Podcast Episodes

Starving the Watchdog

When a newspaper shuts down, there are obvious costs to the community it serves: job losses, fewer local stories. But new research suggests there's a…

7 years, 3 months ago

Spoiler Alert!

Why do we always fall for surprise endings? It turns out that our capacity to be easily fooled in books and movies is made possible by a handful of p…

7 years, 3 months ago

A Founding Contradiction

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." These words, penned by Thomas Jefferson more than 240 years ago, continue …

7 years, 3 months ago

Radio Replay: Bringing Up Baby

We try to translate the mysterious language of babies. And we ask, when should we step back and just let our children be?

Hosted by Simplecast, an Ad…

7 years, 3 months ago

The Edge of Gender

Gender is one of the first things we notice about the people around us. But where do our ideas about gender come from? Can gender differences be expl…

7 years, 4 months ago

Zipcode Destiny

There's a core belief embedded in the story of the United States: the American Dream. This week we discuss the state of that dream with economist Ra…

7 years, 4 months ago

Sounds Like a Winner

We're used to the idea that rhetoric sways voters. But what about another element of language: a candidate's voice? This week on Hidden Brain, what h…

7 years, 4 months ago

The Lazarus Drug

More than 70,000 people died of drug overdoses last year — many of them from heroin and other opioids. One of the most widely-used tools to confront …

7 years, 4 months ago

Radio Replay: Too Little, Too Much

Have you ever noticed that when something important is missing in your life, your brain can only seem to focus on that missing thing? On this week's …

7 years, 4 months ago

Be The Change

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." It's a popular quote that's made its way onto coffee mugs and bumper stickers — but it's not the easies…

7 years, 4 months ago