113: How your genetics could determine your politics

First Opinion Podcast

No matter who wins the 2024 presidential race, one thing is clear: Political anxiety and division will remain high for the foreseeable future. So just before Election Day, Torie spoke with Kevin Smith, a professor of political science at the University of Nebraska who studies the intersection of political attitudes, biology, and evolution. In 2019, he and colleagues published a study that found almost 40% of Americans reported experiencing stress over politics, 11.5% thought their physical health had been affected, and 4% reported suicidal thoughts. They talked about political anxiety, tribalism, and how much our political attitudes might be driven by biology rather than environment.