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A Kind of Antenna for Other People

Terry Gross in conversation with Marc Maron (May 6, 2015):

I think one of my gifts is also one of my weaknesses. Which is, I have a kind of antenna for other people. My friends and my producers might disagree with me about this, but I think an antenna that picks up on what other people are feeling. But there's something good and bad about that.

The bad thing about that is that you're always wondering like, Oh, did I hurt somebody's feelings?  Oh, I think I said the right thing. Oh, I think they hate me. Oh, they just moved their mouth in such a way and I think they meant to say something bad and they stopped. You know what I mean?

You're always reading other people and guessing them and feeling what you think they're feeling. 

As an interviewer, I think that's a wonderful thing to do. You want to be thinking, What are they feeling now? What are they thinking now? What do they think when they go about their lives? What's their typical life like? What was it like for them when they experienced this trauma? 

And that guides me in figuring out what to ask them, but it also makes me very...nervous. 

Daron LarsonMarc Maron, Terry Gross, conversation, feelings, self/other, Fresh Air, BAM, communication, perception, theory of mind, emotions, projectionComment