Why do Americans hoard toilet paper, of all things, at the first sign of a crisis? 

Why do we assume that total honesty would make life unbearable? 

Why do social media mobs seem to erupt out of nowhere? 

Steven Pinker, one of the world’s leading public intellectuals, offers compelling answers to these questions in his latest book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . . Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life.

Pinker explores how we navigate each other’s minds and how “common knowledge” shapes our behavior, from everyday etiquette to societal outrage.
 
Common knowledge is the invisible glue that helps us coordinate our actions, whether we’re driving in traffic or maintaining friendships. Yet its role often goes unrecognized — and even more often, misunderstood. Pinker unpacks how we use this shared understanding to solve life’s puzzles, and why we resort to hypocrisy, pretense or even threats when it breaks down. 

Pinker joins us to talk about the harmonies, hypocrisies and outrages that spring from our attempts to read each other’s minds; in conversation with New York Times columnist, author and Duke University professor Frank Bruni. 

Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and the author of twelve acclaimed books. He has been named one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today.”