I'm Rufus Griscombe, and I'm Caleb Bissinger, and this is the next big idea. Today, the emerging science of why we click. Like. You know that feeling when you're totally in sync with someone.

Maybe you finish each other's sentences.

Yeah, you're picking up what they're putting down.

Scientists have a name for that feeling.

They call it interpersonal synchrony.

Turns out we subconsciously mimic other people's movements,

postures, facial expressions, and gestures.

We even sink involuntary functions like heart rate, blood pressure, brain waves, pupil dilation, and hormonal

activity. And why do we do that? We do that because when we embody and internalize one another,

we're able to get a read on their thoughts and their feelings. That's journalist Kate Murphy,

author of the forthcoming book Why We Click.

And she tells our colleague, Ponyo Giannopoulos, in today's episode, that interpersonal

synchrony, sinking, for short, is our superpower. It's really the root of empathy. It's how we

connect. But there's a catch. The same instinct that helps you click with a new friend

can also pull you into someone else's anxiety, their anger, their panic.

Sometimes they're sucking you into places you really don't want to go.

That's all coming up after the break.

Today's episode of the next big idea is sponsored by Shopify.

Shopify gives you everything you need to sell online and in-person.

Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com slash NBI.

Kate, welcome to the next big idea.

Thanks for having me.

...