Politics on the Couch

In this bonus episode, podcast host Rafael Behr turns to his old friend and New York Times columnist Ben Smith for analysis of the state of US politics a week before the biggest election in living memory, and for reassurance that, maybe, everything is gonna be alright. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rafael Behr speaks to social anthropologist Emma Crewe about parliament; what makes MPs tick, the psychological mechanisms they need to function in one of the country's weirdest workplaces - and their relationship with journalists. Professor Crewe, of SOAS, University of London, is the only anthropologist to have been based inside the Palace of Westminster, having spent years embedded in both the Lords and the Commons, enjoying uniquely privileged access to the inner workings of the legislature. You can read more about her research on parliaments and other topics at her Global Research Network on People and Parliaments website: www.grnpp.org or on her personal site www.emmacrewe.comRoutledge will be publishing her latest book - 'An Anthropology of Parliaments: entanglements in democratic politics' in 2021.This podcast is hosted by https://wwww.zencast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Rafael Behr speaks to celebrated Irish author and journalist Fintan O'Toole about their shared fascination with nationalism and the myths of foreign oppression that fired a very English revolution. Also featuring digressions on the Scottish independence movement, Irish attitudes to Brexit and the Italian Job.Fintan O'Toole is a historian, critic and cultural commentator; author of many books that range across questions of culture, identity, nationhood in Ireland and Britain. He is one of Ireland's most prominent and eminent political writers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Rafael Behr talks to Tim Harford, BBC Radio 4's presenter of More or Less and FT columist, about his new book: How To Make The World Add Up. Tim Harford writes the Undercover Economist column for the FT and was previously an economics leader writer for the FT. He is also the author of seven books, including the million-selling, The Undercover Economist and before that, Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy. He is also a regular presenter for BBC radio.He was made an OBE in the 2019 new year honours list “for services to improving economic understanding.Link to buy the book: www.hive.co.uk/Product/Tim-Harford/How-to-Make-the-World-Add-Up--Ten-Rules-for-Thinking-Diff/25138829) If you have a questions, comments or suggestions for Rafael about the podcast please email potc@larchmontfilms.com If you enjoy this podcast do please like, share and review it. Phil (the producer)This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Rafael Behr looks ahead to a new political season that promises to be like none in recent memory and reflects on a lost summer of coronavirus denial, with some digressions on party conferences, Brexit and Cliff Richard.This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Rafael Behr and Helen Lewis discuss social media's corrosive effect on politics and public discourse, and how we can all respond.Helen Lewis is a staff writer at the Atlantic, was deputy editor at the New Statesman, presents BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour, and is a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's News Quiz. She's written a book about the history of feminism, is ambivalent towards Twitter but likes the Sopranos and embroidery. Helen's new book - (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/16/difficult-women-history-of-feminism-11-fights-helen-lewis-review)Helen's newsletter - http://helenlewis.substack.comHelen's writing in the Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/author/helen-lewisHelen's lecture on the failure's of political journalism - https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/video/helen-lewis-failures-political-journalismThis podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Rafael Behr talks to Bobby Duffy from The Policy Institute at King's College London about trust in the government during the Coronavirus pandemic and how our identities and cognitive biases affect who we trust in politics. Topics discussed in order1-4 Fall-out from Dominic Cummings;Public health messaging during lock-down;Stats coronavirus tests it says it’s been carrying out;Bobby Duffy conversation starts5-10King's College new report;support for the government coming out of the lock-down;How identities influence how we view the government's response to the pandemic;Growth of tribal identities;Conflict extension theory;Potential for a culture war like the US? 10.30Connections between leave/remain tribes and trust in how govt. is dealing with Coronavirus;National pride;Confirmation bias How do political identity and self-preservation interact? 14How good are we at assessing risk?Emotional innumeracy17.40Good that we overestimate risk in such scenarios?System 1 v System 2 thinkingDo politicians exploit our ‘faulty thinking’?21Do we understand reality more or less than the 1940s? 22 Deliberative democracy;What is it?Is it underused?24Eire using DD before their 2018 abortion referendum;Is context important?29 Has trust in politicians declined recently?Is it rational not to trust politicians? 31Do we suffer from rosy retrospection?Does identity come before people’s politics?36Progressives, facts and trust;Moral outlook and who we trustHow Trump communicates trust via a distorted view of reality.40How will we look back at our unity at the start of the lock-down?room for optimism?optimism/uncertainty about how we come out of Coronavirus;generational conflict?48 In conclusion49End https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/declining-confidence-in-governments-covid-responsePerils of Perception Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bonus edition Rafael Behr takes a break from his lock-down holiday to ask - what is 'political cut-through' and why Dominic Cummings appears to have cut so deep into the national conversation? In the midst of a pandemic, has a political mover renowned for capturing the mood of nation misjudged it this time? NB This episode was recorded on the morning of 26 May before any post-conference opinion polls. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Rafael Behr talks to The Lord John Alderdice about his incredible life as a politician, psychiatrist and psychotherapist.They discuss how his formative years living in Northern Ireland influenced his decision to train as a psychiatrist and then psychotherapist; how this then informed his whole approach to politics and his political philosophy; and how it also helped him as a key negotiator in the Good Friday Agreement talks. He also gives some advice to any intolerant liberal progressives out there!If you're interested in reading more about him and his work - this link will prove helpful.https://lordalderdice.com/publications Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week our host Rafael Behr is in conversation with Dr Leor Zmigrod about how cognitive science can help us understand how political identities are formed, and how people's ideological affiliations might affect how they respond to a national crisis.If you want to delve further into the topic Reader-friendly essaysZmigrod, L. (2019). The partisan brain: cognitive study suggests people on the left and right are more similar than they think. https://theconversation.com/the-partisan-brain-cognitive-study-suggests-people-on-the-left-and-right-are-more-similar-than-they-think-123578Zmigrod, L. (2018). Brexit: how cognitive psychology helps us make sense of the vote. https://theconversation.com/brexit-how-cognitive-psychology-helps-us-make-sense-of-the-vote-95031Relevant academic papersZmigrod, L. (2020). The Role of Cognitive Rigidity in Political Ideologies: Theory, Evidence, and Future Directions. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 34, 34-39. See paper here.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.10.016Zmigrod, L., Ebert, T., Götz, F. M., & Rentfrow, J. (2020). The Psychological and Socio-political Consequences of Infectious Diseases. Retrieved from psyarxiv.com/84qcmTybur, J. M., Inbar, Y., Aarøe, L., Barclay, P., Barlow, F. K., De Barra, M., ... & Consedine, N. S. (2016). Parasite stress and pathogen avoidance relate to distinct dimensions of political ideology across 30 nations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(44), 12408-12413 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607398113Murray, D. R., Schaller, M., & Suedfeld, P. (2013). Pathogens and politics: Further evidence that parasite prevalence predicts authoritarianism. PloS One, 8(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062275Kim, H. S., Sherman, D. K., & Updegraff, J. A. (2016). Fear of Ebola: The influence of collectivism on xenophobic threat responses. Psychological Science, 27(7), 935-944. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616642596 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.