Rafael Behr talks to Demos' CEO Polly Curtis about the urgent case for upgrading our democracy and repairing the broken relationship between citizen and state.The conversation is loosely based around this new Demos paper released today (2 July) that sets out the challenges of the global democratic emergency, how this is threatening the political landscape in Britain and what we can do about it.This is a Behr and Berman podcast production Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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38:02
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38:02
Appetite for Chaos: Why some voters just want to watch the world burn
Host Rafael Behr is joined by political scientist Prof. Michael Bang Petersen, whose research challenges the common belief that those who share misinformation are simply uninformed or gullible.Instead, Petersen suggest that many of these individuals are politically savvy and highly motivated, not by truth, but by the usefulness of information in advancing their political goals.The conversation also explores the concept of the "need for chaos": a psychological drive found in a significant minority who actively seek to destabilise political systems, not just support one side over another.Petersen also talks how status anxiety, feeling stuck or left behind in a rigid social hierarchy, fuels this destructive impulse.This is a Behr and Berman podcast production Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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43:38
'Post-Pandemic Politics' – Did Covid change everything? Did it change anything?
A conversation between Rafael Behr and writer and broadcaster David Aaronovitch, about ripples from the pandemic that still shape politics, with a digression on the ways that Britain is not America and whether that makes 'Maga-populism' less contagious.LinksDavid Aaronovitch's substack - https://davidaaronovitch.substack.comBBC's Briefing Room presented by David Aaronovitch - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002bj77This is a Behr and Berman podcast productionThis is a Behr and Berman podcast production Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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55:19
Five Years: Our Brains Hurt A Lot
An anniversary episode in which host Rafael Behr and producer Philip Berman look back over a tumultuous time and ponder what they have learned from putting politics on the couch.Links to Politics on the Couch episodes discussed in this podcastAnti-vaxxers – fear, anxiety and the psychology of misinformation The authoritarian personality - why some voters feel drawn to populism and how to lure them away The Madness of King Don - a journey to the dark side of charisma, with Drew WestenThis is a Behr and Berman podcast production Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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'The Ideological Brain' – Are Some People Hard-wired for Radicalisation?
To coincide with the launch of her new book (The Ideological Brain - A Radical Science of Susceptible Minds) Rafael Behr talks to Dr Leor Zmigrod, a political psychologist and neuroscientist, about the ingredients of dogmatic thinking, why some of us are more prone than others, and how we can protect ourselves.This is a Behr and Berman podcast production Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rafael Behr examines how our minds respond to politics and how politicians mess with our minds.In each episode an expert from the world of politics, psychology, history or philosophy joins Raf on our 'couch' to discuss what's driving our political thought and behaviour. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.