The polarization of Elon Musk: His high-contempt approach to political disagreement

The polarization of Elon Musk: His high-contempt approach to political disagreement

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

Episoder(205)

Gina Assaf, who has "long haul" covid, discusses her research on it

Gina Assaf, who has "long haul" covid, discusses her research on it

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 initi...

23 Feb 202122min

Why hasn't crowdsourcing of medical data from public disrupted healthcare?, with Jamie Heywood

Why hasn't crowdsourcing of medical data from public disrupted healthcare?, with Jamie Heywood

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 researc...

5 Feb 20211h 3min

Reading online dating profiles (part 2), with Scott

Reading online dating profiles (part 2), with Scott

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 f...

26 Jan 202132min

Reading online dating profiles (part 1), with Celia

Reading online dating profiles (part 1), with Celia

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...

20 Jan 202128min

How does not believing in free will affect your life?, with physicist Daniel Whiteson

How does not believing in free will affect your life?, with physicist Daniel Whiteson

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 I...

9 Jan 202158min

What it's like having aphantasia (no mental imagery): a talk with Zach Elwood

What it's like having aphantasia (no mental imagery): a talk with Zach Elwood

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,...

10 Des 202056min

The role of insults and hurt feelings in political conflicts and wars, with Karina Korostelina

The role of insults and hurt feelings in political conflicts and wars, with Karina Korostelina

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 in...

25 Nov 202033min

Why does democracy often fall apart?, with Thomas Carothers

Why does democracy often fall apart?, with Thomas Carothers

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 ...

13 Nov 202054min

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