<![CDATA[ABSTRACT The development of podcasts on YouTube has made them a public communication space for discussing various issues, including critical thinking, which may generate differences in viewpoints. This study aims to describe positive and negative politeness strategies in Salsa Erwina Hutagalung’s podcast entitled “How Critical Thinking Can Save You?” based on Brown and Levinson’s theory. This study employed a descriptive qualitative method with a pragmatic discourse analysis approach. The data consisted of utterances produced by the host and guest in one podcast video lasting approximately 35 minutes, collected through listening, note-taking, and documentation techniques. The findings revealed 70 relevant utterances, consisting of 43 (61.4%) positive politeness utterances and 27 (38.6%) negative politeness utterances. Positive politeness was more dominant, particularly through optimism, praise, and group identity markers, while negative politeness was predominantly realized through pessimism and self-deprecation. The findings indicate that positive politeness builds familiarity, solidarity, and audience engagement, whereas negative politeness maintains caution and reduces face threats. Future research should consider interactional context and audience responses. ABSTRAK Perkembangan podcast di YouTube menjadikannya ruang komunikasi publik untuk membahas berbagai isu, termasuk berpikir kritis yang berpotensi memunculkan perbedaan pandangan. Penelitian ini bertujuan mendeskripsikan strategi kesantunan positif dan negatif dalam podcast Salsa Erwina Hutagalung berjudul “Kenapa Berpikir Kritis Bisa Menyelamatkan Dirimu?” berdasarkan teori Brown & Levinson. Penelitian menggunakan metode kualitatif deskriptif dengan pendekatan analisis wacana pragmatik. Data berupa tuturan host dan tamu dari satu video berdurasi ±35 menit yang dikumpulkan melalui teknik simak, catat, dan dokumentasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan 70 tuturan relevan, terdiri atas 43 tuturan (61,4%) kesantunan positif dan 27 tuturan (38,6%) kesantunan negatif. Kesantunan positif lebih dominan, terutama melalui sikap optimis, pujian, dan penanda identitas kelompok, sedangkan kesantunan negatif didominasi sikap pesimis dan kerendahan diri. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa kesantunan positif membangun keakraban, solidaritas, dan keterlibatan audiens, sementara kesantunan negatif menjaga kehati-hatian serta mengurangi ancaman muka. Penelitian selanjutnya disarankan mempertimbangkan konteks interaksi dan respons audiens.]]>
