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To understand why we feel political ‘outrage,’ one author says: Look to our earliest ancestors

“Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground” Kurt Gray, author.
Provided by Author
“Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground” Kurt Gray, author.

The August primaries in Connecticut are over and now it’s time to look ahead to the fall midterm campaign season.

It’s that time of the election cycle when politicians quickly get over the arguments they had with their primary opponents and fellow party members – and pivot to the November general election as they compete against their political adversaries on the other end of the ideological spectrum.

Kurt Gray, author, “Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground”.
Provided by Author
Kurt Gray, author, “Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground”.

With all this fussing over our future – and with a lot of division in our national politics – we’re revisiting a conversation with an author who uses anthropology to understand why we engage with politics the way we do.

It turns out that we’re not actually mean. We’re just feeling vulnerable.

Today on The Wheelhouse, social psychologist and author Kurt Gray discusses his book “Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground.”

Guests:

  • Kurt Gray, author, “Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground”

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The Wheelhouse is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Frankie Graziano is the host of 'The Wheelhouse,' focusing on how local and national politics impact the people of Connecticut.
Chloe is a producer for The Wheelhouse and Where We Live at Connecticut Public. She's also the host and a producer of the narrative podcast 'Generation Gilmore Girls.' Before that, she produced and reported for VPM and Story Mechanics on the investigative podcast 'Admissible: Shreds of Evidence.' She earned her master's degree from Columbia Journalism School in 2021. Reach her at cwynne@ctpublic.org.
Robyn Doyon-Aitken is the Deputy Director of Audio Storytelling and Talk Shows