My life-changing experience with meditation

My life-changing experience with meditation

Author: Zachary Elwood August 19, 2025 Duration: 37:57
In the summer of 2024, I went on a five-day solo retreat in the mountains of New Mexico. It was the first time I’d ever really committed to meditation, and to my surprise it turned out to be a deeply meaningful and lasting experience. In this episode, I talk about what led me to try it, what those days of fasting, solitude, and meditation were actually like, and the unexpected effects I noticed afterward in my everyday life. I also share some of the doubts and anxieties I carried into the experience, why meditation had always felt out of reach for me, and why this retreat nevertheless managed to shift something fundamental in how I relate to myself and to stress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast
Podcast Episodes
How a news site uses social network mapping to reduce polarization [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:08
Aemula is a new kind of news media platform that’s trying to tackle a big problem: the fact that the structure of our news media leads to various outcomes that amplify toxic polarization. Instead of the usual “engagement…
Does contempt for Trump voters help Trump? Are we in a feedback loop? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:43
For many people, Trump represents a uniquely dangerous figure in American history. But what if the contemptuous, maximally pessimistic ways many people talk about Trump and Republicans help put more "wind in the sails" o…
Tracking people over terrain: What's real, what's fiction? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:34
Have you ever wondered how tracking people actually works? You’ve probably seen a lot of Hollywood depictions of how law enforcement track people over external terrain, and maybe you’ve wondered what’s real and what’s ex…
Is the internet a methamphetamine of the masses? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:37
Is it possible that internet communication, by speeding up and distorting our interactions, is agitating us and deranging us? Is it possible that by putting human interactions “on speed,” the internet amplifies some of t…