Hidden Brain
Why do I feel stuck? How can I become more creative? What can I do to improve my relationships? If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, you’re not alone. On Hidden Brain, we help you understand your own mind — and the minds of the people around you. (We're routinely rated the #1 science podcast in the United States.) Hosted by veteran science journalist Shankar Vedantam.
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Recent Episodes
Making the Most of Your Mistakes
Aug 03, 2026When you're learning, or trying new things, you're going to make mistakes. The trick is to try to fail in a way that gives you useful information. This week, we revisit a favorite conversation with re...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores the science of failure, examining how different types of mistakes require different responses. Amy Edmondson reveals how the best-performing hospital teams actually reported more errors than others - not because they made more mistakes, but because they felt safe reporting them. The episode distinguishes between basic failures (preventable errors), complex failures (like the Columbia shuttle disaster), and intelligent failures (valuable experiments in new territory). Financial expert John Dinsmore joins to discuss cognitive biases around money and debt, sharing listener stories about timeshares, homeownership challenges, and the emotional weight of financial decisions.
- The Hospital Paradox: When Better Teams Report More Errors
- Three Types of Failure: Basic, Complex, and Intelligent
You Are Not Ordinary
Jul 27, 2026Stories about unlikely heroes have captivated people for thousands of years. This week, social scientist Ben Rogers explores why the "hero's journey" resonates so deeply, and how the stories we tell a...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores the psychology of storytelling and group identity. The first half examines how the hero's journey narrative framework, popularized by Joseph Campbell, shapes both fictional stories and our personal life narratives. Researcher Ben Rogers explains how retelling our life stories through this lens can increase meaning and psychological well-being. The second half features psychologist Jay Van Bevel discussing how group identities profoundly shape our perceptions, behaviors, and sense of belonging, from sports fandom to political tribalism.
- The Psychology of Narrative and the Hero's Journey
- The Seven Elements of the Hero's Journey
How to Combat Pain
Jul 20, 2026Pain feels like a simple message from the body. If your elbow hurts, there must be something wrong with your elbow. If your back is painfully stiff, you need some work done on your back. But psycholog...
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In this episode, Hidden Brain explores how our conventional understanding of pain is fundamentally flawed. Pain psychologist Rachel Zoffness explains that pain is not simply a signal from damaged body parts, but rather a complex experience constructed by the brain using biological, psychological, and social factors. Through remarkable clinical cases and cutting-edge neuroscience, the episode reveals why traditional biomedical approaches often fail and how understanding pain's true nature opens new pathways for treatment.
- The Construction Worker and the Nail: When Perception Creates Pain
- Pain is Constructed by the Brain, Not Located in the Body
Changing Our Mental Maps
Jul 13, 2026As we move through the world, it's easy to imagine we're processing everything that happens around us and then deciding how to respond. But psychologist and neuroscientist Norman Farb says our brains ...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores how our mental maps guide us through life and what happens when reality doesn't match our expectations. Through neuroscience research and personal stories, host Shankar Vedantam and guests Norman Farb and Dave Evans examine how the brain creates models of the world, why we get stuck in outdated patterns, and how radical acceptance can help us move forward when life doesn't go according to plan.
- The Problem with Mental Maps
- Norman Farb's Mother and the Rupture of Expectations
Waking Up Your Spiritual Brain: Part 2
Jul 06, 2026Last week, we talked with psychologist Lisa Miller about the science of spirituality. Today, we explore what those ideas can look like in everyday life. Miller explains why moments of connection, spir...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores spirituality, meaning, and life design through three main conversations. Lisa Miller discusses her research on the awakened brain and shares her personal journey through infertility to adoption and unexpected pregnancy. Dave Evans responds to listener questions about feeling stuck, finding purpose, and designing meaningful lives, offering practical advice on navigating career changes, midlife crises, and the pursuit of impact versus fulfillment.
- Carl Jung's Synchronicity and the Awakened Brain
- Lisa Miller's Journey Through Infertility
Waking Up Your Spiritual Brain: Part 1
Jun 29, 2026Food, safety, and strong relationships are essential to our survival. Psychologist Lisa Miller says our brains also crave something else: transcendence. She suggests that spirituality is a universal h...
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In this Hidden Brain episode, psychologist Lisa Miller from Columbia University discusses her pioneering research on the neuroscience of spirituality and transcendence. Through decades of rigorous scientific study, Miller has mapped the neural circuits underlying spiritual awareness and demonstrated its profound protective effects against depression, anxiety, and suicide. Drawing on personal experiences from psychiatric wards and brain imaging studies, she argues that spirituality is an innate human capacity that can be cultivated for better mental health and a more meaningful life, challenging the conventional materialist paradigm in psychology.
- The Clinical Discovery: Spirituality's Healing Power on the Psychiatric Ward
- The Subway Revelation: Recognizing Spiritual Vitality vs. Dysthymia
Stepping Out of the Shadows
Jun 22, 2026Why does one bad experience have the power to overshadow an otherwise good day? Psychologist Alison Ledgerwood explores the negativity bias, the deeply human tendency to hold on to what went wrong and...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores two fundamental psychological biases: negativity bias and disgust. Psychologist Alison Ledgerwood examines how our brains naturally gravitate toward and hold onto negative information, while psychologist David Pizarro discusses the science of disgust, its evolutionary purpose, and how it shapes our behavior, relationships, and even politics. The episode includes practical strategies for managing these powerful emotional responses.
- The Negativity Bias and How Our Brains Are Wired
- The Genesis Mission: When One Failure Eclipses 99% Success
A Secret Source of Connection
Jun 15, 2026We all have moments in our lives when we see someone who could use a helping hand. It could be a friend who recently went through a breakup, or an older person trying to load groceries into their car....
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This Hidden Brain episode explores the psychological phenomenon of prosociality and mattering - why we often hesitate to offer kindness despite its powerful impact, and why feeling seen and valued is essential to human wellbeing. Through research by psychologist Amit Kumar and personal stories, the episode reveals how we systematically underestimate the value of kind gestures, and through psychologist Gordon Flett's work, demonstrates why mattering to others is a fundamental human need that affects both mental and physical health.
- The Bystander Effect and Failures of Kindness
- Gary Knight's Cycling Accident and the Power of Strangers
Who Are You, Really?
Jun 08, 2026You’re not the same person with your friends as you are with your co-workers or your kids. So...who are you, really? This week, political scientist Eric Oliver explores why we often feel divided withi...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores the elusive quest for self-knowledge, examining why discovering a single 'true self' is impossible and how standardized intelligence testing shapes our sense of identity. The episode features Eric Oliver discussing the myth of a unified self and Scott Barry Kaufman addressing how IQ tests affect students and society's understanding of intelligence.
- The Mirror of Erised: The Dangerous Quest for Self-Knowledge
- Eric Oliver's Personal Journey: Decades of Searching
Unleashing Your Creativity
Jun 01, 2026For centuries, people have described creativity as something mysterious: a flash of insight, a whisper from the muse, a sudden idea that seems to arrive out of nowhere. Psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis ex...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores the science of creativity and inspiration, examining how unconscious thought processes generate breakthrough ideas. Psychologist Op Dijksterhuis discusses famous examples of sudden insights from scientists and artists, revealing that our best ideas often emerge not during intense focus, but when our minds wander. The episode provides practical insights into creating conditions for creativity by engaging the unconscious mind through activities like walking, sleeping, and allowing mental space for ideas to surface.
- The Mystery of Creative Breakthroughs
- Kekule's Dream and the Benzene Ring
The Past is Never Dead
May 25, 2026How does the culture in which you live shape the life that you lead? We all know that culture affects the languages we speak and the foods we eat. But anthropologist Joseph Henrich says the impact of ...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores how historical events, cultural practices, and institutional changes from centuries past continue to shape modern psychology, behavior, and social structures. Anthropologist Joseph Hendrick discusses how innovations like mechanical clocks, the Catholic Church's marriage regulations, and cumulative cultural knowledge have profoundly influenced how Western societies think about time, relationships, individualism, and problem-solving, revealing that what we consider 'natural' human behavior is often the product of specific cultural evolution.
- The Revolutionary Impact of Mechanical Clocks
- How the Catholic Church Engineered the Modern Family
The Empathy Gym
May 18, 2026Some people are good at putting themselves in another person's shoes. Others may struggle to relate. But psychologist Jamil Zaki argues that empathy isn't a fixed trait. This week, we revisit a favori...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores empathy in modern society, examining how technology, anonymity, and social divisions affect our ability to connect with others. Through the story of Iraqi artist Wafa Bilal's extreme performance art piece and insights from Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki, the episode investigates how empathy works, why it's declining, and how we can cultivate it. The episode also features psychologist Leslie John discussing the power of self-disclosure and vulnerability in building connections.
- The Paintball Gallery Experiment
- Jamil Zaki's Personal Journey to Empathy Research
The Cowboy Philosopher
May 11, 2026In 2009, an old man died in a California nursing home. His obituary included not just his given name, but a long list of the pseudonyms he’d been known to use. In this classic 2019 episode, we trace t...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores the life of Riley Shepard, a small-time musician and conman who spent decades creating an encyclopedia of American folk music. The episode examines obsession, secrets, and self-disclosure through Riley's story and listener contributions about the secrets they keep and the costs of concealing parts of ourselves from others.
- The Discovery of Riley Shepard's Work
- Stasia's Magical Childhood with Her Father
Radical Acceptance
May 04, 2026Last week, we looked at the hidden beliefs that can leave us feeling stuck in life. This week, in the second part of our conversation with behavioral scientist Dave Evans, we talk about radical accept...
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Designing a Life that Matters
Apr 27, 2026We tell ourselves that meaning comes from impact, passion, or finding the “one right path.” But these beliefs can leave us feeling stuck — even when our lives look perfectly fine on paper. Behavioral ...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores the hidden traps in our pursuit of meaningful lives, featuring Stanford's Dave Evans. It challenges conventional wisdom about fulfillment, impact, and success, arguing that dysfunctional beliefs like 'self-actualization' and 'making a difference' often leave us feeling empty despite achievements. Through stories of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, successful professionals, and first-generation college students, Evans introduces design thinking principles to help us craft more meaningful moments and accept life's inherent limitations.
- The Post-Achievement Crisis and the Search for Meaning
- The Trap of Fulfillment and Self-Actualization
Do You Feel Loved?
Apr 20, 2026What’s the difference between being loved and feeling loved? Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky joins us to discuss the distinction, and how we can create a stronger feeling of closeness in our relationsh...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores the gap between being loved and feeling loved, examining why we often fail to feel the affection that others genuinely have for us. Psychologist Sonia Lubomirsky discusses misguided strategies people use to feel loved—like showing off accomplishments or hiding flaws—and reveals that true connection comes from genuine curiosity, vulnerability, and making others feel loved first. The second half features psychologist Greg Walton responding to listener questions about negative thought spirals and how to escape them through reframing, proximal goals, and leaning on relationships.
- The Gap Between Being Loved and Feeling Loved
- Why We Don't Feel Loved: The Performance Trap
How to Change the World
Apr 13, 2026Does power truly flow from the barrel of a gun? Pop culture and conventional history often teach us that violence is the most effective way to produce change. But is that common assumption actually tr...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores the science of courage and the surprising effectiveness of nonviolent resistance movements. Political scientist Erica Chenoweth discusses groundbreaking research showing that nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to succeed as violent ones, while behavioral scientist Ranjay Gulati answers listener questions about cultivating bravery and the difference between courage and recklessness. The episode challenges common assumptions about power, violence, and what truly produces radical change.
- Introduction to Nonviolent Resistance Research
- The Research Methodology and Findings
The Debt Trap
Apr 06, 2026We like to think that good financial decisions come down to discipline and basic math. But the psychology of money turns out to be deeply complicated. Researcher John Dinsmore explains the hidden ment...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores the psychology of debt and financial decision-making through conversations with researcher John Dinsmore and Bobby Parmar. The show examines how cognitive biases, marketing tactics, and psychological traps lead people into debt despite good intentions, illustrated by stories ranging from the Siegels' Palace of Versailles mansion to everyday financial mistakes. The second half explores how doubt can be harnessed as a tool for better decision-making in various life contexts.
- The Debt Crisis and Psychology of Financial Decisions
- Optimism Bias and Youth Vulnerability
When It's Okay to Lie
Mar 30, 2026Should you tell a harsh truth if it will only cause pain? Or is it sometimes kinder to keep someone in the dark? Psychologist Emma Levine explores the unwritten rules that guide when people feel it’s ...
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This Hidden Brain episode explores the complex psychology of lying and truth-telling, challenging the simple moral directive to "always tell the truth." Through psychological research and real-world examples, the episode reveals that there are situations where lies can be benevolent and truths can be harmful, examining the unwritten rules that govern when deception might be morally acceptable.
- The Paradox of Truth-Telling
- Personal Dilemmas: The Wedding Guest List
Group Think
Mar 23, 2026How do the groups you identify with shape your sense of self? Do they influence the beer you buy? The way you vote? In this favorite episode from 2021, psychologist Jay Van Bavel explains how our grou...
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In this Hidden Brain episode, psychologist J. Van Bevel explores how group identities shape our perceptions, behaviors, and loyalties. From Nelson Mandela's use of rugby to unite South Africa to the surprising power of arbitrary group assignments, the episode examines how our tribal affiliations can both connect and divide us. Later, researcher Colton Scrivner joins to discuss why humans are drawn to scary and disturbing content, and how engaging with horror and true crime can actually be psychologically beneficial.
- The Power of Group Identity to Unite
- How Group Identities Shape Our Perceptions