ScienceHidden Brain
Psychologist Tania Lombrozo discusses the cognitive science behind human explanations, revealing how our instinct to construct narratives aids learning but can also foster biases, conspiracy theories, and overconfidence…
- Psychologist Tania Lombrozo describes conspiracy theories as an error of overexplaining, where the mind strings together independent, random events and blames a single intentional… Read →
- Jurors do not convict by calculating evidentiary probabilities; they build a chronological story and pick whichever narrative flows best. Read →
ScienceHidden Brain
Sleep researcher Chris Barnes explains how chronic sleep deprivation impairs cognitive decision-making, fuels unethical conduct, and contributes to industrial disasters. Later in the episode, psychologist Rachel Zoffnes…
- Catastrophes like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island both started between 1:30 AM and 4:00 AM, the exact window when human circadian biology forces alertness to its daily bottom. Read →
- Adults need seven to nine hours of nightly sleep, while true genetic short-sleepers who thrive on four hours are vanishingly rare. Read →
- Pain is regulated by a central nervous system volume knob: Zoffness explains that the brain and spinal cord operate like a car stereo dial, where emotional distress amplifies phys… Read →
ScienceHidden Brain
Shankar Vedantam speaks with psychologist George Loewenstein about the internal psychological mechanisms that undermine human happiness, including hedonic adaptation, evolutionary survival drives, and self-critical meta…
- In experiments evaluating public policies framed around jobs saved versus jobs lost, psychologist Alison Ledgerwood discovered an asymmetric cognitive lock on negative frames. Read →
- Thought suppression backfires. Alison Ledgerwood explains that trying to crush anxious thoughts triggers the classic white bear effect, making negative emotions stickier. Read →
- Natural selection shaped the human mind to prioritize survival and reproduction, treating subjective contentment merely as temporary bait rather than a permanent destination. Read →
ScienceHidden Brain
Historian Kate Bowler reflects on her stage IV cancer diagnosis, exploring the psychological discomfort society experiences when faced with unexplainable suffering and the pervasive cultural myth of control. In the seco…
- At age 35, Duke University historian Kate Bowler received a sudden diagnosis of stage IV colon cancer, despite having zero family history and an active academic career. Read →
- Historian Kate Bowler traces modern toxic positivity to late 19th-century New Thought and the American prosperity gospel, which taught that positive speech directly dictates physi… Read →
- MRI brain scans show three specific neural circuits activate during spiritual experiences across different belief systems. Read →
ScienceHidden Brain
Psychologist Martin Seligman joins Shankar Vedantam to explore the psychology of human agency and how optimism, efficacy, and imagination can be cultivated. They discuss why humans reflexively catastrophize, how small g…
- Agency requires three distinct psychological components: optimism about the future, immediate efficacy in the present, and imagination to generate alternative paths. Read →
- Martin Seligman argues artificial intelligence expands human agency rather than stripping people of autonomy or creative choice. Read →
- Human brains evolved during the Ice Ages to anticipate disaster because expecting floods, ice, and disease kept our ancestors alive. Read →
ScienceHidden Brain
Shankar Vedantam explores how sudden life disruptions and flashes of insight reshape human decision-making and career trajectories. Psychologist Anthony Klotz discusses 'jolts'—unexpected shocks that break autopilot rou…
- Simple purchases like appliances benefit from conscious pro-and-con lists, but complex choices overwhelm conscious deliberation. Read →
- Conscious deliberation functions like a narrow spotlight, locking your brain into rigid paths and blinding you to unexpected solutions. Read →
- Roughly 50% of career pivots do not happen through gradual planning. They stem from sudden shocks that jar people out of their daily routines. Read →