Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.
475 episodes transcribedWe've all been in situations where we experience mixed emotions. Maybe you've felt both joy and sadness during a big life decision, such as whether to...
Do you ever stop to wonder if the way you see the world is how the world really is? Economist Abhijit Banerjee has spent a lifetime asking himself th...
Do you ever struggle to communicate with your mom? Or feel like you and your spouse sometimes speak different languages? In the final episode of our "...
Turn on the news, and you'll be bombarded with stories of people who lie, cheat, and kill. Most of our public and economic policies take aim at these...
It’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. In the latest in o...
It's not easy to know how we come across to others, especially when we're meeting people for the first time. Psychologist Erica Boothby says many of u...
As we go through life, we’re constantly trying to figure out what other people are thinking and feeling. Psychologist Liane Young says this ability to...
Sanaa is on her train ride home when an angry man begins threatening her. Before he gets too close, a stranger intervenes. Please share the story of y...
Life is often filled with hardships and tragedies. For thousands of years, philosophers have come up with strategies to help us cope with such hardshi...
Everyone wants to be loved and appreciated. But psychologist Harry Reis says there’s another ingredient to successful relationships that’s every bit a...
It's 1979, and Wendy is eight years old, crying alone in an airport. Then she sees a woman in white walking towards her.In a few weeks we'll be runnin...
The rift between police and Black Americans can feel impossible to bridge. But in his work with police departments across the U.S., Yale psychologist...
All of us make choices all the time, and we may think we're making those choices freely. But psychologist Eric Johnson says there's an architecture be...
At 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...
Justin is sitting on the side of the freeway, hoping someone will help him fix his busted wheel. Right around the time he’s about to give up, a van p...
Bababa, dadada, ahgaga. Got that? Babies are speaking to us all the time, but most of us have no clue what they're saying. To us non-babies, it all so...
We all have times when we feel like a fraud. Psychologist Kevin Cokley studies the corrosive effects of self-doubt, and how we can turn that negative...
It's 1994, and two men corner Leah on a dark street as she's walking home. Then she sees a car, and a glimmer of hope.To hear more stories like this,...
It’s psychologically simpler to see the world in black and white. But reality often comes in shades of gray. This week, how our minds grapple with con...
If you’re working from home, you might be reveling in your daily commute to the dining room table. Or you might be saying, “Get me out of here.” In th...
