In this episode we explore what narcissism is (and what is most-definitely is not). There is a form of narcissism which has been, up until now, confused with psychopathy. But a new paper, the result of years of experiments, suggests narcissists are not psychopaths, and psychopaths are not narcissists.In the psychological literature, narcissism comes in two varieties. Grandiose narcissists tend to really, truly love themselves and heavily manipulate their social environment for personal gain. Vulnerable narcissists don’t love themselves, not their true selves. Vulnerable narcissists love their image, and they are highly aware of the fact that it is an image and work very hard to prevent anyone else realizing that. According to the research explored in this episode, there is no such thing as a grandiose narcissist – that’s just another way to describe a psychopath.Vulnerable narcissists like Don Draper in Mad Men cope with their insecurity by donning a mask, and then spend most of their lives protecting that mask out of a fear of what will happen if people ever see what it hides.How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehomeShow Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.comNewsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.comNarcissism through the lens of performative self-elevation

In this episode we sit down with Jeremy Utley of the Stanford d.school to discuss his new book, Ideaflow, which is all about how to create a practice for producing and trading ideas in massive quantities – whether in an organization or as an individual entrepreneur or content-creator – along with a system for sorting the garbage from the gold. We discuss, among many other things, why it is important to focus on input more than output, how to stop obsessing over quality while generating quantity, and peanut butter pumps.Jeremy Utley: https://www.jeremyutley.designIdeaflow: https://www.ideaflow.designStanford d.school: https://dschool.stanford.eduHow Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehomeShow Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.comNewsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.comJeremy Utley’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremyutleyDavid McRaney’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmcraneyYANSS Twitter: https://twitter.com/notsmartblogBerkeley Alembic Event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-minds-change-with-david-mcraney-tickets-443811591417

Here’s a special bonus episode featuring my recent conversation with Tim Harford, author, economic journalist, and host of the Cautionary Tales podcast. We discussed a story from my new book, How Minds Change, about a conspiracy theorist who was certain 9/11 was an inside job until he actually visited Ground Zero to meet architects, engineers and the relatives of the dead. Tim and I reflect on what he can teach us about those who hold strong beliefs even in the face of damning, contrary evidence and why persuasion, especially if attempted poorly, isn't always the right answer. • Hear more from Cautionary Tales at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/ctsmart• How Minds Change: https://www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome 

I recently sat down for a live event and Q&A with the great Annie Duke to discuss her new book, Quit: The power of knowing when to walk away. This episode is the audio from that event. Quit is all about how to develop a very particular skill: how to train your brain to make it easier to know which goals and plans are worth sticking to and which are not. - Toronto Live Event: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/how-minds-change-a-conversation-lab-with-david-mcraney-misha-glouberman-tickets-410047431907- How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome- Show Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.com- Newsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.com- Annie Duke's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnieDuke  

In this episode we sit down with NYU psychologist Jay Van Bavel who is very good at Twitter. His feed is always overflowing with the absolute latest and greatest research from psychology with links to papers as they come out – on many of the topics we so often explore on this podcast – and in this episode we discuss ten of those tweets and the research he’s shared.Toronto Live Event: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/how-minds-change-a-conversation-lab-with-david-mcraney-misha-glouberman-tickets-410047431907How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehomeShow Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.comNewsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.comJay Van Bavel’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayvanbavel

In this episode we sit down with Douglas Rushkoff, a media scholar, journalist, and professor of digital economics who has a new fire in his belly when it comes to the world of billionaire preppers, which comes across in his new book Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires – inspired by his invitation to consult a group of the world’s richest people on how to spend their money now to survive an apocalypse they fear is coming within their lifetimes.Live Event at Caveat: https://caveat.nyc/event/how-minds-change-9-20-2022How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehomeShow Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.comNewsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.comDouglas Rushkoff's Website: https://rushkoff.com

In this episode we welcome back author Will Storr whose new book, The Status Game, feels like required reading for anyone confused, curious, or worried about how politics, cults, conspiracy theories communities, social media, religious fundamentalism, polarization, and extremism are affecting us - everywhere, on and offline, across cultures, and across the world.What is The Status Game? It’s our primate propensity to perpetually pursue points that will provide a higher level of regard among the people who can (if we provoked such a response) take those points away. And deeper still, it’s the propensity to, once we find a group of people who regularly give us those points, care about what they think more than just about anything else.In the interview, we discuss our inescapable obsession with reputation and why we are deeply motivated to avoid losing this game through the fear of shame, ostracism, embarrassment, and humiliation while also deeply motivated to win this game by earning what will provide pride, fame, adoration, respect, and status.Live Event at Caveat: https://caveat.nyc/event/how-minds-change-9-20-2022How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehomeShow Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.comNewsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.comWill Storr’s Website: https://willstorr.comPatreon: http://patreon.com/youarenotsosmart

When we talk about conspiracy theories we tend to focus on what people believe instead of why, and, more importantly, why they believe those things and not other things. In this episode, we sit down with two psychologists working to change that, and in addition, change the term itself from conspiracy theory to conspiracy narrative, which more accurately describes what makes any one conspiracy appealing enough to form a community around it and in rare cases result in collective action. How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome Show Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.com  Newsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.com Patreon: http://patreon.com/youarenotsosmart

Our guest in this episode is the behavioral scientist Jon Levy who wrote a book titled You’re Invited, the Art and Science of Cultivating influence. The book details how Jon was able to convince groups of Nobel Laureates, Olympians, celebrities, Fortune 500 executives, and even a princess to not only give him advice, but cook him dinner, wash his dishes, sweep his floors, and then thank him for the experience.  How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome Contest: https://sites.prh.com/hmc-giveaway  Show Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.com  Newsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.com Jon Levy's Website: https://www.jonlevytlb.com  Patreon: http://patreon.com/youarenotsosmart

In this episode we sit down with Jennifer Shahade, a two-time U.S. Women’s Chess Champion, author, speaker, and professional poker player whose new book, Chess Queens, is the true story of the greatest female players of all time interwoven with her own experiences as a chess champion. How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome Contest: https://sites.prh.com/hmc-giveaway  Show Notes: www.youarenotsosmart.com  Newsletter: https://davidmcraney.substack.com Jennifer Shahade’s Website: https://jennifershahade.com  Patreon: http://patreon.com/youarenotsosmart