my current boss i think. he's really good at office politics and he's very willing to help me navigate some tricky social interactions. he's also got very solid feedback

Office politics are the worst. Freaking everything is a trigger for some obnoxious behaviour nowadays, and that makes pretty much every popular talking subjects landmines.
IRL politics, sports, economy, family, health, kids, religion, food, clothing, music, the freaking weather.
It seems that all there is left is gossip. So office politics galore.
It is nice to know that there are some people helping out on that also very difficult topic. Analog problems are extra hard for us techies. Kudos for your mentor!