Hey, listeners, today we're sharing a past episode of rethinking from the archives. Enjoy.

Hi, I am Mervais Emre. I am an associate professor of English at the University of Oxford

and a regular contributor to the New Yorker. Where are you right now? Well, there are two answers to that.

First, I'm in Berlin.

I'm on a fellowship this year at the Wisenchafs Colleg, which has been wonderful.

But second, I'm under a blanket because I needed to be under a blanket in my office,

which has very, very high ceilings.

So I cannot see anything except the inside of this blanket.

And I've never had a conversation in these conditions.

Well, luckily, podcasting works perfectly in the dark.

So that shouldn't be a problem.

Hi, everyone. It's Adam Grant.

Welcome back to Rethinking, my podcast on the science of what makes us tick.

I'm an organizational psychologist,

and I'm taking you inside the minds of fascinating people

to explore new thoughts and new ways of thinking.

Thank you. to explore new thoughts and new ways of thinking. Mervais's work consistently makes me think again.

One of her gifts is revealing how our psychology is shaped by the broader culture around us.

A few years ago, she published a fascinating book on the history of the Myers-Briggs

type indicator and the problems with personality tests. And recently, she wrote a brilliant article

on how emotional intelligence has been co-opted as a form of corporate control. Get ready

to rethink some of your core assumptions about emotions at work.

...