Peacebuilding with Dr. Pollack

We hear all the time that trust takes years to build and seconds to break. But what actually is trust? One useful way to think about it is as a perception of safety. Not necessarily physical safety, but the sense that the people and environment around us are stable enough to predict. That has important implications for leadership. A boss whose mood changes dramatically from one day to the next may...

We spend a lot of time learning how to resolve conflict. But knowing when not to try may be just as important. In this episode, we will explore seven brain states that can compromise our ability to navigate conflict effectively: from being tired, hungry, or chronically stressed to feeling emotionally escalated, having an unmet core need, being under the influence, or trying to resolve an issue in...

Why does conflict feel threatening even when we know intellectually that disagreement can be productive? In this episode, we explore how repeated negative experiences with conflict can condition the brain to associate interpersonal friction with stress and danger. Over time, that response can become automatic: tension appears, the nervous system reacts, and we may start defending, avoiding, or esc...

“We should look at this as an opportunity.” You’ve probably heard some version of that about conflict, and it may have sounded like a platitude. Opportunities are things we want. How could conflict possibly be one of them? In this episode, we explore why we may not want conflict, but we often need it to grow, learn, and create meaningful change. The problem is that years of difficult experiences c...

We spend a lot of time learning how to resolve conflict. But almost nobody talks about when not to. Sometimes, the smartest thing you can do in a difficult conversation is wait. In this episode, I break down seven brain states that can compromise our ability to communicate clearly, regulate our reactions, and actually resolve anything. Being tired or hungry can weaken self-control. Chronic stress...

It’s late. You’re tired. Every headline makes you feel worse, and somehow you still can’t stop scrolling. Why is bad news so hard to put down? In this episode, I break down the neuroscience behind doomscrolling and why it has less to do with willpower than we might think. Our brains evolved to pay close attention to potential threats, but today that ancient survival system has access to something...

You know you probably shouldn’t watch. A celebrity melting down. A viral argument. A stranger losing it in a parking lot while someone films. Some part of you knows it’s none of your business, and yet, you watch the whole thing. Maybe you even send it to a friend. So why are public meltdowns so hard to look away from? In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Pollack breaks down the neuroscience behind our fasc...

Why do online arguments seem to go nowhere? You start with the hope of having a thoughtful discussion. Minutes later, you're frustrated, the other person is even more entrenched, and neither of you has changed your mind. In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Pollack explains why that's not simply a failure of communication, it's the way our brains respond to online interaction. Drawing on neu...

Why do calm, reasonable people sometimes become furious behind the wheel? In this episode, Jeremy Pollack explores the neuroscience of road rage and explains why driving creates the perfect conditions for our brain's threat response to take over. Learn how biases like hostile attribution bias and the fundamental attribution error cause us to interpret other drivers' actions as personal a...

Why do fear-based political messages work so well? The answer has less to do with politics than with neuroscience. In this episode, Jeremy Pollack, Ph. D., explores how fear-based messaging can shape the brain and why it is such a powerful tool for influencing beliefs and behavior. Drawing on neuroscience and the principles from his new book, Wired for Peace , Jeremy explains how neuroplasticity a...

The way organizations handle conflict is about to change, and the companies that recognize it first will have a significant advantage. Unresolved workplace conflict costs U.S. businesses an estimated $359 billion every year in lost productivity. Not because of lawsuits or turnover, but because people struggle to navigate tension effectively. In this episode, Jeremy Pollack, Ph. D., shares his pred...

What if the conflict you're dealing with isn't really about the schedule, the budget, or that comment someone made in a meeting? Most conflicts begin on the surface, but they're driven by something much deeper. In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Pollack introduces the SAPIEN Model —a neuroscience-informed framework for understanding the six core psychological needs that shape human behavio...

Why do some people seem able to step into almost any conflict and help people find a way forward? It isn't magic. It's actually a set of learnable skills. In this episode, Jeremy Pollack, Ph. D., introduces the 5 Cs of Conflict Resolution —the essential capacities that professional peacebuilders rely on to navigate difficult conversations and transform conflict into collaboration. You&ap...

What if the person who frustrates you most could actually help you become better at handling conflict? In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Pollack introduces a surprising neuroscience-based exercise that uses a controlled trigger, like a podcaster, news anchor, or public figure who reliably irritates you, to train your brain to respond more calmly and constructively during real-life disagreements. Rather...

Why do so many conflict resolution strategies work for a while only to fall apart when emotions run high? According to Dr. Jeremy Pollack, the missing piece isn't better communication. It's understanding the brain and the nervous system. Until we address conflict at that level, lasting resolution remains difficult to achieve. In this foundational episode, Dr. Pollack introduces the seven...

We've all heard that empathy is the key to resolving conflict. But what if the version of empathy most people practice is actually making difficult conversations harder? In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Pollack challenges one of the most common assumptions in conflict resolution. Drawing on neuroscience and peace psychology, he explains why absorbing another person's emotions can leave both p...

Are human beings naturally wired for conflict or for cooperation? Conventional wisdom often tells us that people are inherently aggressive, competitive, and tribal. But what if the opposite is true? What if our brains and nervous systems were actually designed for connection, and conflict is meant to be a temporary survival response rather than our default state? In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Pollac...

When conflict erupts at work, the default response is often simple: get everyone in a room, let each person share their perspective, and work toward an agreement. So why do so many workplace conflicts return just weeks later? In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Pollack challenges one of the most common assumptions in conflict resolution, that bringing people together to "talk it out" is the best...

Why do difficult conversations seem to spiral so quickly, even when you're trying to stay calm? One reason lies in the way your brain interprets what's happening inside your body. As your heart rate rises and your breathing changes during conflict, your brain can mistakenly read those physical sensations as evidence that you're in even greater danger, creating a cycle that makes cle...

Why do some disagreements feel like a personal attack, even when they aren't? When conflict triggers your nervous system, your brain shifts into a threat response, making it harder to think clearly, stay present, or respond the way you intended. The good news is that you can interrupt that process. In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Pollack explains why conflict activates the brain's threat cir...

Have you ever said something in the middle of an argument that you immediately wished you could take back? In those moments, it's easy to think you simply lost your temper. But according to neuroscience, something else is happening: your nervous system has shifted into a threat response, temporarily taking your brain's higher reasoning offline. In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Pollack shares...

Psychological safety has become one of the most talked-about ideas in leadership, but what if we've misunderstood it? In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Pollack explores how the popular interpretation of psychological safety may actually be making teams less resilient by encouraging conflict avoidance rather than healthy disagreement. Drawing from neuroscience, organizational psychology, and conflic...

When co-founders stop having honest conversations, the business often feels the impact long before anyone addresses the problem. In this episode, we explore a common but rarely discussed leadership challenge: growing resentment between co-founders. What happens when one partner begins making major decisions without collaboration? How do you raise concerns without triggering defensiveness, blame, o...

Why do so many leaders avoid accountability conversations, even when they know those conversations matter?  In this video, Dr. Jeremy Pollack breaks down one of the biggest misconceptions in leadership communication: accountability itself is not what damages morale, trust, or relationships. More often, the real problem is how accountability conversations are handled.  You’ll learn why these conver...

Most leaders don’t struggle with conflict because they lack authority.  They struggle because timing is unclear and the cost of getting it wrong builds quietly over time. Step in too late, and conflict becomes layered, emotional, and harder to untangle.  Step in too early, and you unintentionally take ownership away from your team. I will break down the real leadership challenge behind conflict ma...