Originally published on January 24, 2022 (Episode 243)
Introduction
Storytelling, writes Jonathan Gottschall, is the way humans have for thousands of years bound themselves together into communities, building both culture and civilization. But storytelling is also a powerful tool for manipulation, for forcing people apart, and for undermining rational thought. Behind some of our greatest social ills, he argues, are “mind-disordering” stories.
In this episode, we discuss the double-edged power of storytelling and what it means for how we tell stories about the past.
About the Guest
Jonathan Gottschall is Distinguished Research Fellow in the English Department at Washington & Jefferson College. He is the author of several books on the science of storytelling, most recently The Story Paradox: How Our Love of Stories Builds Societies and Tears Them Down (Basic Books, 2021).
For Further Investigation
Jonathan Gottschall, The Story Paradox: How Our Love of Stories Builds Societies and Tears Them Down (Basic Books, 2021)
Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013)
💬 Listen & Discuss
Are stories the glue of civilization—or the spark that tears it apart? How should historians navigate the power of narrative? Is it possible to even conceive how we would move beyond telling stories? Share your reflections in the comments, and pass this conversation along to a friend who loves thinking about stories.
