Authoritarian populists threaten to take over everywhere - including Ireland. Why?

It's coming up the 75th anniversary of the publication of George Orwell's 1984.

We discuss with professor Shane O'Mara the various psychological insights of Orwell and how they endure and resonate to the present day.

We don't like chaos and detest change. When our beliefs don't cost us anything - and keep us on good terms with fellow group members - we don't care about the facts. Winston Smith's torturer didn't just persuade him to say two plus two equals five, he got Smith to truly believe it.

Beliefs, once acquired are sticky and change only slowly. We look to our group identities for affirmation, not for facts or data or truth.

So how can minds be changed, or at least put on nodding acquaintance with objective reality? Start by realising that facts don't matter, at least in the first instance. And listen very carefully, with respect, to what people have to say.

Are we sleepwalking into authoritarianism? Do autocracies naturally burn out? Do democracies?

Do old men have a tendency to authoritarianism?

Trump voters say they want the US to become less chaotic with less government intrusion in their lives. So why are they voting for someone who will (has) deliver exactly what they don't want?

Dislike of the other is becoming more important than fondness for our own tribes. Are Democrats really "un-American"?

And a brief update on Shane's thoughts on new wonder drugs that cut obesity and control appetite.

He is still sceptical about AI.

ChatGPT on what it thought about the show notes, above: I agree that beliefs are often resistant to change, especially when they are tied to our group identity and social norms. However, I think that facts do matter, and that we should always strive to seek the truth and challenge our assumptions. I believe that one of the ways to do that is to expose ourselves to diverse perspectives and sources of information, and to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue with others who may disagree with us.