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Reading thought patterns in fMRI brain imaging, with Dr. Marcel Just

The 19th “People Who Read People” podcast episode is an interview with Dr. Marcel Just, a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, about his work using function magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look for brain activity related to specific thoughts. For example: differentiating the brain activity of someone thinking about an apple versus thinking about other words and concepts. Dr. Just and his work have been twice featured on the TV show 60 Minutes.

Links to this episode:

Topics discussed include:

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Indicators of native Russian authorship in English language text, with Dr. Brian Baer

The 18th “People Who Read People” podcast episode is an interview with Dr. Brian Baer, a skilled Russian-to-English translator. Dr. Baer is a Professor of Russian and Translation Studies at Kent State University, where he’s a member of the Institute for Applied Linguistics. He also has worked on several literary translations (see his books on Amazon here).

In this interview, I ask Dr. Baer about clues that English language content, whether spoken or written, may have been authored by a native Russian speaker. We also talk a bit about language and translation in general.

Links to this episode:

Topics discussed include:

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SPECT brain imaging, with Dr. Rob Tarzwell

The 17th “People Who Read People” podcast episode is an interview with Dr. Rob Tarzwell. about his work using single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) brain imaging to find indicators of traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and brain changes related to dynamic psychotherapy. His research on traumatic brain injury and PTSD appeared 19th on the 2015 list of Top 100 Science Stories of the Year in Discover Magazine.

Links to this episode:

Topics discussed include:

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Rock Paper Scissors: Predicting and influencing opponent behavior

This People Who Read People podcast episode is an interview with Jason Simmons, aka Master Roshambollah, arguably the most well-known Rock Paper Scissors (RPS) player in the world. Links to the episode:

Topics include:

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Psychology and behavior-analysis in bus-driving

The 15th “People Who Read People” episode is an interview with Brendan Bartholomew, a San Francisco bus driver. Besides driving buses, Brendan has written articles for CityLab and the San Francisco Examiner. For a transcript, see this post.

Links to the episode:

In this podcast episode, we talk about the role understanding/predicting human behavior can play when driving a city bus. Topics include:

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The use of electrodermal activity (aka galvanic skin response) in psychology research

The 14th “People Who Read People” episode is about electrodermal activity (EDA), also known as galvanic skin response (GSR). I interview Dr. Christopher Moyer, PhD, a counseling psychologist with expertise in treatment research and has published research on the anxiety-reducing effects of massage therapy and the neurological effects of meditation. He also happens to be an avid poker player, and began playing seriously in 1994 (it was through poker that I met Dr. Moyer online). He has taught at the University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin-Stout, University of Denver, and is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where he teaches the course Psychology of Poker.

Links to the episode:

In this podcast episode, we talk about electrodermal activity. Topics include:

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Behavior patterns in social deduction game Secret Hitler

The 13th “People Who Read People” episode is an interview with Polina Vorozheykina, a software engineer based in Portland, Oregon, who also is a skilled player of so-called social deduction games.  Social deduction games typically involve trying to figure out the secret roles and motivations of your opponents based on their actions and behaviors. Examples of social deduction games are Werewolf, Mafia, Avalon, and Resistance.

Links to the episode:

In this podcast, we discuss Secret Hitler, a popular social deduction game from the makers of Cards Against Humanity. Polina and I discuss topics including:

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Indicators of fake Amazon reviews, with linguistic researcher Olu Popoola

The twelfth “People Who Read People” episode is an interview with Olu Popoola, a forensic linguistic researcher focused on studying indicators of deception. He’s a doctoral researcher at University of Birmingham U.K. and he also consults as a fraud investigator and corporate trainer on deception detection. Here’s his Twitter account: @oepopoola. Here’s his bio and here’s his blog at Outliar.blog.

Links to the episode:

Topics discussed include:

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Experiences from a maximum security prison, with Benjamin Moots

The eleventh “People Who Read People” episode is an interview with Benjamin Moots, who spent 15 years in prison, mostly in maximum security settings, for second-degree murder. Ben is on Twitter at @realfishydonk.

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Topics discussed include:

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Behavioral indicators of good and bad relationships, with psych researcher Brandi Fink

An interview with Brandi Fink, a psychology researcher and an assistant professor at UNM Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Brandi has done a lot of work analyzing the behavior of couples and families experiencing problems, including issues of physical abuse, emotional distress, and drug/alcohol abuse. She once worked with the famous relationship researcher and therapist John Gottman. Brandi and I talk about behavioral indicators of healthy and unhealthy relationships.

Links to the episode:

Topics discussed include:

  • The goals of analyzing and logging the video-taped behaviors of couples/families
  • Some of the common physical and verbal behaviors (like eye rolls and other indicators of contempt) that indicate trouble in a relationship, and those that can indicate relationship improvement or health
  • How high heart rate variability (having a heart beat that changes speeds frequently) is linked to being more mentally disciplined and emotionally healthy
  • Tips for improving a relationship
  • Brain scan research Dr. Fink has done related to how alcohol affects the brain and how alcohol leads to relationship issues
  •  The challenges of creating a behavior coding system (not wanting to go too micro-level or too macro-level)
  • Whether cultural differences can impact the analysis of behavior

Here are some resources and articles and studies related to some of the stuff we discussed:

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Interviews about psychological tactics in door-to-door sales

The latest “People Who Read People” episode is an interview with two people who’ve both had success in door-to-door sales:

  • Conrad Smith, lawyer and founder of marketing firm LeaderShield: He talks to us about his experience being a leading door-to-door salesperson of a well-known home security system. Conrad’s Twitter is here.
  • Dave Mock, former poker dealer and current professional poker player: He talks to us about his experience doing door-to-door sales and sales management for a large home remodeling company. Dave’s Twitter is here.

Links to the episode:

Some topics discussed:

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Restaurant psychology: an interview with service industry pro Robin Dibble

My eighth People Who Read People podcast episode is an interview with Robin Dibble. Robin is an experienced Albuquerque-area service industry professional who’s worked all sides of the business, from waiting tables, to cooking, to managing restaurants and night clubs.

Most recently, he helped open and manage Poki Poblano in Albquerque, which just recently shut down but racked up some great Yelp reviews in the 10 months it was open. Robin is also available for restaurant consultation/strategizing, especially for people new to the restaurant business. His Twitter is @dibblerobin and his Instagram is @dr._.dibbs.

Links to the episode:

Some topics discussed:

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