Shows / Crisis in Perception
Crisis in Perception
Crisis in Perception is a long-form educational podcast examining how we misunderstand the world around us. Using books as entry points, each episode explores history, psychology, economics, science, and power structures to reveal how systems actually work—and why our perceptions so often fail. Clear, evidence-based, and non-tribal. Crisis in Perception uses AI-assisted tools for narration and synthesis in service of long-form educational analysis.
Episodes
Crisis in PerceptionLife Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution — Why Complexity Requires Tradeoffs
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Nick Lane This episode explores Life Ascending by Nick Lane as a…
Crisis in PerceptionPseudoscience: The Conspiracy Against Science — Why Science Produces Its Own Imitations
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Allison B. Kaufman, James C. Kaufman This episode explores…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Philosophical Baby — Why Focus Might Be a Cognitive Limitation
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Alison Gopnik This episode explores The Philosophical Baby by Alison…
Crisis in PerceptionWhat Is It Like to Be a Bat? — Why objectivity cannot capture consciousness
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Thomas Nagel This episode explores What Is It Like to Be a Bat? by…
Crisis in PerceptionConscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind — The System Behind the Self
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Annaka Harris This episode explores Conscious: A Brief Guide to the…
Crisis in PerceptionNot “A Nation of Immigrants” — What This Story Actually Conceals
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz This episode explores Not “A Nation of…
Crisis in PerceptionAn Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States — The system behind land and erasure
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz This episode explores An Indigenous Peoples’…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears — Why Assimilation Became a Threat
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green This episode explores The Cherokee…
Crisis in PerceptionLoaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment — Who Does Armed “Freedom” Serve?
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz This episode explores Loaded: A Disarming History…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Constitution of the War on Drugs — Why failure remains legally rational
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: David Pozen This episode explores The Constitution of the War on Drugs…
Crisis in PerceptionThe War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the Rise of the American State — How Prohibition Built the Penal State
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Lisa McGirr This episode explores The War on Alcohol: Prohibition and…
Crisis in PerceptionWeed Science: Cannabis Controversies and Challenges — The System Behind the Debate
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Godfrey Pearlson This episode explores Weed Science: Cannabis…
Crisis in PerceptionUnderstanding Tuberculosis and Its Control — The System Behind Persistent Disease
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Helen Macdonald & Ian Harper This episode explores Understanding…
Crisis in PerceptionWomen and Yugoslav Partisans — How revolution used tradition to mobilize women
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Jelena Batinić This episode explores Women and Yugoslav Partisans by…
Crisis in PerceptionMagna Carta: The Tax Revolt that Gave Us Liberty — The System Behind Tax and Consent
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Chris Berg and John Roskam This episode explores Magna Carta: The Tax…
Crisis in PerceptionFugitive Democracy and Other Essays — Why Stable Systems Suppress Democracy
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Sheldon S. Wolin This episode explores Fugitive Democracy and Other…
Crisis in PerceptionDemocracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism — Why participation no longer transfers power
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Sheldon S. Wolin This episode explores Democracy Incorporated by…
Crisis in PerceptionBeing You: A New Science of Consciousness — Why Perception Favors Survival Over Truth
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Anil Seth This episode explores Being You by Anil Seth as a…
Crisis in PerceptionHow to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States — Logistics After Colonies
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Daniel Immerwahr This episode explores How to Hide an Empire: A…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human — The system behind perceived reality
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Will Storr This episode explores The Science of Storytelling by Will…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Status Game — Why Morality, Success, and Power Become Competition
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Will Storr This episode explores The Status Game by Will Storr as a…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science — Why Certainty Protects Identity
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Will Storr This episode explores The Heretics: Adventures with the…
Crisis in PerceptionAfter Democracy: Imagining Our Political Future — Can Democracy Process Modern Voice?
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Zizi Papacharissi This episode explores After Democracy: Imagining Our…
Crisis in PerceptionCollective Illusions — Why societies enforce norms nobody believes
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Todd Rose This episode explores Collective Illusions by Todd Rose as a…
Crisis in PerceptionThe End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness — Why Average Fits No One
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Todd Rose This episode explores The End of Average by Todd Rose as a…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Revival of Political Imagination — Why Realism Narrows the Future
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Teppo Eskelinen This episode explores The Revival of Political…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Politics of Star Trek — When Peace Becomes Empire
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: George A. Gonzalez This episode explores The Politics of Star Trek by…
Crisis in PerceptionDon’t Look Up: A Metaphor for Western Civilization — Why Warnings Become Entertainment
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Cristina Bellon, Roberta Grasselli, and Federico Pasquaré Mariotto…
Crisis in PerceptionHigh Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out — Why conflict becomes the system
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Amanda Ripley This episode explores High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way — The System Behind Rigor
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Amanda Ripley This episode explores The Smartest Kids in the World…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System — Why Skills Fail
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Natalie Wexler This episode explores The Knowledge Gap by Natalie…
Crisis in PerceptionAI and the Future of Education — What AI Reveals About School
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Priten Shah This episode explores AI and the Future of Education by…
Crisis in PerceptionDamming the Flood — The System Behind Haiti’s Manufactured Failed State
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Peter Hallward This episode explores Damming the Flood by Peter…
Crisis in PerceptionHow to Be an Antiracist — Why Policy Produces Belief
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Ibram X. Kendi This episode explores How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram…
Crisis in PerceptionThey Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South — The Household as Market
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers This episode explores They Were Her Property…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Big Truck That Went By — Why Aid Failed Haiti
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Jonathan M. Katz This episode explores The Big Truck That Went By by…
Crisis in PerceptionSuperpredator: Bill Clinton’s Use and Abuse of Black America — The Cost of Triangulation
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Nathan J. Robinson This episode explores Superpredator: Bill Clinton’s…
Crisis in PerceptionBirthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America — Who Builds Citizenship?
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Martha S. Jones This episode explores Birthright Citizens: A History…
Crisis in PerceptionDon’t Look Up — Why Systems Ignore Reality Until It’s Too Late
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Film written and directed by Adam McKay This episode explores Don’t…
Crisis in PerceptionToo Much Information — When Transparency Becomes a Hidden Burden
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Cass R. Sunstein This episode explores Too Much Information by Cass R…
Crisis in PerceptionCan It Happen Here?: Authoritarianism in America — How Democracies Rot
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Cass R. Sunstein This episode explores Can It Happen Here?…
Crisis in PerceptionHow Change Happens — Why Stable Societies Flip Overnight
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Cass R. Sunstein This episode explores How Change Happens by Cass R…
Crisis in PerceptionThis Is Not Normal — How societies learn to accept democratic erosion
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Cass R. Sunstein This episode explores This Is Not Normal by Cass R…
Crisis in PerceptionWhy Nudge? — Why Freedom Depends on Hidden Architecture
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Cass R. Sunstein This episode explores Why Nudge? by Cass R. Sunstein…
Crisis in PerceptionGoing to Extremes — Why Agreement Can Produce Worse Decisions
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Cass R. Sunstein This episode explores Going to Extremes by Cass R…
Crisis in PerceptionLiars: Falsehoods and Free Speech in an Age of Deception — When Truth Needs Friction
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Cass R. Sunstein This episode explores Liars: Falsehoods and Free…
Crisis in PerceptionCapitalism’s Last Stand: Deglobalization in the Age of Austerity — The Debt Illusion
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Walden Bello This episode explores Capitalism’s Last Stand by Walden…
Crisis in PerceptionNon-Places: An Introduction to Supermodernity — Why Convenience Replaces Belonging
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Marc Augé This episode explores Non-Places: An Introduction to…
Crisis in PerceptionValuing Life: Humanizing the Regulatory State — Why Risk Has to Be Counted
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Cass R. Sunstein This episode explores Valuing Life: Humanizing the…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Ethics of Influence — Why Neutral Choice Is Impossible
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Cass R. Sunstein This episode explores The Ethics of Influence by Cass…
Crisis in Perception[you] Ruined It for Everyone! — What Blame Hides About Modern Frustration
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Matthew Vincent This episode explores [you] Ruined It for Everyone! by…
Crisis in PerceptionWhen Prophecy Fails — Why Failed Beliefs Get Stronger
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter This episode…
Crisis in PerceptionDon’t Look Up — Why Smart Societies Still Fail Obvious Threats
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Film written and directed by Adam McKay This episode explores Don’t…
Crisis in PerceptionWhen Atheism Becomes Religion: America’s New Fundamentalists — When Certainty Becomes Dogma
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Chris Hedges This episode explores I Don’t Believe in Atheists by…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty — Why Liberty Must Struggle
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson This episode explores The Narrow…
Crisis in PerceptionLogistics in World War II: Final Report of the Army Service Forces — When Supply Sets Strategy
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Army Service Forces This episode explores Logistics in World War II…
Crisis in PerceptionD-Day: The Invasion of Normandy — Why Failed Plans Still Won
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Rick Atkinson This episode explores D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Greatest Evil Is War — Why War Becomes a System
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Chris Hedges This episode explores The Greatest Evil Is War by Chris…
Crisis in PerceptionAn Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942–1943 — The System Behind Victory
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: Rick Atkinson This episode explores An Army at Dawn: The War in North…
Crisis in PerceptionThe Battle of Britain: Five Months That Changed History; May–October 1940 — The System Behind the Few
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world. Author: James Holland This episode explores The Battle of Britain: Five Months…