Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.
479 episodes transcribedIf you think about the people in your life, it's likely that they share a lot in common with you. Maybe they like the same kinds of food, or enjoy the...
We all have to make certain choices in life, such as where to live and how to earn a living. Parents and peers influence our major life choices. But...
It's the time of year when many of us make resolutions for the year ahead. We pledge to quit smoking, eat better, or get more exercise. Then a few wee...
We often look down on people who complain a lot. Yet when something goes wrong in our own lives, many of us go straight to griping, grumbling and kvet...
People in every country and culture mark important milestones, such as births, marriages and deaths, with intricately choreographed scripts. We even a...
With the holidays upon us, many of us are hunting for that special something for the special someones in our lives. It's how we show we care about th...
Everyone wants to be loved and appreciated. In the final episode of our Relationships 2.0 series, we revisit a conversation with psychologist Harry Re...
No one will deny that marriage is hard. In fact, there's evidence it's getting even harder. This week on the show, we revisit a favorite episode from...
When you go to a medical appointment, your doctor may ask you several questions. Do you smoke? Have you been getting exercise? Are you sleeping? But r...
As you're going about your day, you likely interact with family, friends and coworkers. These relationships can help you feel cared for and connected....
When it comes to conflict, most of us just want to shut it down. But psychological research is increasingly taking a different approach to discord, wi...
Anxiety is an uncomfortable emotion, which is why most of us try to avoid it. But psychologist Tracy Dennis-Tiwary says our anxiety is also trying to...
We all face tough decisions in life, whether we're juggling the demands of work and family or deciding whether to take a new job. These situations oft...
Have you ever been falsely accused of something? Many of us think there’s only one way we’d act in such a situation: we’d defend ourselves. We’d do wh...
If you're bilingual or multilingual, you may have noticed that different languages make you stretch in different ways. This week, we revisit a favorit...
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...
So often, we think we know what other people are thinking. But researchers have found that our attempts at reading other people go wrong more often th...
We like to think that all humans are born with the same core emotions: anger, fear, joy, sadness and disgust. But what if that's not true? This week,...
All of us want to feel safe in our daily lives. Yet when we think about crime, our first response is often a blanket approach: find the bad guys, and...
In the United States, we often praise people with strong convictions, and look down on those who express doubt or hesitation. In this favorite 2021 e...
