What you think is true doesn't necessarily line up with reality. From the heated debate over gun violence deaths to our views about violent crime and global poverty, many of us have serious perception gaps.

Democracy can be damaged when public opinion is out-of-step with the facts.

The opioid epidemic is often in the headlines and was recently declared a public health emergency. But did you know there's another substance that kills far more people every year? Another example: massacres at schools, malls and other public places get massive media coverage, but they account for a tiny percentage of gun deaths.

Our guest in this episode is Samantha Laine Perfas, host of the new podcast series, "Perception Gaps". She tells us "there are things we perceive to be true that are simply not. And challenging us to think about these misperceptions... begins to peel back the layers of why we believe what we believe."

We hear fascinating and deeply personal stories from several recent guests on "Perception Gaps," including addiction expert and former federal drug czar Michael Botticelli, Captain Perri Johnson, Commander of the Juvenile Division at the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and Professor Jennifer Stuber of the University of Washington School of Social Work, who studies suicide prevention and mental health.