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This is a podcast aimed at better understanding other people and better understanding ourselves. 

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I’m Zach Elwood. I talk to people from a wide range of professions and backgrounds about their views on behavior and psychology. Some episode compilations you might like:

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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 eight languages. I’m also known for my work on political polarization (for example, my book Defusing American Anger). My independent research on deceptive online activity has been featured in NY Times, Washington Post, Buzzfeed, and more.

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Episode deep Dives

Deep dives include summaries, transcripts, source and resource links, and listening options.

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…

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…

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…

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: YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Topics include:

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: iTunes Spotify Stitcher Google Play In this podcast episode, we talk about the…

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…

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…

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…

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. Links to the episode: Apple Podcasts Spotify Topics discussed include: