In this episode we welcome back author Will Storr whose new book, The Status Game, feels like required reading for anyone confused, curious, or worried about how politics, cults, conspiracy theories communities, social media, religious fundamentalism, polarization, and extremism are affecting us - everywhere, on and offline, across cultures, and across the world.
What is The Status Game? It’s our primate propensity to perpetually pursue points that will provide a higher level of regard among the people who can (if we provoked such a response) take those points away. And deeper still, it’s the propensity to, once we find a group of people who regularly give us those points, care about what they think more than just about anything else.
In the interview, we discuss our inescapable obsession with reputation and why we are deeply motivated to avoid losing this game through the fear of shame, ostracism, embarrassment, and humiliation while also deeply motivated to win this game by earning what will provide pride, fame, adoration, respect, and status.
187 - Bad Habits - Jud Brewer (rebroadcast)
186 - Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - Lori Gottlieb (rebroadcast)
185 - Masks
184 - The Blind Spots Between Us - Gleb Tsipursky
183 - Black Lives Matter
182 - The A/B Effect (rebroadcast)
181 - Pluralistic Ignorance (rebroadcast)
180 - Meltdown - Chris Clearfield
179 - The Memory Illusion - Julia Shaw
178 - Behind the Curve (rebroadcast)
177 - COVID - 19
176 - Socks and Crocs - Part Two
175 - Socks And Crocs - Part One
174 - Bad Advice - Paul Offit (rebroadcast)
173 - Rule Makers, Rule Breakers - Michele Gelfand
172 - Team Human - Douglas Rushkoff (rebroadcast)
171 - Partisan Brains
170 - Mark Sargent
169 - Art
168 - Not a Scientist (rebroadcast)
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