Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.
472 episodes transcribedNo 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...
The pressure. The expectations. The anxiety. If there’s one thing that many of us have in common, it’s the stress that can come from performing in fro...
Some challenges can feel insurmountable. But psychologist Emily Balcetis says the solutions are often right in front of our eyes. This week, as part o...
How well do we know ourselves? Maybe the better question to ask is how well can we truly know ourselves? Psychologist Tim Wilson says introspection on...
You know that negative voice that goes round and round in your head, keeping you up at night? When that negative inner voice gets switched on, it's h...
We often assume that we see ourselves and the world around us accurately. But psychologist Alia Crum says that our perceptions are always filtered thr...
We often assume that we see ourselves and the world around us accurately. But psychologist Alia Crum says that our perceptions are always filtered thr...
Have you ever gotten into a heated argument about politics? Maybe you’ve said something you're not proud of during game night with friends, or booed t...
