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Hidden Brain
Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.
475 episodes transcribed
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Science
An Unfinished Lesson
Episode Date: April 13, 2021More than a century ago, millions of people around the world died in a massive influenza pandemic. The so-called "Spanish flu" outbreak of 1918 reveal...
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Science
Useful Delusions
Episode Date: April 5, 2021Podcast hosts are used to being the ones asking the questions. This week, though, we’re going to flip that script, and put Shankar in the guest seat....
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Science
The Story of Your Life
Episode Date: March 23, 2021We can’t go back and change the past. We can’t erase trauma and hardship. But what if there was a way to regain control of our personal narratives? In...
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Science
The Story of Stories
Episode Date: March 16, 2021Why is my friend late? How does nuclear fission work? What occurs when I sneeze? We all need to understand why certain things happen. Some researchers...
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Science
Radically Normal
Episode Date: March 9, 2021For generations, it was difficult, even dangerous, to express a sexual orientation other than heterosexuality in the United States. But in recent year...
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Science
Creating God
Episode Date: February 23, 2021If you've taken part in a religious service, have you ever stopped to think about how people become believers? Where do the rituals come from? And wha...
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Science
Is It Better to Know?
Episode Date: February 16, 2021Being able to see what’s happening around us can help us make smart decisions. But knowledge — especially knowledge of how others perceive us — can al...
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Science
Love is Blind
Episode Date: February 13, 2021Why do some relationships last, while others falter? In this bonus episode, Shankar looks at one thing successful couples do well.
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Science
How They See Us
Episode Date: February 9, 2021Stereotypes are all around us, shaping how we see the world – and how the world sees us. On the surface, the stereotypes that other people hold should...
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Science
The Easiest Person to Fool
Episode Date: February 2, 2021Physicist Richard Feynman once said, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.” One way we fool...
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Science
Afraid of the Wrong Things
Episode Date: January 26, 2021Around the world, people are grappling with the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. How do our minds process that risk, and why do some of us proces...
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Science
Our Brands, Our Selves
Episode Date: January 19, 2021All of us are surrounded by brands. Designer brands. Bargain-shopper brands. Brands for seemingly every demographic slice among us. But have you ever...
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Science
The Secret Life of Secrets
Episode Date: January 12, 2021It’s human nature to hide parts of ourselves that produce shame or anxiety. We tend to skip over details that could change how others perceive us. But...
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Science
The Double Standard
Episode Date: January 5, 2021It's easy to spot bias in other people, especially those with whom we disagree. But it’s not so easy to recognize our own biases. Psychologist Emily...
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Science
A Creature of Habit
Episode Date: December 29, 2020At the beginning of the year, many of us make resolutions for the months to come. We resolve to work out more, to procrastinate less, or to save more...
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Science
Waiting Games
Episode Date: December 22, 2020For so many people across the globe, 2020 has been a year of waiting and uncertainty. Waiting to see friends and family in far-flung locales. Waiting...
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Science
Screaming into a Void
Episode Date: December 8, 2020Turn on the news or look at Twitter, and it's likely you'll be bombarded by outrage. Many people have come to believe that the only way to spark chang...
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Science
Where Gratitude Gets You
Episode Date: November 24, 2020Many of us struggle with self-control. And we assume willpower is the key to achieving our goals. But there's a simple and often overlooked mental ha...