Chris Graves: Behavioral Science in the Age of Trump

We're taking liberties this episode to reach beyond our traditional stomping ground in Asia. We're talking about the essential nature of communications and its central role in maintaining peaceful human coexistence. Whether subjugated to the salvos of a certain US President or manipulated by global social media corporations, toying with the truth can have serious social and political consequences. To explore this issue, I went to Washington, DC to meet with Chris Graves, President and Founder of the Ogilvy Center for Behavioral Science. He's former Global Chairman and Global CEO for Ogilvy Public Relations where he landed after two decades in media and news, including 18 years with Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. Graves and his team at Ogilvy have created a set of diagnostic tools that aid in mapping cognitive bias and tap into the hidden forces that determine--often irrationally--the choices we make. What Graves is telling us is that human beings are hard-wired to make bad decisions. We look first for the information that confirms what we want to think in the first place. This is Behavioral Science in the Age of Trump. It's an illuminating discussion. Thanks for listening.