The psychology of how we react when our sense of meaning is threatened
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 r...
15 Jun 20251h 5min
A Bitcoin for news? Could Aemula.com revolutionize journalism and reduce polarization?
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 platf...
11 Jun 20251h 2min
Can eye direction reveal a lie? Or is that psychology bullshit? | with Tim Levine
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 lef...
27 Mai 202559min
Why some see liberals as the undemocratic ones: A talk about democracy and polarization with Elizabeth Doll
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 a...
14 Apr 20251h 26min
On hypnosis and mind control: separating psychology fact from fiction | with Martin S. Taylor
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 ...
31 Mar 20251h 6min
What happened to Keith Olbermann? A look at his descent.
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 f...
12 Feb 20251h 24min
Mirror selfies, duck faces, and party pics: The psychology of dating app communication
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 pict...
7 Feb 202557min
Is the left-right political spectrum concept a false illusion? A talk with Hyrum Lewis
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 Politi...
24 Jan 202557min
