Whether it’s poker tells or relationship tells or political polarization dynamics, what ties all the episodes of my podcast together is the goal of better understanding other people. Reading people better can help us be more competitive at sports and games, and can help us gain practical advantages in our jobs and in other everyday situations. Understanding others also makes us more empathetic and less judgmental, and that in turn makes us more able to resolve conflicts, achieve win-win solutions, and just generally be happier.
I often focus on the topic of our us-versus-them divides because I think it’s the biggest problem we face, while also being under-examined in mainstream media (and it being under-examined is an understandable result of our polarization). I think my work on this topic is important because it helps a lay audience understand the academic work that’s been done on this subject, and I think if we’re going to escape worst-case scenarios we’ll need a lot more people to understand how polarization works.
To listen to more about why I do this podcast and why I think it’s important, check out
this episode.