People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

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.)Support the showTo 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.

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.Support the showTo 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.

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. Support the showTo 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.

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. Support the showTo 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.

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. Support the showTo 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.

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. Support the showTo 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.

In this insightful discussion, Vanessa Otero, creator of the Media Bias Chart and founder of Ad Fontes Media, shares her expertise on media bias and its link to political polarization. She explains her team’s rigorous methods to assess media reliability and the challenges of defining bias in today's climate. Vanessa also highlights how misinformation is perceived as liberal-leaning and addresses the need for empathetic dialogue amid rising political tensions. Ultimately, they explore how reducing bias could lead to a more understanding society.

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."Support the showTo 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.

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.  Support the showTo 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.

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. Support the showTo 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.