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A podcast about human behaviour - and our hopes of building a better world. In each episode writer and consultant Richard Docwra is joined by an expert psychologist to explore one of humanity’s biggest hopes and challenges - including stopping conflict and hate, tackling the spread of misinformation, and preventing climate change. We’ll explore the latest evidence about how humans think and behave, and ask whether each aim is realistic, given the creatures we are. And if we can’t achieve the ...
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In this podcast, we have a chat about some of the big questions of life – from the meaning of life to how to be good – as we’re fascinated by them and want to help other people navigate them too.In each episode we discuss our views about a different big question, and we aim to do this largely from a non-religious perspective (because that’s where we both come from) but in an accessible and inclusive way. There’ll be big ideas, personal stories and occasional references to Star Trek – but don ...
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In this episode I’m talking to Dr Giovanni Travaglino about organised crime and criminal groups - how they gain influence and power and affect people’s lives - and what can be done to address them. We’ll see how organised crime is a bigger part of our lives and the global economy than we might think. We’ll explore the surprising role that criminal …
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How can we reduce the effects of inequality in education?
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45:40
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In this episode I’m talking to Dr Matt Easterbrook about how different forms of inequality in education can affect children’s lives - and what can be done to address them. We’ll see how inequality has some surprising consequences - from how children perform and feel about education through to how teachers evaluate the performance and potential of t…
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How can Democrats use psychology to beat Trump in 2024?
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1:13:02
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In this episode I’m talking to Dr Frank Mols about how psychology could help the Democratic party to beat the Republicans, likely to be led by Donald Trump, in the 2024 presidential election that many experts believe could be critical to the future of democracy in the USA. We’ll look at the psychology behind Trump’s appeal to voters, who supports h…
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Can human beings cope with life in the modern world?
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56:06
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In this episode I’m talking to Professor Bill von Hippel about whether human beings are really equipped to cope with life in the modern world. We’ll discuss how human beings have evolved to live in a world of small hunter-gatherer tribes, not the connected, complex world we now have. We’ll explore how some of the traits of thinking and behaviour we…
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How much self-discipline do we really have?
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28:13
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In this episode I’m talking to Professor Roy Baumeister about self-discipline and willpower. We’ll explore how much control we really have over our thinking and behaviour, how self-discipline can help us in life and how we can strengthen our own self-discipline as well as other people’s, such as that of our children! Professor Baumeister is Profess…
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Why do we think we're better than other people?
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31:50
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In this episode I’m talking to Professor Constantine Sedikides about self enhancement - our tendency to think we’re better than other people. We’ll explore in what ways people think they are superior to others, why this happens and how this varies between people. We will also consider the implications of self-enhancement for society. Professor Sedi…
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What is our potential - and our limits - as individual human beings?
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47:13
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In this episode I’m talking to Professor Jonathan Schooler about our potential - and our limits - as individual human beings. We’ll ask whether there are any human capabilities we’ve underexploited to date, or are just not yet aware of. We’ll explore whether we know ourselves very well as creatures, and how knowing ourselves better might improve ou…
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In this episode I’m talking to Professor Dan Christie about our desire for global peace - and whether it’s realistic, given the creatures we are. We’ll explore some of the tendencies in human thinking and behaviour that can make it difficult for us to achieve global peace between people and nations, as well as those that could help us move towards …
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Is it possible to achieve a more equal society?
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42:11
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In this episode I’m talking to Professor Jolanda Jetten about economic equality - and whether it’s possible to achieve a more equal society. We’ll explore some of the tendencies in human thinking and behaviour that can lead people to support inequality, as well as those that could help us promote a more equal society. Professor Jetten is a Fellow a…
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How can we get better at changing the world?
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46:27
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In this episode I’m talking to Dr Maja Kutlaca and Dr Helena Radke about how we can seek social change more effectively – from confronting discrimination through to building more successful campaigns. We’ll explore some of their fascinating insights, including how we feel about people who stand up against injustice, how to build coalitions to tackl…
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Will we ever give other animals the same rights as humans?
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46:29
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In this episode I’m talking to Dr Jared Piazza about our attitudes towards and treatment of other animals. We’ll ask what our attitudes are, how they vary across different animals and where they come from. We’ll also consider whether we are moving towards a world in which we give more rights to other animals - for example, will we ever stop killing…
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In this episode I’m talking to Professor Kelly Fielding about whether human beings really have the capacity to respond to global issues like climate change to the level we need. We discuss some of the key things human beings will need to achieve if we are to meaningfully tackle climate change as a global society, and some of the tendencies in human…
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In this episode I’m talking to Dr Nick Perham about the psychology of religion - and whether human beings need it in their lives. We’ll explore the psychological drivers behind religious belief, why it is so popular, the purpose it serves for human beings and some of its disadvantages. We’ll also ask whether it’s possible for people to get these sa…
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In this episode I’m talking to Dr Pascal Burgmer about morality, and whether it’s really possible for human beings to meet the moral standards we commonly set ourselves. We’ll ask how our moral thinking and behaviour works - and whether the moral standards we set ourselves as human beings are realistic. If they’re not - what’s the best we can hope …
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Is it possible to prevent the rise of populism, hate and extremist political movements?
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46:35
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In this episode I talk to Professor Joe Forgas to explore whether its possible to prevent the rise of populism, hate and extremist political movements. We discuss what aspects of our psychology can lead people to adopt hateful views and support political movements or parties that discriminate against others. We also explore how these are exploited …
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In this first episode I’m talking to Dr Sophie Russell to set the scene for the series. We’ll explore what we’ve learnt about human beings in the last 50 years, and try to build a more accurate picture of how we think and behave. We’ll ask how this might change our view of ourselves, as well as how we might use it to make our lives and world better…
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Is it possible to stop people falling for fake news and conspiracy theories?
1:08:39
1:08:39
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In this episode I talk to Dr Daniel Jolley about fake news and conspiracy theories. We explore the psychology behind why people believe them, how these ideas can spread and whether there’s anything we can do to prevent them spreading and protect the idea of the truth in society. Dr Jolley is a senior lecturer in Social Psychology at Northumbria uni…
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In the final episode of this series we discuss death - a topic we don’t talk about enough in western society, but which is important to think about - both for our own sake and for those we love. We ask what death is, and what happens after we die. We explore why people have certain beliefs about death. We then consider how we can think about our ow…
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This week we discuss the big topic of happiness, via goth woodlice and Star Trek (of course). What is happiness? Should we be striving for it in our lives? What are the things that make people happy - and that don’t? Should we be focussing our societies more on the aim of promoting people’s happiness - and what would a ‘happy society’ look like? Pl…
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This week we’re looking at the topic of morality. We’re explore what we mean by ‘good’ and ‘bad’, and whether these are real things. We’ll ask whether human beings are moral creatures or not. And we’ll go on to explore what it means to be good, and how we can live in line with our values. In a surprise turn, we also explore the 10 commandments of S…
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In this episode we explore the idea of belief. Not just what we believe about the origins of the universe, but also the more practical question of what we should believe about the many messages and views we encounter around us in day to day life. We discuss what each of us believes about the world, and how we came to form these beliefs. We also ask…
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A nice easy start to the series, in which we explore the meaning of life and solve it in 45 minutes.* In this episode we ask what people mean when they talk about the meaning of life. Is there an ultimate meaning? And what are the things that actually do give people meaning in their lives? Please subscribe and share this episode if you like it! *Th…
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