3. The Art of Persuasion

Paris meets a disabled BTS superfan who finds community and connection with fellow fans and a My Little Pony bro who explains what happened when the right wing infiltrated their fandom. Speaking to clinical psychologist Dr Lynn Zubernis, Paris looks at how our passions for things can enrich our lives. Are only certain people able to become hardcore fans?Presented and Written by Paris Lees Produced by Sarah Myles Assistant Producer Hannah Uguru Sound Designed and mixed by Mau Loseto Production Manager Emily Jarvis Executive Producer Rubina Pabani

We hear the story of a man whose celebrity friend break up ruined his Hollywood career and another of a Drag Queen who stopped drinking and stepped away from friends that weren’t good for them. Dr Mariso G. Franco talks to Paris about the connections we form with other people and how that affects our health, our motivation and our sense of self.Presented and Written by Paris Lees Produced by Sarah Myles Assistant Producer Hannah Uguru Sound Designed and mixed by Mau Loseto Production Manager Emily Jarvis Executive Producer Rubina Pabani

Paris talks to YouTuber Contrapoints about the envy she felt for her as a fellow trans woman in the public eye and we meet someone in a polyamorous relationship who explains how to not feel envious of your partner's other partners. With the help of psychotherapist Rahim Thawer, Paris looks at what makes us envious, how we can recognise it in ourselves and what deeper meaning it reveals about what we want. Why do people feel envious and what is envy telling me about myself?Presented and Written by Paris Lees Produced by Sarah Myles Assistant Producer Hannah Uguru Sound Designed and mixed by Mau Loseto Production Manager Emily Jarvis Executive Producer Rubina Pabani

Paris meets someone using dating apps to procrastinate and speaks to Dr Anastasia Dedyukhina who gave up their smartphone to be more present in their own life. Dr Pragya Agarwal talks to Paris about procrastination being a form of unconscious bias and explores what it’s like to live with ADHD. Can avoiding the task at hand, ever lead to something good?Presented and Written by Paris Lees Produced by Sarah Myles Assistant Producer Hannah Uguru Sound Designed and mixed by Mau Loseto Production Manager Emily Jarvis Executive Producer Rubina Pabani

From an African American who moved to Taiwan and felt more aware of her race to a man who found Animal Crossing to be the perfect world to test out his interest in gender fluidity, Paris asks where we see our race and our sexual identity differently when our surrounding demographics change. Organisational psychologist Hajo Adam helps us to understand what impact our surroundings have on our decision making, creativity and identity. If we change our surroundings, is this a quick fix to changing who we are? Presented and Written by Paris Lees Produced by Sarah Myles Assistant Producer Hannah Uguru Sound Designed and mixed by Mau Loseto Production Manager Emily Jarvis Executive Producer Rubina Pabani

Paris speaks to a hostage negotiator who shares key takeaways from her role and a woman who was persuaded to join a multi-level marketing scheme where she started to phone people up to persuade them to sign up. Our expert is Dr. Alice Pailhes who looks at the psychology of illusory mind control, she can also do a few card tricks!Together they’ll look at exactly what makes some of us more easily persuaded than others.Presented and Written by Paris Lees Produced by Sarah Myles Assistant Producer Hannah Uguru Sound Designed and mixed by Mau Loseto Production Manager Emily Jarvis Executive Producer Rubina Pabani

Being lied to and being encouraged to lie are stories explored in this episode, with a woman who was led down a garden path by a man and a political activist who stood up against corruption and lies.Professor of neuroscience Tali Sahrot helps Paris look at the lies we tell about ourselves on the internet and what they reveal about who we really are. Does lying destroy our trust in each other or can it be used to bind us closer? Presented and Written by Paris Lees Produced by Sarah Myles Assistant Producer Hannah Uguru Sound Designed and mixed by Mau Loseto Production Manager Emily Jarvis Executive Producer Rubina Pabani

From the climate activism of George Monbiot who believes the media does more harm than good to C4 News reporter Minnie Stephenson who thinks sometimes we all just need to watch a cat video. Paris Lees looks at why we’re able to switch off when it comes to issues facing our planet. With the help of clinical psychologist Dr Mary E. McNaughton, she looks at strategies to cope with stress caused by the constant barrage of content. We try to understand, how can we switch off from doom scrolling the news whilst also staying informed?Presented and Written by Paris Lees Produced by Sarah Myles Assistant Producer Hannah Uguru Sound Designed and mixed by Mau Loseto Production Manager Emily Jarvis Executive Producer Rubina Pabani

Hosted by Paris Lees, this science and storytelling podcast hears two stories from opposite sides of the coin and uses science to ask questions about elements of the human experience we take for granted.From why we lie or why we procrastinate, to the art of persuasion and why humans have to sometimes switch off from the news. With international stories explored through social science, Paris Lees reflects on what makes us human.

Could you be radicalised?Paris Lees talks to a former yoga enthusiast who realised her community was a little too cult-ish for her liking, and a football fan who would go to extremes to see his team win the league.In this episode, we speak to cognitive scientist Dr. Nafees Hamid about sacred values and what happens when we prioritise a group’s wellbeing over our own.The Flipside is hosted by Paris Lees, and written by Hannah Varrall and Paris Lees. The Assistant Producer is Lucy Evans, The Production Manager is Emily Jarvis. Audio engineering is by Chris Carter and Nick Webb and it is mixed by Mau Loseto It’s produced by Hannah Varrall and the Executive Producer is Rubina Pabani It’s made by ITN Productions for BBC Radio 4