The Psychology Podcast

Over 50% of people will meet the criteria for a mental illness in their lifetime. On this episode of The Psychology Podcast, we want to do our part to encourage people to seek assistance, while celebrating some of the unique strengths of people with brain differences. I speak with expert Gail Saltz about some fascinating gifts that can come with with diagnoses such as ADHD, dyslexia, autism, anxie...

Dr. Brecher is a clinical psychologist who uses cognitive behavioral strategies to buffer students against the pervasive depression and anxiety present in higher education. We talk about her science-informed recommendations, which include positive psychological activities designed to increase mindfulness, character strengths, self-efficacy, optimism, gratitude, and more. We discuss the mechanisms...

On today’s episode of The Psychology Podcast, our executive producer Taylor Kreiss conducts a guest interview about lawyer well-being. His guest, Dan Bowling III , is a Duke law professor and a positive psychology expert using science to help lawyers become healthier and happier human beings. We address some of the disconcerting mental health statistics, discuss why lawyers suffer from such mental...

Roy Baumeister brings the methods of social psychology to bear on some of life’s deepest philosophical problems. In the second part of this two part series (see Part I ), we cover the psychology of self-control, evil, sex differences, and free will. In addition to Roy responding to the critics of his “ego-depletion” model of self-control, he also offers some practical strategies to improve willpow...

Dr. Roy Baumeister is widely considered to be one of the most influential and cited psychologists of our time. He's also a wonderful conversationalist, full of interesting research to share with our listeners! In this first half of our two part series with Roy, we learn about how he came to study the diverse array of fascinating topics that have characterized his career. We discuss how people dete...

We are huge fans of Tim Urban’s Wait But Why blog, so it was a great joy to speak with him for today's show. In this episode of The Psychology Podcast, we experience Tim’s patented wry wit and deep philosophical insight as we chat across a wide range of topics, including Tim’s journey to becoming one of the internet’s most popular bloggers, his creative process and self-regulation strategies, his...

Modern day philosopher Alain de Botton has become world renown for his ability to provide compelling real world answers to some of life’s biggest questions. For this episode of The Psychology Podcast, we cover the philosophy and science of a range of topics, including what it means to have a “normal” relationship, the origins of the desire for religion, the pervasive lack of systematic thinking ab...

Mindfulness has become a hot topic recently, gracing the covers of magazines like Time and Scientific American. Yet despite its rising popularity, many people remain confused about what exactly mindfulness is or how to start their own practice! On this episode of The Psychology Podcast, mindfulness expert Cory Mascara speaks with our executive producer Taylor Kreiss, sharing science-backed advice...

Dr. Andrew Newberg is widely regarded as a leading authority in the neuroscientific study of religious, spiritual and mystical experiences. For this episode of The Psychology Podcast, we engage in philosophically scientific meditations on the sublime and the sacred. Topics include: The 5 major components of an enlightenment experience, what occurs in the brain during a transcendent mental state, t...

Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal, authors of the new book Stealing Fire , come on the show to discuss the life changing power of ecstatic altered states of mind. The authors have worked with extreme sports athletes, Silicon Valley innovators, and maverick scientists to understand how high performing people are using peak experiences (such as flow) to unlock human potential. We talk about the “altered...

Bonnie St. John is a celebrated author, Olympian, leadership consultant, and Rhodes scholar who has overcome some tremendous odds to become  “ one of the five most inspiring women in America.”  Needless to say, she’s a fascinating individual with some wonderful stories and advice to convey to listeners. On today’s episode we focus on her latest book, which is full of science backed/immediately eff...

What a pleasure it was to interview Dr. Dan Siegel, who has a wonderful ability to make complicated scientific concepts understandable and exciting. In this episode of The Psychology Podcast, we discuss topics surrounding the human mind - What is it? How does it interact with the environment and with other minds? Are we essentially our thoughts or is there some self that exists beyond cognitions? ...

Best-selling author James Altucher comes on the show to impart some practical wisdom for how to bounce back from failure. James talks about his own experiences going from multimillionaire to being broke, bankrupt and divorced. We provide a message of common humanity and discuss how we can rise up and succeed despite the failures that inevitably impede our progress. We talk about some of James’ bes...

Are we living in a simulated reality? Are our smartphones essentially an extension of our minds? Could we achieve immortality via being uploaded to the internet? These are just a few of the philosophically fascinating questions we cover on this episode of The Psychology Podcast! David Chalmers is a friend of the show and we are psyched to feature his expert opinions on the philosophy of mind. We c...

Today on The Psychology Podcast, we discuss how   the   millennial generation is redefining success, breaking down barriers, and changing the world .  Our Executive Producer Taylor Kreiss chats with Jared Kleinert, whose latest book features 75 vignettes from extraordinary millennials looking to impart practical wisdom on how to have a greater impact. We examine how these high performing individua...

On this episode of The Psychology Podcast, friend of the show Emily Esfahani Smith sheds light on how we can craft a life that truly matters. Finding meaning in life is a crtitical existential good, and with today’s discussion we take a science backed look at how we can achieve this vital purpose. Topics include Sufism, mystical experiences, authenticity, finding purpose, magic mushrooms, mortalit...

What a great pleasure it was to chat with high performance psychologist, and fellow podcaster, Dr. Michael Gervais! Listen in as we deconstruct excellence as it manifests in sports, creativity, well-being and other domains. Topics include passion, grit, mindfulness, imagination, growth, and becoming comfortable with the unknown. This is a high level discussion about what it takes to flourish in th...

Dr. Dachner Keltner is the founding director of the Greater Good Science center, as well as a professor of psychology at the University of California Berkeley, so he’s in a special place to discuss some incredibly interesting positive psychological topics like love, awe, teasing, compassion, empathy, gratitude and much more! It’s a fun and fascinating episode where we take a deep look into the sci...

We are especially grateful (and giddy) to be sharing this episode with our listeners! Brene Brown's work really gels with our core interests here on The Psychology Podcast, and the resulting conversation contains some enthusiastic and empirically informed banter that is sure to inform and delight. We geek out over some counter-intuitive findings, like how incredibly compassionate people have a ten...

With this episode of The Psychology Podcast, we take a deep look into how exercise benefits us far beyond the time we spend in the gym. We adapt a quick fire style of questioning and cover a wide range of topics like how Olympic athletes set goals – to the importance of becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. Brad is an expert in the subject and shares practical information about how to rec...

It’s a special episode of The Psychology Podcast, as Stanford professor, international bestselling author, and leading creativity expert Tina Seelig stops by to discuss some of our favorite topics: Imagination, creativity, innovation & entrepreneurship. We parse out some of the differences between imagination and creativity, discuss what it means to  really see  something, and offer practical...

In this episode of The Psychology Podcast, we get pragmatic about how to live your version of the good life. We feature action strategies, based on the latest science from positive psychology, to maximize vitality, happiness, meaning, and positive relationships. Topics include mindfulness meditation, the power of saying no, the false dichotomy of mind and body, finding purpose, and how to make exe...

Today we welcome Anne Libera and Kelly Leonard on the show for an especially fun and playful look at the world of improv comedy! Anne and Kelly are world class improv instructors and ambassadors who have a long history at  The Second City ,  the world’s first ever on-going improvisational theatre troupe. The Second City has turned out notable performers like Tina fey, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meye...

In everyday conversation, we use the word “narcissist” to describe our ex-lovers and the jerks we encounter on the subway, but what does it really mean? On this episode of The Psychology Podcast, Scott has a fascinating discussion with Kristin Dombek about the " new narcissism ”, in which everyone is a selfish narcissist--  except ourselves . In this episode, we take a close look at how the label...

In this raw and uncut episode, Mark Manson imparts his wisdom on the art of not giving a fuck. According to Manson, the key to living a good life is “not giving a fuck about more; it’s giving a fuck about less, giving a fuck about only what is true and immediate and important”. In this interview, we learn about this unique art form, and all of the counterintuitive ways that giving less fucks in yo...