John Donvan In Conversation with David McRaney on the Science of Changing Minds

Open to Debate

News, Education, Society & Culture

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2023

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What’s it take to change a mind? It turns out there is a science to it. That’s at least according to David McRaney, a journalist, author, and host of the You Are Not So Smart podcast. The first step, he says, is don’t overtly try to win. In any argument, an attempt to defeat the opposing party is not nearly as effective as leading the person along in stages, which eventually align with your own thinking. In fact, mere exposure to different ideas, according a recent Pew study, does not generally change most Americans’ perspectives on a given issue. Understanding techniques to communicate successfully and proactively active listen, is ultimately thought to be a more effective approach. Intelligence Squared US, since 2026, has made fostering intellectual openness in dialogue a core part of its mission. In that context, and to get a sense of what other methods are out there, John Donvan sat down with David McRaney on the science of changing minds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	How did Malcolm finally gain his cat's respect?
0:03.1	Was it because he saved 35% on Trainline,
0:06.0	then bravely looked into the eyes of his dismissive pet,
0:09.2	where he saw something that said,
0:11.9	I don't actually hate you.
0:14.9	His Trainline detanged for Malcolm gaining his cat's respect.
0:18.8	We hope so.
0:19.7	We really do.
0:21.4	Great journey start with Trainline.
0:24.3	Average savings from advanced fairs, rail cards and split save were available
0:27.2	versus equivalent flexible fair TNC's apply.
0:34.8	Hi everybody and welcome to Intelligent Squared.
0:37.0	I'm John Don Van.
0:38.2	And as you all know, we do debates on this program,
0:41.2	but sometimes we also just have conversations where we step back and examine
0:46.8	the art of debate itself and how we can do it better and where it fits into the culture.
0:51.3	We've always looked at debate as an exercise in persuasion,
0:54.7	an effort undertaken not just to shed some light, but also to change minds.
0:58.8	So when we heard about the book, how minds change,
1:02.0	the surprising science of belief, opinion and persuasion,
1:06.0	we knew we had to bring in science journalist David McCranie, its author.
1:09.5	So here he is, David, thanks so much for joining us.
	...

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