Hidden Brain

Charismatic leaders can inspire devotion and give people a powerful sense of meaning. They can also make us vulnerable. This week, we explore how figures across history have gained followers by offeri...

What does it do to a person to feel overlooked? This week, psychologist Gordon Flett examines how the absence of “mattering” can fuel loneliness, depression, and even violence. He outlines how feeling...

From the time we're schoolchildren, we're ranked and sorted based on how smart we are. But what if our assumptions about intelligence limit our potential? This week, we revisit a favorite 2022 convers...

Last week, we talked with psychologist Leslie John about the costs of keeping secrets. Today, Leslie returns with a look at the psychological power of self-disclosure. She says the moments of overshar...

We all carry secrets, from harmless omissions to life-changing truths. But secrecy isn’t neutral: hiding takes mental work and can harm our health and relationships. In this week’s show, and in our ep...

We conclude our month-long You 2.0 series with a look at the hidden power of doubt — not as weakness or indecision, but as a tool that helps us make better choices and navigate an uncertain world. Res...

Patience can sometimes feel like a lost art, particularly in a culture that prizes competition and the idea of "failing fast." But psychologist Sarah Schnitker says patience is a vital skill for succe...

There are times in life when the challenges we face feel insurmountable. Authors succumb to writer’s block. Athletes and artists hit a plateau. People of a certain age fall into a midlife crisis. Thes...

Why do some people act bravely in a crisis, while others flee or freeze up? Today, we bring you the second part of our You 2.0 series on the mental obstacles that can block us when we're charting a ne...

The start of a new year is a natural moment to set goals for ourselves. But doing so can also be a little daunting. Today, we kick off a series designed to help you understand and grapple with the men...

Many of us rush through our days, weeks, and lives, chasing goals and just trying to get everything done. But that can blind us to a very simple source of joy that’s all around us. This week, we revis...

This week, we bring you the second part of our 2023 conversation on the perils of too much pleasure. Psychiatrist Anna Lembke explains the neuroscience behind compulsive consumption. She also shares t...

All of us think we know what addiction looks like. It’s the compulsive consumption of drugs, alcohol, or nicotine. But psychiatrist Anna Lembke argues that our conception of addiction is far too narro...

Why are so many of us drawn to horror, gore, and true crime? Why do we crane our necks to see the scene of a crash on the highway? Psychologist Coltan Scrivner says that our natural morbid curiosity s...

If you’re a parent or a teacher, you’ve probably wondered how to balance play and safety for the kids in your care. You don’t want to put children in danger, but you also don’t want to rob them of the...

There’s a tradition around many Thanksgiving dinner tables that’s as consistent as pumpkin pie: the family stories that get told year after year. Sometimes these stories are funny; sometimes they make...

Entrepreneurs typically have no shortage of passion, heart, and vision. But at Stanford University, Huggy Rao says there are other elements that may matter more when it comes to whether their projects...

We've known intuitively for centuries that spending time in nature can give us a boost. But it’s only recently that scientists have begun to identify exactly what it is about the outdoors that has suc...