Hidden Brain
539 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 38.8K ratingsShankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.
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Episodes
You 2.0: Dream Jobs
July 31, 2018 01:00 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBFinding a new job may be the solution to your woes at work. But there may also be other ways to get more out of your daily grind. This week, we talk with psychologist Amy Wrzesniewski of Yale University about how we can find meaning and purpose in our jobs.
You 2.0: Rebel With A Cause
July 24, 2018 01:00 - 47 minutesFrancesca Gino studies rebels — people who practice "positive deviance" and achieve incredible feats of imagination. They know how, and when, to break the rules that should be broken. So how can you activate your own inner non-conformist? We kick off this year's You 2.0 series by pondering this question.
Radio Replay: Watch Your Mouth
July 20, 2018 21:00 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBIf you're bilingual or multilingual, you may have noticed that different languages make you stretch in different ways. In this month's Radio Replay, we ask whether the structure of the languages we speak can change the way we see the world. We'll also look at how languages evolve, and why we're sometimes resistant to those changes.
Snooki and the Handbag
July 10, 2018 01:01 - 23 minutes - 21.7 MBLook down at what you're wearing. You picked out that blue shirt, right? And those sandals — you decided on those because they're comfortable, didn't you? Well, maybe not. Researcher Jonah Berger says we tend to be pretty good at recognizing how influences like product placement and peer pressure affect other people's choices...but we're not so good at recognizing those forces in our own decisions. We talked with him in December 2016.
The Edge Effect
July 03, 2018 01:01 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBThere is great comfort in the familiar. It's one reason humans often flock to other people who share the same interests, laugh at the same jokes, hold the same political views. But familiar ground may not be the best place to cultivate creativity. From science and business to music and the world of fashion, researchers have found that people with deep connections to people from other countries and cultures often see benefits in terms of their creative output. This week on Hidden Brain, we lo...
Fake News: An Origin Story
June 26, 2018 01:00 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBFake news may seem new, but in reality, it's as old as American journalism. This week, we look at a tension at the heart of news coverage: Should reporters think of the audience as consumers, or as citizens? Should the media give people what they want, or what they need?
Fake News: An Origin Story
June 26, 2018 01:00 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBFake news may seem new, but in reality, it's as old as American journalism. This week, we look at a tension at the heart of news coverage: Should reporters think of the audience as consumers, or as citizens? Should the media give people what they want, or what they need?
Radio Replay: Looking Back
June 22, 2018 21:53 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBWhy are we so often pulled into memories of the past? This week, two emotions we just can't shake: regret and nostalgia.
Summer Melt
June 19, 2018 01:00 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBAs many as 40 percent of students who intend to go to college don't actually show up to their new campuses in the fall. Education researchers call this phenomenon "summer melt," and it has long been a puzzling problem. These kids have taken the SATs, written college essays, applied to and been accepted by a school of their choice. Often they've applied for and received financial aid. So why would they not show up at college? This week, we bring you a 2017 episode looking more closely about t...
When Everything Clicks
June 05, 2018 01:00 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBThere can be a lot of psychological noise involved in teaching. But what if we replaced all that mental chit chat....with a click? This week, we explore an innovative idea about how we learn. It will take us from a dolphin exhibit in Hawaii to a top teaching hospital in New York. It's about a method to quiet the noise. The sort of clutter that can turn learning into a minefield of misery.
Kinder-Gardening
May 29, 2018 01:00 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBMany parents think they can shape their child into a particular kind of adult. Psychologist Alison Gopnik says the science suggests otherwise. This week, we revisit our December 2017 conversation with Gopnik, who thinks we'd all be better off if we had a different understanding of the relationship between parents and kids.
Rewinding & Rewriting
May 22, 2018 01:00 - 30 minutesAll of us are time travelers. We go back in history to turning points in our lives, and imagine how things could have turned out differently. Psychologists refer to this as "counterfactual thinking." This week on Hidden Brain, we look at why some events prompt these "What if?" questions, while others do not.
Radio Replay: This Is Your Brain On Ads
May 18, 2018 22:46 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBHow many ads have you encountered today? On this week's radio replay, we discuss the insidiousness of advertising in American media. We begin with new reporting about the effects cereal commercials have on children. Later in the program, we revisit one of our favorite episodes of 2018, Buying Attention.
Rap on Trial
May 08, 2018 01:58 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBOlutosin Oduwole was an aspiring rapper and college student when he was arrested in 2007. He was charged with "attempting to make a terrorist threat." Prosecutors used his writings — which he maintains were rap lyrics — to build their case against him. The week, we revisit our June 2017 story about Oduwole, and explore how public perceptions of rap music may have played a role in his prosecution.
Rap on Trial
May 08, 2018 01:58 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBOlutosin Oduwole was an aspiring rapper and college student when he was arrested in 2007. He was charged with "attempting to make a terrorist threat." Prosecutors used his writings — which he maintains were rap lyrics — to build their case against him. The week, we revisit our June 2017 story about Oduwole, and explore how public perceptions of rap music may have played a role in his prosecution.
The Fox and the Hedgehog
May 01, 2018 01:00 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBThe Greek poet Archilochus wrote that "the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." This week, we'll use the metaphor of the fox and the hedgehog as a way to understand the differences between tacticians and big-picture thinkers. We'll explore the story of a pioneering surgeon whose hedgehog tendencies led him to great triumphs, and a heartbreaking tragedy. This episode first aired in May 2017.
Emma, Carrie, Vivian
April 24, 2018 01:00 - 41 minutesIn 1924, a 17-year-old girl was admitted to the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded. The superintendent of the colony classified her as "feeble-minded of the lowest grade, moron class." With that designation, this girl, Carrie Buck, was set on a path she didn't choose. What happened next laid the foundation for the forced sterilization of tens of thousands of people. This week, the story of the eugenics movement and one of the most tragic social experiments in American history.
Radio Replay: The Weight of Our Words
April 20, 2018 21:00 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBPolitical correctness. Free speech. Terrorism. On this week's Radio Replay, we look at the language we use around race and religion, and what that language says about the culture in which we live. This episode draws upon two of our favorite podcasts, "Is He Muslim?" and "Hiding Behind Free Speech."
Romeo and Juliet in Kigali
April 17, 2018 03:02 - 48 minutes - 44.9 MBHow do you change someone's behavior? Most of us would point to education or persuasion. But what if the answer lies elsewhere? Today we explore a revolutionary insight about human nature, one that will take us on a journey from Budapest to the hills of Rwanda.
Romeo and Juliet in Kigali
April 17, 2018 03:02 - 48 minutes - 44.9 MBHow do you change someone's behavior? Most of us would point to education or persuasion. But what if the answer lies elsewhere? Today we explore a revolutionary insight about human nature, one that will take us on a journey from Budapest to the hills of Rwanda.
Liar, Liar
April 10, 2018 01:00 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBEditor’s note: Since this episode first aired, researchers have raised concerns about a number of studies authored by Dan Ariely, including one cited in this episode. That study included data from an insurance company that purported to show that people are more truthful when they sign an ethics declaration at the beginning of a form than at the end. In an independent review, a group of researchers found evidence of data fabrication in that study. You can read more about their findings here, ...
Tunnel Vision
April 03, 2018 01:00 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBWhen you're hungry, it can be hard to think of anything other than food. When you're desperately poor, you may constantly worry about making ends meet. When you're lonely, you might obsess about making friends. This week, we bring you a March 2017 episode about the psychological phenomenon of scarcity. Researchers say this form of tunnel vision can affect our ability to see the big picture and cope with problems in our lives.
Crickets and Cannibals
March 27, 2018 01:00 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBImagine seeing a cockroach skitter across your kitchen counter. Does that thought gross you out? This week, we take an unflinching look at the things that make us say "ewww." Plus, why disgust isn't as instinctive as we might assume.
Radio Replay: The Mind of the Village
March 16, 2018 21:00 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBA culture of racism can infect us all. On this week's Radio Replay, we discuss the implicit biases we carry that have been forged by the society around us.
Think Fast with Daniel Kahneman
March 13, 2018 01:00 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBDo humans act rationally? Economic theory has long told us the answer is "yes." But a half century ago, two psychologists — Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky — began to challenge this notion. Their work laid the foundation for behavioral economics and influenced many scholars who've followed in their footsteps. This week, we mark our 100th episode by talking with Daniel Kahneman about his collaboration with Tversky, and how their work transformed our thinking about judgment, memory, and the m...
Think Fast with Daniel Kahneman
March 13, 2018 01:00 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBDo humans act rationally? Economic theory has long told us the answer is "yes." But a half century ago, two psychologists — Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky — began to challenge this notion. Their work laid the foundation for behavioral economics and influenced many scholars who've followed in their footsteps. This week, we mark our 100th episode by talking with Daniel Kahneman about his collaboration with Tversky, and how their work transformed our thinking about judgment, memory, and the mi...
Men: 45, Women: 0
March 06, 2018 02:00 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBMore women are running for political office than ever before in American history. But in politics and many other fields, women still struggle to attain positions of power. Researchers say they're often trapped in a "double bind" — a series of unconscious, interlocking stereotypes we have about men, women and the nature of leadership. This week, we take a closer look at the double bind as we revisit a favorite episode from October 2016.
Filthy Rich
February 20, 2018 02:00 - 20 minutes - 19 MBSeveral years ago, sociologist Brooke Harrington decided to explore the secret lives of billionaires. As she told us in this favorite episode from 2016, what she found shocked her.
Filthy Rich
February 20, 2018 02:00 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBSeveral years ago, sociologist Brooke Harrington decided to explore the secret lives of billionaires. As she told us in this favorite episode from 2016, what she found shocked her.
When Did Marriage Become So Hard?
February 13, 2018 02:00 - 49 minutes - 45 MBMarriage is hard — and there are signs it's becoming even harder. This week on Hidden Brain, we examine how long-term relationships have changed over time, and whether we might be able to improve marriage by asking less of it.
Why Now?
February 06, 2018 02:00 - 52 minutesNearly a quarter century ago, a group of women accused a prominent playwright of sexual misconduct. For the most part, the allegations went nowhere. In 2017, in the midst of the #MeToo movement, more women came forward to accuse the same playwright of misconduct. This time, everyone listened. On this episode, we explore the story through the lens of social science research and ask, "Why Now?" What has changed in our minds and in our culture so that allegations of sexual harassment and assault...
Lost in Translation
January 30, 2018 02:00 - 33 minutes - 30.9 MBLearning new languages can help us understand other cultures and countries. Cognitive science professor Lera Boroditsky says the languages we speak can do more than that—they can shape how we see the world in profound ways.
Radio Replay: The Power Hour
January 26, 2018 22:00 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBCall it adulation, adoration, idolization: we humans are fascinated by glamour and power. But this turns out to be only one side of our psychology — we also feel envious and resentful of the rich and powerful. In this Radio Replay, we explore the evolutionary history behind this ambivalence. Plus, we look at how we gain influence, and what happens to us once we have it.
Alan Alda Wants Us To Have Better Conversations
January 23, 2018 02:00 - 42 minutesWe've all experienced miscommunications. Their consequences can range from hilarious... to disastrous. The actor Alan Alda — yes, THAT Alan Alda — wants to help us avoid them. You might know him from his roles on television shows like M*A*S*H, The West Wing and 30 Rock, but in recent years Alda has also focused on helping scientists, and the rest of us, communicate better. His new book is If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating ...
Give Me Your Tired...
January 16, 2018 02:00 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBOur airwaves are filled with debates about immigrants and refugees. Who should be allowed in the United States, who shouldn't, and who should decide? In the wake of President Trump's vulgar remarks about some immigrants — remarks that he has since denied — we're going to revisit a favorite episode from 2016 that explores the patterns and paradoxes of immigration in the U.S. Historian Maria Cristina Garcia joins us.
Give Me Your Tired...
January 16, 2018 02:00 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBOur airwaves are filled with debates about immigrants and refugees. Who should be allowed in the United States, who shouldn't, and who should decide? In the wake of President Trump's vulgar remarks about some immigrants — remarks that he has since denied — we're going to revisit a favorite episode from 2016 that explores the patterns and paradoxes of immigration in the U.S. Historian Maria Cristina Garcia joins us.
Radio Replay: I, Robot
January 12, 2018 22:42 - 48 minutes - 44.9 MBDo you ever catch yourself yelling at your Alexa? Or typing questions into Google that you wouldn't dare ask aloud? On this episode, our changing relationship with technology and what big data knows about our deepest, darkest secrets.
E Pluribus Unum?
January 09, 2018 02:00 - 35 minutes - 32.8 MBThe tone of American politics can be...nasty. But is this nastiness really worse than in previous eras, and if so, what does that mean for our democracy? Historian David Moss takes the long view — arguing that American democracy is much more resilient than we realize. This week on Hidden Brain, we turn to history for insight about our current moment in American politics.
Buying Attention
January 02, 2018 02:00 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBHave you ever opened your computer with the intention of sending one email — only to spend an hour scrolling through social media? Maybe two hours? In this episode, we examine the strategies media companies use to hijack our attention so they can sell it to advertisers.
Radio Replay: Fresh Starts
December 30, 2017 02:00 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBUnpredictable things happen to us all the time. In the process of getting back on your feet, you may realize that something's different. On this Radio Replay, we mark the new year with two of our favorite stories of loss and the change it brings.
Radio Replay: Fresh Starts
December 30, 2017 02:00 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBUnpredictable things happen to us all the time. In the process of getting back on your feet, you may realize that something's different. On this Radio Replay, we mark the new year with two of our favorite stories of loss and the change it brings.
I'm Right, You're Wrong
December 26, 2017 02:00 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBThere are some topics about which it seems no amount of data will change people's minds: things like climate change, or restrictions on gun ownership. Neuroscientist Tali Sharot says that's actually for good reason. As a general rule, she says, it's better to stick to your beliefs and disregard new information that contradicts them. But this also means it's very difficult to change false beliefs. In this favorite episode from earlier this year, we look at how we process information, and why ...
Radio Replay: Don't Panic!
December 22, 2017 22:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBChaos is a part of all of our lives. Sometimes we try to control it. And other times, we just have to live with it. On this week's Radio Replay, we explore different strategies for coping with chaos.
Never Go To Vegas
December 19, 2017 02:00 - 50 minutesAll social classes have unspoken rules. From A-list celebrities to teachers, doctors, lawyers, and journalists — there are social norms that govern our decisions, whether we realize it or not. This week on Hidden Brain, the invisible qualities that all celebrities have in common, and how our interest in them builds because of cues we get from one another. Later in the episode, we look at another elite group: the yoga-loving, Whole Foods-shopping, highly-educated group that researcher Elizabet...
Kinder-Gardening
December 12, 2017 02:00 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBMany parents think they can shape their child into a particular kind of adult. Psychologist Alison Gopnik says the science suggests otherwise. She thinks we'd all be better off if we had a different understanding of the relationship between parents and kids.
Radio Replay: Loving the Lie
December 08, 2017 22:00 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBIn this week's Radio Replay, we bring you stories of fakes, phonies, and con men — and the people who fall for the false worlds they create. First, the tale of a middle-aged man who impersonates a series of women and gets thousands of men to fall in love with his creations. Then, we'll hear about a painter who tricks the world's greatest art experts into believing they're looking at masterpieces.
Radio Replay: Loving the Lie
December 08, 2017 22:00 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBIn this week's Radio Replay, we bring you stories of fakes, phonies, and con men — and the people who fall for the false worlds they create. First, the tale of a middle-aged man who impersonates a series of women and gets thousands of men to fall in love with his creations. Then, we'll hear about a painter who tricks the world's greatest art experts into believing they're looking at masterpieces.
The Sorting Hat
December 05, 2017 02:00 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBThe desire to find our tribe is universal. We like to know who we are and where we belong. This fascination has led to a thriving industry built on the marketing and sale of personality tests. These tests offer individuals — and, increasingly, employers — quick and easy insights that can be used to make some of life's biggest decisions. But most fail to stand up to scientific scrutiny. This week, we delve into the world of personality testing, and explore the many different ways we assess per...
The Sorting Hat
December 05, 2017 02:00 - 51 minutesThe desire to find our tribe is universal. We like to know who we are and where we belong. This fascination has led to a thriving industry built on the marketing and sale of personality tests. These tests offer individuals — and, increasingly, employers — quick and easy insights that can be used to make some of life's biggest decisions. But most fail to stand up to scientific scrutiny. This week, we delve into the world of personality testing, and explore the many different ways we assess per...
The Sorting Hat
December 05, 2017 02:00 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBThe desire to find our tribe is universal. We like to know who we are and where we belong. This fascination has led to a thriving industry built on the marketing and sale of personality tests. These tests offer individuals — and, increasingly, employers — quick and easy insights that can be used to make some of life's biggest decisions. But most fail to stand up to scientific scrutiny. This week, we delve into the world of personality testing, and explore the many different ways we assess pe...