The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories
Are conspiracy theories more popular than ever? Are Americans more conspiratorial than ever? Are conservatives more conspiratorial than liberals? Joseph Uscinski is a political scientist at the Univer...
6 Sep 20241h 18min
"Exercise May Be the Single Most Potent Medical Intervention Ever Known"
Exercise is a conundrum. On the one hand, physical activity is clearly one of the best interventions for preventing physical disease and mental suffering. On the other hand, scientists don't really un...
30 Aug 202457min
Democrats Are Euphoric. But This Election Is Much Closer Than They Think.
Derek offers a short but sweet review of the Democratic National Convention, the science of post-convention bounces, and the reality of the 2024 polling: It's still a toss-up. If you have questions, ...
23 Aug 202411min
The Four Biggest Myths About Political Persuasion
Today's episode is about how we change our minds—and what political science tells us about the best ways to change the minds of voters. Our guest is David Broockman, a political scientist at the Unive...
16 Aug 202444min
How to Be Happy and the Science of Cognitive Time Travel
Laurie Santos is a superstar in the crowded field of happiness research. She is a cognitive scientist at Yale University whose course on the psychology of happiness was the most popular class in the s...
9 Aug 20241h 5min
Market Meltdown FAQ: Recession Fears, Global Stock Wipeout, and the Case for Calm
In a special emergency-ish episode, Bloomberg's Conor Sen joins the show to discuss a buffet of economic and financial fears, including a disappointing jobs report, a meltdown in global stocks, the "c...
5 Aug 202426min
Why Are Robocalls So Hard to Stop? (Plus: Kamala and the Gender Wars.)
Derek offers his thoughts on Kamala Harris, the new 2024 reality, and gender polarization in the "boys vs. girls" election. Then we talk about the spam apocalypse. The average American receives one sp...
2 Aug 202452min
Why Are Conservatives Happier Than Progressives?
It is a general rule of thumb that richer societies are happier societies. This is true across countries, as GDP and life satisfaction are highly correlated. And it is true across time. Countries get ...
26 Juli 202455min
