Aug 10, 2026 · 55 min
Emotional intelligence turns feeling into better judgment
How Feelings Make Us Smarter
The episode argues that emotional skills shape decisions, relationships, leadership, and performance—and can be strengthened through education and practice.
- 1Emotions and reasoning work together, making emotional awareness central to sound judgment and creative problem-solving.
- 2Measured emotional skills correlate with stronger listening, empathy, workplace evaluations, promotions, and raises.
- 3Yale’s RULER framework shows emotional intelligence can be taught by recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating feelings.
Don't miss
Salovey describes the emotional conversation with an African American student that changed his view of the Calhoun College name.
The brief
Peter Salovey recalls defending Yale’s decision to retain the Calhoun College name, then confronting the emotional consequences of that choice in a student’s story.
A town hall and an emotional conversation changed Salovey’s perspective, leading Yale to rename the college Grace Hopper College.
Salovey explains why emotion is not reason’s enemy: emotional intelligence helps people read situations, listen, decide, lead, and solve problems.
Research discussed in the episode links measured emotional skills with empathy, lower rates of substance use and delinquent behavior, and stronger workplace outcomes.
The Yale-developed RULER framework and deliberate practice—including reading literature—frame emotional intelligence as a learnable capacity rather than a fixed trait.
Featuring
Peter Salovey
Yale University
John C. Calhoun
Bill Clinton
Bobby FischerBooks & mentions
Listen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.