Eric Oliver, PhD is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Although the majority of his work is squarely in the realm of how we view our political systems and make political decisions, some of his work echoes moral psychology and sociology, and we find it fascinating. And, frankly, some of it is just downright fun to talk about.

Eric’s observations come from more than 20 years of research, dozens of peer-reviewed papers, and he is the author of 5 books on political science. We specifically talked about how liberals and conservatives name their children, the rise of intuitionism, having dinner with a sports star rather than a rock star, and of course, he spoke in-depth about conspiracy theories.

Most importantly, he walked us through some key aspects of how to have a conversation with someone who is on the opposite side of the conspiracy-theory belief system and, interestingly enough, it begins with empathy. Listen to the entire episode to hear all his insights and research anecdotes. They’ll put a smile on your face as well as fresh ideas into your brain!

We have been fans of his work for some time and are grateful that Eric shared his insights with us. We think you’ll become a fan, too, if you’re not already one.

Links

Eric Oliver, PhD: https://political-science.uchicago.edu/directory/eric-oliver

Jonathan Haidt, PhD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Haidt

James Frazer, “The Golden Bough”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Bough

Katherine Surma on Credulity: https://www.jericoliver.com/uploads/1/1/8/9/118973414/surmaoliver3.5.18-final.pdf

Laurie Santos, PhD: The Joe Effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GimHHAID_P0

Steve Kerr: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Kerr

Colin Kaepernick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Kaepernick

Charles Manson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Manson

Musical Links

LCD Sound System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqq3BtGrpU8

Kurt Weil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Weill