EPISODE · Jun 2, 2026 · 45 MIN
#318 The Lies that Trap Us | Alan Godwin, PhD
from SuperPsyched with Dr. Adam Dorsay · host SuperPsyched ©
Dr. Adam Dorsay introduces SuperPsyched and interviews psychologist, professor, and author Dr. Alan Godwin about his book Ties That Bind: Unraveling Stories That Keep Us in the Dark, focusing on how individuals and societies accept untrue “stories” that merely sound true. Godwin shares growing up in segregated Jackson, Mississippi, where his idyllic childhood coexisted with racial terror across town, illustrating collective normalization of dysfunction. He discusses confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, and how adults construct self-justifying narratives, contrasting Jonathan Rauch’s “reality-based community” (evidence, epistemic humility, tolerance for ambiguity) with a “story-based fortress” that discards disconfirming facts and becomes both protection and prison. Using clinical examples like “Katie” and modern cases of relatives drawn into conspiratorial information silos, he emphasizes attachment and identity as drivers of collective deception, argues people are often drawn out by relationships more than information, and concludes that humility is the key skill for better truth-seeking.00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched00:52 Meet Alan Godwin02:42 Growing Up in Jackson05:43 Stories and Lying07:46 Bias and Normalization10:08 Truth Hurts Then Frees12:37 Reality Based Community14:46 Story Based Fortress18:02 Escaping the Fortress20:14 Katie and Personal Healing22:00 Harry Potter Blindness22:50 Accents and Linguistics23:27 From Self Doubt to Uncle Irving24:42 Collective Deception Online26:48 Environment Reveals the Real You28:57 Information Silos and Gaslighting30:58 Attachment and Identity Needs33:57 Sports Fandom as Microcosm36:14 Crowd Seduction and Nazi Rallies38:32 Truth Needs Trusted Relationships40:32 AI Can’t Replace Human Connection41:41 Humility as the Ultimate Skill44:35 Closing Thanks and FarewellHelpful Links:Dr. Alan GodwinDr. Alan Godwin LinkedInTies That Blind: Unraveling Stories That Keep Us in the Dark Book
What this episode covers
Dr. Adam Dorsay introduces SuperPsyched and interviews psychologist, professor, and author Dr. Alan Godwin about his book Ties That Bind: Unraveling Stories That Keep Us in the Dark, focusing on how individuals and societies accept untrue “stories” that merely sound true. Godwin shares growing up in segregated Jackson, Mississippi, where his idyllic childhood coexisted with racial terror across town, illustrating collective normalization of dysfunction. He discusses confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, and how adults construct self-justifying narratives, contrasting Jonathan Rauch’s “reality-based community” (evidence, epistemic humility, tolerance for ambiguity) with a “story-based fortress” that discards disconfirming facts and becomes both protection and prison. Using clinical examples like “Katie” and modern cases of relatives drawn into conspiratorial information silos, he emphasizes attachment and identity as drivers of collective deception, argues people are often drawn out by relationships more than information, and concludes that humility is the key skill for better truth-seeking.00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched00:52 Meet Alan Godwin02:42 Growing Up in Jackson05:43 Stories and Lying07:46 Bias and Normalization10:08 Truth Hurts Then Frees12:37 Reality Based Community14:46 Story Based Fortress18:02 Escaping the Fortress20:14 Katie and Personal Healing22:00 Harry Potter Blindness22:50 Accents and Linguistics23:27 From Self Doubt to Uncle Irving24:42 Collective Deception Online26:48 Environment Reveals the Real You28:57 Information Silos and Gaslighting30:58 Attachment and Identity Needs33:57 Sports Fandom as Microcosm36:14 Crowd Seduction and Nazi Rallies38:32 Truth Needs Trusted Relationships40:32 AI Can’t Replace Human Connection41:41 Humility as the Ultimate Skill44:35 Closing Thanks and FarewellHelpful Links:Dr. Alan GodwinDr. Alan Godwin LinkedInTies That Blind: Unraveling Stories That Keep Us in the Dark Book
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#318 The Lies that Trap Us | Alan Godwin, PhD
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