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This is Econ Talk, Conversations for the Curious. Today's guest is Adam Mastriani of Shalem College in Jerusalem and Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He was first here in February of 2023 discussing peer review and the academic kitchen. Our topic for today is an essay you wrote for your sub-stack with the lovely title, You Can't Reach the Brain Through the Ears.

Psychologist and writer Adam Mastroianni says our minds are like the keep of a castle protecting our deepest held values and beliefs from even the most skilled attacks. The only problem with this design for self-preservation is that it also can keep out wisdom that might be both useful and true. Mastroianni's summary of the problem is "you can't reach the brain through the ears." Listen as Mastroianni talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the implication of this view of mind for teaching, learning, and our daily interactions with the people around us.