The Psychology Podcast

Today it’s great to have Sam Harris on the podcast. Sam is the author of five New York Times best sellers, including The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, and Waking Up. The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction. His writing and public lectures cover a wide range of topics—neuroscience, moral philosophy,religion, meditation practice, human violence, rationality—but generally focus on how a growing understanding of ourselves and the world is changing our sense of how we should live. He also hosts the Making Sense Podcast, which was selected by Apple as one of the “iTunes Best” and has won a Webby Award for best podcast in the Science & Education category. Topics [1:57] Sam’s reflections on his childhood [7:18] Sam’s interest in martial arts [8:04] Sam’s experience with MDMA [12:09] How Sam ended up on the Dalai Lama’s security detail [16:39] Sam’s experience with meditation teacher Sayadaw U Pandita [23:12] Dualistic vs Nondualistic mindfulness

Today it’s great to chat with Simon Baron-Cohen. Simon is professor of psychology and psychiatry and director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University. He is the author of six hundred scientific articles and four books, including The Science of Evil and The Essential Difference. [2:47] Simon’s evolution of thought on autism [5:19] How the social realm of autism has evolved [8:12] The difference between autism and psychopathy [10:26] The role of affective vs cognitive empathy [12:37] How to navigate autism amidst cancel culture [14:18] Having autistic traits vs being on the autism spectrum [17:52] How autism drives human invention [22:11] The “systemizing mechanism” of the brain [24:03] The role of “if-and-then patterns” in autistic individuals [26:41] Simon’s thoughts on language acquisition [27:48] “The empathy circuit” [37:28] The role of creativity in autism [41:19] The Brain Types Study [42:43] The biological basis of creativity and autism [45:24] Why monkeys don’t skateboard [48:12] Why lang

Today it’s great to chat with Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas on the podcast. Dr. Jennifer Aaker is the General Atlantic Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a leading expert on how purpose and meaning shape individual choices and how technology can positively impact both human well-being and company growth. Her work has been widely published in lead in scientific journals and featured in The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Science. A recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award and the MBA Professor of the Year, Aaker counts winning a dance-off in the early 1980s among her greatest feats. Naomi Bagdonas is a Lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an Executive Coach. She helps leaders be more creative, flexible and resilient in the face of change by facilitating interactive sessions for Fortune 100 companies and coaching executives and celebrities for appearances ranging from Saturday Night Live to the Today Show

Today it’s great to have Adam Grant on the podcast. Adam is an organizational psychologist at Wharton, where he has been the top-rated professor for seven straight years. He is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of four books that have sold millions of copies and been translated into 35 languages. His work has been praised by J.J. Abrams, Bill and Melinda Gates, and many others. Grant’s TED talks have been viewed more than 20 million times, and he hosts the chart-topping TED podcast WorkLife with Adam Grant. He has been recognized as one of the world’s 10 most influential management thinkers, Fortune’s 40 under 40, Oprah’s Super Soul 100, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Adam received distinguished scientific achievement awards from the American Psychological Association and the National Science Foundation. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife Allison and their three children. Topics [4:17] What is rethinking? [7:02] “Preachers, prosecutors, and politicians” [8:08] Why we need to cultiv

Today it’s great to chat with Steven Kotler on the podcast. Steven is a New York Times bestselling author, an award-winning journalist, and the Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective. He is one of the world’s leading experts on human performance. He is the author of nine bestsellers (out of thirteen books total), including The Art of Impossible, The Future Is Faster Than You Think, Stealing Fire, The Rise of Superman, Bold and Abundance. His work has been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes, translated into over 40 languages, and appeared in over 100 publications, including the New York Times Magazine, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, TIME and the Harvard Business Review. Steven is also the cohost of Flow Research Collective Radio. Along with his wife, author Joy Nicholson, he is the cofounder of the Rancho de Chihuahua, a hospice and special needs dog sanctuary. Topics [4:04] Understanding human potential [9:58] Why not going big is bad for us [11:22] Insights into the flow state [15:06] "Biology scales, p

Today it’s great to have the legendary Noam Chomsky on the podcast. Noam is a public intellectual, linguist, and political activist. He’s the author of many influential books, including Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, and his latest book with Robert Pollin called Climate Crisis and The Green New Deal: The Political Economy of Saving The Planet. Chomsky is also known for helping to initiate and sustain the cognitive revolution. He’s the Laureate Professor of Linguistics at The University of Arizona and Institute Professor Emeritus at MIT. Topics [02:06] The cognitive revolution of the ‘50s and ‘60s [03:49] Noam’s first encounter with behaviorism [12:41] What it was like to be part of the cognitive revolution [17:49] Implicit learning and artificial grammar [26:30] Noam’s view on modern-day behavioral genetics [28:05] Noam's thoughts on intelligence [32:02] Noam’s take on creativity [38:41] Chomsky's view vs. Foucault's view [42:49] Noam’s thoughts on modern-day social justice mo

Today it’s great to chat with Rich Roll on the podcast. Named one of the 25 fittest men in the world by Men’s Fitness and the guru of reinvention by Outside, Rich is a globally renowned ultra-endurance athlete, wellness advocate, best-selling author, husband, and father of four. He shares his inspirational stories of addiction, redemption, and optimal health in his number one best-selling memoir Finding Ultra. Rich has also been featured on CNN, the cover of Outside Magazine, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. His latest book, Voicing Change, features timeless wisdom and inspiration from the widely popular Rich Roll Podcast, one of the top one hundred podcasts in the world with over 100 million downloads. Topics [04:09] Rich’s three major transformations [05:29] How Rich overcame his alcoholism [10:12] Rich’s grit and his life as a functional alcoholic [11:12] Learning how to outwork everybody [12:20] Rich’s personality structure during his schooling years [13:55] The relationship between endur

“Your life story is your leadership story.” - Douglas Conant Today it’s great to have Douglas “Doug” Conant on the podcast. Conant is the CEO and founder of Conant Leadership, a mission driven community of leaders and learners who are championing leadership that works. He served as the CEO of Campbell Soup for 10 years and is also the former president of Nabisco and former chairman of Avon. He’s a New York Times bestselling author and his new book is called The Blueprint: 6 Practical Steps to Lift Your Leadership to New Heights. Topics [02:14] Doug’s early struggles in his career [04:19] Turning inwards to unlock your potential in life [07:11] Merging “work self” with “real self” into one cohesive identity [11:15] Improve leadership in real time [14:45] Overview of The Blueprint and its 6 Practical Steps [21:31] The practice of declaring yourself to build productive relationships [25:12] More candor is better than less [26:41] Your life story is your leadership story Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm

Today it's great to have Olga Khazan on the podcast. Khazan is a staff writer for The Atlantic, covering health, gender, and science. Prior to that, she was The Atlantic's Global editor. She has also written for the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Forbes, and other publications. She is a two-time recipient of the International Reporting Project's Journalism Fellowship and winner of the 2017 National Headliner Awards for Magazine Online Writing. Topics [02:23] The origin of Olga Khazan's weirdness [04:02] The natural tendency of loner kids to flock together [07:35] The state of our polarized society [08:53] How outcasts bond over the mutual feeling of being different [10:17] Changing social norms without changing people's attitude [11:45] The implications of normalizing everything [12:29] Why most people find it hard to be different [14:10] Gender issues when upholding the norm [16:13] The relationship between tribal instincts and farming [18:03] Why most people tend to overgeneralize stuff [19:34] Wh

Today we have Matt Ridley on the podcast. Matt is the author of the recently-released How Innovation Works, as well as The Rational Optimist and several other books related to science and human progress, which have sold over a million copies. He is also a biologist, newspaper columnist, and member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom. Topics [01:37] What it means to be a rational optimist [03:39] Evidence that the world is heading in the right direction [05:43] Giving evidence-based hope [11:23] Understanding the probabilities of life [12:42] "It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble; it’s what you think you know that ain’t so" [14:23] Why nuance is an endangered species [16:28] The reward value to truthful or insightful information [18:16] How not everybody is wired to create [20:08] Working with restricted samples [23:03] Does the lone genius really exist? [26:43] Working with naturally occurring samples versus working with restricted samples [32:10] Why stories don’t necessarily mean

Today it’s great to have Sian Beilock on the podcast. Sian began her tenure as Barnard College President in July 2017, after spending 12 years at the University of Chicago, where she served on the faculty as the Stella M. Rowley Professor of psychology and an executive vice provost. Her work as a cognitive scientist revolves around performance anxiety and reveals simple psychological strategies that can be used to ensure success in everything from test-taking and public speaking to athletics and job interviews. In 2010, she wrote the critically acclaimed book, Choke, and in 2015 she wrote How The Body Knows Its Mind. In 2017, she won the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences, and her recent TED Talk has been viewed more than 2 million times. Time Stamps [02:57] Sian’s interest in real-world practical applications of science [04:04] Why writing a book can sometimes be a daunting process [08:07] Choking Under Pressure [09:50] Is flow the opposite of choking? [11:20] Being in the right frame of min

Today it’s great to have Susan Baum on the podcast. Dr. Baum is the Director of the 2e Center for Research and Professional Development at Bridges Academy, a school for twice-exceptional children. She is also Provost of the Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education. She is the author of many books and articles primarily focusing on understanding and nurturing the needs of special populations of gifted underachieving students including the award-winning 3rd edition of her seminal work To Be Gifted & Learning Disabled. Her research and experience in the field of twice-exceptional education have earned her much recognition: 2010 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award granted by the Weinfeld Group, 2011 recipient of the Connecticut Association for the Gifted “Friend of the Gifted Award; the 2015 Distinguished Professional Alumni Award from the Neag School of Education; the Lifetime Achievement Award from AEGUS and the 2e Newsletter in 2017, as well as the Alexinia Baldwin Award from Nat

Today it’s great to have Shellye Archambeau on the podcast. Archambeau is one of high tech's first female African American CEOs and has a track record of accomplishments building brands, high performance teams, and organizations. Archambeau currently serves on the boards of Verizon, Nordstrom, Roper Technologies, and Okta. She is also a strategic advisor to Forbes Ignite and the President of Arizona State University, and serves on the board of two national nonprofits, Catalyst and Braven. She is the author of Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers and Create Success on Your Own Terms. Time Stamps [01:45] Shellye Archambeau as a tech industry business leader [03:44] Feeling like an outsider growing up [04:32] The birth of Shellye’s tenacity [06:02] You can’t affect what people say to you or people do to you but you can control how you respond. [06:27] Why you need to stop people from controlling your emotions [09:45] Shellye’s mother as a “professional parent” [11:03] Creating a life plan in c

Today it’s great to have Sharon Salzberg on the podcast. Sharon is a meditation pioneer and industry leader, a world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. As one of the first to bring meditation and mindfulness into mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, her relatable, demystifying approach has inspired generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of eleven books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, her seminal work, Lovingkindness, and her newest book, Real Change: Mindfulness To Heal Ourselves and the World, released in September of 2020 from Flatiron Books. Sharon’s secular, modern approach to Buddhist teachings is sought after at schools, conferences, and retreat centers worldwide. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed over 3 million downloads and features interviews with the top leaders and thinkers of the mindfulness movement an

Today it is really great to have W. Keith Campbell on the podcast. Campbell is a professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia as well as the author of The Narcissism Epidemic, When You Love a Man Who Loves Himself, and most recently, The New Science of Narcissism. He also has more than 120 peer reviewed articles and he lives in Athens, Georgia. Time Stamps [00:01:41] Defining grandiose and vulnerable narcissism [00:03:33] Three-factor model of narcissism [00:07:32] The "recipe for narcissism" [00:10:00] Primary goals and motives of narcissists [00:12:56] The role of vanity [00:16:47] Gender differences in narcissistic traits [00:19:12] Gender differences in narcissism personality disorder diagnoses [00:22:14] Dark and light triads of personality [00:26:42] The dark empath and unique personality trait combinations [00:30:12] How narcissistic traits affect relationship dynamics [00:35:07] When do relationships start to fall apart? [00:39:08] Narcissism in today's leadership [00:44:26] Narcissism in soc

Today it is great to have Caroline Webb on the podcast. Webb is an executive coach, author and speaker who specializes in showing people how to use insights from behavioral science to improve their professional lives. Her book on that topic, How To Have A Good Day, has been published in 14 languages and more than 60 countries. She is also a Senior Advisor to McKinsey, where she was previously a partner. Time Stamps [01:30] How To Have A Good Day during a pandemic [03:37] The power of practicing mindfulness [08:44] Emotional contagion and deliberate focus [09:56] The state of affairs and focusing on what we can control [13:55] Caroline’s philosophy of “realistic optimism” [17:07] Realistic optimism vs aggressive positivity [20:55] How mental contrasting can help you have a good day [24:07] Changing your environment to change your behaviour [24:48] Does positive thinking work? [30:20] How coaching can help you [32:00] Caroline’s coaching sessions [37:00] Caroline’s scenic route to the field of psychology [40:09

Today it is great to have Ryan Holiday on the podcast. Holiday is one of the world’s foremost thinkers and writers on ancient philosophy and its place in everyday life. He is a sought-after speaker, strategist and the author of many bestselling books including The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph, Ego Is the Enemy, The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living , and the number one New York Times bestseller Stillness is the Key. His books have been translated into over thirty languages, and been read by over two million people. He lives outside Austin, Texas with his family, and his most recent book is Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius. Time Stamps [00:01:10] Stoicism and "works over words" [00:04:04] Modern day Stoicism [00:05:16] Knowledge for knowledge’s sake vs. practical purposes of philosophy [00:06:58] The four virtues of Stoicism [00:07:59] Living well versus living the good life [00:10:04] The foun

Today it is great to have Greg Lukianoff on the podcast. Greg is an attorney, New York Times bestselling author, and the present CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). He is the author of Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, Freedom from Speech, and FIRE’s Guide to Free Speech on Campus. Most recently, he co-authored The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure Check out Greg and Jonathan’s video on why they dislike the use of the word "coddling" in the title of their book. Time Stamps [00:02:39] Why Greg advocates free speech [00:06:00] The story behind why the former executive director of the ACLU, Ira Glasser, began his fight for civil liberties [00:07:54] The Bedrock Principle and why you cannot ban something simply because it is offensive [00:09:42] The limits of free speech and exceptions to the First Amendment [00:11:19] How Greg’s argument for free speech differs from the traditio

Today it is great to have Spencer Greenberg on the podcast. Spencer is an entrepreneur and mathematician and founder of Spark Wave — a software foundry which creates novel software products from scratch, designed to help solve problems in the world using social science. For example, scalable care for depression and anxiety and technology for accelerating and improving social science research. He also founded clearerthinking.org, which offers free tools and training programs used by over 250, 000 people which are designed to help you improve decision making and increase positive behaviors. Spencer has a PhD in Applied Math from NYU with a specialty in Machine Learning. Spencer’s work has been featured by numerous major media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Independent, Lifehacker, Fast Companyand the Financial Times. Check out sparkwave.tech/conditions-for-change where you can apply the results of scientific studies to your habit development, from making a decision to cultivate

Today it's great to have Erika Lust on the podcast. Lust is an acclaimed adult filmmaker who creates sex-positive, indie adult cinema that portrays sexually intelligent narratives, relatable characters and realistic hot sex. Her XConfessionsproject turns the public’s anonymous fantasies into explicit and artistic short films. Whilst her recently re-launched LustCinema is a US based studio with original series and feature length films for lovers of cinema and sex. In 2015, Erika gave her essential TEDx talk It’s Time for Porn to Change. Her story was also featured in the first episode of the Netflix documentary series Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On (“Women on Top”), directed by Rashida Jones. This year Erika was named as one of the BBC 100 Women’s most influential women of 2019. Free 7 day subscription of lustcinema.com Check out the first episode of Erika Lust's new miniseries for free now - 'Safe Word'is a full immersion in the BDSM healthy, sexy culture of communication and awareness in sex. The series follows