded in getting some personal info from me before I realized they were a scammer. I discuss how that scam went down, share an audio call I had with the scammer, and give some tips for spotting online scammer behaviors and traits. These tips are focused on online marketplace scams but should be applicable for a lot of online scammers in general.  Learn more and sign up for a premium subscription at PeopleWhoReadPeople.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test is used by many organizations and consultants, but it's been criticized by many as pseudo-science that's unhelpful, and even harmful. I talk to Randy Stein, who has researched the Myers Briggs and personality tests in general. Topics discussed include: the reasons people object to the Myers Briggs test; the downsides of personality tests that group people into boxes (as opposed to using a spectrum-like approach); the Forer effect, where people often believe that vague descriptions apply to them; the downsides of labeling ourselves and others; how the complexity of a question can wrongly seem like deepness; how Myers-Briggs relates to the more scientifically respected "Big Five" personality traits. We also talk about Randy's research on political polarization, showing how we can be drawn to being the opposite of a disliked group. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode includes part of a poker tells webinar that I, Zach Elwood, did with Terry Wood, owner of PokerRailbird.com. I'm the author of three respected books on poker tells, including Exploiting Poker Tells and Verbal Poker Tells. My first book, Reading Poker Tells, has been translated into eight languages. You can learn more about my poker tells work at readingpokertells.com. Topics discussed: two important categories of poker tells; some specific examples of poker tells (including eye contact tells and how people move their eyes after betting); how tells vary when you go from lower stakes to higher stakes, and more. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is my third episode about Chase Hughes, the self-titled “#1 expert in behavior and influence.” My first episode about him examined his early deceptions and exaggerations, and his involvement in pick-up artistry and vitamin supplement sales. In this one, I talk about how Chase’s work relates to Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and NLP-related hypnosis. Long story short: Chase has used the NLP trainer template but repackaged it with a military/secret-agent/MK-Ultra-type spin. I examine the connections between NLP and Chase’s content. I also attempt to explain why Chase (and people like him) can acquire good reviews and fans, despite so much of it being obviously silly and also expensive. I also examine Chase’s recent promoting of supplements sold by a chiropractor. And I talk about the various people who've promoted Chase, from influential podcasters to Dr. Phil to his fellow Behavior Panel members, and why there seems to be such a lack of interest in these people examining his background and claims. A later episode will focus specifically on behavior analysis and the Behavior Panel. This episode is focused squarely on NLP/hypnosis. Topics discussed in this video include: how Chase’s concepts relate to NLP; what NLP is and why people attend those seminars; my own personal experiences working for an NLP trainer; how NLP seminars relate to other experiential/transformational multi-day seminars; good/neutral aspects of NLP/hypnosis/influence type content and training; the many influential people who’ve promoted Chase; why these things can impress people despite being so obviously silly and strange; what a hypnosis expert had to say about Chase's stuff; why behavior-analysis and influence/hypnosis-type offerings lend themselves to exaggerated claims; and more.   Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many surveys and headlines have claimed there's a large percentage of Americans who support political violence. Some estimates have been around 25% – and some have gone as high as 40%! This is very scary; it ramps up fears of a violent and chaotic American future, and even fears of a civil war. But political polarization researchers like my guest Sean Westwood have shown that many people are massively overstating the problem. And that overstatement is leading to hysterical and unhelpful framings and debates. Worst of all, these exaggerated fears can even contribute to a self-reinforcing cycle… a self-fulfilling prophecy. Topics discussed include: what the faulty surveys and studies are missing; how bad survey design (ambiguous questions, or leading questions) can lead to faulty estimates; what more accurate survey results tell us; how exaggerated fears can contribute to a self-fulfilling prophecy; and why people embrace and promote overly pessimistic narratives. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a follow up to my last episode, in which I shared information about the many lies of Chase Hughes, the self-described “#1 expert in behavior and influence.” Some of the fans of Chase Hughes and the show he’s on, The Behavior Panel, responded in angry, unreasonable ways, personally insulting me and downplaying the significance of Chase’s many deceptions. Some of the people who responded in these ways, from what I’ve been told, are also social media content moderators who work for Chase Hughes and the Behavior Panel. In this episode, I examine these behaviors and talk about how this ties in with similar things, like people taking it personally when political leaders they like are criticized, or cult members taking criticisms of cult leaders personally, things like this. I read some of the more angry and emotional YouTube comments people sent me. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An examination of the deceptive and strange background of Chase Hughes, who refers to himself as the “#1 expert in behavior and influence.” A popular YouTube show that he’s on, the Behavioral Panel, gets millions of views. Dr. Phil has called him the “best on the globe.” But Chase’s career is built on a foundation of lies and exaggerations — not only in the behavior and psychology space, but also in other pursuits, including pick-up artistry and vitamin supplements. He has made many grandiose claims that just about every psychology expert would disagree with (for example, claims that he can teach people to hypnotize others and make them do things against their will, and even teach how to do that quickly). He has claimed since 2012 to be well known in the behavior and psychology space, despite there being almost no mention of him online in the 2010s. This video, the first of at least a two-part series, examines his many deceptions and grandiose (often absurd) claims. It establishes the extremely deceptive patterns that Chase Hughes has been practicing since 2007, when he wrote his pick-up artist book "The Passport." Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk to a professional astrologist named Ophira Edut. I myself don't believe in astrology but I was interested in asking her questions I've wanted to ask about astrology, and about belief in astrology. Topics include: why she believes in astrology, how her beliefs in that relate to other beliefs (like Reiki or other metaphysical ideas), people's negative views about astrology (including the view that people promoting astrology are doing harm); the importance of engaging respectfully with people we strongly disagree with, and more. Whether you're into astrology or whether you’re a hardcore skeptic, I think you’ll like this episode. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk again about fake behavior expert Jack Brown, whose pseudoscientific behavior analysis work I devoted a past episode to. Brown got some recent attention in a Raw Story article for an analysis he wrote about how Trump's body language at a press conference showed that Trump was lying. Topics discussed include: the silliness of Brown's work and why it's silly; tips for recognizing fake behavior experts; how this stuff connects to toxic political polarization; a reading of Brown's recent analysis with comments.   Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apologies for the sad clickbait-y title. I'll be okay. I was trying to be a little funny. This is just some updates on things I've been working on and how you might help me if you'd like to do so. Or apart from helping me, you might like learning some details about how my books and podcast have been doing. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psychologist and magician Anthony Barnhart discusses some behaviors magicians use to misdirect attention and manipulate an audience. Other topics include: the role blinking can play in misdirection; magic acts that claim to use psychology and behavior-manipulation to achieve their feats (e.g., Derren Brown); neuro-linguistic programming (NLP); a magic show Tony was impressed by recently, and more. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Media bias specialist Vanessa Otero, founder of Ad Fontes Media, talks to me (Zach Elwood) about my books aimed at reducing toxic political polarization in America. Topics discussed include: common objections to and skepticism about this work (for example, views that those working on depolarization are "helping the bad guys"; why overcoming objections is so important; how conflict makes people behave in ways that amplify the toxicity of the conflict (often without knowing it); our distorted views of each other; how our contempt can help create the very things we're upset about; and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Liz Stokoe, who studies conversation analysis (CA) and is the author of the book "Talk: The Science of Conversation." Stokoe studies how language choices can impact us and change our behavior, often without us being aware of that. Topics include: the more surprising and interesting things Stokoe has found in her work; the popularity of the very wrong "most communication is non-verbal" concept; the practical use of CA work in persuading people to do things; why Stokoe analyzes scripts from comedy shows (like Friends) in her work; perceptions that men and women talk differently; ideas about building rapport. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with psychologist Leonard Saxe, who is known for, amongst other things, his research into lie detectors (also known as polygraphs). Topics discussed include: why polygraphs and other forms of deception detection are unreliable; the use of polygraphs as a tool to extract information and confessions; the Richard Ames case, which involved a high-level CIA employee spying for the Soviet Union and beating a polygraph when questioned; a story where someone’s life was ruined due to cops trusting polygraph evidence far too much; and more. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode examines a video from 2020 that seemed to show a black person being harassed by a racist white woman. The video was shared by the celebrity gossip personality Perez Hilton, and was then picked up by several low-quality news sites, like RawStory.com and DailyDot.com. But the video was staged; it was done as a joke, for reasons unknown. This episode examines the reasons why I confidently believed the video was staged after watching it for just a few seconds. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A reshare of a 2022 talk I had with existential psychologist Kirk Schneider. We talk about existential psychology and the power of being able to better understand and recognize the core anxieties we all have about existence, such as our fear of death, meaninglessness, isolation, and freedom. Other topics: how existence can be awe-inspiring but also terrifying; what “existential psychology” and “humanistic psychology” are and how those forms of psychology/therapy differ from more well known and traditional forms of therapy (e.g., psychotherapy); the psychology behind political polarization and narcissism. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thoughts about how an awareness of life's strangeness might impact us, both positively and negatively, and how that might relate to existential psychology concepts. Topics include: how an awareness of life's strangeness might be seen to be a core existential stressor (like the fear of death, or fear of isolation); how this might relate to religious/spiritual experience; how this might relate to traumatic experience and PTSD; how being aware of life's strangeness might make one more likely to embrace nonsensical, low-evidence beliefs of various sorts; how this might relate to mental illness (including psychosis and delusion). Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 A talk with Robin Dibble, an experienced Albuquerque-area service industry professional who’s worked in every aspect of the business, from waiting tables, to cooking, to managing restaurants and night clubs. Topics include: psychological strategies servers use to get more tips; how menu design can affect what people order; reading customer satisfaction as a restaurant manager; the factors in deciding to cut someone off from drinking; lighting and acoustics considerations when designing a comfortable space. This is a reshare of a 2019 talk.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk to former members of the House of Representatives Luke Messer (Republican) and Elizabeth Esty (Democrat). We talk about: political polarization; their experiences being in congress during such a highly polarized period of time; their ideas for reducing toxic polarization, and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Russell Hurlburt, who’s researched inner experience for more than five decades. He's the author of six books and many articles on the topic of inner mental experiences. Topics discussed include: the difficulty of describing inner experience; the ambiguities in the classification of “aphantasia” (reporting no visual qualities in one’s thought processes); the ambiguities in the “inner monologue” concept; views about whether dreams are visual or not; and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a talk with Brendan Bartholomew, who’s a professional bus driver in San Francisco. We talk about the role understanding and predicting human behavior can play when driving a city bus. Topics discussed include: the importance of thinking ahead about potential pedestrian/traffic dangers; how bus drivers know who’s waiting for a bus and who’s not; thoughts on handling unruly and/or mentally ill passengers; how modern rideshare and scooter traffic have changed things for bus drivers. This is a reshare of a talk from 2020. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with David Foster, who writes about polarization and media at knowthesystem.org and is the author of "Moderates of the World Unite!: Reworking the Political Media Complex." Topics discussed include: the optimal approach for reducing toxic political polarization (cultural change vs systemic changes); defining the word 'moderate' and examining some of the negative connotations it has; the difficulty of making changes in a polarized, high-animosity environment; why some conservatives dislike the idea of making systemic changes; the ideas in David's book for improving the media environment and political discourse. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elizaveta Friesem writes about media and about social power (i.e., the power people exert over other people).  I first interviewed her about media and polarization in 2021 about her book "Media Is Us." Topics we discuss here include: Michel Foucault’s ideas about power (often referenced in liberal academic world); the oppressed/oppressor framework (also often referenced); how simplistic views of social power can be divisive and result in a reduction in people's empathy; how the free will debate ties into these ideas; political polarization related to some of these ideas.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Daniel Whiteson, a professor of physics and astronomy, about free will, with a focus on what the effects in one's life are when one doesn't believe in free will. Topics discussed: Our thoughts on why we think free will is unlikely to exist; psychological and emotional aspects of living without a belief in free will; the anxiety and even anger that some people can have about the idea that we lack free will; the idea that a lack of belief in free will can be part of a spiritual, positive way of experiencing the world; and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with journalist Isaac Saul, founder of Tangle News (readtangle.com), which shares takes from across the political spectrum. I think Tangle is doing amazing work. I think the more Americans there are who read Tangle, the less toxically polarized we'll be. Topics we discuss include: aspects of Tangle News that make it depolarizing and anger-reducing; how Isaac conceives of the problem of political polarization; his work debunking "the election was stolen" narratives in 2020, and more. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with screenwriter/producer Brian Koppelman, known for many TV and film projects, including the poker movie Rounders, the show Billions, and the series Super Pumped: The Battle For Uber. Topics discussed: how he decided to create Rounders; Zach's writing about unintentional poker tells/behaviors he spotted in Rounders; the allure of reading people's behavior; the difficulty of reading behaviors in most real-world situations; and the anxiety-reducing benefits of transcendental meditation.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with professional poker player Dara O’Kearney about poker tells (aka, physical and verbal behaviors in poker). Dara is the co-host of the popular poker podcast The Chip Race and the author of several books, including GTO Poker Simplified. We talk about: the importance of poker tells compared to strategy; how Dara’s views on tells have changed over time; some ways poker players can get info from opponents (e.g., insulting them or being nice to them); some poker hands where opponent behaviors played a role in a decision. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with David Zulawski from 2018. Zulawksi is an expert in interrogation and interview techniques and the cofounder of Wicklander Zulawski and Associates. Topics discussed include: Why is the non-confrontational, rapport-focused technique he recommends the best one? Why is it important to downplay the significance of a crime? Why is it important to try to prevent someone from denying the crime/accusation?  Why is it important to not tell a suspect all the evidence you have against them? What are some behavioral clues a suspect is lying or telling the truth? Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with professional poker player Yakov Hirsch about the well known high-stakes poker situation where amateur Robbi Jade Lew was accused of cheating by professional player Garrett Adelstein. We give our takes on the hand, and the overall situation, and we talk about Robbi's possible motivations and thought processes during this hand, and about what her behavior might indicate about her thinking. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is about "behavior b******t." 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 b******t ; 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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with racecar driver Andy Lally, who specializes in endurance GT (sportcar) racing. Topics we talk about include: What's the breakdown in skill versus chance in an average race? What are the considerations when trying to pass other drivers, or trying to prevent drivers from passing? Where’s the boundary between acceptable behavior versus behavior that people would consider too-aggressive and dangerous? What are some spots where Andy was proud of his decisions? What it’s like being a vegan in an industry where that’s pretty rare? Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Herman Ilgen, who's been a negotiator for more than 30 years and who is the founder of the Institute for Nonverbal Strategy Analysis (INSA). Ilgen has researched how facial expression patterns may be connected to personality traits. His paper was titled "Personal Nonverbal Repertoires in facial displays and their relation to individual differences in social and emotional styles." Topics discussed include: what led him to do that work; what the findings were; how he makes practical use of those findings; and general thoughts on negotiation strategies.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the small town of Caroline in central New York state, there seems to be a war going on. A large sign in the town reads, "There’s a war in the valley, time to pick a side." The divide is over proposed zoning laws. Rebecca Schillenback is a resident who wrote a letter to the local paper objecting to the war-like us-vs-them rhetoric she sees her neighbors using. I talk to Rebecca about: the nature of this divide and the roots of the emotions; how it relates to our national us-vs-them divides; and her Quaker faith and its role in her attempt to reduce anger.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with psychologist Jessica Maxwell about her research on sexual relationships. We talk about "growth" versus "destiny" views on sex: in other words, whether someone sees sexual satisfaction as something one must work on, or if one sees it as largely an issue of destiny--something that’s either present or it’s not. Other topics include: the role of media in affecting our views on sex; how boredom and lack of novelty can hurt sexual satisfaction; performance-related anxiety; how porn might be affecting people’s ideas of sex; thoughts on scheduled date nights versus more spontaneous attempts at romance; sleeping in separate bedrooms.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Philip Furley, who has done extensive research on behavior and psychology in sports. Topics discussed include: how an athlete's body language can influence teammates, opponents, and even judges; behaviors and strategies of penalty kickers and goalkeepers in soccer; some specific behaviors from the recent World Cup; collective displays of team unity (like the "Haka"); the difficulties of finding behavioral patterns in sports; thoughts on making practical use of Furley's research findings.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Brian Dunning, who you might call a professional skeptic. He has been doing the Skeptoid podcast since 2006, and is the creator of multiple books and video projects aimed at promoting critical thinking and skepticism. We talk about the reasons why we're so often drawn to pseudoscience, b******t, and no/low-evidence ideas in general. I also get his takes on assorted ideas, such as chiropractic work, acupuncture, UFOs, eye movement desensitization therapy, the placebo effect, and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wilfred Reilly is a political scientist, professor, and author of the 2019 book Hate Crime Hoax. Topics discussed include: how hate crimes are tracked; why it can be hard to get a clear picture of hate crime numbers; the logic of 'hate crime' as a legal designation; irresponsible media coverage of racism-related issues; the motivations of people who fake hate crimes; distorted perceptions of American hate crimes and racism; how distorted perceptions can amplify polarization; and what it's like working on these topics while teaching at a historically black college.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is all about the People Who Read People podcast. Topics discussed: the origins and goals of this podcast; my approach to deciding on who to interview and what questions to ask; why I focus on polarization-related topics and why I think that work is important; details on audience numbers and financial stuff. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with journalist James Kirchick about the origins of and perceptions of various types of American antisemitism. Topics discussed include: views of manifestations of antisemitism among liberals and conservatives; controversial statements made by Kanye West and Whoopi Goldberg; Donald Trump; perceptions of and criticisms of Israel; hatred of George Soros; Louis Farrakhan; Black Hebrew Israelites; perceptions of the term "globalist", and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with conflict resolution specialist Guy Burgess, who, along with his wife Heidi Burgess, run the project BeyondIntractability.org. Guy and Heidi wrote a paper in 2022 titled "Applying conflict resolution insights to the hyper‐polarized, society‐wide conflicts threatening liberal democracies." I talk with Guy about: how conflict resolution principles might be applied to U.S. polarization problems; the importance of addressing liberal-side contributions to polarization; the common objections people can have to seeing polarization as a problem that both sides must tackle; how some in the conflict resolution space may be hindered from helping by their own liberal bias and polarization; the Burgesses' ideas for what society must do to reduce polarization to more healthy levels, and more. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Blake Mobley about the business of recruiting: matching job seekers with companies that are hiring. Blake is the co-founder and managing director of recruiting company Keeper Recruiting, which specializes in biotech. Topics discussed include: what the process of recruiting is like; how Keeper goes about learning pertinent details about job seekers; the metrics by which recruiting companies are judged to be successful; the different "core motivators" people can have in their lives and how that relates to recruiting; personality tests; and Blake’s earlier career in the intelligence community and how he sees that relating to his recruiting work.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I was interviewed on Mahima Samraik's podcast Breaking The Facts about my struggles with anxiety and mental issues as a young man, which led to me dropping out of college in the middle of my second year of college. We talk about what that experience was like; recommendations for people dealing with similar problems; and the obstacles that can get in the way of getting help.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with psychologist Richard Bentall, author of the well known book Madness Explained, which examines the psychological causes of the symptoms associated with psychosis, schizophrenia, mania, and other mental issues. Topics we talk about include: the experiences and mental struggles that can lead to psychosis and other mental illness; how theories of mental illness have changed over time; pushback and criticism of psychology-focused explanations of mental illness; aspects of madness that most of us experience at some point; the role of feelings of isolation in madness; and the difference between beliefs and delusions.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Larry Hart, a football coach at the University of Houston, and the author of the book The Recruit's Playbook. Topics discussed include: common behavioral patterns (tells) that are used to get an edge on opponents and teams; reading the signals that opponent coaches give to players; reading formation patterns; the importance of reviewing game tape; predicting how athletes will perform when one is recruiting them; and more.   Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with nonverbal behavior expert Alan Crawley, also known by his online handle Sin Verba (www.sinverba.com). Topics discussed include: why he became interested in behavior; the challenges of studying behavior; the practical benefits of studying behavior (including connecting better with others); irresponsible "behavior experts" who share bad information; and how to spot bad behavior information.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Steven Heine about how we react to our sense of meaning being threatened. What happens when our mental frameworks of how the world works don’t hold up and things seem chaotic? What happens when our sense of what’s existentially meaningful in our lives is threatened? Topics discussed: Heine et al’s Meaning Maintenance Model; existential crises, including mid-life crises and adolescent angst; how political polarization might be impacted by threats to meaning; some positive aspects to worldviews suddenly changing; and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Andrew O'Donohue, co-author of "Democracies Divided: The Global Challenge of Political Polarization." Andrew has studied how societal conflicts play out in many countries, and the harm those conflicts inflict. Topics discussed include: why it is that political polarization is such a common state for humans; how polarization has played out in other countries; countries that can be compared to America in terms of polarization; the psychological drivers of polarization; the impact of social media and modern life on polarization, and more. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Sabrina Hoppe about a 2018 study that showed how eye movements are correlated with personality. That paper was named 'Eye movements during everyday behavior predict personality traits.' We talk about how the study was set up, what the results were, how strong the correlations found were, reasons for why such patterns might exist, possible applications, and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with communication researcher Tim Levine about nonverbal behavior and deception detection. Tim's stance is that there's no evidence that nonverbal behavior is useful for detecting deception. He's the author of "Duped: Truth-Default Theory and the Social Science of Lying and Deception." His work was featured in Malcom Gladwell's book "Talking to Strangers."Topics discussed include: what the research says about nonverbal behaviors; why it's so hard to get reliable indicators of deception; common nonverbal behavior myths and b******t; why we expect others to tell us the truth; why we tend to tell the truth; Paul Ekman's work, including micro-expressions and "truth wizards"; reading behavior in interrogations; the differences between analyzing verbal content and nonverbal behavior; the TV show Lie to Me; poker tells; and more. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Dr. Casey Grover, addiction specialist and host of the podcast Addiction in Emergency Medicine and Acute Care, about how doctors attempt to determine if a patient is trying to get a drug prescription under false pretenses (e.g., claiming to be in pain to get opioids). Topics discussed: why "drug-seeking behavior" is not a good phrase; what some classic drug-seeking behaviors are and also why they're not very reliable; steps doctors take if they think someone might have a use disorder; America's drug problems, and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a reshare of a 2020 talk with psychology researcher Neguine Rezaii. She and her research team used machine learning to find language patterns used by teenagers who were at risk of schizophrenia that were correlated with later schizophrenia diagnosis. The two language patterns found in the subjects' speech were 1) a low semantic density (i.e., low amount of meaning), and 2) words related to sound or voices.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A 2018 talk with jury specialist Christina Marinakis about how she makes use of human psychology and human behavior in her jury consultancy work. Topics discussed: jury selection procedures; what jury consultants do; the relative importance of jury selection compared to the strength of the case; clues to potential jurors' beliefs and future behaviors from their body language, verbal answers, clothes, and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A 2019 talk I had with forensic linguistic researcher Olu Popoola where we discuss indicators that online reviews are fake or genuine. We talk about his work analyzing indicators of deception, and talk about some research he did on Amazon book reviews. If you've ever read an online review and wondered "This seems fake, but how do I really know?", you'd enjoy this talk.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with psychology researcher Matthew Hornsey about political polarization and the psychology behind it. Topics discussed include: why people can believe such different (and sometimes such unreasonable) ideas; persuasive tactics for changing minds (including in polarized dynamics); tactics for reducing us-vs-them animosity; why groups mainly listen to in-group members and will ignore the same ideas from out-group members; the effects of the modern world on political polarization; social media effects, and more. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A reshare of one of my most popular episodes: a 2018 talk with Mark McClish, who's an expert in analyzing spoken and written statements for hidden meaning, and who's been a US Marshal and law enforcement trainer. He's the author of the books "I Know You Are Lying" and "Don't Be Deceived."  This episode serves as an introduction to statement analysis concepts. We talk briefly about a few well known cases, including OJ Simpson, Timothy McVeigh, Chris Watts, Making A Murderer, the KROQ radio DJ hoax, the McStay family murder, and the Van Dam child murder. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A 2019 talk with psychologist and relationship researcher Dr. Brandi Fink. Topics discussed include: some common physical and verbal behaviors (like eye rolls and other indicators of contempt) that indicate trouble in a relationship, and those that can indicate relationship improvement or health; the goals of analyzing the video-taped behaviors of couples/families; tips for improving a relationship; the challenges of creating a behavior coding system (not wanting to go too micro-level or too macro-level). Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Bill Ottman, co-founder and CEO of the social media platform Minds, which is known for its minimal content moderation approach. Ottman and others (including Daryl Davis, a black man known for singlehandedly deradicalizing white supremacists) recently wrote a paper titled "The Censorship Effect," which examined how strict censorship/banning policies may actually increase antisocial, radicalized views. We talk about the psychology behind how increased censorship policies may increase grievances and anger, about Elon Musk buying Twitter and what it means, about the complexity of the problems we face, and about strategies they've used on the Minds platform.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with political scientist Leonie Huddy on the topic of research on American racism and prejudice.  I was interested in discussing framings like this one from a 2012 USA Today article: "U.S. majority have prejudice against blacks" and ask her if such confident framings were justified based on the research, or if they were over-stated and irresponsible. Topics discussed: the ambiguity that can be present when attempting to study prejudice, especially for studies that seek to measure it rather indirectly; how worst-case and pessimistic framings and interpretations of studies and surveys can add to us-versus-them political animosity.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with psychology and addiction behavior researcher Paul Delfabbro about cryptocurrency, problem gambling, and addiction. Delfabbro has worked on several papers related to cryptocurrency, including a paper titled "The psychology of cryptocurrency trading: Risk and protective factors" and one titled "Cryptocurrency trading, gambling, and problem gambling." Other topics: the extent to which problem gambling is a problem amongst cryptocurrency traders; some psych factors that can be present for the more addicted and cult-like crypto behaviors; whether covid might have played a role in cryptocurrency price fluctuations; the role of the internet in amplifying temptations and addictions; the role of social media in getting people excited about cryptocurrency; video game addiction. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An examination of the reasons why people believe the 2020 election was "rigged," stolen, or otherwise illegitimate. This includes a talk with Peter Wood, a sociologist and political thinker and writer, who strongly believes that the 2020 election was stolen. Other topics discussed: election distrust by liberals (in 2016, for example), and how election distrust and chaos is a common endpoint for very polarized democratic nations.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Dino Levy about his research team's research, which used monitoring of facial muscles and machine learning to detect lies at an impressive 73% success rate. Their paper was titled "Lie to my face: An electromyography approach to the study of deceptive behavior." We talk about the results, the possible explanations, comparisons to polygraph lie detection, and applications of this research and lie detection technology in general.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with political scientist Thomas Zeitzoff, who has studied political conflicts. We talk about survey results that show an increase in Americans' willingness to support political violence, and how that relates to our fears over future violent conflicts and "civil war" scenarios in America. Other topics discussed include: the ambiguity in political surveys; how overstated claims of support for political violence can lead to a self-reinforcing dynamic and a self-fulfilling prophecy; the psychology of polarization; the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the role of social media in that; the effects of social media on society in general.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brandon Sheils is a professional poker player who recently did a scientific study of poker tells as part of getting a Masters degree in Psychology. Topics discussed: the challenges of studying poker behavior; how he structured his study; what the results were; AI and machine learning potential for studying behavior; some times he's used behavior to make a poker decision.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psychological researcher Abe Rutchick talks about his work showing that killing is easier at a distance. He talks about how the experiment was designed, and about antisocial behavior in general being more likely when at a distance. We talk about his research related to how people attribute moral responsibility when it comes to harm inflicted by autonomous self-driving vehicles. And we talk about some studies he worked on that involved poker.   Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Wood Jr. is a leader and ambassador of the depolarization group Braver Angels. He ran for Congress in 2014 as a Republican against Maxine Waters. Topics discussed include: the history of American polarization; us-vs-them behaviors of leaders on both political sides; what drew him to conservative politics; how traditional conservatism differs from the Trump brand of conservatism; what it's like being black and conservative; black American political thought; GOP efforts to make voting harder.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Kirk Schneider, an existential-humanistic psychologist and therapist, and the author of many books, including "Existential-Humanistic Therapy," "Awakening to Awe," "The Polarized Mind," and more. We talk about: how existential psychology is about facing the givens of life (e.g., fear of death, isolation, meaninglessness, freedom) and why that can be so helpful to people; how our society tends to avoid talking about these deep questions and stresses; the psychology that drives extreme polarization and narcissism; and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Liz Stokoe, a conversation analysis (CA) researcher and the author of "Talk: The Science of Conversation." This is my second episode focused on CA. Topics discussed include: What are some of the most useful learnings from CA, in Liz's view? Does the common perception that men and women talk differently have much scientific support? How do the "turns we take" help define us in others' eyes? Why is the "most communication is non-verbal" concept wrong and yet so popular? What do people get wrong with their focus on "rapport"?  What can CA teach us about political polarization dynamics and how to persuade others or avoid angering others?   Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with political scientist Thomas Pepinsky, who has studied, amongst other things, American distrust in elections. Topics discussed include: How much can we deduce from U.S. surveys that show high distrust in election legitimacy (from both conservatives and liberals)? To what extent do Trump supporters really believe the 2020 elections were rigged? Is there ambiguity in some of the survey questions related to election distrust that prevent us from getting a clear view of this topic? If Trump had succeeded in overturning the 2020 election, what would life in the U.S. be like?  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a piece that I, Zach Elwood, wrote about the ways in which social media (and internet communication more broadly) may be amplifying us-versus-them polarization and extreme thinking.  Much of the mainstream coverage of how social media may be amplifying divides and making people unhappy is on product-specific features and algorithms. But what if there are inherent aspects of internet communication that amplify animosity and bad thinking, no matter the format or structure of the tool? What if "the medium is the message" in some way? This piece examines the psychological processes by which social media may be deranging us and talks about strategies for reducing unhelpful group-versus-group animosity.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with roboticist and artificial intelligence researcher and roboticist Hod Lipson. Topics include: how close he thinks we are to genuinely self-aware machines; research strategies that he sees as most likely to yield self-aware machines; how do we define what it means to be self-aware; how existentialist questions might relate to AI consciousness questions; his views of the risks of AI; how such research can help us better understand human minds and behavior. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with criminologist Eric Piza about how video has affected crime rates. Topics discussed include: what the research shows about video surveillance and crime reduction; what factors make camera presence more likely to be effective; the effectiveness of police body cams; some practical ideas for how one might discourage crime at one's property; and the role of America's huge number of guns on violence by police.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Zachary Elwood examines liberal reactions about the Rittenhouse verdict and how some of the more extreme and pessimistic reactions may be seen as being caused by political us-vs-them polarization.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with social scientist Saul Albert (saulalbert.net) about conversation analysis — the scientific analysis of talking — and the wider field of ethnomethodology. Topics discussed: what conversation analysis (CA) is and how it's done; some of the interesting findings in CA; Saul's own research; the complexity and difficulty of communication; the role of silence in conversation; transcription/notation methods used; and more.    Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Rob Speiden, an expert in sign cutting, which is the tracking of humans or animals over the ground using clues of physical disturbance. Topics discussed include: common methods of tracking; how tracking is used in search and rescue scenarios; debunking some misconceptions about what's possible with tracking; the importance of being fully aware and open to all sensory input; and interesting stories from his career.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Emily Kubin, who recently, with her co-researcher Christian Von Sikorski, did a comprehensive review of 121 studies on social media effects on political polarization. We talk about her research, why polarization is a problem, the different types of polarization (affective vs ideological), our psychology tendency to become us-versus-them in our thinking, her own opinions on what social media is doing to us, and the mechanisms by which social media may be amplifying polarization.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Ben Tyler, a professional musician and musical educator based in Portland, Oregon, about reading and understanding people in the musical world. (I use Ben's music for my intro music.) Topics include: reading fellow band members' gestures and eye contact in jazz and other musical performances; being able to tell when audiences are having a good time or not; how practicing improvisation can make us more flexible; and the social aspects of the musical world. Ben's personal musical project is called Small Skies.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Jannine Lasaleta, who has researched the psychological effects of nostalgia, including how nostalgic feelings make people more loose and uncaring with money.  We talk about the connection between our desire for nostalgia and our desire to engage in old-fashioned or ancient or "authentic" activities . We talk about how our attraction for these things might be connected to our search for meaning, our desire to have a consistent and stable sense of self, and our attempt to fend off existential anxieties related to meaninglessness and isolation.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're someone who pays a lot of attention to politics, but feels that doing so makes you miserable, this may be an important listen. What if someone were to tell you that paying attention to politics is not a morally correct way to spend your time and energy? Political philosopher Chris Freiman is the author of "Why It's OK to Ignore Politics." He makes a case that paying a lot of attention to politics is often a waste of time, and may even be immoral compared to other ways you could be spending your time and energy. We talk about how our collective focus on and anger about politics may be contributing to society's us-versus-them animosity and polarization (which may be the root cause of our dysfunction).  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jennifer Cohn is an attorney and election integrity advocate. Since 2016 she has been drawing attention to problems with U.S. election security and was frustrated during the Trump admin years to see the GOP block efforts to improve security. Now that GOP has become the party of "the election is illegitimate", things have swung the other way and it is Democrats who seem unwilling to acknowledge flaws that many on that side were willing to talk about up until recently. We talk about how politics and polarization can impact attempts to solve election security problems, and she gives insights on the problems she sees with elections.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elizaveta Friesem thinks and writes about media and how we relate to it. Her recent book is called "Media Is Us" and it examines the idea that media is not something "out there" but more something that is part of us, something that happens internally, similar to any other human communication. And perhaps this means that acting as if "media" of various sorts is to blame for various problems is a simplistic way to view the world. We talk about the need for personal responsibility for how we consume media, power dynamics in society, the power of empathy and understanding others, and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with professional poker player Dara O'Kearney about poker tells (behavioral patterns in poker). We talk about how useful tells are compared to strategy, what are some of the tells he's used, how his opinion about tells has changed over time. We also discuss poker more generally, including its complexity, game theory optimal topics, how running long distance may have helped him with poker, and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second of two interviews with James Mitchell, a recently retired police captain who worked in Prince George's County, Maryland. We attempt to understand the factors behind the problem of American cops having a high rate of shootings and other forms of excessive force. Factors discussed include: the role of guns, racism, the fact that juries seldom convict cops, police unions, and cops living in the communities they police.  (In the first interview, other factors, like mental health and approach/de-escalation strategies, were discussed.) Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Kevin Arceneaux, a researcher on the “need for chaos” research project, which found that a surprising number of people, around 40% of those polled, seem to have antisocial views about society in that they 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'?” We talk about what the study entailed, and what the factors could be that help explain this surprising find.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with sports analyst and broadcaster Jon Michael Hoefling, who writes for Deadspin. We discuss a recent story about Steelers quarterback Roethlisberger and an apparent tell he has, where his foot position indicates whether he'll run or pass. We also discuss some other tells in football and sports in general, including the story about Andre Agassi having a read on Boris Becker, and some tells in baseball.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Carey Callahan, a therapist who writes about gender dysphoria and transgender issues, with a focus on medical and healthcare aspects. Topics include: why well meaning attempts at discussing transgender topics can inspire so much anger; how polarization on this topic relates to polarization in other areas; controversy around how many obstacles there should be for someone who wants to transition; criticisms of gender identity theory; the idea that gender identity theory itself may be amplifying dysphoric symptoms; the role of environmental factors in gender dysphoria. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How might we connect better with each other? An interview with Ashley Pallathra and Edward Brodkin, co-authors of "Missing Each Other: How to Cultivate Meaningful Connections." We talk about the obstacles we face in our attempts to form better connection with others.   Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with professional gamer Nocturnal (OhNocturnal on Twitch), about reading opponent behavior in Apex Legends and other video games. We also talk about the financial aspects of being a pro video gamer.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview about the role of psychology and understanding behavior in tennis, with experienced tennis player and coach Carlos Goffi. Goffi has coached tennis for more than 30 years, has coached John McEnroe, and is the author of the well known tennis book Tournament Tough.  We talk about reading opponents' physical tells and their mood, about psychological strategizing, and about the impact of personal life factors on a player's ability to compete. We also talk about Andre Agassi's claim that he had a very reliable tell on Boris Becker.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First of two interviews with James Mitchell, a retired police captain who worked in Prince George's County, Maryland. We talk about the U.S. problem of excessive police violence, with the goal of understanding some of the factors that can lead to unjustified and too aggressive police responses. Issues include: George Floyd's death and how the cops handled that; how mental health issues relate to police response issues; how cops can escalate a situation whether they mean to or not, and more.  In the second interview, other factors are discussed, such as the role of guns, and racism.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I interview Scott Stossel, who is the national editor of the magazine The Atlantic, and the author of the book My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind. That book is a history of humanity's understanding and treatment of anxiety, and also a personal history in which Scott recounts honestly and openly his own struggles with extreme, 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. I (host Zach Elwood) also talk about my own struggles with anxiety, which have taken a different form from Scott's.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Nathan Filer, author of the non-fiction book 'The Heartland: Finding and Losing Schizophrenia' and the fiction book 'The Shock of the Fall'. We talk about environmental, experiential factors in schizophrenia, about the understandable pushback there can be to examining these areas, about the uncertainty around these topics, and about the power of language and the namings we give things. I also talk about the mental issues I struggled with as a young man.   Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I interview an 8-year-old. We talk about such topics as: how she knows other kids want to be her friend, how she knows adults are upset with her, tricks she uses to watch more TV, the etiquette around Infection Tag (one of her favorite games), and her thoughts on various supernatural beings, including Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Gina Assaf about her patient-led research on "long haul" Covid, which refers to long term Covid-19 effects. Assaf is not a professional medical researcher; she was motivated to initiate this research due to her own covid experiences and frustration with the lack of information about her, and other sufferers', experience. We talk about the benefits and challenges of such "patient led" research, and interesting findings her team has made. One topic discussed is the similarity between long haul covid and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS, ME) symptoms.   Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Jamie Heywood, who got into the medical research field when his brother was diagnosed with ALS and Jamie wanted to do everything he could do to save him. Jamie started an ALS research institute, and later was co-founder and CEO of PatientsLikeMe, an organization for collecting real-world medical data directly from patients. He discusses the strengths and challenges in collecting real-world patient-reported data, why such tactics haven't been as disruptive and revolutionary as their potential suggests, and thoughts on the problems we face in medical research and healthcare solutions in general. Support the show To get ad-free episodes, and more, get a premium subscription. To learn more about the show, go to behavior-podcast.com. I'm on Twitter at @apokerplayer. See a summary of my work. Learn more and sign up for a premium subscription at PeopleWhoReadPeople.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Second of two episodes about online dating. This is a conversation about online dating with Scott, a straight man in his 30s who lives in Portland, Oregon. We talk about the reads/indicators he gets from online dating profiles and pictures that let him know if someone might be a good potential match.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First of two episodes about online dating. This is a conversation about online dating with Celia, a straight woman in her 30s who lives in Portland, Oregon. We talk about the reads/indicators she gets from online dating profiles and pictures that let her know if someone might be a good potential match.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The idea that humans don't have free will, that we don't have any control of our lives, can be a scary or depressing one for some people. This is a talk with Daniel Whiteson, physics professor of UC Irvine, about why he thinks free will is unlikely, and about the psychological and emotional impacts that can be associated with believing or not believing in free will. For more about this podcast, see www.readingpokertells.video/blog.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview of host Zachary Elwood about his own aphantasia, which is defined as reporting a lack of imagery and visualization in one's internal thoughts. Before hearing people talk about aphantasia, I’d never believed people had actual images in their minds when they imagined things. Honestly, it’s still hard for me to imagine such a thing is possible, and I think a lot of this comes down to ambiguity and fuzziness in describing inner experiences. This is a rebroadcast of an interview from The Untypical Podcast, hosted by Visakan Pillai. Topics discuss include: aphantasia and what it's like, aphantasia effects on life and creativity, the nature of thought and memory, psychedelic drugs, visualizing in dreams, and more. I have a second talk about aphantasia in 2024: a talk with psychologist Russell Hurlburt. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Karina Korostelina, a social psychologist and the author of "Political Insults: How Offenses Escalate Conflict." We discuss the categories of insults she describes in her book, the role insults play in political conflict, why groups and group leaders use insults, and the role of the internet in amplifying opportunities for insults and insult perception. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Thomas Carothers, an expert on foreign policy, democracy, and political polarization. He is co-author/editor of the book Democracies Divided, a summary of the national situations of several extremely polarized countries, including the U.S., Turkey, India, Poland, Kenya, and Brazil. I ask Carothers about what he views as the root psychological and social causes of extreme polarization, the erosion of democracy, and the rise of authoritarian leaders. Topics discussed include: Topics discussed: What is the state of democracy around the world and how has that changed in the past few years? What are the root psychological causes behind some countries becoming very divided and desiring authoritarian leaders/responses? Are there inherent processes that tend to lead economically successful countries to go down the path of polarization and democracy erosion? Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Levi Boxell about his research showing that older Americans, who use social media less than younger Americans, have become more antagonistic towards the opposite political party than younger people. We also discuss his research studying how political polarization has changed over time in other countries. We discuss what factors may contribute to polarization, and whether it's still possible that social media could be a major factor. He also discusses his research on news outlet bias being present in the types of politician images are chosen.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Michael Macy, whose research on “opinion cascades” show how some political group stances on issues can be rather arbitrary and due to initial conditions. Similar to how in many complex systems, slightly different initial conditions can lead to vastly different results later on, the early conditions in a country, including early opinion-holders and influencers, can influence a political party to be aligned with one or another stance on an issue. These early choices have a cascading effect, meaning that, for some issues, the political parties could hold reversed positions if things had gone a bit differently. Topics discussed: How was his opinion cascade research set up? What political party stances might be due to fundamental ideological differences versus which ones may be more arbitrary and due to chance? Could Democrat and Republican party stances on abortion, immigration, and other issues actually be reversed in a slightly different world? How does this work relate to problematic political polarization? Is there something inherent in humans that lead them to form contentious us-versus-them groups? Learn more about the show and get transcripts at ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Dr. Jaime Settle, a political scientist who has studied how social media may be increasing political animosity and division. She's the author of "Frenemies: How Social Media Polarizes America," which describes her research showing how Facebook seems to increase people's animosity towards members of the opposite political party. Topics discusssed include: inherent aspects of internet communication that likely increase polarization, apart from product feature choices; the pathway of how Facebook users (and other social media users) become more aware of others’ political views and more judgmental of them; the darker psychological tendencies activated by social media; the role of the out-group homogeneity effect; things we can all do to reduce political animosity. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jennifer Lynn McCoy, a specialist on political polarization, talks about polarization in the U.S. and how our problem compares to other polarized countries. Topics discussed include: the causes and dynamics of extreme polarization; how to define the term; psychological aspects of human nature that can make toxic conflict likely; the negative results of polarization; and what might be done to help prevent worst-case outcomes in very polarized countries.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Omar Wasow, author of a paper titled "Agenda Seeding: How 1960s Black Protests Moved Elites, Public Opinion and Voting," in which he found that civil rights-related violent activity in the U.S. in the 1960s shifted public opinion and voting more conservative/Republican. Topics discussed include: how violence in the streets can affect voting; what lessons there are for today's racial justice activists; negative responses to his work; thoughts on 2020 political climate and how current protests may be affecting people's politics.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with a self-described anti-fascist who has taken part in the more militant and unlawful aspects of the BLM-focused protests and riots that have occurred in Portland, Oregon in the wake of George Floyd's death. This person has also taken part in physical confrontations with alt-right pro-Trump groups, like the Proud Boys. They talk about the motivations and goals of their violent activities, why violent protest is justified, and their justification for getting in violent confrontations with groups like the Proud Boys. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You've probably heard about how Cambridge Analytica used access to the Facebook data of millions of U.S. citizens and advanced digital advertising wizardry to essentially “hack” Americans’ minds and deliver a surprise presidential victory to Donald Trump. This depiction of Cambridge Analytica as nefarious data geniuses has been shared in many news stories (probably most prominently in the documentary The Great Hack). But what if this perception is untrue? What if Cambridge Analytica were exaggerating their behavior-influencing abilities, as many companies do? And what if our perceptions of CA as geniuses of digital influence is based on people accepting those exaggerated claims uncritically? That is the stance of political scientist Dr. Dave Karpf, and in this episode he explains why.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Rob Tarzwell talks about his experience being a psychiatric doctor in ER (emergency room) settings, and the challenges of evaluating and diagnosing patients. Topics include: strategies for distinguishing psych disorders from other conditions; the nature of self and consciousness and how that relates to psych issues; and the impact and meaningfulness of the language used to describe mental issues. We discuss some specific examples of people who've behaved in offensive ways and the psychological factors that can be present. And we talk about personality disorders and what those are.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with psychologist and expert on cursing Timothy Jay about some lesser known factors involved in people saying offensive things. This episode has a focus on the phenomenon of videos widely shared on social media showing people saying or doing offensive things (including racist rants). We discuss factors that can nfluence offensive behavior, including Tourette's Syndrome, brain disorders like Alzheimers, substance abuse, mental illness, and personality disorders. Topics discussed include: how cursing can be governed by a different part of the brain than “normal” language; the nature of Tourette’s Syndrome, and why some TS sufferers (a small percentage) exhibit offensive language or behavior and most do not; why people with mental illness and/or personality disorders may lash out in aggressive and offensive ways as a coping mechanism; how we as a society need more understanding and empathy for the factors that can lead to outrageous and offensive behavior; social media's role in making conflict and taboo-transgression into entertainment. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with psychology researcher Neguine Rezaii about her work using machine learning to predict conversion in teenagers from prodromal symptoms to psychotic episodes. The two language patterns found in the subjects' speech were 1) a low semantic density (i.e., little meaning), and 2) speech related to sound or voices. Topics discussed include: how exactly they determined “low meaning"; how the algorithm found, on its own, indicators related to sound-related speech content; the future of using machine learning and automatic diagnosis tools in psychology and therapy; theories that might help explain these findings. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Marcel Just about his research using fMRI brain imaging to identify brain activity associated with specific thoughts: for example, identifying that a subject is thinking about an apple, or about death. Dr. Just and his team have been twice featured on the show "60 Minutes." Topics discussed include: the nature of human thought; how much is our consciousness individual thoughts vs many things firing at once?; why brain activity for specific thoughts and emotions trigger specific areas of the brain in consistent, predictable ways; why thoughts and emotions activate the same types of patterns for so many people, even across language divides; how fMRI works and why it is a good choice for this type of work (versus EEG, for example); the state of this technology, its potential applications, and what its practical limitations are. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Dr. Brian Baer, a skilled translator, about indicators in an English language text that the author may be native-Russian (for example, missing articles, wrong verb tenses, "collocations", and more). Baer also talks about the nature of language in general, and his work as a translator. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Dr. Rob Tarzwell about his research using SPECT neuroimaging to find indicators of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This work was voted by Discover Magazine as one of the top 20 science stories of 2015. Topics discussed include: the ways physical harm to the brain (e.g., traumatic brain injury) shows up differently in brain imaging compared to more psychological conditions like PTSD or depression; the differences between different types of brain imaging (PET, SPECT, fMRI) and their strengths and weaknesses; Tarzwell's research showing the effects of therapy in brain scans. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Jason Simmons (aka Master Roshambollah), an experienced Rock Paper Scissors player. Simmons discusses how serious RPS players try to read and influence the behavior of their opponents. Topics discussed: common physical indicators (i.e., “tells) that give you clues of what an opponent will throw; verbal and visual methods for influencing an opponent’s throw; format/structure of RPS competitions; why some players use randomizing strategies to level the playing field versus tough opponents; gambling at Rock Paper Scissors. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Brendan Bartholomew, a San Francisco bus driver and writer. Brendan talks about how understanding human behavior plays an important role in his duties as a city bus driver. Topics discussed: the importance of thinking ahead about potential pedestrian/traffic dangers; how bus drivers know who’s waiting for a bus and who’s not; thoughts on handling unruly and/or mentally ill passengers; how modern rideshare and scooter traffic have changed things for bus drivers. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Dr. Christopher Moyer, PhD, about measuring skin conductance, also called electrodermal activity (EDA) and galvanic skin response (GSR): what it is, what it's thought to measure, and how it's been used in psychology research, including his own research. Dr. Moyer is a counseling psychologist who has published research on the anxiety-reducing effects of massage therapy and the neurological effects of meditation. Topics: electrodermal activity, galvanic skin response (GSR), psychological research, massage therapy, meditation, polygraphs and lie detectors.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Polina Vorozheykina, a software engineer based in Portland who is skilled at social deduction games like Secret Hitler, Werewolf/Mafia, Resistance, and Avalon. We do a review of the rules of the game Secret Hitler, and Polina talks about common behaviors/tells that can give away information (e.g., length of time looking at cards; consistency of claims; talkativeness; body language; use of language, and more). Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk with Olu Popoola, a forensic linguistic analyst, deception researcher, and fraud investigator, about spotting indicators of false, deceptive text. Topics discussed include: what linguistic analysis for deception entails; using "coherence relations" (i.e., how the phrases and sentences in a text relate to each other) to detect deception; indicators of fake Amazon book reviews and true/honest ones; Olu's research into Amazon reviews of Hillary Clinton’s 2017 book "What Happened?"; the importance of detection deception in our current internet age. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Benjamin Moots, who served 15 years in prison for second degree murder, mostly in maximum security settings. Topics include: his account of what led to his murder conviction; what prison life was like, including differences between the perception and the reality; prison slang (e.g., differences between “convict” and “inmate”); sexual and physical assault dynamics; how prison encourages aggression; how poker games work in prison; and more.  Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with DBrandi Fink, a psychology researcher who has done work analyzing the interpersonal dynamics of couples and families, including couples and families having physical abuse and drug/alcohol abuse issues. We talk about: common physical and verbal behaviors that point to relationshipo problems; the work of famous relationship psychology expert John Gottman, who Fink worked with; the reasons why researchers and therapists attempt to quantify interpersonal behaviors; how analysis/coding systems work; and the challenges in coding behavior, which can often be ambiguous. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk about how psychology and reading behavior play a role in successful door-to-door sales. I interview two experienced door-to-door salespeople: Conrad Smith, who was a top salesman for a well-known home security system company, and David Mock, who did door-to-door sales for a large, well-known home remodeling company. Topics discussed include: conversation scripts large companies use, and how they work; how even a knock on the door can influence people; the use of ambiguous language (example: “Did your realtor tell you I might be stopping by today?”) to subtly deceive; the use of a fake personal anecdote to gain trust; the importance of getting a customer to physically sign a document; how the mere act of spending time with a salesperson can increase the chance a sale is made. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Robin Dibble, an experienced service industry professional based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Robin has worked all sides of the restaurant business, from waiting tables, to cooking, to managing restaurants and nightclubs. Topics discussed include: the role of psychology and perception-manipulation in the restaurant and service industries; psychological strategies that get servers higher tips; the importance of reading the room as a restaurant manager; factors that go into deciding to cut someone off from alcohol, and optimal approaches; menu design strategies; pricing strategies. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Robert Drysdale, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts expert and world champion, on the roles psychology and predicting opponent behavior can play in professional fighting. Topic discussed: the role of psychology, mental preparation, and action-anticipation in MMA and jiu-jitsu; basics of MMA and jiu-jitsu for people not familiar; importance of predicting opponent behavior in competitive fighting; the role of mental visualization in fight preparation; the importance of staying stoic before and during a fight; how pre-fight behavior and facial expressions can give insight into fighters’ mental states, and maybe even predict a fight’s outcome. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A talk with Seth Baldwin about the sport of fencing and the role psychology and predicting opponent behavior can play in the sport. Baldwin is an experienced fencer who, at the peak of his game, got 3rd at the 2004 U.S. National Championships. Topics discussed include: basics of fencing maneuvers and strategy; the role of skill vs luck/variance in individual fencing matches; the role psychology and “action anticipation” plays for skilled fencers; similarities between fencing and poker. Learn more about the show and get transcripts at⁠ ⁠behavior-podcast.com⁠⁠.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices