Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.
508 episodes transcribedHow do you spend your money? On food, transportation, or housing? On shoes, cars, coffee, fancy restaurants? You might think you use money just to, yo...
Millions of people around the world use social media every day to stay in touch with friends and family. But ironically, studies have shown that peopl...
This week, Hidden Brain considers the power of touch. First, Alison MacAdam tells us the story of her security blanket, called Baba. Then, Shankar int...
Imagine a concrete room, not much bigger than a parking space. You're in there 23 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is the reality of solitary confinem...
Everybody lies. This is not breaking news. But what separates the average person from the infamous cheaters we see on the news? Dan Ariely says we lik...
When 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...
There 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....
Nearly a year ago, we ran an episode about one of the world's most intractable divides: the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Since that story aired, a so...
Making jokes about politics is a tradition as old as America itself. These days, of course, comedians have a new target: President Donald Trump. We ta...
What would drive someone to take another person's life? When researchers at the University of Chicago asked that question, the answer was a laundry li...
We all know casual sex isn't about love. But what if it's not even about lust? Sociologist Lisa Wade believes the pervasive hookup culture on campuses...
A recent paper found that black patients receive less pain medication for broken bones and cancer. Black children receive less pain medication than wh...
Barely a week after assuming office, President Donald Trump set off a worldwide firestorm when he decided to temporarily ban entry to migrants from se...
In the months since the presidential election, many have noted that lots of Americans live in bubbles — echo chambers filled with the voices of people...
It's inauguration season, which means balls, parades, and celebrations. We may love the pomp and circumstance, but there's another, darker side to our...
Young people have always used language in new and different ways, and it has pretty much always driven older people crazy. But the linguist John McWho...
At one time or another, many of us feel stuck: in the wrong job, the wrong relationship, the wrong city – the wrong life. Psychologists and self-help...
Maya Shankar was well on her way to an extraordinary career as a violinist when an injury closed that door. This week, we look at how she wound up at...
There is a replication "crisis" in psychology: many findings simply do not replicate. Some critics take this as an indictment of the entire...
Look down at what you're wearing. You picked out that blue shirt, right? And those boots — you decided on those because they're warm, didn't you? Well...
