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Apr 11, 2017

12: This is your brain on Trump

Professor George Lakoff explains how political language activates your belief systems, whether you know it or not.

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A supporter reacts as then-candidate Donald Trump signs her button during a campaign event on December 16, 2015 in Mesa, Arizona.
A supporter reacts as then-candidate Donald Trump signs her button during a campaign event on December 16, 2015 in Mesa, Arizona.
Ralph Freso/Getty Images

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President Trump uses the language of a “strict father” to communicate. That’s according to George Lakoff, a professor emeritus of cognitive science and linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley. It’s a traditional conservative tactic that the president combines with his own “super salesman” language. For the past 40 years, Lakoff taught students how certain words activate parts of our unconscious world view and make it difficult for people to hear a new idea. We’ll brief you about the past, present and future of political language. Plus, what to do Reese’s and IBM Watson have in common? Our listeners’ curiosity. We share their questions and comments.

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