Politics on the Couch

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.