Best discovery of July was Hidden Brain. Been nourishing my mind with Shankar Vedantam’s & his guests’ insights on human behaviour - revealed in such a listenable way.

Most of us have trouble admitting that we’re wrong. This week, we talk with psychologist Daryl Van Tongeren about the practice of humility, and the challenge of accepting what we don't know when it comes to the deepest questions of life. apple.co/3yobxDH

"As soon as we perceive somebody's trying to persuade us...we are pushing back. We do not like our freedom to be taken away from us in that way." -Ben Rosenberg 🧠👨🏻‍🔬. This week, we explore the psychology of resistance and its influence over our behavior, habits – even our

Psychologist Ben Rosenberg used to live near a park where everyone would let their dogs off-leash, even though there were signs explicitly saying not to do so. “And as soon as a cop would drive by, everybody would find their dog, put them on leash and scatter.” In this

You probably hate to be ordered around. That might be especially true if someone tells you to stop doing something that you do all the time. In this week’s episode, understanding the contrarian in all of us. apple.co/4dZXXFN

We generally avoid making small talk with strangers. But psychologist Nick Epley once ran a study asking commuters to strike up a conversation with someone they didn’t know. “And what we found was that people actually reported having the most positive experience when they talked

“I cannot think of a time where I've tried to really connect meaningfully with somebody in conversation and they've said no.” This week, psychologist Nick Epley helps us kick off our annual series, You 2.0, with an episode about the power of social connection.

"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." This week, we continue our You 2.0 series by revisiting a conversation with Cassie Mogilner about the problem of time. Why we feel it's in short supply, and how to find more of it. hiddenbrain.org/podcast/taking…

Many of us feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. So how can we reclaim our time and get more joy out of our lives? This week, we revisit a conversation with psychologist Cassie Mogilner about the illusion of time scarcity, and ways we can spend our time more wisely.

This week on My Unsung Hero: Mike Huddleston fell on the sidewalk, and wasn't able to get up on his own. Then a kind stranger asked how he could help. hiddenbrain.org/unsunghero/mik…

“We are willing to go out of our way to say yes, because saying no comes so hard for us.” -Vanessa Patrick This week, we continue our You 2.0 series with an episode about saying “no.” Why is it so hard, and how can we get better at it? hiddenbrain.org/podcast/you-2-…

We often find ourselves fielding a never-ending stream of requests, invitations, and orders. Your boss wants you to take on an assignment. Your kid's teacher needs volunteers. Your friend asks you for a favor. How should we respond to all these demands on our time and energy?

This week on My Unsung Hero: Susan Kahn was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and unable to attend her daughter's high school graduation. Then the hospital staff came up with a plan. hiddenbrain.org/unsunghero/jan…

On her 24th birthday, Vanessa Patrick was supposed to be celebrating with friends and family. But her boss told her to stay late at work. “It was my first job. I was so afraid that if I didn't do this task, I could be fired.” In the next episode in our You 2.0 series, we explore how

Did you catch our episode on befriending your inner voice? Psychologist Ethan Kross returns to the show to answer listener questions about mental chatter. Only on Hidden Brain+ apple.co/4cZig4U

It happens to the best of us: we blank on someone’s name, forget an important meeting, or bomb a test we thought we’d ace. This week, we continue our You 2.0 series with an episode on the mystery of memory. How it works, why it fails, and how to make it stick.

“We’ve all had the experience of reading...and you get to the bottom of a page and you realize, ‘I’ve been thinking about lunch.’” This week, we revisit a conversation about memory with cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham. Why does our memory fail us? And how can we improve it?

This week on My Unsung Hero: When Ian Sandler got a middle-of-the-night call that his daughter had collapsed, he didn't know what to do. Then, an Uber driver went above and beyond to help. hiddenbrain.org/unsunghero/ian…

We’ve all been there. You run into someone you know at a party and —oops! — you can’t remember their name. Why does memory let us down when we need it most? This week, we continue our You 2.0 series with an episode on memory and the often counterintuitive ways it works.