Podcast Episodes

Penalty kick mind games: Reading and using body language in sports

I talk with sports psychology and behavior researcher Philip Furley about how athletes' body language communicates far more than we realize — and how it can affect teammates, opponents, judges, and e…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Madness explained: How trauma and stress can break the mind

I talk to psychologist Richard Bentall about psychosis, schizophrenia, and the psychological roots of mental illness. Bentall is the author of the well known book "Madness Explained." We explore how …

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

How our memories shape—and distort—who we are

Psychologist Anne Wilson studies how we construct our identities over time—how we remember the past, imagine the future, and tell ourselves stories that shape who we believe we are. In this episode, …

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Are you a narcissist? The psychology and spectrum of narcissism

What if we’ve been thinking about narcissism all wrong — and some forms of it are not only normal, but healthy? Why do we so often confuse genuine confidence or ambition with something pathological? …

Published on 4 months ago

The "deep whys" behind autistic behaviors | with Barry Prizant

Episode 178

I talk to Barry Prizant, author of the popular book "Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism," about the often misunderstood world of autism. We explore the idea that many so-called “autisti…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Why we freak out when the world stops making sense | with Stephen Heine

Episode 177

Why do we feel so unsettled and agitated when the world doesn’t make sense? In this episode, I talk with psychologist Steven Heine about his Meaning Maintenance Model — a theory that explains how we …

Published on 4 months, 4 weeks ago

How blockchain tech could revolutionize journalism and reduce polarization

Episode 176

Can blockchain tech reinvent journalism—and reduce toxic political polarization in the process? Zach Elwood talks with Don Templeman, founder of Aemula (Aemula.com), a radically new kind of news plat…

Published on 5 months ago

Can eye direction reveal lies? Or is that behavior bullshit? A talk with Tim Levine

Episode 175

Maybe you’ve heard that you can get clues about whether someone is lying by what direction they look when they talk. The most common form of this idea is that if someone is looking up and to their le…

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

Why some see liberals as the undemocratic ones: A talk about democracy and polarization with Elizabeth Doll

Episode 174

Many Americans think Trump is harming democracy; they see him as acting undemocratically in various ways. At the same time, Republicans and Trump supporters can view Democrats/liberals as themselves …

Published on 6 months, 4 weeks ago

On hypnosis and mind control: separating fact from fiction | with Martin S. Taylor

Episode 173

A talk about hypnosis and mind control with Martin S. Taylor, a well known British hypnotist (hypnotism.co.uk). Martin is known for his stage hypnosis act but also for educating people about hypnosis…

Published on 7 months, 1 week ago