evidence-based wisdom

ON WISDOM Podcast Episode 18: The End of the World is Nigh – Polarised Tribes, Passionate Words, and the Partisan Brain (with Jay Van Bavel)

Posted on July 1, 2019

The On Wisdom podcast features a social-cognitive scientist in Toronto and an educator in London discussing the latest empirical science regarding the nature of wisdom. Igor Grossmann runs the Wisdom & Culture Lab at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Charles Cassidy runs the Evidence-Based Wisdom project in London, UK. The podcast thrives on a diet of freewheeling conversation on wisdom and decision-making, and includes regular guests spots with leading behavioural scientists from the field of wisdom research and beyond. Welcome to The On Wisdom Podcast.

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ABOUT THIS EPISODE

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How did politics get so damn polarised?

Do we even care about accuracy at all anymore?

And if our brains are wired for partisanship, might a brain-based model show us a way out of this unholy mess?

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New York University’s Jay Van Bavel joins Igor and Charles to discuss political polarisation, the partisan brain, the inexorable rise of superheroes in dark times, the misperceptions of polarisation levels, and how to reach out to other tribes. Igor highlights the partisanship-transcending benefits of a Watchmen-style alien invasion, Jay proposes the judicious use of ‘off-ramps’ when engaging with loved-ones from across the political divide, and Charles learns that even the abstract purity of Mathematics is not immune from the tentacles of partisanship when guns are involved.

Welcome to Episode 18.

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Click here to listen to ‘Episode 18: The End of the World is Nigh: Polarised Tribes, Passionate Words, and the Partisan Brain (with Jay Van Bavel)’ in full

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Click here to visit the On Wisdom Podcast site.

Click here to get to the podcast through iTunes.

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If you have any thoughts about the On Wisdom podcast, please get in touch.

You can get in contact at charles@evidencebasedwisdom.com, via the about page or find me on twitter @EBasedwisdom. You can also contact us through the On Wisdom site here or find us on twitter @onwisdompodcast.