Two Psychologists Four Beers
111 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 months ago - ★★★★ - 151 ratingsTwo psychologists endeavor to drink four beers while discussing news and controversies in science, academia, and beyond.
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Episodes
Episode 60: 2020 Silver Linings
December 30, 2020 11:00 - 1 hour - 54 MBMickey and Yoel follow up on two recent episodes ("Against Academia?" and "Racism and Sexism on Campus"). Then they review some of the less-bad aspects of 2020 and recommend some things that got them through a challenging year. Plus: what 80s band was Mickey the #1 fan of?
Episode 59: Talking about Talking (with Katie Kinzler)
December 16, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 49 MBPsychologist Katie Kinzler joins the show to talk language. How do children and adults make judgments about people based on how they talk? Is there a "bilingual advantage"? And does Mickey sound Canadian? Bonus: When deciding whether to go to grad school, should you not do what Katie did? Special Guest: Katherine (Katie) Kinzler.
Episode 58: Sexism and Racism on Campus (with Anne Wilson)
December 02, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 69.8 MBRepeat guest Anne Wilson joins the show to talk about two recent papers about bias in psychology and on campus. Is gender and racial bias pervasive? Or are things better than many of us might think? We also discuss the recent "female mentorship" paper that's been causing quite the hubbub. Special Guest: Anne Wilson.
Episode 57: Against Academia?
November 11, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 54.7 MBMickey and Yoel tackle the pros and cons of academia. As an academic, is it taboo to say you love your job? How hard do we work anyway? If we ran the world, how would we change academic hiring? Also: why do reporters call us and ask us for our opinion?
Episode 56: The Kindness of Strangers (with Michael McCullough)
October 21, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 68.4 MBPsychologist Michael McCullough joins the show to talk forgiveness, punishment, and how we came to care about the welfare of people we don't know. Also: a listener calls out our dubious math. Special Guest: Michael McCullough.
Episode 55: All In (with Maria Konnikova)
October 07, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 47 MBPsychologist and author Maria Konnikova joins the show to talk poker, life, and what one teaches you about the other. She talks with us about working with Walter Mischel as a graduate student, her decision to leave the academic track to become an author, and her latest book, The Biggest Bluff, in which she describes how she became a tournament-winning professional poker player. Bonus: who will win our round of Lodden Thinks? Special Guest: Maria Konnikova.
Episode 54: Being WEIRD (with Joe Henrich)
September 23, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBYoel and Mickey interview one of the most influential social scientists of our generation, Harvard University's Joe Henrich. Why are people from the West so peculiar, so different from other people the world over? What led the West to be particularly prosperous? If not intelligence, what marks humans as so special? What are the various approaches to the evolutionary study of human behaviour? Does psychology suffer from a theory crisis? Has religion been a net plus to the survival of human gro...
Episode 53: The COVID debate (with Robb Willer and Simine Vazire)
September 09, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 66.1 MBRobb Willer and Simine Vazire join the podcast to debate whether social science, in its current form, can usefully contribute to our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Is psychology ready to give trustworthy advice to policy-makers? Plus: Yoel shirks his beer-drinking, yet again. Special Guests: Robb Willer and Simine Vazire.
Episode 52: Cold Takes (with Neil Lewis, Jr.)
August 26, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 49.6 MBYoel and Mickey welcome Neil Lewis, Jr. of Cornell University to the podcast. Is psychology ready to be applied to help the response to the COVID-19 pandemic? What are the opportunity costs of applying a psychological intervention? How does Neil navigate Twitter so effectively? What will Neil be doing over at FiveThirtyEight? What can meta-analyses and registered reports tell us about stereotype threat? Bonus: How is Mickey like Jesus? Special Guest: Neil Lewis, Jr..
Episode 51: Against Orthodoxy
August 12, 2020 12:00 - 1 hour - 51.8 MBAfter over a year of (mostly) avoiding controversial topics, Yoel and Mickey dive in to talk about orthodoxy, dissent, and "cancel culture." Does the narrowing of acceptable views make us dumber or does it represent a drawing of new moral boundaries that make us more kind? How does the silencing of dissent lead to self-censoring? Why does it appear like some people are given more permission to dissent than others? Is cancel culture leading to a right-wing backlash? Bonus: Why was the podcast ...
Episode 50: The Upside of Feeling Bad (with Claudia Haase)
July 29, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 58.7 MBFor their 50th episode, Yoel and Mickey welcome Northwestern University psychologist Claudia Haase to the podcast to discuss relationships and mistakes. What was life like in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin wall? How can Yoel and Mickey iron out their relationship problems? How is life as a working academic and mother during a global pandemic? Why are people so scared to admit to their mistakes? How can we learn from failure? Bonus: Should you delete Twitter? Special Guest: Claudia...
Episode 49: Why Buddhism is Wrong (with Evan Thompson)
July 15, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 54.6 MBYoel and Mickey have a far ranging conversation with University of British Columbia professor of philosophy, Evan Thompson. Despite growing up with a daily meditation practice and contributing to the cognitive science of mindfulness, why does Evan not consider himself a Buddhist? Is Buddhism a religion that is truly different from other religions? Is the self an illusion, as is popularily portrayed by Buddhist modernists such as Sam Harris? What do failures to replicate social psychology stud...
Episode 48: Clocks and Garbage Cans (with Rachel Ruttan)
July 01, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 55 MBYoel and Mickey host Rachel Ruttan, who is an assisant professor of organizational behavior and human resources at the Rotman School of Management. What is organizational behavior and how is it different from psychology? What makes for a good research idea? How is figure skating like academia? When big corporations espouse social values, does it cheapen people's commitment to these values? Bonus: What is the best way to suss out if a new friend smokes weed? Special Guest: Rachel Ruttan.
Episode 47: Talking about Racism (with Keith Maddox)
June 17, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBYoel and Mickey welcome back returning guest Keith Maddox from Tufts University to talk about his research on racism. What is shadeism? Can anything be done to make it easier to talk about race and racism? What happens to poeple who confront racism? Has social psychology overplayed the impact of implicit prejudice? Has psychology overplayed the role of the individual racist, and not focused enough on structural racism? Special Guest: Keith Maddox.
Episode 46: Very Good Men (with Very Bad Wizards)
June 03, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 66.7 MBYoel and Mickey try to settle their feud with the boys from Very Bad Wizards, Tamler Sommers and David Pizarro. They discuss what psychology, philosophy, and art can and can't do. Does psychology get more respect than it deserves? How has philosophy contributed to supporting the COVID-19 pandemic response? In principle, is it possible to measure authoritarianism or love or neuroticism? How has VBW not become an icon of the IDW? Bonus: Who loves Tamler's step-mother the most? Special Guest: Ve...
Episode 45: Being Human (with Scott Barry Kaufman)
May 13, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 45.3 MBYoel and Mickey welcome humanistic psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman to the show. Scott talks about his academic path from intelligence researcher to positive psychologist. What is humanistic psychology? Can one study humananistic concepts like self-actualization, flourishing, and meaning scientifically? What does evolutionary psychology get wrong about basic human needs? Bonus: SBK sings! Special Guest: Scott Barry Kaufman.
Episode 44: Psychology in the Time of COVID-19
April 29, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 47.3 MBYoel and Mickey spend the first half of the episode discussing how thier lives have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. How has the pademic affected those with and without children? How has the pandemic impacted our various relationships? For the second half of the episode, they discuss what to make of the rush of psychology research on COVID-19. Given psychology's noted problems with replication, generalizability, and standards of evidence, should psychologists be trying to shape public ...
Episode 43: Penumbral Fuzz (with Nina Strohminger)
April 15, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 48.9 MBYoel and Mickey welcome Nina Strohminger, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics at the Wharton School of Business, to the show. Nina delivers entertaining takes on digust and morality, the true self, adventures in academia, and writing heroic book reviews. Do incidental emotions reliably impact decision making? What aspect of mind is at the core of one's identity? Which neurodegenerative diseases are the most difficult for caregivers to cope with? What does Nina really think ...
Episode 42: The Plague (with Joshua Tybur)
April 01, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 52.8 MBYoel and Mickey welcome evolutionary psychologist Joshua Tybur to the podcast to discuss COVID-19 and the function of disgust as part of the behavioral immune system. What is the relationship between disgust sensitivity and political orientation? Can the theory of evolutionary act as a meta-theory for the study of human psychology? Why is evolutionary psychology so controversial and polarizing? Bonus: Would Mickey inflate a new unlubricated condom with his mouth? Special Guest: Joshua Tybur.
Episode 41: With and Without Children (with Elizabeth Page-Gould)
March 18, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 48.3 MBYoel and Mickey welcome return guest Elizabeth Page-Gould to the podcast to discuss adults with and without children. Why did Liz choose to have children? What do we make of fathers who leave their familiies? How does society view people without children? What is the logic behind anti-natalism? Bonus: What is concept creep and is it necessarily a bad thing? Special Guest: Elizabeth Page-Gould.
Episode 40: Diversity, Death, and (Cohen's) D
March 04, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 50.8 MBAs Little Urban Achievers, Yoel and Mickey delight in discussing previews for The Jesus Rolls, a Big Lebowski spinoff starring John Torturo as Jesus Quintana. They next talk about the University of California's policy of selecting faculty job candidates based primarily on their diversity and inclusion statements. They finally talk science: What happens when open science advocates veer from their pre-registration plans and fail to reject the null hypothesis? Should we care about effect sizes i...
Episode 39: Hot Takes (with Robb Willer)
February 19, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 57.3 MBYoel and Mickey welcome Stanford sociologist and psychologist Robb Willer to the show, who serves up hot takes about the replication crisis. Did the low replicabilty era in social psychology have consequences for political science or sociology? Has the open science movement benefited from motivated morality, only effecting change when change was easy? Despite intentions, will the open science movement make science even more elitist? Bonus: Taking psychedelic drugs at music concerts is fun! S...
Episode 38: Is There a Generalizability Crisis?
January 22, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 50.4 MBYoel and Mickey discuss a new paper by Tal Yarkoni suggesting that quantitative research in psychology is suffering from a generaliozability crisis. Do the numbers and statistics that psychological scientists present in their papers correspond to their verbal claims? What would psychological science look like if psychologists made fewer general statements? Should psychologists conduct more qualitative and descriptive research? Did Tal Yarkoni himself use a quantitative argument to prop up ver...
Episode 37: The War on Christmas Holiday Special
December 25, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 44.1 MBYoel and Mickey declare war on Christmas, discuss US-Canada differences, and almost entirely avoid serious topics. Bonus semi-serious topic: are all theories in psychology bound to be true?
Episode 36: Psychological Science Meets the Real World (with Nick Hobson)
December 11, 2019 11:00 - 1 hour - 51.3 MBMickey and Yoel chat with Nick Hobson, a psychologist who has moved from academia to applying behavioral science in the real world. What are some of the challenges that face academics-turned-practitioners? How can you apply psychological research in a rigorous way while, at the same time, keeping the bosses happy? We talk to Nick to find out. Plus: Yoel's eventful evening, and microdosing. Special Guest: Nick Hobson.
Episode 35: Against Experiments
November 27, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 47.3 MBAre many classic social psychology experiments more theater than science? Mickey and Yoel discuss "The Rise and Fall of Social Psychology," a book by the sociologist Augustine Brannigan that makes this provocative claim. Given the complexity of social life, are laboratory experiments just the wrong way to measure most social phenomena? Bonus: who is Don Cherry, and what is his beef with Yoel?
Episode 34: The Future of Social Psychology
November 13, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBMickey and Yoel take advantage of the SESP (Society for Experimental Social Psychology) conference to ask guests some hard-hitting questions about the present and future of social psychology (and, of course, beers). We then answer the same questions ourselves. Bonus: why are we banning applause on the show? Special Guests: Hanah Chapman, Keith Maddox, Laura Niemi, and Pam Smith.
Episode 33: What is Heterodox Academy? (with Debra Mashek)
October 30, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 46.5 MBMickey and Yoel talk with Debra Mashek, the executive director of Heterodox Academy, an organization working to increase open inquiry, viewpoint diversity and constructive disagreement in academia. But what does that mean exactly? Aren't these just codewords for "more conservatives"? We talk to Debra to find out. We also ask Debra about her decision to leave her tenured faculty position and move across the country to take this job. Special Guest: Debra Mashek.
Episode 32: Measurement Schmeasurement (with Jessica Flake)
October 16, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBJessica Flake joins Mickey and Yoel to talk measurement. What is it, how do you do it well, and do social psychologists care about it? What does measurement theory tell us about the validity of standardized tests like the GRE? Jessica also talks about how she went from high-school dropout to professor at McGill. Bonus: what the hell is Kentucky Gentleman? Special Guest: Jessica Flake.
Episode 31: Is Ego Depletion Real?
October 02, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 54.1 MBBy listener request, Yoel quizzes Mickey about ego depletion. How did we start studying it? How has the replication crisis changed how we think about it? After more than a decade studying ego depletion, does Mickey still have any faith in the phenomenon? Bonus: what does it mean to say, "don't @ me"?
Episode 30: Evaluating Eminence
September 18, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBYoel and Mickey discuss the role of eminence in science. Is there a role for eminence in psychology? What makes a researcher eminent? Would we be better off disregarding eminence entirely? Your hosts also discuss common myths in psychology plus a recent mini-controversy in which someone compared New York Times columnist Brett Stephens to a bedbug. Plus: what did Yoel bring back from Hawaii?
Episode 29: Sacred Values
September 04, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 52.5 MBYoel and Mickey discuss sacred values. How are sacred valued different from other values? What are the hallmarks of values that have become sacrilized? Why does it seem crass, or even offensive, to suggest trading off a sacred value (such as diversity value) against other, more mundane considerations? What does it mean that sacred values are dose insensitive and evidence insensitive? Bonus: Do scientists who attended conferences sponsored by the late Jeffrey Epstein need to morally cleanse?
Episode 28: Better Advice (with Alexa Tullett)
August 21, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 44.8 MBYoel and Mickey welcome Associate Professor of Psychology, Alexa Tullett from the University of Alabama to the podcast. Co-host of The Black Goat podcast and board member of the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science (SIPS), Alexa talks about being a Canadian early career researcher working in the US. What research is Alexa most excited about these days? How did she become interested in meta science? What advice would she give to non-Americans thinking of working in academia in ...
Episode 27: Against Mindfulness
August 07, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 52.9 MBPlaying devil's advocate, Yoel and Mickey mount a criticism against the scientific study of mindfulness. What is mindfulness? Can we measure it? Is mindfulness-based therapy effective? Can mindfulness improve the quality of attention beyond the meditation cushion? Are effects of mindfulness mostly placebo effects produced by motivated practitioners and adherents? Should we be impressed by mindfulness meditation’s supposed effects on conceptions of the self? Is mindfulness, in all its complexi...
Episode 26: Terrible Advice (with Paul Bloom)
July 24, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 47 MBYoel and Mickey welcome Paul Bloom to the podcast, who is not only a returning guest but also the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Psychology at Yale University. We first give terrible advice on parenting. Does parenting affect happiness, relationship satisfaction, and meaning? Does parenting screw with prospective decision making because it leaves the decision maker utterly transformed? We next discuss perversity. Why do we enjoy doing transgressive things? Who is likely to be perverted...
Episode 25: Truth and Political Bias in Psychology (with John Jost)
July 03, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBYoel and Mickey welcome Professor of Psychology and Politics John Jost from New York University to the podcast. Author of the most influential political psychology paper of the last two decades, John talks about the role of psychology in politics and the role of politics in psychology. Is it fair to characterize conservatives as dogmatic, rigid, and close-minded? Given replication failures, are conservatives indeed more attuned to negative stimuli in their environments? Does the description o...
Episode 24: Heuristics and Biases in the Democratic Primary
June 19, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 43.7 MBYoel and Mickey take a deep dive into the Democratic Primary field, asking what the field of judgment and decision making can teach us about the large and diverse field of Democratic candidates. Why is Biden leading in the polls? Is Elizabeth Warren being helped by Kamala Harris? Why isn’t Biden hurt by progressives’ deep dislike of him? What should we make of one-issue voters? Bonus: Yoel makes a fearless and consequential prediction. Who will make him stick to his word?
Episode 23: Slow-Form Journalism (with Daniel Engber)
June 05, 2019 09:00 - 57 minutes - 39.2 MBYoel and Mickey welcome Slate columnist Daniel Engber to the podcast. Dan talks about the state of science journalism, including what he sees as more skeptical, less credulous reporting. He also talks about the replication crisis in psychology, imposter syndrome in academics, concussion in sport, and the value of blue-ribbon panels opining on the state of science. Dan also delights with his contrarian takes on marathon running, the windchill factor, and a computer’s progress bar. Bonus: Yoel ...
Episode 22: Blend of Darkness (with Brent Roberts)
May 22, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 61.5 MBYoel and Mickey welcome Professor of Psychology Brent Roberts from the University of Illinois to the podcast. One of the most influential personality psychologists of our day, Brent unleashes his thoughts on broad range of topics: candidate gene studies, personality, conscientiousness, coddling of the American mind, screen-time, senior colleagues, and the replication crisis in psychology. What is personality and how does it change? Why do people love the Myers-Briggs personality test? How wou...
Episode 21: Perils of Privilege
April 24, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 45.5 MBYoel and Mickey discuss the concept of privilege, the unearned, sometimes invisible conditions of a person’s life that give them advantages that others might not have. What are the benefits of acknowledging one’s privilege and calling it out in others? Are there drawbacks to focusing on the immutable characteristics of a person that might normally proffer advantages? If all our characteristics are unearned, that is products of biology and environment that we have zero control over, should peo...
Episode 20: Apostasy and Dissent (with Sarah Haider)
March 27, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 42 MBYoel and Mickey talk with Sarah Haider, the co-founder and Executive Director of Ex-Muslims of North America, an organization that advocates for the acceptance of religious dissent and supports those who leave Islam. Sarah talks about her own experience of growing up Muslim and leaving her faith; the unique predicament of and risks for Muslim dissenters; and how US partisan politics make her work more difficult. Bonus: Sarah gives Mickey pointers on how to avoid using Twitter as an outrage ma...
Episode 19: Two Normies Four Beers
February 27, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBYoel and Mickey discuss Kill All Normies, a book written by Angela Nagle about the online culture wars, the rise of transgressive politics, and the disappearance of moderates. But, first they discuss a new journal article titled The Paradox of Viral Outrage suggesting that online pile-ons tend to backfire Bonus: What does Mickey really think about Christina Hoff Sommers?
A Schedule Update (Shomer F*cking Sabbatical)
February 06, 2019 10:00 - 3 minutes - 3.46 MBWe are going to be on a one-episode-a-month schedule till May. Why? Because Mickey is on sabbatical from his cough incredibly demanding job: ✈️🌴🏖🍹😎
Episode 18: What Science and the Humanities Offer Each Other (with Edward Slingerland)
January 30, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 72.8 MBYoel and Mickey welcome Distinguished Professor of Asian Studies, Edward (Ted) Slingerland from the University of British Columbia to the podcast. Ted discusses what the sciences can offer the humanities, but also how the humanities can enrich science. Ted then discusses his popular book, "Trying Not To Try", where he describes the Chinese concept of Wu-Wei, which can be defined as effortless action or spontaneity and proposes that the ever-striving West could use a lot more of it. Finally, T...
Episode 17: Why Trump Won
January 02, 2019 11:00 - 1 hour - 61 MBYoel and Mickey discuss Identity Crisis, a new book about the 2016 US presidential election written by the political scientists John Sides, Michael Tesler, and Lynn Vavreck. But first, they talk about the recent controversy over Patreon's ban of a provocative internet personality and what, if any, implications this has for free speech. Bonus: who is Mickey's favorite Sex and the City character?
Episode 16: How Polarized Are We? (with Anne Wilson)
December 19, 2018 11:00 - 1 hour - 63.9 MBYoel and Mickey sit down with Anne Wilson of Wilfrid Laurier University to discuss free speech, the Lindsay Shepherd case, political polarization, #MeToo, and more. Bonus: how many tattoos does Mickey have, and is that why he's less trustworthy? Special Guest: Anne Wilson.
Episode 15: Just When You Think You're Out
December 05, 2018 11:00 - 1 hour - 46.3 MBYoel and Mickey discuss two mini-controversies recently in the news: 1) Should equity, diversity, and inclusion statements be required from academic job candidates? Do they signal the liberal values of academia, and if so, is that a bad thing? 2) Are psychologists disproportionately likely to argue that free speech is in crisis on campus? If so, why? Bonus: Mickey describes an intimate product that he definitely does not own.
Episode 14: Vices (with Elizabeth Page-Gould)
November 21, 2018 11:00 - 1 hour - 68.4 MBYoel and Mickey have their first repeat guest as Liz Page-Gould joins them to talk vices. Weed, booze and porn are all on the table (well, not literally) as we take on some popular vices. Why do you get paranoid when you smoke? Was alcohol really the impetus for agriculture? Is watching porn bad for your relationship? Bonus: learn who's watched porn in the last week. Special Guest: Elizabeth Page-Gould.
Episode 13: What's Wrong with the IAT? (with Jesse Singal)
November 07, 2018 11:00 - 1 hour - 55.6 MBJournalist Jesse Singal joins Yoel and Mickey to talk about the state of science journalism, what he thinks is wrong with how people interpret the Implicit Association Test (IAT), and the pros and cons of moral outrage. Why do so many science journalists simply repeat talking points from university press releases? Is it ethical to administer the IAT as a teaching tool? What is social media like for a journalist? Bonus: Yoel, Mickey, & Jesse discuss a new paper arguing there are upsides to mo...
Episode 12: Everybody Hates Social Media
October 24, 2018 10:00 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBMickey and Yoel take on social media. What are the upsides and downsides of being on social media, particularly Twitter? Why does Mickey ban himself from social media for most of the day? What led Yoel to abandon Twitter entirely for two weeks, and what drew him back in? Would the open science movement have happened without social media? Bonus: when is it a good idea to give voice to the voiceless?