The Psychology Podcast

Today it’s great to have Stoya on the podcast. Stoya has been working with sexuality for over a decade. Her writing credits include the New York Times, The Guardian, and Playboy. Her first book of essays, Philosophy, Pussycats, & Porn is available through Not A Cult Media, and her experimental porn project lives at ZeroSpaces.com. (Note: This episode is very explicit, so if that’s not your thing, please enjoy one of the other other 167 episodes of The Psychology Podcast. If you do listen to this episode, please stick around all the way to the end, as we really enjoyed tying it all together at the end of the episode!) In this episode we discuss a wide range of topics, including: What is porn? What is good porn? Can there be feminism under capitalism? Stoya’s critique of “liberal feminists” The importance of values that transcend sexual preferences How our collective conception of “normal sex” leaves out a whole lot of sexual preferences that “normal” people have Focault on how preventing the discussion of

Today we have David Sloan Wilson and Steven Hayes on the podcast. David Sloan Wilson is president of The Evolution Institute and a SUNY distinguished professor of biology and anthropology at Binghamton University. Sloan Wilson applies evolutionary theory to all aspects of humanity in addition to the biological world. His books include Darwin’s Cathedral, Evolution for Everyone, The Neighborhood Project, and Does Altruism Exist? Steven C. Hayes is foundation professor in the department of psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. An author of forty-four books and over 600 scientific articles, his career has focused on an analysis of the nature of human language and cognition, and the application of this to the understanding and alleviation of human suffering and the promotion of human prosperity. Hayes has received several awards, including the Impact of Science on Application Award from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavi

“There is a surplus of charismatic leaders with a fascinating dark side.” — Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic Today it’s great to have Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic on the podcast. Tomas is the Chief Talent Scientist at ManpowerGroup, a professor of business psychology at University College London and at Columbia University, and an associate at Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Lab. He’s the author of Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (And How to Fix It)  as well as 9 other books, and over 160 scientific publications. He is the co-founder of DeeperSignals and Metaprofiling and a regular contributor to HBR, FastCompany, and BusinessInsider. You can find him on Twitter @drtcp or at www.drtomas.com. Limitations of the “lean in” approach Tomas’s alternative explanation for the existence of gender differences in leadership How people focus more on confidence than competence How we emphasize charisma more than humility How we are more likely to select narcissistic individuals for leadership positions than people wi

“Whether you think you’re better than everybody or worse than everybody, you’re still assuming that you are different than everybody.” — Mark Manson Today it’s great to have Mark Manson on the podcast. His blog, markmanson.net, attracts more than two million readers per month. Mark is the New York Times and international bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck (with over 6 million in sales in the US alone) and his latest book is called Everything is Fucked: A Book About Hope. In this episode we discuss: Why we are a culture in need of hope The paradox of progress How self-control is an illusion How to learn to communicate to yourself effectively “Emo Newton’s” laws of emotion Mark’s definition of growth How to start your own religion The paradox of hope How hope can be incredibly destructive if we’re not careful Kant’s Formula of Humanity How to grow up Political extremism and maturity The difference between #fakefreedom and real freedom Why we are bad algorithms and why we shouldn’t fear

Today it’s a great pleasure to have Dr. Scott Peters on the podcast. Dr. Peters is an associate professor of educational foundations and the Richard and Veronica Teller Endowed Faculty Fellow of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he teaches courses on measurement and assessment, research methodology, and gifted education. His research focuses on educational assessment, gifted and talented student identification, disproportionality within K-12 education, and educational policy. He is the first author of Beyond Gifted Education: Designing and Implementing Advanced Academic Programs and the co-author (along with Jonathan Plucker) of Excellence Gaps in Education: Expanding Opportunities for Talented Students, published by Harvard Education Press. In this episode we discuss: Advocates vs. scientists in the field of gifted education Does teacher training in gifted education have any effect on self-reported teaching in the classroom? How the desire for good advocacy in gifted education can bi

“Play is life force itself… when we can sense and amplify its most life-affirming, transformative impulses, it will point us directly to the Playground.” Today it’s great pleasure to have Gwen Gordon on the podcast. Gordon began her career building Muppets for Sesame Street. Since leaving Sesame Street, Gwen developed Awakened Play, a play-based approach to making behavior change irresistible and transformation delightful. She has applied her insights in organizations ranging from San Quentin Prison to the MIT Media Lab and from IDEO to PepsiCo. Along the way, Gwen has collected a master’s degree in philosophy and an Emmy award in children’s programming. Her latest book is The Wonderful W, which is the first picture book for grownups. In this episode we discuss: What is play? How everything is really “fear of the void” The doorway to the sense of wholeness Gwen’s experience working at Sesame Street Correcting the record about how Gwen created the Rockheads on Sesame Street Scott’s crush on Miss Piggy The s

Today it’s great to have Ruth Richards on the podcast. Dr. Richards is a psychologist, psychiatrist, professor at Saybrook University, and Fellow of the American Psychological Association. She has published numerous articles, edited/written three previous books on everyday creativity, and received the Rudolf Arnheim Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement (Division 10, American Psychological Association). Dr. Richards sees dynamic creative living as central to individuals and cultures, and a new worldview. Her latest book is called “Everyday Creativity and the Healthy Mind: Dynamic New Paths for Self and Society”, which recently won the won a Nautilus Silver Award. In this episode we discuss: What is “everyday creativity”? What is “universal creative potential”? All the ways people can do things differently The four P’s of creativity Openness and creativity Chaos and complexity in creativity The role of the unconscious mind in creativity The link between mental illness and creativity The controlled chaos

"We should be humble in the face of temptations to engineer society in opposition to our instincts. Fortunately, we do not need to exercise any such authority in order to have a good life. The arc of our evolutionary history is long. But it bends toward goodness." -- Nicholas Christakis Today we have Nicholas Christakis on the podcast. Christakis is a physician and sociologist who explores the ancient origins and modern implications of human nature. He directs the Human Nature Lab at Yale University, where he is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science in the departments of Sociology, Medicine, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Statistics and Data Science, and Biomedical Engineering. He is also the codirector of the Yale institute for Network Science, the coauthor of Connected, and most recently, author of the book Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society,which on its first week became a NY Times bestseller. In this episode we discuss: Why breadth of knowledge across fields is import

Today it’s a pleasure to have Molly Crockett on the podcast. Dr. Crockett is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Yale University and a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics. Prior to joining Yale, Dr Crockett was a faculty member at the University of Oxford’s Department of Experimental Psychology and a Fellow of Jesus College. She holds a BSc in Neuroscience from UCLA and a PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Cambridge, and completed a Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Fellowship with economists and neuroscientists at the University of Zürich and University College London. In this episode we discuss: The discrepancy between outrage in real life vs. online outrage Cultural evolution and the selection and amplification of online content How basic reinforcement learning principles drive the design of online systems to maximize the amount of time we spend on the platforms Is the “habitual online shamer” addicted to outrage? Habitual behavior vs. addiction Is “outrage

Today it’s an honor to have Ryan Niemiec and Robert McGrath on the podcast. Ryan is an author or co-author of nine books, an award-winning psychologist, international keynoter, and education director of the VIA Institute on Character. Robert is Professor of Psychology at Farleigh Dickinson University, senior scientist at the VIA Institute, and has published extensively on the topic of character and virtue. Together, they are author of the new book, The Power of Character Strengths: Appreciate and Ignite Your Positive Personality. Find our your character strengths at viacharacter.org. In this episode, we discuss the following: What is a positive personality? The measurement of character strengths Why are so many people interested in learning about their character strengths? How self-knowledge can impact people positively in their lives The difference between virtue and character The three main sources of a good character Is it possible to have a perfect character? Does the perfectly virtuous person exist? Is

“At a certain point, the outcome is the opportunity. We have to focus on the bottom line: what is it going to take to get kids ready?” — Colin Seale Today it’s great to have Colin Seale on the podcast. Colin was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to a single mother and an incarcerated father. He has always had a passion for educational equity. Tracked early into gifted and talented programs, Colin was afforded opportunities his neighborhood peers were not. He founded thinkLaw (www.thinkLaw.us), an award-winning organization to help educators leverage inquiry-based instructional strategies to close the critical thinking gap and ensure they teach and REACH all students, regardless of race, zipcode or what side of the poverty line they are born into. When he’s not serving as the world’s most fervent critical thinking advocate, Colin proudly serves as the world’s greatest entertainer to his two little kiddos and a loving husband to his wife Carrie. In this episode we discuss: Colin’s pragmatic approach to sol

“There can be no autonomy without the autonomy to choose, without coercion or constraint, or in spite of it, who our lovers will be.” — Wednesday Martin Today we have Wednesday Martin on the podcast. Dr. Martin has worked as a writer and social researcher in New York City for more than two decades. The author of Stepmonster and the instant New York Times bestseller Primates of Park Avenue, she writes for the online edition of Psychology Today and her work has appeared in The New York Times and Time.com. Dr. Martin’s latest book is called “Untrue: Why Nearly Everything We Believe About Women, Lust, and Infidelity Is Wrong and How the New Science Can Set Us Free.” In this episode we discuss: How Wednesday tries to make the sex research “delicious and fun” How female infidelity is mired in so much misunderstanding How Millenial women are more sexually adventurous compared to Millennial men What’s the consensual non-monogamy movement? How we evolved to be “cooperative breeders” What is “female flexuality”? Why

“At the end of your life, you won’t remember the thoughts or intentions you had. You’ll remember the actions you took. You’ll judge yourself by how you showed up, by what you did, what you said, how you acted, and whether you performed the way you knew you could in any of the stages of life.”    Today we have Todd Herman on the podcast. Herman is a performance advisor to Olympians, pros, and business leaders, and he creates proven systems to help teams & achievers win with less stress. Herman’s latest book is “The Alter Ego Effect: The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Life.” - How alter egos are part of the human psyche - The difference between childish and childlike - Why having an alter ego is about being the best version of yourself - Multiple self theory and the importance of context -  The Core Self vs. The Trapped Self vs. The Heroic Self - How to go from an ordinary world to an extraordinary world - How to activate the person you truly want to become - How to get into the “wow” mindset

Finding your voice, learning how to say what you mean, and how to listen deeply: this is one of the most rewarding journeys you can take.” — Oren Jay Sofer Today we have Oren Jay Sofer on the podcast. Sofer teaches meditation and communication nationally. He holds a degree in Comparative Religion from Columbia University, and is a member of the Spirit Rock Teacher’s Council. He is also a Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication, a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner for healing trauma, and he is the Senior Program Developer at Mindful Schools. Sofer is author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication. In this episode we discuss:   The importance of slowing down Marshall Rosenberg’s system of nonviolent communication How our behaviors can viewed as an attempt to meet a deeper need Entering relationships from a sense of deprivation vs. a place of growth The importance of relational awareness The undervalued skill of healthy communication Why intention is the single most important

Today it’s an honor to have Richard Katz on the podcast. Dr. Katz received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and taught there for twenty years. The author of several books, he has spent time over the past 50 years living and working with Indigenous peoples in Africa, India, the Pacific, and the Americas. He is professor emeritus at the First Nations University of Canada and an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Saskatchewan. He lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His latest book is Indigenous Healing Psychology: Honoring the Wisdom of the First Peoples. Author royalties will be given back to the Indigenous elders whose teachings made the book possible. In this episode we discuss: How being an outsider allows you to see the limitations of the world you are living in Richard’s friendship with Abraham Maslow Setting the record straight: The real influence of the Blackfeet Nation on Maslow’s theory of self-actualization How modern day psychology has oppressed the verbal-experimental paradigm The

Today I’m really excited to have Kati Morton on the podcast. Morton is as an entrepreneur, YouTube creator, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist practicing in Santa Monica, CA. Morton has built a global mental health online community, and is author of the book “Are U OK?: A Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health.” In this episode we discuss: What’s the difference between mental health and mental illness? Breaking down the stigma of mental illness What should you look for when looking for a therapist? What are some warning signs of a terrible therapist? What’s the best way to deal with a toxic co-worker? What's the link between vulnerable narcissism and borderline personality disorder? How do you know if you need mental help? What are some of the most validated forms of therapy available today? How do you break up with friends that you’ve outgrown? The importance of healthy assertiveness How a very small no can equate to a very large yes How can you get more mental help when you need it? Support this

Today we have Jonah Sachs on the podcast. Jonah is an author, speaker, storyteller, designer, and entrepreneur. He is the author of Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell— and Live— The Best Stories Will Rule the Future, and most recently, Unsafe Thinking: How to Be Nimble and Bold When You Need It Most. In this episode we discuss: What is safe unsafe thinking? The power of intuition for creativity Does your subconscious have free will? Dual-process theory and creativity How can you challenge and change yourself when you need it most? The importance of context for creativity The different phases of the creative process The importance of rocking the boat The benefits of collaborating with your enemies How can you stay motivated when changing habits is so hard? What’s the difference between flow and deliberate practice? The difference between values and identity Making a safe culture for risks How to gamify dissent Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/supportSee omnystudio.com/l

Today we have Dr. Michael Inzlicht on the podcast. Dr. Inzlicht's  primary appointment at the University of Toronto is as professor in the Department of Psychology, but he is also cross-appointed as Professor at the Roman School of Management, and he is a Research Fellow at the Behavioral Economics in Action group. Michael conducts research that sits at the boundaries of social psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience. Along with Yoel Inbar, he hosts the podcast “Two Psychologists Four Beers.” In this episode we discuss: How serious is the replication crisis in psychology? Can the human social realm ever be removed from scientific critique? Do psychologists need to grow a thicker skin? Academic bullying vs. respectful critique Is there a gendered element to bullying in science? Is ego depletion real? Methodological issues with the ego depletion paradigm Real world ego depletion vs. laboratory-based ego depletion The lack of correspondence between self-report measures of self-control and performance me

Today we have Shannon Odell on the podcast. Odell is a Brooklyn based writer, comedian, and scientist. She co-hosts and produces Drunk Science, an experimental comedy show deemed “a stroke of genius” by Gothamist and a finalist in TruTV’s comedy break out initiative. She also co-created, writes, and stars in the Inverse original series “Your Brain on Blank”, where she explains the science behind how everything-from alcohol to caffeine to puppies- affects the brain. She can also be seen at Weill Cornell Medicine, where she is a Neuroscience PhD candidate studying the epigenetic underpinnings of hippocampal function. You can visit Shannon’s YouTube channel here. How Shannon got into science comedy How science can be funny Similarities between the personalities of comedians and scientists Political correctness in comedy and science How science communication is often so humorless Your brain on… the flu. Your brain on… breakups. Your brain on… puppies. Your brain on… caffeine. Your brain on… social media. Epigene

Today we have Robert Greene on the podcast. Robert is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power, The 33 Strategies of War, The Art of Seduction, and Mastery, and is an internationally renowned expert on power strategies. His latest book is The Laws of Human Nature.   In this episode we discuss:   What is human nature? How to transform self-love into empathy The deep narcissist vs. the the heathy narcissist Abraham Maslow’s encounter with Alfred Adler How to confront your dark side Returning to your more authentic self How people who are one-sided are concealing the opposite trait The importance of not taking yourself too seriously How to see through people’s masks The importance of assessing people’s actions over time Why toxic types have a peculiar sort of charm Healthy people-pleasers vs. toxic people-pleasers How to get in deep contact with your purpose The importance of becoming aware of the "spirit of the generation" How to confront your mortality and open your mind to t