Episodes

  • Catching fire: What goes viral and why? With Jonah Berger, PhD

    Catching fire: What goes viral and why? With Jonah Berger, PhD
    Feb 25 2026
    Why do some ideas, products, news stories and trends spread like wildfire, while others disappear? Jonah Berger, PhD, discusses the science of what catches on; the psychological forces that drive word of mouth, including social currency and high-arousal emotions like awe and anger; whether online and offline sharing differ; and what his research can tell us about the spread of misinformation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • How to build kids’ resilience, with Mary Alvord, PhD

    How to build kids’ resilience, with Mary Alvord, PhD
    Feb 18 2026
    From school pressures to friendship ruptures, all kids will face challenges as they grow. Mary Alvord, PhD, talks why building resilience is key to helping kids handle both everyday stresses and significant life setbacks; how to help children and teens develop foundational resilience skills like emotion regulation, problem solving and an “action mindset”; and how the Resilience Builder program is being scaled up to classrooms and schools to reach more kids who could benefit from it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    35 mins
  • What relationship science says about finding love, with Paul Eastwick, PhD

    What relationship science says about finding love, with Paul Eastwick, PhD
    Feb 11 2026
    Popular culture often frames love and dating as a competitive marketplace shaped by evolution and rigid gender differences, but relationship science tells a different story. Paul Eastwick, PhD, talks about what the research says about attraction, compatibility and long-term bonding; why men and women are more alike than different in what they seek; how dating apps distort romantic expectations and how to use the apps better; and how evolutionary ideas about love and relationships can be misused in ways that fuel harmful stereotypes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • The invisible work of being a daughter, with Allison Alford, PhD

    The invisible work of being a daughter, with Allison Alford, PhD
    Feb 4 2026
    For many women, being a daughter is not just a family role – it’s a lifelong job. Dr. Allison Alford discusses what she calls “daughtering”: the work of managing family dynamics, from coordinating schedules to soothing emotions to worrying about a parent’s future. She discusses why these expectations fall on daughters; why the work often goes unrecognized; the role of birth order and “eldest daughter syndrome”; and how daughters and families can rethink their roles to make them sustainable and fulfilling for everyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    39 mins
  • When your “mind’s eye” is blank: Understanding aphantasia, with Joel Pearson, PhD

    When your “mind’s eye” is blank: Understanding aphantasia, with Joel Pearson, PhD
    Jan 28 2026
    People with aphantasia can’t visualize images in their mind’s eye. Ask them to picture an apple and they see a blank screen. Aphantasia researcher Joel Pearson, PhD, discusses how scientists are developing new methods to measure aphantasia beyond self-reports; how aphantasia may affect people’s memory and emotions; the link between aphantasia and creativity; the opposite condition of hyperphantasia, or extraordinarily vivid mental imagery; and what these differences in our internal mental experiences can teach us about consciousness and neurodiversity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • Inside the social minds -- and amazing memories -- of chimps and bonobos, with Laura Simone Lewis, PhD

    Inside the social minds -- and amazing memories -- of chimps and bonobos, with Laura Simone Lewis, PhD
    Jan 21 2026
    Most of us could look at a decades-old yearbook and recognize many of the faces of our former classmates -- but humans aren't the only ones with this remarkable ability. Laura Simone Lewis, PhD, of the University of California, Santa Barbara, discusses her research on the long-term social memories of chimpanzees and bonobos, including a bonobo who remembered family members after 26 years apart. She explains how these great apes navigate their social worlds and what they can teach us about the evolution of our own social cognition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • Precision mental health and personalized treatment, with Leanne Williams, PhD, and Zachary Cohen, PhD

    Precision mental health and personalized treatment, with Leanne Williams, PhD, and Zachary Cohen, PhD
    Jan 14 2026
    Depression and anxiety look very different from one person to the next, and finding the right treatment can be a trial-and-error process. But researchers are working to change that. Leanne Williams, PhD, and Zachary Cohen, PhD, discuss the emerging field of precision or personalized mental health care; how advances in neuroimaging and big data are helping researchers identify subtypes of depression and anxiety and predict treatment response; and the challenges of bringing these methods from the research lab into treatment clinics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • How will AI companions change our human relationships? With Ashleigh Golden, PsyD, and Rachel Wood, PhD

    How will AI companions change our human relationships? With Ashleigh Golden, PsyD, and Rachel Wood, PhD
    Jan 7 2026
    What does it mean to have an AI boyfriend or girlfriend, or to turn to an AI friend for emotional support? Ashleigh Golden, PsyD, and Rachel Wood, PhD, discuss the rise of AI companions and how they may change our human relationships; the differences – and overlap – between AI companions and general chatbots; the role of psychologists in developing ethical AI; and what the future holds for AI-human relationships as technology continues to advance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    48 mins