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Alex Edmans On How Our Biases Cause Us To Fall For Misinformation (And How To Combat It) – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #941 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to

He is a finance professor at London Business School, and Alex Edmans knows his stuff. With a background that spans Morgan Stanley and a PhD from MIT, Alex’s insights on corporate finance, responsible business, and behavioral finance are top-notch. He’s a TED talk star, with millions of views, and his research has been featured everywhere from the World Economic Forum to the UK Parliament. In our conversation, Alex dives into his latest book, May Contain Lies – How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases – And What We Can Do About It (he is also the author of Grow The Pie and Principles of Corporate Finance). We explore the tricky terrain of our post-truth world and the fine line between fact and fiction and conspiracy theories. Alex breaks down the role of statistical significance and why simple messages can be so appealing — and misleading. It’s not just about the facts… it’s about how they get twisted. We also tackle the financial incentives that drive misinformation. Alex is big on critical thinking and urges us all to look beyond the surface. He explains the ladder of mis-inference, making it clear why we need to understand the differences between statements, facts, data, and evidence. We get into the weeds about peer review in academic research and the biases that can creep in. Alex talks about the internet’s role in spreading misinformation and how social media can create echo chambers. He’s all about teaching critical thinking early and often. I loved reading May Contain Lies… and it really is more than just a book – it’s a guide to navigating the murky waters of modern information. Alex uses real-world examples to show how biases distort our views and decision-making. He offers practical tips to cut through the noise and think smarter. So, if you’re tired of being misled and want to make better decisions (and, who isn’t always fooled by “facts”?), take a listen. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose): #941 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.