We don’t just feel emotions. We make them.

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Vox Media Podcast Network

Politics, News, News Commentary, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.5 • 11.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2019

⏱️ 97 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How do you feel right now? Excited to listen to your favorite podcast? Anxious about the state of American politics? Annoyed by my use of rhetorical questions? These questions seem pretty straightforward. But as my guest today, psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett, points out there is a lot more to emotion than meets the mind. Barrett is a superstar in her field. She’s a professor of psychology at Northeastern University, holds appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, and has received various prestigious awards for her pioneering research on emotion. Her most recent book How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain argues that emotions are not biologically hardwired into our brains but constructed by our minds. In other words, we don’t merely feel emotions — we actively create them. Barrett’s work has potentially radical implications. If we take her theory seriously, it follows that the ways we think about our daily emotional states, diagnose illnesses, interact with friends, raise our children, and experience reality all need some serious adjusting, if not complete rethinking. If you enjoyed this episode, you should check out: A mind-expanding conversation with Michael Pollan The cognitive cost of poverty (with Sendhil Mullainathan) Will Storr on why you are not yourself A mind-bending, reality-warping conversation with John Higgs Book recommendations: Naming the Mind by Kurt Danzinger The Island of Knowledge by Marcelo Gleiser The Accidental Species by Henry Gee Sense and Nonsense by Kevin L. Laland Want to contact the show? Reach out at ezrakleinshow@vox.com Subscribe to Impeachment, Explained on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts, or your favorite podcast app to get stay updated on this story every week. Credits: Producer and Editor - Jeff Geld Researcher - Roge Karma Recording engineer - Cynthia Gil Field engineer - Joseph Fridman The Ezra Klein Show is a production of the Vox Media Podcast Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for the show comes from Into the Mix, a Ben and Jerry's podcast about joy and justice, produced with Vox Creative.
0:08.0	As state legislatures consider more than 500 anti-trans bills, the latest episode of Into the Mix asks how best to support and protect transgender youth.
0:19.0	Like Ali Aske, a young man who, despite growing up in a loving and supportive home, felt the need for friendship with other trans and queer kids.
0:27.0	At just seven years old, he took initiative and built a lasting community.
0:32.0	That story on Into the Mix, subscribe now.
0:36.0	Today's parents are busier than ever.
0:39.0	And managing the madness means getting things done no matter where you are.
0:43.0	But it can be an awful lot to juggle.
0:45.0	The Microsoft 365 app can help. It's like a portable problem slayer.
0:50.0	Lost the grocery list and the way to the store?
0:52.0	No worries, it's pinned to the top of your documents. No need to scroll.
0:56.0	Your kid forgot about the permission slip for today's field trip?
1:00.0	Scan, sign and send it instantly, all in one app.
1:03.0	No pen necessary.
1:05.0	Download the free Microsoft 365 app today, available for iOS and Android phones only.
1:12.0	Many of the things that feel given to us that just seem to exist separately from us don't.
1:20.0	We are active participants in making those things real.
1:25.0	Hello, welcome to the client show in the box Media Podcast Network.
1:30.0	Before we start today, I want to tell you about a new show that I am launching this weekend called Impeachment Explained.
1:36.0	Impeachment Explained, as you might guess, is about impeachment.
1:39.0	Not just the impeachment of Donald Trump, but in particular the deeper issues that you need to look at to understand the impeachment.
1:47.0	The impeachment trial we are about to go through.
	...

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