Podcasts · Science · Society & Culture

You Are Not So Smart

You Are Not So Smart

300 episodes

You Are Not So Smart is a show about psychology that celebrates science and self delusion. In each episode, we explore what we've learned so far about reasoning, biases, judgments, and decision-making.

Episodes page 3 of 6

  1. 251 - Come up for Air - Nick Sonnenberg

    · 44 min

    Nick Sonnenberg doesn’t believe there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. That’s because when his business was in crisis mode, he developed a framework for eliminating inefficiencies and…

  2. 250 - Awe - Dacher Keltner

    · 54 min

    In this episode we sit down with psychologist Dacher Keltner, one of the world’s leading experts on the science of emotion, the man Pixar hired to help them write Inside Out. In his new book – Awe: The New Science of…

  3. 249 - The Power of Surprise (rebroadcast)

    · 1 h 01 min

    In this episode, Micheal Rousell, author of The Power of Surprise, explains the science of surprise at the level of neurons and brain structures, and then talk about how surprises often lead to the stories we tell…

  4. 248 - Visual Thinking - Temple Grandin

    · 48 min

    Temple Grandin was born in 1947 at a time when words like neurodivergent and neurotypical had yet to enter the lexicon, at a time when autism was not well understood, and since she didn’t develop speech until much…

  5. 247 - Narcissism (rebroadcast)

    · 57 min

    In this episode we explore what narcissism is (and what is most-definitely is not). There is a form of narcissism which has been, up until now, confused with psychopathy. But a new paper, the result of years of…

  6. 246 - Ideaflow - Jeremy Utley

    · 1 h 12 min

    In this episode we sit down with Jeremy Utley of the Stanford d.school to discuss his new book, Ideaflow, which is all about how to create a practice for producing and trading ideas in massive quantities – whether in…

  7. 245 - The Conspiracy Theorist Who Changed His Mind - Tim Harford

    · 45 min

    Here’s a special bonus episode featuring my recent conversation with Tim Harford, author, economic journalist, and host of the Cautionary Tales podcast. We discussed a story from my new book, How Minds Change, about a…

  8. 244 - Quit - Annie Duke

    · 58 min

    I recently sat down for a live event and Q&A with the great Annie Duke to discuss her new book, Quit: The power of knowing when to walk away. This episode is the audio from that event. Quit is all about how to develop…

  9. 243 - Psychological Tweetathon with Jay Van Bavel

    · 1 h 09 min

    In this episode we sit down with NYU psychologist Jay Van Bavel who is very good at Twitter. His feed is always overflowing with the absolute latest and greatest research from psychology with links to papers as they…

  10. 242 - Survival of the Richest - Douglas Rushkoff

    · 1 h 02 min

    In this episode we sit down with Douglas Rushkoff, a media scholar, journalist, and professor of digital economics who has a new fire in his belly when it comes to the world of billionaire preppers, which comes across…

  11. 241 - The Status Game - Will Storr

    · 1 h 18 min

    In this episode we welcome back author Will Storr whose new book, The Status Game, feels like required reading for anyone confused, curious, or worried about how politics, cults, conspiracy theories communities, social…

  12. 240 - QAnon and Conspiracy Narratives (rebroadcast)

    · 1 h 21 min

    When we talk about conspiracy theories we tend to focus on what people believe instead of why, and, more importantly, why they believe those things and not other things. In this episode, we sit down with two…

  13. 239 - You're Invited - Jon Levy

    · 1 h 04 min

    Our guest in this episode is the behavioral scientist Jon Levy who wrote a book titled You’re Invited, the Art and Science of Cultivating influence. The book details how Jon was able to convince groups of Nobel…

  14. 238 - Chess Queens - Jennifer Shahade

    · 1 h 00 min

    In this episode we sit down with Jennifer Shahade, a two-time U.S. Women’s Chess Champion, author, speaker, and professional poker player whose new book, Chess Queens, is the true story of the greatest female players…

  15. 237 - Reactance - Michele Belot

    · 40 min

    New research suggests people on opposite sides of wedge issues want to listen to each other. We are each eager to hear differing opinions and understand opposing views, and when we do it can change our minds (at least…

  16. 236 - How Minds Change

    · 1 h 44 min

    In this episode I read an excerpt from my new book How Minds Change, a portion concerning how to change minds about abortion rights, and Chris Clearfield interviews me about that very same book - which is out now and…

  17. 235 - Tough - Terry Crews

    · 1 h 10 min

    Terry Crews, actor, athlete, artist, President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho, star of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, host of America’s Got Talent - that Terry Crews joins us to discuss his new book, Tough. In the book,…

  18. 234 - The Truth Wins - Tom Stafford

    · 49 min

    Link to preorder How Minds Change and get your preorder bonuses: https://www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome Deliberation. Debate. Conversation. Though it can feel like that’s what we are doing online as we trade…

  19. 233 - The Puzzler - A. J. Jacobs

    · 57 min

    Link to preorder How Minds Change: www.davidmcraney.com/howmindschangehome Our guest in this episode is A.J. Jacobs, the the four-time New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically, Thanks A…

  20. 232 - Think Again - Adam Grant

    · 56 min

    How to manage procrastination according to Margaret Atwood, how to work around your first-instinct fallacy, the upsides of imposter syndrome, the best way to avoid falling prey to the Dunning-Kruger effect, how to…

  21. 231 - On Being Certain - Robert Burton (rebroadcast)

    · 54 min

    In this episode, we sit down with neurologist Robert Burton, author of On Being Certain, a book that fundamentally changed the way I think about what a belief actually is. That’s because the book posits conclusions are…

  22. 230 - The Science of Stuck - Britt Frank

    · 51 min

    Feeling stuck? Can't build momentum to escape all the loops keeping you from moving forward? Our guest in this episode is professor, author, therapist, and speaker Britt Frank, a trauma specialist who treats people…

  23. 229 - What's Your Problem? - Jacob Goldstein

    · 49 min

    In this episode, Jacob Goldstein, the longtime host of NPR’s Planet Money, talks about his new podcast about technology and business called What’s Your Problem? with Jacob Goldstein. Goldstein spent more than a decade…

  24. 228 - The Power of Regret - Daniel H. Pink

    · 43 min

    NO REGRETS - Our guest in this episode of the You Are Not So Smart podcast is Daniel Pink, the five-time NYT Bestselling author of When and To Sell is Human and Drive and A Whole New Mind. His new book is The Power of…

  25. 227 - Imaginable - Jane McGonigal

    · 1 h 00 min

    Jane McGonigal's new books details how she creates alternate reality games in which people take part in virtual worlds, and, in so doing, gain a sensitively to the cues (and a familiarity with the conditions) that…

  26. 226 - The World's Greatest Con - Brian Brushwood

    · 54 min

    In this episode, we sit down with famed stage magician, infamous instructor of the school of scams, Brian Brushwood, whose new podcast explores the world's greatest con artists and con jobs from World War II to modern…

  27. 225 - Blindsight and Neuromarketing

    · 1 h 00 min

    In this episode, neuromarketing experts Prince Ghuman and Matt Johnson discuss the many strange examples from their book, Blindsight, in an effort to make us all smarter consumers, empowered to make better decisions…

  28. 224 - The Conversation Lab - Misha Glouberman

    · 1 h 03 min

    In this episode of the You Are Not So Smart Podcast, we sit down once again with Misha Glouberman, an expert on conflict and conversation, to discuss how best to improve your communication skills and turn what you…

  29. 223 - To Persuade is Human?

    · 1 h 06 min

    This episode, featuring Andy Luttrell of the Opinion Science Podcast, is all about a machine, built by IBM, that can debate human beings on any issue, which leads to the question: is persuasion, with language, using…

  30. 222 - The Power of Surprise - Michael Rousell

    · 1 h 02 min

    Not all surprises trigger change, but almost all change is triggered by surprise. In this episode, Micheal Rousell, author of The Power of Surprise, explains the science of surprise at the level of neurons and brain…

  31. 221 - Conversations and Conversions at the Portable Planetarium

    · 44 min

    In this episode we sit down with Joey Rodman (@okiespacequeen), a science educator in Oklahoma whose recent Twitter thread about using a portable planetarium to reach out to flat earthers went viral thanks to their…

  32. 220 - A Very Short History of Life on Earth - Henry Gee

    · 58 min

    In this episode, we sit down with Henry Ernest Gee, the paleontologist, evolutionary biologist and senior editor of the scientific journal Nature. I was honored to get the opportunity chat with one of the absolute…

  33. 219 - Irrational Labs - Evelyn Gosnell

    · 44 min

    In this episode we sit down with expert in behavioral economics Evelyn Gosnell, who is also the managing director of Irrational Labs, an organization that uses social science to help other organizations make big…

  34. 218 - Unwinding Anxiety - Jud Brewer

    · 57 min

    In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer, a neuroscientist and addiction psychiatrist, discusses the biological origins of anxiety and how to unwind our feedback loops using techniques derived from his lab’s research. Since…

  35. 217 - Livewired - David Eagleman (rebroadcast)

    · 1 h 14 min

    In this episode we sit down with neuroscientist David Eagleman to learn how brains turn noise into signal, chaos into order, electrical spikes into meaning, and how new technology can expand subjective reality in ways…

  36. 216 - Shape - Jordan Ellenberg

    · 1 h 11 min

    In this episode, we sit down with Jordan Ellenberg, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His writing has appeared in Slate, the Wall Street Journal, the New York…

  37. 215 - Jerks at Work - Tessa West

    · 1 h 20 min

    In this live taping of the podcast at Caveat in NYC, Dr. Tessa West, the author of Jerks at Work, conducts quizzes to see what kind of jerk you are and what kind of jerk most-easily persuades you in the workplace. You…

  38. 214 - Exploring Genius

    · 35 min

    Over the course of this audio documentary series, David McRaney explores the history and science of intelligence, IQ, and remarkable talent through interviews with dozens of intelligence experts and actual "geniuses"…

  39. 213 - Vaccine Hesitancy

    · 2 h 51 min

    In this episode of the You Are Not So Smart Podcast, we sit down with eight experts on communication, conversation, and persuasion to discuss the best methods for reaching out to the vaccine hesitant with the intention…

  40. 212 - The Power of Us - Jay Van Bavel

    · 1 h 36 min

    In this episode, we sit down with psychologist Jay Van Bavel to discuss his new book, The Power of Us, an exploration of "the dynamics of shared, social identities. What causes people to develop social identities? What…

  41. 211 - QAnon and Conspiratorial Narratives

    · 1 h 23 min

    When we talk about conspiracy theories we tend to focus on what people believe instead of why, and, more importantly, why they believe those things and not other things. In this episode, we sit down with two…

  42. 210 - Julia Shaw - The Memory Illusion (rebroadcast)

    · 1 h 12 min

    Our guest on this episode is Dr. Julia Shaw, the author of The Memory Illusion. Julia is famous among psychologists because she was able to implant false memories into a group of subjects and convince 70 percent of…

  43. 209 - Masks (rebroadcast)

    · 1 h 36 min

    In this episode of the You Are Not So Smart Podcast, we sit down with four experts on human behavior to try and understand how wearing masks, during the COVID-19 pandemic, became politicized. In the show, we take a…

  44. 208 - The Extended Mind - Annie Murphy Paul

    · 1 h 06 min

    In this episode we sit down with Annie Murphy Paul, the acclaimed science writer, whose new book, The Extended Mind is all about how the brain is part of systems, and it is those systems that constitute the mind. In…

  45. 207 - A Slight Change of Plans - Maya Shankar

    · 1 h 17 min

    A few weeks ago, Maya Shankar and her team reached out to me noting their new show, A Slight Change of Plans, which explores how various fascinating people have changed their minds, often after something unexpected…

  46. 206 - Narcissism

    · 58 min

    In this episode we explore what narcissism is and what is most-definitely is not. You will learn is that narcissists are not psychopaths, and vice-versa, but there is a form of narcissism which had been, up until now,…

  47. 205 - Unfollow - Megan Phelps-Roper

    · 1 h 50 min

    In this episode we sit down with Megan Phelps-Roper, the author of Unfollow, a memoir of her time in Westboro Baptist Church, and an exploration what it took to convince her to leave. I interviewed Megan for my…

  48. 204 - On Being Certain - Robert Burton

    · 55 min

    In this episode, we sit down with neurologist Robert Burton, author of On Being Certain, a book that fundamentally changed the way I think about what a belief actually is. That’s because the book posits that…

  49. 203 - Transcend - Scott Barry Kaufman

    · 1 h 10 min

    In this episode we sit down with Scott Barry Kaufman, one of the most-influential and prolific psychologists working today, to discuss his new book, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization. Business Insider…

  50. 202 - Desirability Bias (rebroadcast)

    · 28 min

    Confirmation bias is our tendency to seek evidence that supports our beliefs and confirms our assumptions when we could just as well seek disconfirmation of those beliefs and assumptions instead. Confirmation is such…

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