Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.
484 episodes transcribedIt's happened to all of us: We're in the shower, or on a walk, and boom — a big idea or a brilliant solution appears out of nowhere. These sorts of in...
Every day, we leave small traces of ourselves online. And we might not realize what these traces say about us. This week, computational social scienti...
With the holidays fast approaching, many of us are hunting for that special something for the special someones in our lives. It’s how we show we care...
What makes ordinary people do evil things? It was a question that long fascinated the psychologist Philip Zimbardo, who died in October. Zimbardo was...
There's a tradition around many Thanksgiving dinner tables that's as consistent as stuffing and pumpkin pie: the family stories that get told year aft...
Neuroscientist Doug Fields was on a trip to Europe when a pickpocket stole his wallet. Doug, normally mild-mannered, became enraged — and his fury tur...
Many of us go to great lengths to be happy. But is our singular focus on feeling good actually making us miserable? This week, psychologist Jordi Quoi...
Sometimes we feel just one single feeling with overwhelming force. We're joyously happy. We're crushingly sad. But sometimes it's more complicated tha...
For centuries, philosophers and theologians have warned about the dangers of pride and hubris. It’s an emotion that can make us arrogant, egotistical,...
This week, we kick off our new series, Emotions 2.0, with a special double episode about the emotions we experience with other people. We often think...
We humans are a social species, and so it's not surprising that we care a lot about what other people think of us. It's also not surprising that many...
I. Me. My. You. He. She. They. It. To. Of. For. These are all words we use without a second thought. But psychologist James Pennebaker says if we pay...
It can sometimes be exciting when we don't know what's coming next. Other times, the unknown can be deeply troubling. This week, we talk with research...
Money worries are one of the biggest sources of anxiety in our lives. Psychologist Brad Klontz says these worries are shaped by more than the number i...
Every morning, you wake up and face the world. What does it look like to you? Do you see a paradise of endless opportunities, where people are friendl...
It happens to the best of us — we blank on someone's name, or forget an important meeting, or bomb a test we thought we'd ace. In this week's installm...
Saying no to someone who asks for something is often easier said than done. Maybe it's a boss who wants you to take on a new assignment. Or your kid's...
Many of us feel like there aren't enough hours in the day. We struggle to make time for all the competing demands at work and at home, and inevitably...
Are you someone who strikes up a conversation with the person next to you on the train? Or do you keep your eyes fixed on your phone? Do you offer gra...
Whether in your personal life or at work, you've probably experienced what it’s like to have people reject your requests. To be told that what you wan...
