This is a podcast aimed at better understanding other people and better understanding ourselves.
I’m Zachary Elwood. On this podcast, I talk to people from a wide range of professions and backgrounds about behavior and psychology.
Ready to jump in? Here are some popular episode compilations:
- Crime & investigation-related
- Politics-related
- Mental health-related
- Sports & games-related
- Behavior bullshit
Here are some of my my favorites.
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.
Can trained investigators really tell when someone is lying based on nonverbal reads? And if not, what should they be focusing on instead? I talk with Maria Hartwig, a leading researcher on deception and interviewing, and Christian Cory, a former homicide detective and investigations commander, about the growing movement toward science-based interviewing. They are Co-Directors at the Aletheia Project (project-aletheia.org), which brings together researchers and law enforcement practitioners to improve interview techniques. We discuss their view that traditional interrogation methods are built around a misguided “confession obsession,” why bad ideas and exaggerated claims about body language and lie detection are so persistent and popular, and how techniques like the Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) can help investigators gather more reliable information. We discuss the work of Paul Ekman and Joe Navarro, what the science really says about micro-expressions, and we explore why people seem so drawn to false, exaggerated ideas about reading behavior.
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Find this podcast on:
Popular Episodes
- Reading behavior in The Traitors and other social deduction games, with Zack Davies
- Investigative tips from top OSINT expert Craig Silverman
- Cards Against Humanity co-creator David Pinsof’s theories on status-seeking, humor, and more
- From behavior bullshit to behavior research, with Vincent Denault
- Gary Noesner, FBI negotiator at Waco, on de-escalation and reading people
- The psychology of “Bad Vegan”: Sarma Melngailis on narcissistic manipulation methods, and the pain she lives with
- Reading and predicting jury behavior, with Christina Marinakis
- Relationship “tells”, with Brandi Fink
- Reading poker tells, with poker pro Dara O’Kearney
- Understanding and coping with anxiety, with editor of The Atlantic Scott Stossel
About me
I’m most known for my work on poker tells (aka, poker behavior). My first poker tells book, Reading Poker Tells, has been translated into seven languages. My independent research on deceptive online activity has been featured in NY Times, Washington Post, Buzzfeed, and more.
Like the show?
If you enjoy this podcast, please share it with others, and/or write me a review on Apple Podcasts. If you want to support my work, get a premium podcast subscription, or sign up for my depolarization-aimed Substack newsletter. Other ways to show appreciation: subscribe to this podcast on YouTube or Apple or Spotify (or wherever). You can also sign up below to get updates.