Politics on the Couch
32 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago -Politics on the Couch looks at the way our minds respond to politics and the way politicians mess with our minds.
In each episode award-winning political columnist Rafael Behr is joined by a distinguished expert drawn from the world of politics, psychology or philosophy.
The show will appeal to any listener interested in taking a deep dive into how psychology drives everyone's political thought and behaviour.
For more information about host Rafael Behr - www.rafaelbehr.com
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Episodes
'Putinophilia' - how America's radical right fell for a Kremlin strongman, a conversation with Anne Applebaum
February 14, 2023 09:58 - 31 minutes - 25.4 MBOne year on from Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, host Rafael Behr talks to Anne Applebaum about why so many US Republicans and conservatives are still seduced by Putin’s anti-West rhetoric and tropes. Anne, a Pullitzer-prize winning historian, is particularly well positioned to discuss this, and associated issues, given that her most recent book Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism looked at why some of her contemporaries had abandoned liberal democratic ideals in fa...
'Bregret' - how is Britain coping with a Brexit that nobody loves?
February 07, 2023 08:51 - 1 hour - 54.4 MBIn this episode host Rafael Behr talks to Prof Anand Menon about what the latest polling on 'bregret' means for identity politics, Starmer's strategy on future EU relations, and the economic and democratic health of the UK. Anand Menon is Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King's College London in the United Kingdom, and was appointed in January 2014 as director of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative. Prior to arriving at King's College, London, Menon lectured at B...
Consciousness - a deep dive into the politics of brain science with Anil Seth
December 22, 2022 06:07 - 59 minutes - 48.1 MBAnil Seth is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex alongside other eminent roles in the field of advanced research into the nature of consciousness and perception. His bestselling book ‘Being You: A New Science of Consciousness’ is a masterpiece of making complex scientific issues accessible to the non-expert reader. Anil demonstrates that same skill in this relaxed and free-flowing discussion with Politics on the Couch host Rafael Behr. They tal...
The authoritarian personality - why some voters feel drawn to populism and how to lure them away
July 14, 2022 09:23 - 1 hour - 62.8 MBIn this episode host Rafael Behr talks to Dr Karen Stenner, the political psychologist & behavioral economist best known for long ago predicting the rise of Trump-like figures uner the kinds of conditions we now confront. Her research on authoritarianism and 'Far Right' politics uses psychological theories and methods (in particular, Randomized Controlled Trials) to explain human behavior. She also use those same theories and methods (particularly RCTs) to shift human behavior via communi...
The authenticity gap - can Labour seize the post-Boris moment? (recorded the day he resigned)
July 07, 2022 15:14 - 1 hour - 42.4 MBRafael Behr talks to pollster and political strategist James Johnson about what's next for Labour, a matter of minutes after PM Johnson announced his resignation.
The authenticity gap - can Labour seize the post-Boris moment?
July 07, 2022 15:14 - 1 hour - 42.4 MBThis podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm
The Megacrisis - how the world's problems piled up - a conversation with Helen Thompson
May 05, 2022 16:44 - 1 hour - 76.5 MBThis week, Rafael Behr and Professor Helen Thompson discuss her new book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century. The book, which was released on the day Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, recounts three histories—one about geopolitics, one about the world economy, and one about western democracies. She explains how a confluence of different crises, building over many years, has created the current mood of global, epoch-defining disorder. It shows how much of this turbulence origin...
Is Democracy Rational? A conversation with Steven Pinker
October 29, 2021 19:48 - 1 hour - 69.1 MBHuman beings routinely make terrible choices but humanity still achieves amazing things. How does this paradox work? And is it still working when technology seems to amplify the worst in us. In this episode, Politics on the Couch host Rafael Behr talks to Professor Steven Pinker about the constant struggle between evidence and emotion for control of the political agenda; whether truth and fact are winning the long war against superstition and falsehood, and why rationality always has th...
Order and chaos - why the left keeps losing
July 30, 2021 12:24 - 1 hour - 56.4 MBIn this episode Rafael Behr talks to Cambridge University political psychologist Dr Lee de-Wit about the problem with progressive arguments over patriotism, and Labour's constant struggle to connect with socially conservative voters. Links mentioned in this episode: Dr Lee de-Wit's Cambridge University homepage https://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/lee-de-wit Arnold Kling's book https://cdn.cato.org/libertarianismdotorg/books/ThreeLanguagesOfPolitics.pdf Haidt and Moral Foundations The...
Empire State of Mind, with Sathnam Sanghera
July 08, 2021 20:29 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBBritain's vast colonial project, amassed over centuries and covering a quarter of the world at its height, is unavoidable in any discussion of race and identity in modern Britain. Or, at least, it should be, but the nation has, until recently, done a remarkable job of avoiding the subject. In this episode, Rafael Behr talks to Sathnam Sanghera about Empireland, his recent book that delves into that Imperial legacy, how it shapes our nation, our culture and defines so much of our politics t...
Radicalisation - how minds go to extremes, and how to turn them back
May 09, 2021 18:49 - 1 hour - 88 MBRafael Behr talks to Cognitive Scientist of Political Violence, Nafees Hamid, about what makes extremists tick and how to change their minds. Nafees discusses the conditions that push people towards extremist ideologies and whether a martyr's mind is wired differently to the rest of us. Along the way, Rafael and Nafees explore identity, sacred values, devoted actors, and how extremists can be walked back from acts of violence. Nafees Hamid is a Fellow at ARTIS International (https://...
Fear of Change - Matt d'Ancona on fixing a broken politics
March 13, 2021 16:46 - 57 minutes - 105 MBRafael Behr talks to Matt d'Ancona about his new book: 'Identity, Ignorance, Innovation: Why the Old Politics is Useless - and what to do about it.' https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Identity-Ignorance-Innovation-by-Matthew-DAncona-author/9781529303995 They discuss why the 'liberal left' needs to adapt to a new politics that is being shaped much more by digital networks and identity politics than the older institutional forces. Matt joined The Sunday Telegraph in 1996 as deputy...
Optimism - how we're drawn to the bright side, even in a pandemic
February 23, 2021 21:59 - 59 minutes - 82.3 MBRafael Behr talks to neuroscientist and author Tali Sharot about the optimism hard-wired into our thought processes, how it affects the way we look at the world – and what it means for politics. The conversation also covers the relationship between emotion and reason, how we should respect some of the more primitive parts of our brains, what messages work best to encourage people to act on climate change, and what connects sourdough and the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine. Tali Sharot is a...
Identity – David Baddiel on Jewishness, antisemitism (and a bit about football)
February 04, 2021 18:14 - 1 hour - 113 MBRafael Behr talks to author and comedian David Baddiel about his book “Jews Don't Count” – a closely argued polemic about the failure of progressive-left politics to treat antisemitism with the same moral rigour as is applied to other kinds of racism. The frank and at times raw conversation deals with the social and cultural dimensions of one of history's oldest prejudices, as well as the individual emotional and psychological components of a secular Jewish identity. They also talk a little...
Anti-vaxxers – fear, anxiety and the psychology of misinformation
January 23, 2021 14:44 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBRafael Behr explores the causes of resistance to vaccine science and its links with far-right propaganda with Imran Ahmed, founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate. The chat ranges from the emotional vulnerabilities that lead people to take comfort from conspiracy theories to the political obligations on social media companies to help defend democracy from malevolent, weaponised lies. Along the way, Rafael and Imran touch on politics, psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary biolog...
Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021: What happens next?
January 03, 2021 20:36 - 56 minutes - 104 MBHost Rafael Behr answers some listeners' questions and looks ahead to the challenges facing the main political parties in 2021 as they try to navigate their way through a pandemic, levelling up, calls for Scottish independence and the reality of Brexit. Plus, reflections on the future for remainers and the prospects for a campaign to re-join the EU. Also features one book recommendation and a very extended metaphor about coral. Cultural Amnesia by Clive James https://uk.bookshop.org/books...
'Dissonance Theory' – why no-one says they were wrong
December 28, 2020 14:19 - 57 minutes - 132 MBHost Rafael Behr talks to Dr Carol Tavris about the mental obstacles that stop us from admitting that we may have made a mistake. Dr Tavris is a pre-eminent social psychologist specialising in the field of cognitive dissonance and co-author of “Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me)”, a seminal book on the subject that was recently updated to include a chapter on Donald Trump's support base. Carol has written articles, op-eds, and book reviews on a wide array of topics in psychological science ...
Nostalgia - canvassing the politics of memory lane
December 12, 2020 22:20 - 42 minutes - 77.7 MBPolitics on the Couch host Rafael Behr talks to Professors Constantine Sedikides and Tim Wildschut of the University of Southampton, about the way people narrate the stories of their past, what they get from the process and the way political campaigns can exploit those feelings. Prof. Constantine Sedikides https://www.southampton.ac.uk/psychology/about/staff/cs2.page Prof Tim Wildschut https://www.southampton.ac.uk/psychology/about/staff/timw.page Nostalgia website https://www.southam...
The Madness of King Don - a journey to the dark side of charisma, with Drew Westen
November 12, 2020 21:28 - 1 hour - 156 MBIn the aftermath of the US presidential election, Rafael Behr talks to Professor Drew Westen about different forms of charisma, the struggle to communicate liberal arguments to Republican voters and the symptoms of severe personality disorder exhibited by Donald Trump. Drew Westen is a professor in the Psychology and Psychiatry Department at Emory University, Atlanta Georgia. He is also a political consultant and author of the highly influential book "The Political Brain: The Role of Emotio...
Election Anxiety - Trump, the media and fear for American democracy
October 29, 2020 23:29 - 41 minutes - 75.3 MBIn this bonus episode, podcast host Rafael Behr turns to his old friend and New York Times columnist Ben Smith for analysis of the state of US politics a week before the biggest election in living memory, and for reassurance that, maybe, everything is gonna be alright.
The Political Animal - a breed apart?
October 25, 2020 20:29 - 50 minutes - 116 MBRafael Behr speaks to social anthropologist Emma Crewe about parliament; what makes MPs tick, the psychological mechanisms they need to function in one of the country's weirdest workplaces - and their relationship with journalists. Professor Crewe, of SOAS, University of London, is the only anthropologist to have been based inside the Palace of Westminster, having spent years embedded in both the Lords and the Commons, enjoying uniquely privileged access to the inner workings of the legisl...
Brexit and the revolutionary mentality, with Fintan O'Toole
October 11, 2020 11:38 - 1 hour - 145 MBIn this episode Rafael Behr speaks to celebrated Irish author and journalist Fintan O'Toole about their shared fascination with nationalism and the myths of foreign oppression that fired a very English revolution. Also featuring digressions on the Scottish independence movement, Irish attitudes to Brexit and the Italian Job. Fintan O'Toole is a historian, critic and cultural commentator; author of many books that range across questions of culture, identity, nationhood in Ireland and Britain...
Truth, lies and statistics - Rafael Behr meets Tim Harford
September 13, 2020 19:02 - 57 minutes - 105 MBThis week Rafael Behr talks to Tim Harford, BBC Radio 4's presenter of More or Less and FT columist, about his new book: How To Make The World Add Up. Tim Harford writes the Undercover Economist column for the FT and was previously an economics leader writer for the FT. He is also the author of seven books, including the million-selling, The Undercover Economist and before that, Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy. He is also a regular presenter for BBC radio. He was made an OBE...
Farewell to normal?
August 23, 2020 18:56 - 28 minutes - 65.5 MBHost Rafael Behr looks ahead to a new political season that promises to be like none in recent memory and reflects on a lost summer of coronavirus denial, with some digressions on party conferences, Brexit and Cliff Richard. This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm
We can log out but can we ever leave? Helen Lewis talks about the trouble with Twitter
June 17, 2020 23:12 - 31 minutes - 57.6 MBThis week Rafael Behr and Helen Lewis discuss social media's corrosive effect on politics and public discourse, and how we can all respond. Helen Lewis is a staff writer at the Atlantic, was deputy editor at the New Statesman, presents BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour, and is a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's News Quiz. She's written a book about the history of feminism, is ambivalent towards Twitter but likes the Sopranos and embroidery. Helen's new book - (https://www.theguardian.com/b...
Trust in the Time of Coronavirus
June 08, 2020 20:41 - 49 minutes - 46.6 MBThis week, Rafael Behr talks to Bobby Duffy from The Policy Institute at King's College London about trust in the government during the Coronavirus pandemic and how our identities and cognitive biases affect who we trust in politics. Topics discussed in order 1-4 Fall-out from Dominic Cummings; Public health messaging during lock-down; Stats coronavirus tests it says it’s been carrying out; Bobby Duffy conversation starts 5-10 King's College new report; support for the government com...
Has Cummings cut through - in all the wrong ways?
May 27, 2020 13:33 - 23 minutes - 53.5 MBIn this bonus edition Rafael Behr takes a break from his lock-down holiday to ask - what is 'political cut-through' and why Dominic Cummings appears to have cut so deep into the national conversation? In the midst of a pandemic, has a political mover renowned for capturing the mood of nation misjudged it this time? NB This episode was recorded on the morning of 26 May before any post-conference opinion polls. This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm
How does it feel ? In conversation with Parliament's only politician and psychotherapist
May 07, 2020 14:46 - 47 minutes - 108 MBThis week Rafael Behr talks to The Lord John Alderdice about his incredible life as a politician, psychiatrist and psychotherapist. They discuss how his formative years living in Northern Ireland influenced his decision to train as a psychiatrist and then psychotherapist; how this then informed his whole approach to politics and his political philosophy; and how it also helped him as a key negotiator in the Good Friday Agreement talks. He also gives some advice to any intolerant liberal pr...
Interview with The Lord Alderdice: A psychiatrist, psychotherapist and politician.
May 07, 2020 14:46 - 47 minutes - 108 MBThis week Rafael Behr talks to The Lord John Alderdice about his incredible life as a politician, psychiatrist and psychotherapist. They discuss how his formative years living in Northern Ireland influenced his decision to train as a psychiatrist and then psychotherapist; how this then informed his whole approach to politics and his political philosophy; and how it also helped him as a key negotiator in the Good Friday Agreement talks. He also gives some advice to any intolerant ...
Introducing: Politics on the Couch
April 11, 2020 16:56 - 41 minutes - 75.4 MBThis week our host Rafael Behr is in conversation with Dr Leor Zmigrod about how cognitive science can help us understand how political identities are formed, and how people's ideological affiliations might affect how they respond to a national crisis. If you want to delve further into the topic Reader-friendly essays Zmigrod, L. (2019). The partisan brain: cognitive study suggests people on the left and right are more similar than they think. https://theconversation.com/the-partisan-b...
How pandemics affect our political brain
April 11, 2020 16:56 - 41 minutes - 75.4 MBThis week our host Rafael Behr is in conversation with Dr Leor Zmigrod about how cognitive science can help us understand how political identities are formed, and how people's ideological affiliations might affect how they respond to a national crisis. If you want to delve further into the topic Reader-friendly essays Zmigrod, L. (2019). The partisan brain: cognitive study suggests people on the left and right are more similar than they think. https://theconversation.com/the-partisan-b...
Can cognitive science help us better understand our political identities?
April 11, 2020 16:56 - 41 minutes - 75.4 MBThis week our host Rafael Behr is in conversation with Dr Leor Zmigrod about how cognitive science can help us understand how political identities are formed, and how people's ideological affiliations might affect how they respond to a national crisis.