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People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

By: Zachary Elwood
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About this listen

 This is a podcast about deciphering human behavior and understanding why people do the things they do. I, Zach Elwood, talk with people from a wide range of fields about how they make sense of human behavior and psychology. I've talked to jury consultants, interrogation professionals, behavior researchers, sports analysts, professional poker players, to name a few. There are more than 135 episodes, many of them quite good (although some say I'm biased). To learn more, go to PeopleWhoReadPeople.com.© 2024 People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast Hygiene & Healthy Living Political Science Politics & Government Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Can behavior clusters point to a lie? Tim Levine on behavior and deception detection science

    Can behavior clusters point to a lie? Tim Levine on behavior and deception detection science
    Nov 13 2025
    Many people think there are telltale signs of lying — shifty eyes, nervous fidgeting, maybe a quick smile — that can give someone away to trained observers. But according to decades of research, that’s a myth. Still, some scientists push back on that consensus. A recent paper by well-known researcher David Matsumoto (of the company Humintell) argues that combinations of nonverbal cues might be highly useful for revealing deception. In this episode, I talk with deception researcher Tim Levine, author of Duped and creator of truth-default theory, about whether that claim holds up — and what the science says about our ability to read lies using body language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 mins
  • Tracking people over external terrain: What's real, what's fiction?

    Tracking people over external terrain: What's real, what's fiction?
    Oct 26 2025
    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 exaggerated. I talk with Rob Speiden, an instructor in what’s called “sign cutting." Rob breaks down real search-and-rescue, law-enforcement, and military use-cases; why “broken twigs” and deep foot prints are actually weak evidence; how pros actually determine the age of sign using weather history and side-by-side comparisons; and why disciplined interviewing at the start of a mission can save hours later. He’s blunt about the limits of tracking, too—like why you can’t easily deduce someone’s weight from track depth alone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    51 mins
  • Is the internet a methamphetamine of the masses?

    Is the internet a methamphetamine of the masses?
    Oct 14 2025
    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 the darker aspects of our social psychology? Are we being driven crazy by this technology? If the internet is deranging and dividing us, what are the psychological processes by which it does that? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    39 mins
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