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

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I’m Zachary Elwood. On this podcast, I talk to people from a wide range of professions and backgrounds about behavior and psychology. Since it launched in 2018, it’s had more than 2.5 million listens/views.

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Here are some of my my favorites.

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Post List #1

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

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

I talk 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,…

Indicators of fake Amazon reviews, with linguistic researcher Olu Popoola

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. A transcript is below. …

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:

Behavioral indicators of good and bad relationships, with 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…

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…

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…

Interview with Robert Drysdale on psychology and behavior in MMA and jiu-jitsu

My seventh ‘People Who Read People’ podcast episode is an interview with Robert Drysdale. Drysdale is a well-known Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts expert, champion, and trainer. If you’d like to know more about him, you can read his Wikipedia. He currently operates a training gym in Las Vegas: Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu. Links to the episode: iTunes…