Inner Propaganda with Owen Fitzpatrick

Owen Fitzpatrick
  • 5.0 (34)
  • Social Sciences
  • Updated fortnightly

The most powerful propagandist in your life is you. Inner Propaganda with Owen Fitzpatrick explores the unconscious beliefs and stories that shape how we think, decide, and lead. Owen is a social psychologist, keynote speaker, and author of Inner Propaganda (Ideapress, 2026). For over two decades, he's studied belief systems, from global boardrooms to field research in North Korea, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. Each episode unpacks how beliefs form, why they resist change, and what it takes to lead through uncertainty. Ideas for leaders, thinkers, and anyone tired of soft-skill clichés. (Formerly Changing Minds.)

  1. You're a hypocrite. That's the best news you'll hear today

    1 day ago

    You're a hypocrite. That's the best news you'll hear today

    A coach with decades of experience once told me she knew exactly what she needed to do to stop smoking, but just couldn't do it, because she was a smoker and that was all there was to it. One reframe later, she never touched a cigarette again. What changed was not her knowledge or her willpower but her identity. That story sits at the heart of this episode, because identity is one of the most powerful forces shaping every decision we make, and most of us never stop to examine it carefully. The belief you hold about who you are determines what you allow yourself to do, what you permit yourself to change, and how you interpret every behavior you engage in. In this episode of Inner Propaganda, I explore where identity actually comes from, why so many of us are walking around with a perceived identity that is contaminated by who we want to be rather than who we actually are, and how to close that gap. I draw on the research of James Marcia on identity foreclosure, James Clear's work on behavior and identity from Atomic Habits, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb's concept of antifragility to introduce a framework for building an identity that grows stronger under pressure rather than breaking apart. What you will discover: Why identity comes from the combination of your behaviors and the stories you sell yourself about those behaviors How identity foreclosure, a concept developed by James Marcia, can lock you into a life path you never consciously chose The difference between your perceived identity and your desired identity, and why motivated reasoning makes them hard to tell apart Why self-deception is not always the problem, and how to tell the difference between the lies that keep you stuck and the ones that help you grow How to replace a justification story with an evolution story, and why that shift is the foundation of an antifragile identity Pre-order Inner Propaganda: https://innerpropaganda.com/ Visit: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/    #InnerPropaganda #Identity

    17 min
  2. Why feelings feel like facts

    1 Jun

    Why feelings feel like facts

    I was lying on a wooden floor in the Amazon jungle, convinced I was finally seeing the truth. The colors were sharper. The connections were obvious. Everything made sense. There was just one problem: I am a psychologist who studies how people get tricked into believing things, and right at that moment, I was being tricked. What the ayahuasca did to my perception that night is a more extreme version of what is happening to every one of us every single day. Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett calls it affective realism. Your feelings do not just shape what you think. They construct what you see. In 2021, an ecologist named Martin Scheffer tracked emotional versus rational language in books and newspapers from 1850 to the present and found that we are living in the most emotionally engineered information environment in modern history. Most of us have no framework for navigating it. In this episode of Inner Propaganda, I explore how emotions work as constructions rather than reactions, what the body budget is, and why your physical state determines what you perceive as threatening, and how a 2007 research study revealed that simply naming an emotion precisely is enough to reduce its intensity. I also share the story of Robert Piché, a Canadian pilot who, in 2001, glided a powerless aircraft 120 kilometers over the Atlantic with 306 people on board and landed safely, because he had learned years earlier in a prison cell that fear does not have to steer you in the wrong direction. What you will discover: Why the emotional state you are in does not just color your mood but determines the version of reality you actually perceive How a 2021 study tracking 170 years of language reveals that emotional engineering in media and politics is not accidental, it is systematic Why modern neuroscience suggests emotions are constructions your brain builds in real time from your senses, your body, and your memories, not reactions to the world around you What the body budget is and why being tired, hungry, or stressed makes threats appear more real and more serious than they actually are A practical three-part framework for working with your emotions in any high-stakes moment: Label it, Use it, Change it Pre-order Inner Propaganda: https://innerpropaganda.com/ Visit: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/  #InnerPropaganda #Feelings #Emotions

    24 min
  3. The belief that sabotages every conversation you have (with Tamsen Webster)

    25 May

    The belief that sabotages every conversation you have (with Tamsen Webster)

    Socrates was executed for it. The ancient Greeks called it parrhesia: the practice of speaking truth openly, even at personal risk. The form of conversation it made possible, genuine dialogue aimed at mutual understanding, has quietly disappeared from the way most of us communicate today. What replaced it was debate. And debate, it turns out, is one of the least effective tools we have for actually changing minds. In this episode of Inner Propaganda, I sit down with Tamsen Webster, design expert, persuasion researcher, and doctoral candidate, to explore what it actually takes to change minds ethically and durably. Drawing on Habermas, sense-making and sense-giving theory, Bayesian probability, and the ancient Greek concept of parrhesia, we get into the real mechanics of how beliefs shift and what that means for anyone trying to communicate, lead, or connect. What you will discover: Why debate, discussion, and dialogue are three completely different tools with three completely different goals, and why entering the wrong one makes genuine understanding impossible How carrying a persuasive intent into a conversation can be the very thing that prevents persuasion from happening The two-word phrase that can shift how you experience disagreement in real time Why the if-then structure underpins all human understanding, and what that means for anyone trying to land a new idea The one belief Tamsen thinks too many people carry, and why it may be the single biggest obstacle to genuine connection Pre-order Inner Propaganda: https://innerpropaganda.com/  Visit: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/ Follow Tamsen Webster: https://tamsenwebster.com/   #InnerPropaganda #Persuasion #Psychology #Beliefs

    1hr 25min
  4. The hidden psychology that decides whether your team will fight for you or walk away

    18 May

    The hidden psychology that decides whether your team will fight for you or walk away

    At 25 years old, Anne Devlin was tortured, thrown into a cell with six inches of sewage on the floor, and offered the equivalent of $90,000 to talk. For three years, she endured it all without saying a single word. The psychology that explains her silence is the same psychology that determines whether the people on your team will give everything for your mission, or quietly walk away. In this episode of Inner Propaganda, I explore the three forces that drive deep commitment in any group, organization, or movement: labeling, belonging, and becoming. Drawing on Henry Tajfel's social identity theory, Solomon Asch's conformity studies, and Stanley Milgram's sidewalk experiment, I walk through exactly how identity shapes belief, and what leaders can do with that understanding. What you will discover: Why the labels we assign to people do not just describe identity, they create it Why social exclusion registers neurologically the same way physical pain does How identity fusion explains the most extraordinary acts of commitment and sacrifice What the science of belonging means for building teams that truly believe in what they are doing The dangers of groupthink, and how to protect against it Pre-order Inner Propaganda: https://innerpropaganda.com/ Visit: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/   #InnerPropaganda #Leadership #Psychology #Belonging

    23 min
  5. Your brain has five versions of the truth, and most of them are wrong

    11 May

    Your brain has five versions of the truth, and most of them are wrong

    Nobody thinks they're the one watching propaganda. It's always the other channel. That's naive realism, and it's one of the biggest barriers to meaningful conversation. In this episode of Inner Propaganda, I introduce the Five Types of Truth: past, objective, shared, emotional, and desired. Each one shapes how we think, decide, and relate to others. Each has its own power and its own risks. I also share a practical framework for using this model when you're trying to influence someone else, including a step-by-step example around helping someone move past their fear of artificial intelligence. What you'll discover: –       Why naive realism shuts down real conversation –       The five types of truth, with real-world examples for each –       Why belief is often the admission fee for belonging to a group –       How to communicate more effectively by understanding which truth someone is operating from   Pre-order Inner Propaganda: https://innerpropaganda.com/ Visit: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/

    37 min
  6. How the Emperor created Darth Vader: The psychology behind the dark side

    4 May

    How the Emperor created Darth Vader: The psychology behind the dark side

    This episode of Inner Propaganda is one I have been waiting to make for a long time. In honor of May the 4th, we are going full Star Wars to answer one of the most important questions in movie history: how did Emperor Palpatine turn the galaxy's greatest hero into a mass murderer? And how did Luke Skywalker manage to turn him back? In this episode, I break down how Palpatine engineered the conversion of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, and how Luke Skywalker reversed it at the very end. This is not just a Star Wars deep dive. It is a masterclass in how beliefs are built and identities are hijacked. In this episode, you will discover: The real psychology behind Jedi mind tricks The three-part framework behind every major belief change: feels right, fits in, makes sense How fear and anger have been used to manipulate populations throughout history How Luke used belief and connection to bring his father back from the dark side Visit my website: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/ Join my newsletter: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/newsletter/ Order my new book - Inner Propaganda - https://innerpropaganda.com/

    31 min

  7. 27 Apr

    Your brain has a context window, and it's lying to you

    Welcome to the very first episode of Inner Propaganda. In this episode, I open up about the darkest moment of my life, at 14 years old, sitting down to write a goodbye note to my parents, and the one question that stopped me, shifted my beliefs, and ultimately saved my life. That moment became the foundation for everything I've built since. I also explore the fascinating difference between fact and truth, why your brain is the ultimate internal propagandist, and introduce one of the most powerful frameworks I've ever developed: The brain's context window, and how you can deliberately use it to change the stories you sell to yourself. In this episode, you'll discover: Why your brain doesn't show you reality — it sells you a story The study of 500,000 people across 145 countries that reveals when we're most miserable (spoiler: I'm living it) The difference between a fact and a truth, and why it changes everything What Inner Propaganda actually is, and how your own mind uses it against you Two practical tools — uploading into your brain's context window and brain prompting — to start rewriting the beliefs holding you back If you're ready to stop being a victim of your own inner propaganda and start your own Inner Revolution, this episode is your starting point. Visit my website: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/ Join my newsletter: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/newsletter/ Order my new book - Inner Propaganda - https://innerpropaganda.com/

    26 min

  8. 23 Mar

    Why Giving Up Can Help You Win

    In this episode of Changing Minds, I sit down with resilience expert Courtney Clark to explore a powerful idea: sometimes the key to winning is knowing when to give up. We dive into why grit alone isn't enough, how flexible goal setting can outperform perseverance, and why letting go of the wrong path can actually move you closer to success. Courtney shares deeply personal stories, from surviving cancer to redefining what it means to achieve your goals, and introduces practical tools like "goal supersizing" and "stoptimism." If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure whether to keep going or change direction, this episode will give you a new way to think about success, resilience, and growth. Learn more about Courtney ➡️ https://courtneyclark.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@CourtneyLClark Visit my website: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/ Join my Newsletter: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/newsletter/

    38 min
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5
out of 5
34 Ratings

About

The most powerful propagandist in your life is you. Inner Propaganda with Owen Fitzpatrick explores the unconscious beliefs and stories that shape how we think, decide, and lead. Owen is a social psychologist, keynote speaker, and author of Inner Propaganda (Ideapress, 2026). For over two decades, he's studied belief systems, from global boardrooms to field research in North Korea, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. Each episode unpacks how beliefs form, why they resist change, and what it takes to lead through uncertainty. Ideas for leaders, thinkers, and anyone tired of soft-skill clichés. (Formerly Changing Minds.)

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