People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

Author: Zachary Elwood Language: English Episodes: 100
Ever wonder what a professional poker player notices about your tells, or how an FBI interrogator knows when someone’s lying? People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast digs into these questions through conversations with a fascinating array of experts. Host Zachary Elwood sits down with people whose jobs depend on accurately interpreting others-from jury consultants and behavior researchers to sports analysts and deception detection professionals. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the practical frameworks these individuals use to make sense of why we act the way we do, moving beyond textbook theory into the messy, applied reality of human interaction. With over 135 episodes in the archive, this podcast offers a deep and varied library exploring the subtle signals, hidden motivations, and cognitive patterns that drive our daily lives. You’ll hear specific stories and case studies that reveal how understanding behavior plays out in high-stakes courtrooms, strategic games, and everyday relationships. It’s for anyone curious about the mechanics of social dynamics, self-awareness, and the art of observation. Elwood’s grounded, interview-led approach makes complex psychological concepts accessible and immediately relevant, building a resource that feels both insightful and genuinely useful.
Episodes
Penalty kick mind games: Reading and using body language in sports [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:15
I talk with sports psychology and behavior researcher Philip Furley about how athletes' body language communicates far more than we realize — and how it can affect teammates, opponents, judges, and even the outcome of th…
Madness explained: How trauma and stress can break the mind [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:54
I talk to psychologist Richard Bentall about psychosis, schizophrenia, and the psychological roots of mental illness. Bentall is the author of the well known book "Madness Explained." We explore how symptoms like halluci…
Our memory and sense of self are full of illusions | with Anne Wilson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:53
Psychologist Anne Wilson studies how we construct our identities over time—how we remember the past, imagine the future, and tell ourselves stories that shape who we believe we are. In this episode, we explore why our me…
Are you a narcissist? The psychology and spectrum of narcissism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:26
What if we’ve been thinking about narcissism all wrong — and some forms of it are not only normal, but healthy? Why do we so often confuse genuine confidence or ambition with something pathological? Could your most “humb…
The "deep whys" behind autistic behaviors | with Barry Prizant [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:32
I talk to Barry Prizant, author of the popular book "Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism," about the often misunderstood world of autism. We explore the idea that many so-called “autistic behaviors” are actu…
The psychology of how we react when our sense of meaning is threatened [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:28
Why do we feel so unsettled and agitated when the world doesn’t make sense? In this episode, I talk with psychologist Steven Heine about his Meaning Maintenance Model — a theory that explains how we react when our sense…