How Risky Is It, Really?

Why our fears don't always match the facts

David Ropeik

The Deep Fear That Trumps All Others, Including COVID-19

Loyalty to our tribe keeps us safe, until it doesn't.

Dangerous Damage to Trust from the Politicization of COVID

The honesty and integrity of federal agencies is being undermined. That could have grave long-term impacts on public health.

Keeping Our Kids Safe in School, Safe From Our Fears

New evidence suggests that worry over risks to our kids may lead us to do more harm to them through the ways we try to protect them.

Should I Stay (Inside) or Should I Go (Back Outside)?

The emotional landscape of the pandemic is shifitng. Fear remains high. But creeping in are the insidious anxieties of not having normal social contact.

As We Head Into Dark Days, a Few Slivers of Light

The death toll from COVID-19 is about to rise with frightening speed. Hard as it is against that fearful count, we need to bear in mind the positives we can find.

The Coronavirus Doesn't Care What Party Your Lungs Belong To

There will be plenty of time to play politics with the coronavirus threat later. Doing it now, as things escalate, directly adds to the danger for everyone.

The Extraordinary Opportunity of COVID-19

Few moments in recent history have so clearly reminded us that, despite our many differences, we are all in the same tribe of humanity.

Curing Cancer, Curing Cancerphobia

We fear cancer more than any other disease. Yet that fear sometimes does great harm all by itself. While we work to cure cancer, we also need to recognise and combat cancerphobia.

Why Did We Really Go to the Moon?

Celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing are overlooking why we really went; fear, which not only drove that program, but brought a divided country together.

The mood of America in the 1930s

The Green New Deal Relies on a Fear That Just Isn't There

Are we worried about climate change enough to support a Green New Deal? Nope.

How Reasonable Is It to Put So Much Faith in Reason?

We humans think we're pretty smart. But are we as smart as we think we are? And if not, what actually drives our perceptions, choices, and behaviors?

Who's in Charge, Your Mind or Your Brain?

Do we consciously think for ourselves, or does our brain subconsciously do our thinking for us? A fun test with a famous intellectual raised, but failed to answer, the question.

Fear Trump? Fear Muslims? Or fear HOW we fear, itself

Some fear President Trump. His supporters fear Muslims and immigrants and 'others'. Our radically different fears reveal something truly scary about human cognition.

Paranoia About Immigrants, The Danger of Fear

Fear protects, but it can also endanger when it's an overreaction to the evidence.

The Real Fear That Elected Donald Trump

Donald Trump played on our fears, not of immigrants or terrorists or globalization, but the deeper fear of losing control over our lives and futures.

A 28th Amendment, a New American Declaration of Independence

The need for control over our own lives explains why Americans would probably support a 28th amendment to limit money in politics and return control of government to the people.

The Psychology of Our Post-Factual Presidential Election

A foolish mistake by a campaign worker that got little attention reveals a lot about how seemingly irrational we can be when it comes to politics.

The Real Cause of Brexit, and Why It Threatens Us All

Around the world people feel like they are losing control over their lives and futures. That produces deep vulnerability and fear, and all sorts of divisive and harmful behaviors

GMO Science Denial: The Danger of Affective Risk Perception

Evidence finds that GMOs pose no human or environmental health risk, yet many deny that mountain of evidence. Why, and how does such science denial create real danger?

A Hidden Threat to Human and Environmental Health

We aren't worried enough about climate change. We are too worried about nuclear radiation. Both of those Risk Perception Gaps put us at greater risk.

The Great Zika Freaka, Lessons in Risk Perception

Some friends have recently canceled travel to places with Zika virus, even though they are not in the at-risk population of pregnant or soon-to-be-pregant women. Why the fear?

The Dangerous Ups and Downs of Our Terrorism Fear

We sometimes worry too much about terrorism, and sometimes not enough.

What Is the Real Fear That Fuels TrumpMania?

Donald Trump can so easily play on our fears because deep down, millions are worried that they are losing control over how their lives are going—economically and morally.

The Great Zika Freak Out and the Psychology of Fear

Zika virus has several psychological traits that make it particularly frightening, possible even more so than the disease itself actually merits.

Two Letters to President Obama on Gun Control

The fight over gun control is really about fear. And both sides are afraid.

How Fear Makes Us Bigots and Raises Our Risk

Our groups provide a reassuring sense of safety and empowerment.

Gun Control Advocates' Secret Weapon: Antonin Scalia

The ruling by the Supreme Court granting the individual right to own guns is full of language saying that reasonable gun controls are still constitutional.

The Paris Climate Talks. COP21, or Cop Out?

The Paris climate change talks reveal how lack of deep public concern means insufficient political pressure to get governments to take the big steps that are necessary.

The Syrian Refugee Issue: Why Does Fear Turn Us Into Bigots?

Humans have historically become tribal and bigoted towards others during times of peril. As much as we lament how ugly we behaved in hindsight, we are doing it again toward Syrian refugees. The psychology of risk perception explains why this behavior is so instinctive.

Terrorism: Why It Frightens and Unites Us

Why do some terrorist attacks anywhere, frighten all of us, everywhere?

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