The Republican Brain

The Science of Why They Deny Science - and Reality

By: Chris Mooney

Narrated by: William Hughes

Best-selling author Chris Mooney uses cutting-edge research to explain the psychology behind why today’s Republicans reject reality - it’s just part of who they are. From climate change to evolution, the rejection of mainstream science among Republicans is growing, as is the denial of expert consensus on the economy, American history, foreign policy, and much more.

Why won’t Republicans accept things that most experts agree on? Why are they constantly fighting against the facts? Science writer Chris Mooney explores brain scans, polls, and psychology experiments to explain why conservatives today believe more wrong things, appear more likely than Democrats to oppose new ideas and less likely to change their beliefs in the face of new facts, and sometimes respond to compelling evidence by doubling down on their current beliefs.

Certain to spark discussion and debate, The Republican Brain also promises to add to the lengthy list of persuasive scientific findings that Republicans reject and deny.

Chris Mooney is the best-selling author of The Republican War on Science, the host of the Point of Inquiry podcast, and the author of The Intersection blog for Science Progress. He has written several books, as well as articles for Mother Jones, American Prospect, Harper’s, Washington Post, USA Today, and Slate. He has appeared on The Last Word, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Book TV, Science Friday, Morning Joe, and Fresh Air, among other programs.

©2012 Chris Mooney (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Mooney has bravely tackled a gigantic and complex topic.” (The Washington Post on The Republican War on Science)

"Nothing short of a landmark in contemporary political reporting.” ( Salon on The Republican War on Science)

Super Interesting

Amazing look at how differently people view information. Every Dem should read this book.

incompetent and biased author. though breadth is fine

The author does not understand research methods and, more so, statistics (e.g. interpretation of effect size, so he often overestimates power of discoveries).
He also does not know some issues mentioned in the book in depth (e.g. relationship of big5 with polit. orientation is not that tight, which has been shown by meta-analyses); Breadth (of psychological aspect) is good (did miss a few important findings, but that's ok).
On the political side through the book is rubbish it accentuates irrelevant and useless information while doing this in a biased and shallow way; The worst maybe that this very part is the biggest in the book, e.g. chapters 7 to 13 is occupied by this kind of bs.

Explains the unexplainable

If you are conservative you won't like this book (or books in general), but we knew that. The funny thing is that the reasons you won't like this book are scientifically explained in this book.

The author tries too hard to be fair to conservatives and balance out the wackyness like its both sides of the aisle. Most Science deniers vote for the Republicans and they will go to all four corners of the flat earth to defend thier confidently held wrong beliefs. This is the best book I've found at attempting to explain why that is.

Good - if it is actually a psychology experiment

I would raise my 2 Star rating of the story if it turns out this is really a large sample psychology experiment to see if by complimenting liberals on their smartness the book can convince them to conflate the Democratic Party with liberalism, David Frum with credibility, nuclear "waste disposal" with nuclear waste disposal (when there is only "temporary storage") and supporting Obama with Occupy Wall Streets objectives. God I hope the experiment gets negative results!

Do you wonder why people support Trump?

One of the discussions I have within my brain and with other like minded friends is "why do many intelligent people support Trump and the "new" Republican party! Listening to this excellent book, as well as John Dean's equally outstanding and even handed book on "Authoritarians"" largely answered answered the question. ( My Republican friends do not see the observations in these books as objective, rather they are viewed as anti-Trump "Fake News".)
One of the reasons I don't read nearly as much as I used to is time, I simply don't have much of it! Audible books let me use my driving time very productively; I split it 1/2 and 1/2 between listening to the books and thinking.
I look at both of these books as well researched and documented "scholarly" works and in order to delve into their complex details and references in depth I also purchased the books. Spoken and written words each have their place in helping me understand complex topics.

Boring narration

The content of this book is interesting, but the narration is so dull that I couldn't get through it.

Wow!

Everyone should read! Has great insight on the way we think as a society, how diverse we are and how we need each other!

An Evenhanded Analysis of Both Sides of the Aisle

Would you consider the audio edition of The Republican Brain to be better than the print version?

I am always a fan of books in print, but this is a good one to read in the car. Personally, I tend to pick non-fiction books apart, so it takes forever for me to read them. I was glad to have this in audio format if only for the benefit of getting through it quickly and not being so nitpicky.

Have you listened to any of William Hughes’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Never heard any of William Hughes' books before, but he was very good. I enjoyed listening to him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was definitely hard to turn it off, but it is so long that it would be hard to find that much time all at once.

Any additional comments?

Please disregard any reviews that claim this book is biased. I would question whether that person had even read the book, since the author clearly tries to understand the psychology of why BOTH parties think and act the way they do. Mooney does a great job of showing the differences between the parties and noting how each party adds value to our country. It is not a question of intelligence or morality. He makes no claim that Republicans are idiots or crazy, as one reviewer on this site interprets this book. He simply explains that conservatives and liberals are wired differently.

I think this topic is extremely important - it is something that has always frustrated me as a liberal. I know many conservatives who I consider to be smart and genuinely good people. How then can they be so wrong when it comes to scientific fact?

This book's premise is that humans, in general, are hardwired to respond emotionally at first and then justify that response using facts. Everyone does this, regardless of political affiliation. The primary difference between conservatives and liberals is their level of openness - liberals tend to be very open to change and new ideas, where conservatives tend to be more closed, valuing tradition and hierarchy. Liberals, therefore, are more apt to change their minds when presented with facts and data consistently over time. Conservatives, however, react in just the opposite way - sometimes they will even cling harder to previously held beliefs when presented with opposing data. Understanding why this happens is crucial in determining how we communicate. I hope that people who read this book will not only come away with a better understanding of how the two parties think, but also start considering ways that we can work together toward common goals.

The title did raise my hackles, but then…

Being a conservative myself both my interest was peaked and hackles raised when I saw this title. So instead of ranting about the book title, I instead read the whole book.
So our brains are different and we value different things and if you stick around to the end you will learn a great deal about the mindset of Republicans and also of liberals.
The studies and examples quoted are digestible and easy to understand. Just note that the book is dated for the political climate we are in now in 2021, but the core information is still interesting.
Thanks Chris and I look forward to an update title along these lines.

Interesting but lost me a bit toward the end

Very interesting observations, but toward the end when the author delves into the statistical details of their experiment, it lost me a bit. Would have been more useful sticking to layman’s terms vs. rote statistics.