People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

Zachary Elwood

This show will help you understand human behavior and psychology so you can better navigate your personal and professional life and better connect with people. The host Zachary Elwood, known for his Reading Poker Tells trilogy of books, talks with a wide range of guests who have unique real-world insights, including: law enforcement professionals, behavior and psychology researchers, sports analysts, visa officers, jury consultants, political researchers, mental health experts, and many more. What drives this show is the idea that truly understanding people requires patience, nuance, and a willingness to question simplistic ideas and assumptions. There are more than 200 episodes. To learn more details, see transcripts, and sign up for updates, go to www.behavior-podcast.com.

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217 episodes
Updated Saturday

Episodes217

Newest first

Feb 19, 2023 · 54 min
An angry divide over zoning in Caroline, New York: a talk with Quaker Rebecca Schillenback
In the small town of Caroline in central New York state, there seems to be a war going on. A large sign in the town reads, "There’s a war in the valley, time to pick a side." The divide is over proposed zoning laws. Rebecca Schillenback is a resident who wrote a letter to the local paper objecting to the war-like us-vs-them rhetoric she sees her neighbors using. I talk to Rebecca about: the nature of this divide and the roots of the emotions; how it relates to our national us-vs-them divides; an
Feb 15, 2023 · 54 min
Improving sexual satisfaction in long-term relationships, with Jessica Maxwell
A talk with psychologist Jessica Maxwell about her research on sexual relationships. We talk about "growth" versus "destiny" views on sex: in other words, whether someone sees sexual satisfaction as something one must work on, or if one sees it as largely an issue of destiny--something that’s either present or it’s not. Other topics include: the role of media in affecting our views on sex; how boredom and lack of novelty can hurt sexual satisfaction; performance-related anxiety; how porn might b
Feb 9, 2023 · 1 hr 3 min
How body language can influence teammates and competitors in sports
A talk with Philip Furley, who has done a lot of research on behavior and psychology in sports. Topics discussed include: how an athlete's body language can influence teammates, opponents, and even judges; behaviors and strategies of penalty kickers and goalkeepers in soccer; some specific behaviors from the recent World Cup; collective displays of team unity (like the "Haka"); the difficulties of finding behavioral patterns in sports; thoughts on making practical use of Furley's research findin
Jan 23, 2023 · 44 min
Why are humans so gullible?, with Brian Dunning, host of the Skeptoid podcast
A talk with Brian Dunning, who you might call a professional skeptic. He has been doing the Skeptoid podcast since 2006, and is the creator of multiple books and video projects aimed at promoting critical thinking and skepticism. We talk about the reasons why we're so often drawn to pseudoscience, bullshit, and no/low-evidence ideas in general. I also get his takes on assorted ideas, such as chiropractic work, acupuncture, UFOs, eye movement desensitization therapy, the placebo effect, and more.
Jan 18, 2023 · 1 hr 1 min
Are hate crimes exaggerated in the U.S.?, with Wilfred Reilly
Wilfred Reilly is a political scientist, professor, and author of the 2019 book Hate Crime Hoax. Topics discussed include: how hate crimes are tracked; why it can be hard to get a clear picture of hate crime numbers; the logic of 'hate crime' as a legal designation; irresponsible media coverage of racism-related issues; the motivations of people who fake hate crimes; distorted perceptions of American hate crimes and racism; how distorted perceptions can amplify polarization; and what it's like w
Dec 10, 2022 · 22 min
About this podcast: why I do it and why I think it's important
This episode is all about the People Who Read People podcast. Topics discussed: the origins and goals of this podcast; my approach to deciding on who to interview and what questions to ask; why I focus on polarization-related topics and why I think that work is important; details on audience numbers and financial stuff.Support the showTo get ad-free episodes, and more, get a premium subscription. To learn more about the show, go to behavior-podcast.com. I'm on Twitter at @apokerplayer. See a sum
Dec 10, 2022 · 1 hr 9 min
Perceptions of antisemitism on the American right and left, with James Kirchick
A talk with journalist James Kirchick about the origins of various types of American antisemitism. Topics discussed include: controversial statements made by Kanye West and Whoopi Goldberg; Donald Trump; Israel; George Soros; Louis Farrakhan; Black Hebrew Israelites; the term "globalist", and more. Support the showTo get ad-free episodes, and more, get a premium subscription. To learn more about the show, go to behavior-podcast.com. I'm on Twitter at @apokerplayer. See a summary of my work.
Nov 20, 2022 · 1 hr 12 min
Is liberal bias an obstacle to American depolarization efforts?, with Guy Burgess
A talk with conflict resolution specialist Guy Burgess, who, along with his wife Heidi Burgess, run the project www.beyondintractability.org. Guy and Heidi wrote a paper in 2022 titled "Applying conflict resolution insights to the hyper‐polarized, society‐wide conflicts threatening liberal democracies." I talk with Guy about: how conflict resolution principles might be applied to U.S. polarization problems; the importance of addressing liberal-side contributions to polarization; the common objec
Nov 18, 2022 · 57 min
Psychological aspects of job recruiting, with Blake Mobley
A talk with Blake Mobley about the business of recruiting: matching job seekers with companies that are hiring. Blake is the co-founder and managing director of recruiting company Keeper Recruiting, which specializes in biotech. Topics discussed include: what the process of recruiting is like; how Keeper goes about learning pertinent details about job seekers; the metrics by which recruiting companies are judged to be successful; the different "core motivators" people can have in their lives and
Nov 10, 2022 · 37 min
My experience dropping out of college due to a psychological breakdown
I was interviewed on Mahima Samraik's podcast Breaking The Facts about my struggles with anxiety and mental issues as a young man, which led to me dropping out of college in the middle of my second year of college. We talk about what that experience was like; recommendations for people dealing with similar problems; and the obstacles that can get in the way of getting help. Support the showTo get ad-free episodes, and more, get a premium subscription. To learn more about the show, go to behavior
Nov 4, 2022 · 57 min
The psychological and experiential roots of madness, with Richard Bentall
A talk with psychologist Richard Bentall, author of the well known book Madness Explained, which examines the psychological causes of the symptoms associated with psychosis, schizophrenia, mania, and other mental issues. Topics we talk about include: the experiences and mental struggles that can lead to psychosis and other mental illness; how theories of mental illness have changed over time; pushback and criticism of psychology-focused explanations of mental illness; aspects of madness that mos
Oct 29, 2022 · 51 min
Reading behavioral "tells" in football, with Larry Hart
A talk with Larry Hart, a football coach at the University of Houston, and the author of the book The Recruit's Playbook. Topics discussed include: common behavioral patterns (tells) that are used to get an edge on opponents and teams; reading the signals that opponent coaches give to players; reading formation patterns; the importance of reviewing game tape; predicting how athletes will perform when one is recruiting them; and more. Support the showTo get ad-free episodes, and more, get a prem
Oct 15, 2022 · 1 hr 16 min
The joys and challenges of studying nonverbal behavior, with Alan Crawley
A talk with nonverbal behavior expert Alan Crawley, also known by his online handle Sin Verba (www.sinverba.com). Topics discussed include: why he became interested in behavior; the challenges of studying behavior; the practical benefits of studying behavior (including connecting better with others); irresponsible "behavior experts" who share bad information; and how to spot bad behavior information. Support the showTo get ad-free episodes, and more, get a premium subscription. To learn more abo
Oct 10, 2022 · 1 hr 4 min
How we react when our sense of meaning is threatened, with Steven Heine
A talk with Steven Heine about how we react to our sense of meaning being threatened. What happens when our mental frameworks of how the world works don’t hold up and things seem chaotic? What happens when our sense of what’s existentially meaningful in our lives is threatened? Topics discussed: Heine et al’s Meaning Maintenance Model; existential crises, including mid-life crises and adolescent angst; how polarization might be related to threats to meaning; positive aspects to our worldviews su
Oct 1, 2022 · 58 min
Is the whole world growing more polarized?, with Andrew O'Donohue
A talk with Andrew O'Donohue, co-author of Democracies Divided: The Global Challenge of Political Polarization. Andrew has studied how societal conflicts play out in many countries, and the harm those conflicts inflict. Topics discussed include: why it is that political polarization is so common a state for humans; how polarization has played out in various countries; countries that can serve as comparisons for America in terms of polarization; the psychological drivers of polarization; the impa
Sep 21, 2022 · 45 min
Are eye movement patterns associated with personality traits?, with Sabrina Hoppe
A talk with Sabrina Hoppe about a 2018 study that showed how eye movements are correlated with personality. That paper was named 'Eye movements during everyday behavior predict personality traits.' We talk about how the study was set up, what the results were, how strong the correlations found were, reasons for why such patterns might exist, possible applications, and more. Support the showTo get ad-free episodes, and more, get a premium subscription. To learn more about the show, go to behavior
Aug 30, 2022 · 1 hr 23 min
Can body language actually be used to detect deception?, with Tim Levine
A talk with communication researcher Tim Levine about nonverbal behavior and deception detection. Tim's stance is that there's no evidence that nonverbal behavior is useful for detecting deception. He's the author of Duped: Truth-Default Theory and the Social Science of Lying and Deception. His work was featured in Malcom Gladwell's book Talking to Strangers.Topics discussed include: what the research says about nonverbal behaviors; why it's so hard to get reliable indicators of deception; commo
Aug 17, 2022 · 53 min
Reading "drug-seeking" patient behavior, with Dr. Casey Grover
A talk with Dr. Casey Grover, addiction specialist and host of the podcast Addiction in Emergency Medicine and Acute Care, about how doctors attempt to determine if a patient is trying to get a drug prescription under false pretenses (e.g., claiming to be in pain to get opioids). Topics discussed: why "drug-seeking behavior" is not a good phrase; what some classic drug-seeking behaviors are and also why they're not very reliable; steps doctors take if they think someone might have a use disorder
Aug 9, 2022 · 51 min
Predicting psychosis and schizophrenia by what words people use, with Neguine Rezaii
This is a reshare of a 2020 talk with psychology researcher Neguine Rezaii. She and her research team used machine learning to find language patterns used by teenagers who were at risk of schizophrenia that were correlated with later schizophrenia diagnosis. The two language patterns found in the subjects' speech were 1) a low semantic density (i.e., low degree of meaning), and 2) speech related to sound or voices. Support the showTo get ad-free episodes, and more, get a premium subscription. To
Jul 21, 2022 · 1 hr 23 min
Reading and predicting jury behavior, with Christina Marinakis
A reshare of a 2018 talk with jury specialist Christina Marinakis about how she makes use of human psychology and human behavior in her jury consultancy work. Topics discussed: jury selection procedures; what jury consultants do; the relative importance of jury selection compared to the strength of the case; clues to potential jurors' beliefs and future behaviors from their body language, verbal answers, clothes, and more. Support the showTo get ad-free episodes, and more, get a premium subscrip

People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

An angry divide over zoning in Caroline, New York: a talk with Quaker Rebecca Schillenback

Improving sexual satisfaction in long-term relationships, with Jessica Maxwell

How body language can influence teammates and competitors in sports

Why are humans so gullible?, with Brian Dunning, host of the Skeptoid podcast

Are hate crimes exaggerated in the U.S.?, with Wilfred Reilly

About this podcast: why I do it and why I think it's important

Perceptions of antisemitism on the American right and left, with James Kirchick

Is liberal bias an obstacle to American depolarization efforts?, with Guy Burgess

Psychological aspects of job recruiting, with Blake Mobley

My experience dropping out of college due to a psychological breakdown

The psychological and experiential roots of madness, with Richard Bentall

Reading behavioral "tells" in football, with Larry Hart

The joys and challenges of studying nonverbal behavior, with Alan Crawley

How we react when our sense of meaning is threatened, with Steven Heine

Is the whole world growing more polarized?, with Andrew O'Donohue

Are eye movement patterns associated with personality traits?, with Sabrina Hoppe

Can body language actually be used to detect deception?, with Tim Levine

Reading "drug-seeking" patient behavior, with Dr. Casey Grover

Predicting psychosis and schizophrenia by what words people use, with Neguine Rezaii

Reading and predicting jury behavior, with Christina Marinakis