The BIT podcast

In many countries, the approach to tackling violent crime has been dominated by two ideas for generations. On the one hand, use bigger sticks, like longer prison sentences; on the other, use bigger carrots, like more economic opportunities, to make crime a less attractive choice. Both of these pillars of policy - enforcement and opportunity - rest on a fundamental assumption - that people are maki...

Social norms can change rapidly — sometimes sparked by viral moments, other times by subtle cultural shifts. Can behavioural science not only explain these changes — but help shape them? Recorded at the Behavioural Exchange conference #BX2025 in Abu Dhabi, Michael Hallsworth, BIT's Chief Behavioural Scientist, dives deep into the science behind these shifts - asking the question 'What can behaviou...

Global inequalities are widening and the Covid-19 pandemic, polarisation, geopolitical conflicts and technological disruptions have exposed institutional fragilities worldwide. Understanding what drives successful governance and innovation is critical to addressing these challenges. Join Mónica Wills Silva, BIT's Director of International Programmes, as she sits down with Nobel Prize-winning econo...

Behavioural science is constantly evolving. But what are the latest developments, who is at the forefront of this work and what questions are they raising? Recorded at the Behavioural Exchange conference #BX2025 in Abu Dhabi, Michael Hallsworth, BIT's Chief Behavioural Scientist, explores the next frontier of the field with some of its most innovative practitioners - asking the question 'How will...

The Behavioural Insights Team have spent the last 10 years developing solutions that are informed by behavioural science. These insights do not emerge overnight. Instead, they are grounded by a firm understanding of the systems in which we operate. Reading academic (or policy) papers is an important step to developing evidence based interventions, but it will only get you so far if you want to und...

A decade ago, BIT's EAST® framework made applying behavioural science Easy, Attractive, Social, and Timely. Now, just like the field itself, it's evolved. Join Michael Hallsworth, BIT's Chief Behavioural Scientist and one of the authors of the original framework, as he explores how behavioural science has developed over the last 10 years, including the wins, the setbacks, and the future of the fie...

Behavioural science has made a major impact on important issues over the past decade, such as antimicrobial resistance, educational attainment, and sustainability. But it's also clear that applied behavioural science needs to evolve to fulfil its true potential. BIT has just published A Manifesto for Applying Behavioral Science - a landmark guide to the future of applied behavioral science. This M...

New research in BIT's 'How to build a Net Zero society' report finds that most people find it hard to make more sustainable choices in their own lives, despite 9 in 10 wanting to do so. They want to see strong leadership from government and business to make green choices easier. These high levels of public support aren't just in the abstract - there are big majorities in favour of a whole host of...

This episode looks at recent work from the team in the areas of road safety, online fraud, conflict resolution and synthetic data. Over the past decade, car crash death rates in the US for pedestrians rose by 36%, even as death rates fell for drivers and passengers. Over a third of San Francisco's traffic deaths are caused when drivers make left turns and don't see the person in the crosswalk.  BI...

In the second of a two-part climate change special, BIT's Head of Energy & Sustainability, Toby Park, sits down with Cambridge University's Professor Theresa Marteau, Moira Nicolson from the Cabinet Office and Valentine Quinio from the Centre for Cities to unpick three of the biggest areas we need to decarbonise to reach Net Zero by 2050: Food, Transport and Energy. We know we cannot achieve Net Z...

In the first of a two-part climate change special, BIT's Lis Costa sits down with Nobel Prize Winner Professor Richard Thaler, Cambridge University's Lucia A. Reisch and, BIT's former CEO and now President Emeritus, Professor David Halpern to answer one big question ahead of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference: Can we Nudge to Net Zero? According to the Paris Agreement's: Sixth Carbon Budget, i...

On Christmas Eve December 2020, the World Health Organisation named Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and health inequities as 2 of the 10 global health threats to track in 2021. In 2019, we worked with the Health Quality and Safety Commission (HQSC) and PHARMAC to see how we can tackle both in Aotearoa New Zealand. The results of this work have just been published in the New Zealand Medical Journal,...

In this latest episode BIT's Aisling Colclough and Lis Costa look at two more major areas of work by the team around the world. First they are joined by colleagues Dr Vera Newman and Monica Wills Silva to explore BIT projects in Australia and Latin America looking at the role behavioural insights can play in helping reduce sexual harassment and violence against women on university campuses and in...

In this episode BIT's Lis Costa and Aisling Colclough look at two major pieces of work by the team. Firstly there is a discussion with Carolina Toth from BIT's New York office who has been working with mayors across the US on how to engage with people who are cautious or unwilling to get a COVID-19 vaccine when they become eligible. With many from the communities hardest hit by the virus in the US...

The second and final part of a very special episode , recorded to tie in with the recent 10 year anniversary of the Behavioural Insights Team. Join BIT's former CEO and now President Emeritus, Professor David Halpern, with the founders and pioneers of behavioural economics, Professor Richard Thaler, Professor Cass Sunstein and Google's head behavioural scientist Dr Maya Shankar, discussing how 'nu...

Part 1 of a very special episode , recorded to tie in with the recent 10 year anniversary of the Behavioural Insights Team. Join BIT's former CEO and now President Emeritus, Professor David Halpern, with the founders and pioneers of behavioural economics, Professor Richard Thaler, Professor Cass Sunstein and Google's head behavioural scientist Dr Maya Shanker, discussing how 'nudge' has evolved ov...

In this episode, BIT's former CEO and now President Emeritus, Professor David Halpern, speaks to the New South Wales Minister for Customer Service, Victor Dominello. David and Victor cover a wide range of topics, starting with why other governments should have a Minister for Customer Service, how behavioural insights can improve economic policy, how markets can be made more transparent and when go...

While the use of Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) in government was historically slow. Over the last 10 years, the Behavioural Insights Team has aimed to popularise the use of the RCTs and to support the work of the organisations like the Cochrane and Campbell collaboration to get evidence into policy. During this time, a passionate debate has raged between the proponents of RCTs and also those...