Episodes

  • How moms can help their daughters build a healthy body image, with Janet Boseovski, PhD, and Ashleigh Gallagher, PhD

    How moms can help their daughters build a healthy body image, with Janet Boseovski, PhD, and Ashleigh Gallagher, PhD
    May 7 2025
    Girls begin receiving messages that will shape their body image as young as preschool. Janet Boseovski, PhD, and Ashleigh Gallagher, PhD, author of “Beyond Body Positivity: A Mother's Science-Based Guide for Helping Girls Build a Healthy Body Image,” talk about how kids understand body image from early childhood through the tween years and why parents’ early influence is so important. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    42 mins
  • What drives people to extremism? With Arie Kruglanski, PhD, and Sophia Moskalenko, PhD

    What drives people to extremism? With Arie Kruglanski, PhD, and Sophia Moskalenko, PhD
    Apr 30 2025
    The word “extremist” might call up images of violence or terrorism. But extreme behaviors are all around us and can be a force for good as well as destruction. Arie Kruglanski, PhD, and Sophia Moskalenko, PhD, talk about what drives people to extreme behaviors, whether there’s an “extremist personality,” how social media drives extremism and whether the world is becoming more extreme. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • Why do we cry? With Lauren Bylsma, PhD

    Why do we cry? With Lauren Bylsma, PhD
    Apr 23 2025
    Pain, sadness, joy, awe – under the right circumstances, any of these emotions can bring on tears. Lauren Bylsma, PhD, talks about why crying evolved, the psychological and social purposes of tears, why some people cry more easily than others, and whether having a good cry can make you feel better when you’re sad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
  • Meat and morality: Will people eat lab-grown meat? With Matti Wilks, PhD, and Daniel Rosenfeld, PhD

    Meat and morality: Will people eat lab-grown meat? With Matti Wilks, PhD, and Daniel Rosenfeld, PhD
    Apr 16 2025
    Advocates of cultured meat say that it could help solve many environmental and animal welfare problems. But psychologists have found that some consumers say they’d be reluctant to try it. Matti Wilks, PhD, and Daniel Rosenfeld, PhD, discuss the psychological factors at play when people consider eating lab-grown meat -- and meat in general -- and how moral values, disgust, and other factors contribute to people’s dietary choices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
  • The psychology of swearing, with Richard Stephens, PhD

    The psychology of swearing, with Richard Stephens, PhD
    Apr 9 2025
    What’s your first reaction when someone cuts you off in traffic or you stub your toe? Do you let out a choice word or two? Richard Stephens, PhD, talks about the psychology of swearing, including his research on why swearing can increase people’s pain tolerance and strength during stressful or painful moments; how swearing is processed in the brain; and the increasing acceptance of swearing in daily life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
  • Keeping your brain healthy as you age, with Vonetta Dotson, PhD

    Keeping your brain healthy as you age, with Vonetta Dotson, PhD
    Apr 2 2025
    What are the most important things you can do to reduce the risk of dementia and keep your brain healthy as you grow older? Neuropsychologist Vonetta Dotson, PhD, talks about what a healthy brain looks like; why you’re never too young – or old – to think about brain health; why physical activity, mental activity, and social engagement are all key; the relationship between depression and brain health; and small steps you can take to get started with a brain-healthy lifestyle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    41 mins
  • The rise of ‘therapy speak,’ with Taisha Caldwell-Harvey, PhD, and Erin Parks, PhD

    The rise of ‘therapy speak,’ with Taisha Caldwell-Harvey, PhD, and Erin Parks, PhD
    Mar 26 2025
    Do you think your ex is probably a narcissist? Do you worry that your boss is gaslighting you? In recent years, these words and others have entered the vocabularies of millions of Americans. Dr. Taisha Caldwell-Harvey, PhD, and Dr. Erin Parks, PhD, discuss the rise of “therapy speak,” what psychologists and other mental health professionals think about it, and how it’s changing the way many of us think about our friends, our family, our relationships and ourselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
  • Understanding paranoia and extreme mistrust, with Daniel Freeman, PhD

    Understanding paranoia and extreme mistrust, with Daniel Freeman, PhD
    Mar 19 2025
    For years, paranoia was seen a symptom of severe mental illness only. But in recent decades, some psychologists have begun to think about it differently. Daniel Freeman, PhD, author of “Paranoia: A Journey Into Extreme Mistrust and Anxiety,” discusses his research on the links between paranoia and other forms of mistrust and anxiety; why paranoid thoughts are relatively common; and new research on therapeutic treatments for paranoia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    34 mins