The Cabrera Lab Podcast

Get 20% off any STSI course with code AI-20 — become a systems thinker today! In this special episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera take on AI, human intelligence, and the question everyone seems to be asking: should we be worried about an AI takeover? Rather than focusing only on science-fiction scenarios, they explore several possible ways AI could reshape everyday life—from robotics and automat...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code MEET20 — get your meetings right today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera unpack why so many meetings feel busy, repetitive, and unproductive—and why the problem may be deeper than the agenda. They argue that most meetings focus almost entirely on information, while ignoring how that information is being organized into meaning. The result is that e...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code COLLEGE20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera ask a fundamental question: what is college actually supposed to do? As confidence in higher education declines, they argue that conversations about cost, careers, credentials, and politics may be missing the most important purpose of education: teaching people how to thi...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code CAL20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera explore a simple idea with big implications: your calendar is a mental model. What you schedule—and what you leave off—reveals something about how you organize your priorities, time, work, and life. Derek and Laura discuss how calendars, to-do lists, meetings, and deadlines c...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code BRAIN20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera  deconstruct a familiar phrase: “That’s just the way it is.” They explore the difference between accepting reality and surrendering to an outdated mental model. Sometimes “that’s the way it is” means acknowledging a real constraint. Other times, it means accepting a pattern...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code IQ20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera challenge the way we think about intelligence. They argue that most people do not have an intelligence problem—they have a problem with the structure of their thinking. Rather than defining “smart” by IQ, credentials, memorized information, or expertise, they explore intellige...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code SMARTER20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera tackle a deceptively difficult question: how do you explain systems thinking to someone who knows nothing about it? They start with one simple idea: your brain is constantly taking information and organizing it to create meaning. That meaning becomes your mental models—an...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code BURNOUT20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera think through the difference between stress and burnout—and why treating them as the same thing can lead us to solve the wrong problem. They explore stress as something that can sometimes be functional, while burnout emerges as a longer-term pattern of depletion without e...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code UNIVERSE20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera explore why the most powerful thinking tools are often the simplest. They unpack the ideas of universality and elementalism: the importance of learning the fundamental patterns that show up across cooking, sports, business, medicine, education, and everyday problem solvi...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code LRL20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University answer a practical question from a listener: how do we help kids run the Love Reality Loop for themselves? They explore how adults can move from solving conflict for kids to coaching kids through the process of testing their own mental models against rea...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code MORALS20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera explore how to build and test your own moral compass. They discuss what happens when a pre-made moral structure—such as religion, family norms, or inherited beliefs—no longer fully guides you, and how systems thinking can help you develop a more conscious ethical framework...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code IDENTITY20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera explore why everyday disagreements can escalate so quickly. They explain how identity works as a boundary—and why people often feel threatened when their beliefs, opinions, roles, politics, or preferences are challenged. The problem is not disagreement itself, but identi...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code GOOP20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera expand the idea of “goop” beyond food and into the systems all around us. They explore how heavily processed food, social media, education, news, consumer products, and even AI can become forms of goop: things that appear useful, nutritious, or informative, but are often str...

Get 25% off any STSI course with code FIGHT25 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera answer a personal question from Training Camp: how do they handle conflict as a couple? They explain how understanding mental models changes the way people disagree. Instead of seeing conflict as “you versus me,” they show how many disagreements are really differences betwe...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code STUDIO20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cabrera Research Lab explore what really happens when we go through change. Using their move to Montana and the new podcast studio as a starting point, they unpack the difference between change itself and the transition into a new reality. They explain why change often...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code PATTERN20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore why the same problems keep showing up in organizations, relationships, and teams—even when they look different on the surface. They break down the difference between an instantiation and a pattern, showing how people often get stuck solving i...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code NEURO20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore neurodivergence through a systems thinking lens. Derek reflects on what it means to understand your own mind, why neurodivergence itself is not the problem, and how friction often comes from living inside systems designed around the neurotypica...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code OOT20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explain the power of OOTing: object-oriented thinking. They explore why getting ideas out of your head and into visible, movable objects—whether blocks, drawings, sticky notes, whiteboards, or even visual objects in your mind—can dramatically improve thi...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code ISISNOT20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University break down one of the simplest and most powerful systems thinking tools: the Is/Is Not List. They explain why this move is not just about making a list, but about building a strong distinction—one that clarifies what something fundamentally is, what...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code LIST20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore one of the simplest but most powerful thinking tools we use every day: lists. They break down why lists are more than just a way to remember tasks—they are a systems thinking tool that helps us distinguish what matters, break overwhelming wholes...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code FEEDBACK20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore what happens when someone gives you difficult feedback—and why your first reaction may not be the most useful one. Starting with a question about being perceived as “argumentative,” they unpack the difference between reacting and understandi...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code TEAM20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University answer a common leadership question: why do talented people often struggle to work together as a team? They explore the difference between a group and a true team, showing how friction, duplicate effort, competing priorities, and communication breakdown...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code CULTURE20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore a powerful idea: culture may be the single greatest advantage an organization can create—and most leaders fundamentally misunderstand how it works. Starting with an unexpected question about marketing, they unpack why changing minds—not promo...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code YODA20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore the difference between “trying” and “doing”—and why that distinction matters more than most people think. They unpack how words like “trying” or “I didn’t mean to” can function as subtle ways of avoiding reality, ownership, and feedback. Through...

Get 20% off any STSI course with code SYSTHINK20 — become a systems thinker today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle three common misconceptions that stop people from becoming systems thinkers. They explore the difference between unconsciously using DSRP patterns and purposefully applying them with awareness, why more information does not automatically lead...