Today’s guest is literary scholar, Research Fellow, Author, and Editor, Jonathan Gottschall! His latest book, The Story Paradox, highlights the influence of storytellers and how stories can be used for both good and bad purposes. His other work, The Storytelling Animal, shows how human beings are wired to consume stories. On this episode, we talk about how storytellers transport listeners to another state where they’re compliant, the limitations of contrarian jokes, how art is hidden in non-fiction work, if happiness and success are at odds with one another, and how often times the quality of a piece is determined by the hours put in and not raw talent.    You can submit your questions to Ben here: https://www.speakpipe.com/BenFolds   And check out the YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ix6szTyjg3vmx1sIj-Vfw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.