Episódios

  • 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 minutos
  • 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 minutos
  • 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 minutos
  • 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 minutos
  • Encore: The benefits of being bilingual, with Viorica Marian, PhD

    Encore: The benefits of being bilingual, with Viorica Marian, PhD
    Dec 31 2025
    More than half the world’s population speaks more than one language. Viorica Marian, PhD, of Northwestern University, talks about why speaking multiple languages may have far-reaching cognitive benefits, how the bilingual brain processes language, and how the languages we speak shape the way we think and perceive the world. Originally aired March 1, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    46 minutos
  • Encore: Learning to embrace winter, with Kari Leibowitz, PhD

    Encore: Learning to embrace winter, with Kari Leibowitz, PhD
    Dec 24 2025
    Are you dreading the cold, dark months ahead? In Scandinavia, where the winters are among the coldest and darkest on earth, many people look forward to winter as a time of coziness, beauty, and rest. Psychologist Kari Leibowitz, PhD, author of How to Winter, talks about how cold weather and darkness affect our body and mind and what can we learn from the way that residents of cold-weather places approach the season. Originally published Dec. 4, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    42 minutos
  • How competition drives our behavior, with Stephen Garcia, PhD

    How competition drives our behavior, with Stephen Garcia, PhD
    Dec 17 2025
    From classrooms to boardrooms, from sports to social media, we’re constantly sizing ourselves up against other people -- and being sized up in return. Dr. Stephen Garcia discusses what drives some people to be extremely competitive in their work, in relationships and in life; which situations bring out the competitiveness in all of us; and how to handle the overly competitive people in your life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    35 minutos
  • What moral psychology has to say about charitable giving, with Joshua Greene, PhD

    What moral psychology has to say about charitable giving, with Joshua Greene, PhD
    Dec 10 2025
    It’s December, which means it’s peak season for charitable donations. But how do you decide which organizations to support? Joshua Greene, PhD, discusses how people make moral choices and the implications for where they donate their money; how people can donate using their head and their heart; and how moral psychology can offer avenues to help people cooperate across partisan divisions in a polarized world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    51 minutos