Welcome to the show. I'm Jordan Harbinger. On the Jordan Harbinger show, we decode the stories,

secrets, and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical

advice that you can use to impact your own life and those around you. Our mission is to help you

become a better informed, more critical thinker through long-form conversations with a variety of amazing folks, from spies to CEOs, athletes, authors, thinkers, performers, even the occasional

mafia enforcer, rocket scientist or legendary Hollywood filmmaker. If you're new to the show or you

want to tell your friends about the show, I suggest our episode starter packs. These are collections

of our favorite episodes on topics like persuasion and negotiation, psychology, geopolitics, disinformation, China, North Korea,

crime and cults, and more that'll help new listeners get a taste of everything we do here on

the show. Just visit jordanharbinger.com slash start or search for us in your Spotify app to get

started. I'll be honest, I've read a lot of business books and case studies, and most of them, they just kind of blur together after a while. But this book that I read for the show today, there's stuff in here I genuinely never heard before. Such as, why five guys, the burger joint, refuses to do more than one thing and somehow makes more money doing less. Why calling something healthy, food namely, can make it taste worse in your

brain. Why Kraft sells a million boxes of mac and cheese per day. And yes, that number is as

upsetting as it sounds. Today we're talking about the hidden psychology behind why we buy what we

buy, why our brains take shortcuts, and how brands quietly manipulate those shortcuts every

single day, sometimes brilliantly, sometimes hilariously. Joining me today are Richard Schotton

and Michael Aaron Flickr. He has two guests at the same time today. I know that's a rare one. And by the

end of this episode, you're never going to look at grocery stores, menus, or Starbucks

seasonal drinks the same way ever again.

Here we go with Richard Schotton and Michael Aaron Flickr.

I have to admit, I read a lot of business case studies in my life, right?

Because I used to love doing podcasts about business, less so these days.

But there's a lot of stuff in the book that I just never heard before.

And some of it's quite fascinating. You know,

...