The Human Risk Podcast

Why do even the smartest and most savvy business people make mistakes? It's not because they're stupid. Instead, it's because of the way our brains work. That's what Professor Olivier Sibony, my guest on this episode, explores in his latest book "You're About To Make A Terrible Mistake". In that book, he highlights how cognitive biases that underpin our thinking, can lead us to make terrible mista...

On this episode, I explore the concept of denial; something we know is bad on an individual level. But what happens when denial takes place on an industrial scale? That's literally what my guest on this episode Barbara Freese, explores in her new book Industrial Strength Denial. Barbara is an environmental attorney who explores some high profile cases of where corporations have done things that ar...

How can we use creativity to solve complex business problems? That's what Kelly Peters, my guest on this episode does. Kelly is the CEO and co-founder of BEWorks, a purpose-driven company whose goal is to transform society and the economy through scientific thinking. In simple terms, to use behavioral science to get better business outcomes. BEWorks supports Fortune 100 companies and governments t...

Why do things often not turn out the way we planned them? That's what my guest, Paul Orlando is interested in discovering. In his blog 👉 https://unintendedconsequenc.es/ Paul explores Unintended Consequences and what he calls Second-Order Thinking. In other words, a failure to think about the second-order implications of events. Looking at topics as wide-ranging as autonomous vehicles and shoplif...

"Why Can't We All Just Get Along?" is a question that we've probably all asked at some point in recent times. And it's one that my guest on this episode, Iain Dale, seeks to answer in his brand new book which has that as its title. Iain is an award-winning radio presenter on the UK station LBC ( www.lbc.co.uk ). He's had a fascinating career, as a political candidate, a publisher and a host of oth...

What would you do if someone made false allegations online about your home city? Would you go into battle on social media? You would if you're my guest on this episode. Dan Kaszeta was so annoyed by the suggestions that his adopted city of London had 'no go' zones, that he disproved it and then took on others who, with no basis, suggested he was wrong. Dan isn't just an internet troll hunter, he's...

In industries where human error can be the difference between life & death, how can we manage Human Risk? The answer is Human Factors, a specialism that blends Behavioural Science & Psychology into operating processes, to ensure that Human Risk is mitigated by design. My guest on this episode Neil Clark, is the founder of IHF - Integrated Human Factors. He came to my attention because of this proj...

You’ve heard of Zoom Fatigue. But what about Zoom Trauma? It sounds extreme, but an article by my guest on this episode Hanna Thomas Uose suggests that this is precisely what we’re experiencing. I was so intrigued by what she had to say, that I invited Hanna onto the show to talk about it. In our discussion, we explore why she thinks that and what we can begin to improve things. We discuss why Zoo...

As the risks of failing to comply with regulations & ethical standards increase, how can we ensure that employees do what we want them to? This question underpins my whole Human Risk mission; if we see it as an exercise in rule-making, we're likely to deliver frameworks that look good on paper, but fail to understand the underlying human components of what makes people do the things we don't want...

What can we learn about Human Risk from Football? Or Soccer for my US listeners? On this episode, I speak with Raphael Honigstein. Rapha is a sports journalist who covers football (soccer for US listeners) for several media outlets including The Athletic & BT Sport. In our broad-ranging talk, we explore the Human Risk dynamics of a sport where psychology is a prime factor. In our discussion, I fir...

What can we learn about Human Risk from industries, like aviation, where the consequences of errors are matters of life & death. That's a question my guest this time, Andrew Blackie, is more than qualified to answer. He's an independent Safety and Human Factors consultant at Abris Consulting Ltd ( http://www.abris.co.uk/) . Abris takes aviation safety investigation techniques and applies them to h...

How can we stop people from engaging in anti-social behaviour? That's not usually a question you'd ask someone from a marketing agency. But it's precisely the kind of problem that Benoît de Fleurian, my guest on this episode, likes helping his clients to solve. Benoît is the Head of the Behavioural Science for Ogilvy Consulting in Paris. He's worked on campaigns to tackle childhood obesity, gambli...

How can Behavioural Science help get better healthcare outcomes? That's the topic I'm exploring with my guest Aline Holzwarth. She's a Behavioral Scientist working in digital healthcare. Aline is also the founder of Behavior Shop, a consultancy, as well as being a Principal at Dan Ariely's Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University. In our discussion, as well as looking at health more broadl...

What is Privilege? It's a word that's being used very frequently, but what is it, why is it undesirable and what can we do about it? All questions that my guest on this episode, Grace Lordan, helps me answer. We also explore Cognitive Diversity: what is it and why does it matter? Grace is an Associate Professor in Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Hger re...

What happens when a global organization has policies & procedures that clash with local customs & norms? The answer is that you risk non-compliance. Which is where Cultural Compliance comes in and it's the topic of my conversation with my guest Michael Kuckein. Michael is a Compliance Officer working for a global firm and based in Istanbul, Turkey. His experience representing a Western company in...

On this episode, I speak to Matt Edwards an expert in marketing. Matt has over 25 years of experience in the industry, having begun his career as a graduate at Saatchi & Saatchi and then becoming CEO of Creative Agency WCRS. He now advises clients on getting a better return for their marketing investment. Matt's website is https://mattedwardsconsulting.com/ and you can find him here on LinkedIn: h...

Very often, when we're trying to solve a problem, we can find the answer in a previous one. So as we try to get people to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID, what might we learn from the techniques used to prevent the spread of HIV? On this episode, I'm speaking to Dr Jill McDevitt who is a sexologist. She has three degrees in human sexology so is well qualified to help explore what is an u...

On this episode, I speak with Professor Anu Bradford of Columbia Law School about the subject of her new book, The Brussels Effect. This is the idea that the EU wields far more influence on global affairs than might first seem the case. In our discussion, we talk about how this happens, why it isn't obvious to people and what it means for all of us; whether you're living in Brexited Britain or in...

On this episode, I speak to Dr Sarah Eaton, an Assistant Professor at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. She specialises in educational leadership, academic integrity, language learning and educational technology. In our discussion, we talk about ethical issues that include Exam Cheating, Research Ethics and how these are being impacted by COVID-19. Whether you're in ed...

Have you ever found yourself 'on fire' — not literally (I hope!) — but in terms of being on good form? On this episode, I speak to Ben Cohen, the author of "The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks". Ben is a sports reporter for the Wall St Journal, who was inspired by a basketball game, to explore a phenomenon that is well understood in the sport. In our discussion, we talk about the inci...

On this episode, I'm speaking to Gerald Ashley who specialises in Business Risk and Decision Making. His work concentrates on trying to understand decision making, risk-taking and human behaviour, in the face of uncertainty. “In the slippery world of Risk, Uncertainty, Change and Complexity –hard and fast rules can be rare, and sometimes a trap.” as he puts it. Prior to concentrating on decision m...

How can Behavioural Science help with design? On this episode, I speak with Dr Amy Bucher who is the VP of Behavior Change Design at Mad*Pow, a purpose–driven strategic design agency in Boston She's the author of a new book called Engaged: Designing for Behavior Change 👉 https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/engaged-designing-for-behavior-change/ Amy crafts engaging and motivating experiences that hel...

On this, the 50th episode of the podcast, I'm speaking with Professor Charles Spence who heads the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University. He is interested in how people perceive the world around them. In particular, how our brains manage to process the information from each of our different senses (such as smell, taste, sight, hearing, and touch) to form the extraordinarily rich mult...

On this episode, I speak with Dr. Nick Hobson of The Behaviorist. Not only does he hold a PhD in Behavioral Science, but he's also the host of a wonderful podcast. In our discussion, we explore (to paraphrase the name of his podcast) a load of BS. Nick's website - https://www.behaviorist.biz/ His podcast - https://www.behaviorist.biz/bspodcast

On this episode, I speak with Melina Palmer, host of The Brainy Business podcast. Melina uses Behavioural Science to help everyone from global corporations to entrepreneurs understand the psychology of why people buy, unlocking the secrets of small changes that make a big difference via her podcast, public speaking, and column on Inc.com. She specialises in messaging, branding, advertisements, pri...