How to Talk to People You Disagree With With Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt
It’s almost Thanksgiving, which means that many of us will be elbows to elbows with family members, some of whom may have vastly different opinions on topics such as whether cranberry sauce should be homemade or canned, and who should be president. Before it gets too hot, we recommend listening to this episode. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt will explain why it is important to have different opinions, and blogger and entrepreneur Anil Dash tells us about how we should relate to each other, despite our differences. Plus, writer and theorist Andra Medea gives us five steps to defuse the Thanksgiving battle.
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In this episode
Interview: Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt (3:40 – 24:44)
We’ll talk with Jonathan Haidt, co-author of The Softness of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Set a Generation to Failure . Jonathan argues that campus culture diminishes Gen Z’s ability to express differing opinions, making them more anxious and resentful.
Five Steps to Defusing a Thanksgiving Fight (26:45 – 31:10)
Andra Medea is the author of Going Home Without Going Crazy: How to Get along with Your Parents and Family (Even When They Press the Buttons) and President of C3 De-Escalation . She will tell us how to prevent a small fight over politics from turning into a full-fledged fight over food.
(Other) Interview: Anil Dash (31:20 – 47:12)
We’ll talk with blogger and entrepreneur Anil Dash about how to be a part of the early internet crowd, how to create a more varied online media diet, and when to hang out with a troll.
Update of the week (47:49 – 52:32)
Every week we talk about one tiny thing that matters a lot in our lives. This week we’ll talk about landscaping apartments and getting rid of gravel , quitting sleeping pills with sleep stories on the Calm app, and a relaxing podcast in case the world has turned to trash.