Infinite Loops with Jim O’Shaughnessy

Episode: Will Storr—The Status Game
Date: July 10, 2025
Guest: Will Storr, Bestselling Author and Journalist

Overview

In this wide-ranging and engaging conversation, Jim O’Shaughnessy hosts author Will Storr to discuss his acclaimed book The Status Game and broader insights from his body of work, which explores the deep, often unconscious forces shaping human behavior, belief, storytelling, and social organization. The discussion journeys from the origins of belief and the mechanics of status-seeking to the psychological underpinnings of cults and the dynamics of social media tribes, tying personal anecdotes with research, history, and philosophy.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of Belief and Social Identity

• Will Storr’s curiosity about the ways intelligent people can hold "crazy" beliefs springs from his strict religious upbringing and his puzzlement at sincere faith among smart adults.

  “The question isn’t why do people believe crazy things; the question’s how do smart people end up believing crazy things?” —Will Storr [05:23]

• Cognitive bias and intelligence:
  • Intelligence can facilitate sophisticated rationalizations for unfounded beliefs.
  • The "make sense stopping rule": People stop searching once they’ve found information that fits their existing narrative.

  “The smarter we are, the better we are at doing that.” —Storr [07:52]

2. The Human Operating System—Status as a Core Need

• Distinguishing status and connection:
  • Status = perceived value by your tribe
  • Belonging = feeling accepted/loved (different need)
  • Lack of status is psychologically and physically harmful.

  “Status is not the feeling of being loved and accepted. That’s connection... It’s the feeling that we are of value to our tribe, to our people.” —Storr [14:23]

• Every major human endeavor (from buying/ruling the world to saving it) is underpinned by status pursuit: politics, warfare, science, business.

3. Social Media, Tribalism, and Virtue Dominance

• Social media intensifies "virtue dominance" games—aggressive enforcement of moral rules to destroy others’ reputations (digital ostracism).

  “In the book, I call them virtue dominance games... I will aggressively enforce the moral rules of my status game.”—Storr [17:11]

• Not all games are toxic: "Success games" (like sharing knowledge and skill) increase societal well-being.

  “The success games are the ones that have changed the world... Games that have increased wealth, solved the problem of child death, and this goes on and on.”—Storr [19:24]

4. Cults, Connection, and Status

• People join cults not because they’re manipulated, but often because ordinary status games have failed them; cults offer precise rules, both belonging and status.

  “Cults offer a very specific set of roles... If you follow this set of rules precisely, we will reward you with connection and also status.”—Storr [23:47]

• Most cult leaders and zealots are sincere believers, not cynical manipulators.

5. Luxury Beliefs and Status Signaling

• Rob Henderson’s "luxury beliefs" concept: Elite beliefs as status signals (say one thing, live another).
• Storr is cautious about the idea—questioning whether these choices are always conscious or hypocritical, or simply part of performing the self for one’s tribe.

  “Beliefs aren’t so conscious... I think it’s much more...we’re trying not to demonize people a bit.”—Storr [32:25]

• The self as a performance: Humans are natural moral hypocrites, often privately violating or failing to live up to the virtues they signal.

6. Reputation, Hierarchies, and Status Games in Society

• Status games extend from ancient pecking orders to modern organizations and social groups.
• Reputational destruction—especially via social media—can be as devastating as physical harm to one’s sense of identity.

  “We take a physical form...But we also take a reputational form...When you destroy somebody’s reputation, you destroy who they are.”—Storr [56:57]

• Even animals play hierarchy/status games; for humans, these are more reputational than physical.

7. Education, Empathy, and Changing the OS

• Storr advocates for teaching children about human nature, tribalism, and status-seeking—what he calls the "human OS."

  “Children should be taught, hey, over the last 20, 30 years, we’ve discovered a huge amount about what a person is...There should be human OS lessons for children between the ages of 9 and 16.”—Storr [47:41]

8. Humiliation, History, and the Perils of Status Loss

• Loss of status and humiliation are potent, historically dangerous emotions (e.g., Weimar Germany, Treaty of Versailles, and rise of Hitler).
  • Storr argues humiliation (especially of previously grandiose groups) is profoundly destabilizing.
• Restoration of status is crucial in conflict resolution (e.g., post-WWI vs. post-WWII Germany).

9. Personal Stories & Humility

• Storr is transparent about his own evolution: from anger and anti-religious sentiment toward recognizing the human needs satisfied by religion and community.

  “I see the value now that religion has for people having done this work. We want connection, we want status...And that’s a wonderful thing, that’s a fantastic thing.”—Storr [70:35]

• Sharing status and consciously practicing humility—as well as reframing competing interests as trade-offs rather than zero-sum games—are offered as practical, transformative advice.

  “Give away your status. I didn’t explain it very well in the book. I call it the trade off mindset... Try to experience the world as groups sharing trade offs.”—Storr [73:50]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Status as Core Need: “To achieve anything of note in life, the first thing to pursue is always status.” —Storr [14:23]
• On Social Media Status Games: “The best people that I follow on Twitter... are playing status games. They are earning status by being of value.” —Storr [19:24]
• On the Self as Performance: “The self is a performance. We’ve evolved to perform the self in front of our tribe...” —Storr [34:44]
• On Humiliation and History: “The principal reason we got Hitler and the Holocaust is because of humiliation... What do people do when they’re humiliated? They tell a story about who is responsible for that.” —Storr [60:11]
• On Human Flaws: “We think we’re gods, but we’re not. We’re animals and we’re flawed as fuck.” —Storr [78:56]
• On Humility and Certainty: “It’s absolutely possible to be completely wrong about something that you are 100% convinced is correct.” —Storr [78:56]
• On Sharing Status and Reframing Opposing Groups: “If we’re going to reward a win to one group, we should also thank and honor the losers too...Think about the world as groups negotiating trade-offs rather than fighting over good and evil.” —Storr [73:50]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Will Storr’s Origin Story & Obsession with Belief: [05:23]
• Intelligence and Rationalization of Belief: [07:52]
• Life as a Status Game (Book Core Thesis): [13:55]
• Social Media, Tribalism, Virtue Dominance: [17:11]
• Status in Cults & Ordinary Life: [23:47]
• Luxury Beliefs & The Performance of Virtue: [30:40], [34:44]
• Reputation and Ostracism—Modern & Ancient: [56:57]
• Education and Human OS Lessons: [47:41]
• Historical Case Study: Humiliation and WWII: [60:11]
• Practical Advice for Listeners—Sharing Status & Trade-Off Mindset: [73:50]
• Closing Wisdom—Humility & Accepting Human Fallibility: [78:56]

Final Thoughts

This episode is a rich exploration of why we all play status games—even when we deny it—and how understanding this inclination can make us more empathetic, rational, and constructive in our interactions with others and our societal structures. Will Storr’s message: humility, self-examination, and choosing to play positive-sum, success-focused status games are the path to both personal meaning and a better world.

Recommended Reading:

• The Status Game by Will Storr
• Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us
• The Science of Storytelling
• The Unpersuadables/Heretics

If you’re seeking to upgrade your “Human OS,” build resilience against tribal mindsets, and find fulfillment in more productive status games, this conversation is essential listening.