The Social-Engineer Podcast

Lauren Gawne, a Senior Lecturer in linguistics at La Trobe University, shares her fascinating insights into the world of gestures and communication. She discusses how cultural variations can lead to misinterpretations, highlighted by amusing anecdotes of cross-cultural misunderstandings. Gawne emphasizes the innate human tendency to gesture, even among blind individuals, and explores the interplay between gestures and emojis in conveying emotions. Her research reveals how awareness of these nuances can transform our understanding in various communication contexts.

Welcome to the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Doctor Is In Series – where we will discuss understandings and developments in the field of psychology.   In today’s episode, Chris and Abbie delve into the fascinating world of intuition and gut feelings. They explore whether these instincts are rooted in biology or shaped by past experiences and discuss the science behind how our brains process environmental cues to make quick decisions. [Sept 1, 2025]   00:00 - Intro 00:44 - Dr. Abbie Maroño Intro 01:02 - Intro Links -          Social-Engineer.com - http://www.social-engineer.com/ -          Managed Voice Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/ -          Managed Email Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/ -          Adversarial Simulations - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/ -          Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb -          CLUTCH - http://www.pro-rock.com/ -          innocentlivesfoundation.org - http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/                                 02:23 - New Book Announcement -          Lilly the Brave Lion - Dr. Abbie Maroño 03:34 - The Topic of the Day: All About Intuition 06:04 - Is Intuition Always Right? 10:39 - Training Over Instinct 13:56 - Teaching Autonomy 16:39 - Facing Hard Truths 20:19 - Lack of Self Trust 24:06 - Intuition or Trauma Response? 26:16 - Wrap Up & Outro -          www.social-engineer.com -          www.innocentlivesfoundation.org   Find us online: -          LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dr-abbie-maroño-phd -          Instagram: @DoctorAbbieofficial -          LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christopherhadnagy     References: American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Intuition. In APA Dictionary of Psychology. Retrieved March 29, 2025, from https://dictionary.apa.org/intuition   Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., & Damasio, A. R. (1997). Deciding advantageously before knowing the advantageous strategy. Science, 275(5304), 1293–1295. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.275.5304.1293   Dane, E., & Pratt, M. G. (2007). Exploring intuition and its role in managerial decision making. Academy of Management Review, 32(1), 33–54. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.23463682   Gigerenzer, G. (2007). Gut feelings: The intelligence of the unconscious. Viking.   Hodgkinson, G. P., Langan-Fox, J., & Sadler-Smith, E. (2008). Intuition: A fundamental bridging construct in the behavioral sciences. British Journal of Psychology, 99(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1348/000712607X216666   Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.   Lieberman, M. D. (2000). Intuition: A social cognitive neuroscience approach. Psychological Bulletin, 126(1), 109–137. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.1.109   Sadler-Smith, E., & Shefy, E. (2004). The intuitive executive: Understanding and applying 'gut feel' in decision-making. Academy of Management Executive, 18(4), 76–91. https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.2004.15268692

Bobby Knost, the Business Manager of Iron Workers Local Union 808 in Central Florida, shares his extensive experience as a union iron worker since 1985. He discusses the importance of stable employment in today’s economy and highlights the advantages of joining the Ironworkers Union. Bobby reveals exciting news about a new apprentice training facility aimed at providing updated resources and fostering community partnerships. He encourages people from diverse backgrounds to explore opportunities in the trades, emphasizing job satisfaction and high demand.

Today on the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Security Awareness Series, Chris is joined by Jowan Joseph. Chris and Jowan discuss the importance of effective communication, role adaptation, and the psychological aspects of crisis situations. The discussion emphasizes the need for proactive preparedness and building trust within teams to navigate challenges effectively.  [Aug 18, 2025]   00:00 - Intro 00:32 - Jowan Joseph Intro 00:44 - New Format 01:24 - Intro Links: -          Social-Engineer.com - http://www.social-engineer.com/ -          Managed Voice Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/ -          Managed Email Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/ -          Adversarial Simulations - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/ -          Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb -          CLUTCH - http://www.pro-rock.com/ -          innocentlivesfoundation.org - http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/                                                03:08 - Tabletop...Child's Play 04:36 - Phase One: Assigning Roles 07:11 - Going Rogue 08:05 - Measuring Tone 09:22 - A Few More Twists 09:57 - Some Heads Are Gonna Roll 10:41 - Communication Breakdown 12:17 - Post Mortem                                                      13:44 - Alignment at Scale 14:57 - Divide and Conquer... Together 17:31 - Proactive Instead of Reactive 20:21 - The Communication Gap 21:22 - Trust Factor 22:15 - Wrap Up & Outro -          www.social-engineer.com -          www.innocentlivesfoundation.org

Today we are joined by Shang Saavedra, the Founder and CEO of Save My Cents, an influential personal-finance website and social-media platform. Saavedra teaches readers the key habits and behaviors needed to become less fearful of money and live life with joy. Saavedra was named one of the "25 Most Influential New Voices of Money" by TIME/NextAdvisor in 2022 and is an Expert Reviewer and Contributor at CNET Money. She received her bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard and her MBA from the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business. Saavedra and her husband finished saving for their retirement by the age of 31 and now live a work-optional life in Southern California with their two boys and two cats. [Aug 11, 2025]   00:00 - Intro 00:37 - Intro Links -          Social-Engineer.com - http://www.social-engineer.com/ -          Managed Voice Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/ -          Managed Email Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/ -          Adversarial Simulations - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/ -          Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb -          CLUTCH - http://www.pro-rock.com/ -          innocentlivesfoundation.org - http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/                                01:27 - Shang Saavedra Intro 02:23 - Motivation for Success 04:03 - Save My Cents 07:29 - The Feelings Mutual 10:07 - It's Emotional 12:01 - Root Causes of Bad Money Habits 13:02 - Feast or Famine 13:45 - Adverse Events 15:26 - Scarce Immigrant 17:08 - Mind Over (Money) Matters 21:05 - Your Worth, More 24:07 - Book Recommendations -          The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg 25:06 - Mentors -          Therapist 25:59 - Shang Saavedra Online -          Website: https://savemycents.com/ -          Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savemycents/ -          YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@savemycents -          Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216282934-wealth-is-a-mindset -          Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Mindset-Change-Your-Money/dp/B0D94QCZL6/ -          Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/wealth-is-a-mindset/21633491 26:42 - Parting Advice 27:04 - Guest Wrap Up & Outro -          www.social-engineer.com -          www.innocentlivesfoundation.org

Welcome to the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Doctor Is In Series – where we will discuss understandings and developments in the field of psychology.   In today’s episode, Chris and Abbie explore the complexities of attraction and the concept of love at first sight. They discuss the biochemical responses associated with attraction, the importance of understanding cognitive biases, and the role of familiarity in relationships. [Aug 4, 2025]   00:00 - Intro 00:35 - Dr. Abbie Maroño Intro 01:15 - Intro Links -          Social-Engineer.com - http://www.social-engineer.com/ -          Managed Voice Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/ -          Managed Email Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/ -          Adversarial Simulations - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/ -          Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb -          CLUTCH - http://www.pro-rock.com/ -          innocentlivesfoundation.org - http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/                                 03:14 - The Topic of the Day: Love at First Sight 03:22 - Pulling Apart the Fairy Tale 04:26 - Knowledge is Power 05:49 - Why Can't This Be Love? 07:12 - More Than a Feeling 09:28 - May Impair Your Ability 10:59 - The Rickety Bridge Study 13:20 - Head or Heart? 15:04 - Cognitive Biases 16:16 - The Halo Effect 17:19 - Prototypical Matching 18:51 - I Want You to Want Me 21:54 - Retrospective Bias 23:34 - Feels Like Home 28:44 - Keep One Eye Open 30:32 - A Responsibility to Self-Awareness 32:53 - Wrap Up 33:11 - Next Month: Intuition 33:31 - Outro -          www.social-engineer.com -          www.innocentlivesfoundation.org   Find us online: -          LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dr-abbie-maroño-phd -          Instagram: @DoctorAbbieofficial -          LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christopherhadnagy     References: Dutton, D. G., & Aron, A. P. (1974). Some evidence for heightened sexual attraction under conditions of high anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30(4), 510–517. Fisher, H. E., Aron, A., & Brown, L. L. (2006). Romantic love: A mammalian brain system for mate choice. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 361(1476), 2173–2186. Fletcher, G. J. O., Simpson, J. A., & Thomas, G. (2000). The measurement of perceived relationship quality components: A confirmatory factor analytic approach. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26(3), 340–354. Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3), 511–524. Marazziti, D., & Canale, D. (2004). Hormonal changes when falling in love. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 29(7), 931–936.  Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). The halo effect: Evidence for unconscious alteration of judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(4), 250–256. Sprecher, S., & Metts, S. (1989). Development of the "Romantic Beliefs Scale" and examination of the effects of gender and gender-role orientation. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 6(4), 387–411. Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological Review, 93(2), 119–135. Zeki, S. (2007). The neurobiology of love. FEBS Letters, 581(14), 2575–2579. Zsok, F., Haucke, M., De Wit, C., & Barelds, D. P. (2017). What kind of love is love at first sight? An empirical investigation. Personal Relationships, 24(4), 869–885.

Welcome to the Social-Engineer Podcast: The 4th Monday Series with Chris Hadnagy and Mike Holfeld. Chris and Mike will be covering cutting edge global news to help people remain safe, secure and knowledgeable in a world where it is hard to know what is real and what is fake news.   Today Chris and Mike are joined by Congressman Darren Soto. Darren Soto is the representative for Florida’s Ninth Congressional District, covering Osceola and parts of Orange and Polk Counties. He currently serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Natural Resources. Additionally, Darren is the Deputy Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and a proud member of the New Democrat Coalition, Future Forum Caucus, Problem Solvers Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus, LGBTQ Equality Caucus, and others. [July 28, 2025]   00:00 - Intro 00:34 - Mike Holfeld Intro 01:32 - Today's Guest: Rep. Darren Soto 02:55 - The Shield Act 06:24 - The Take It Down Act 08:34 - A Duty of Care 12:03 - A Cat and Mouse Chase 13:12 - Violating Terms of Service 14:55 - Bad Nation States 16:02 - The Pendulum Swings 17:34 - Adjusting to the Evolution 19:08 - The SunPass Scam 20:07 - Protecting Our Seniors 22:53 - Millions a Second 24:41 - It's About Disclosure 26:40 - A Vulnerable Future 28:15 - Find Rep. Darren Soto Online -          https://soto.house.gov/ 29:53 - Wrap Up 30:27 - Next Month: Bobby Knost 31:08 - Outro -          www.social-engineer.com -          www.innocentlivesfoundation.org   Find us online: -          Chris Hadnagy -          Twitter: @humanhacker -          LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christopherhadnagy

Today on the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Security Awareness Series, Chris is joined by Trent Waterhouse. Trent is the CMO of GlobalMeet, a leading virtual event technology company with a scalable, flexible, and secure hybrid event streaming platform built and supported by experienced event experts. Trent has a proven track record of driving growth and innovation with 35 years of expertise leveraging a field sales marketing model that aligns sales, marketing, and R&D to think like a customer, act like a partner, and measure success through customer satisfaction and net promoters. Built for growth, Trent’s unique blend of technology understanding and B2B marketing skills have been proven to help companies grow revenue profitably, improve customer experiences, build new partnerships, and expand opportunity pipelines. [July 21, 2025]   00:00 - Intro 00:50 - Intro Links: -          Social-Engineer.com - http://www.social-engineer.com/ -          Managed Voice Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/ -          Managed Email Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/ -          Adversarial Simulations - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/ -          Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb -          CLUTCH - http://www.pro-rock.com/ -          innocentlivesfoundation.org - http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/                                                02:30 - Trent Waterhouse Intro 03:11 - Starting Out Pre-Video 04:53 - A Brave New World 08:07 - Going Public 10:21 - Rise of the DeepFakes 13:03 - Video Watermarking 15:23 - A Simple Warning Will Do 19:11 - Staying Up to Date 21:22 - Insider Threat 23:42 - Find Trent Waterhouse Online    -          Website: https://www.globalmeet.com/ -          Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/globalmeet/ -          LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trentonwaterhouse/ 24:44 - Book Recommendations -          Pattern Breakers - Mike Maples, Jr, Peter Ziebelman 27:16 - Wrap Up & Outro -          www.social-engineer.com -          www.innocentlivesfoundation.org

Today we are joined by Doug Thorpe. Doug is an experienced leadership coach, business advisor, and speaker who focuses on helping small to mid-size business owners and executives develop their leadership capabilities. With decades of experience in banking, finance, and business management, Thorpe transitioned to coaching and advisory services to help others navigate their professional growth journeys. [July 14, 2025]   00:00 - Intro 00:16 - Intro Links -          Social-Engineer.com - http://www.social-engineer.com/ -          Managed Voice Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/ -          Managed Email Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/ -          Adversarial Simulations - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/ -          Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb -          CLUTCH - http://www.pro-rock.com/ -          innocentlivesfoundation.org - http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/                                01:35 - Doug Thorpe Intro 02:20 - Consulting to Coaching 04:18 - Student of Leadership 07:40 - A Hunger to Serve 09:12 - Respond Rather Than React 12:11 - Controlling an Emotional Response 17:06 - Choosing the Right Club 22:43 - Thinking About Legacy 25:57 - Find Doug Thorpe Online -          Website:  https://dougthorpe.com/ -          LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougthorpe/ -          Instagram: https://instagram.com/dougthorpe_com -          Business Website: https://headwayexec.com -          YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dougthorpe 26:54 - Mentors 30:17 - Book Recommendations -          Lincoln on Leadership - Donald T. Phillips 32:06 - Guest Wrap Up & Outro -          www.social-engineer.com -          www.innocentlivesfoundation.org

Welcome to the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Doctor Is In Series – where we will discuss understandings and developments in the field of psychology.   In today’s episode, Chris and Abbie are joined by Dr. Paul J Zak. Dr. Zak is in the top 0.3% of most cited scientists. For over two decades Paul’s research has extended the boundaries of behavioral neuroscience and that has taken him from the Pentagon to Fortune 500 boardrooms to the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. Besides his academic appointment, he is a 4-time tech entrepreneur.   In 2017 he founded Immersion Neuroscience, a software platform that allows anyone to measure what the brain loves in real-time, that is used to improve outcomes in entertainment, education, advertising, and emotional health. He is a regular TED speaker and has appeared on many news programs and TV Shows. His newest book is The Little Book of Happiness and he’s here today to discuss more about that. [July 7, 2025]   00:00 - Intro 00:23 - Dr. Abbie Maroño Intro  01:11 - Dr. Paul Zak Intro 02:06 - The Little Book of Happiness -          pauljzak.com/books 04:52 - High-Value Experience 06:35 - Neuroscience x Stoicism 08:50 - We Are Interdependent 14:10 - We Can Adapt 16:41 - Single Rider Experience 21:29 - Out of the Comfort Zone 23:30 - It's the People 26:46 - The Hotel Hack 32:00 - Bring the Fun! 34:11 - Absorbing the Vibe 35:18 - We Don't Have to Suffer Alone 37:22 - Find Dr. Zak Online -          Website: getimmersion.com -          App: your6.com -          Email: paul@pauljzak.com                           37:47 - Wrap Up 38:35 - Next Month: Love at First Sight 39:10 - Outro -          www.social-engineer.com -          www.innocentlivesfoundation.org   Find us online: -          LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dr-abbie-maroño-phd -          Instagram: @DoctorAbbieofficial -          LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christopherhadnagy