Best The British Psychological Society Research Digest Podcasts (2024)

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Ep 38: Nothing about us without us 30:10

5M ago30:10

30:10

In years gone by, the norm for psychological research was to design studies from the outside looking in. Acting as observers of particular populations, there was generally an expected separation between the researcher and the researched. More recently, however, there’s been a shift. For decades, the rallying cry “nothing about us without us” has be…

1
Ep 37: Talking with patients about sad, bad and difficult things 42:08

6M ago42:08

42:08

This is Episode 37 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. [Content warning: This episode centres around cancer. As such, it makes references to medical events and themes that some listeners may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised.] In the face of significant…

1
Ep 36: The secrets of dreams and nightmares 30:59

8M ago30:59

30:59

This is Episode 36 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Why do we dream? And what business does a good dream have turning into a nightmare? In this episode, Ella Rhodes embarks on an exploration of our non-waking life. In it, she speaks with Director of the Swansea Un…

1
Ep 35: Why do we enjoy playing with fear? 19:40

1y ago19:40

19:40

This is Episode 35 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. From haunted houses to scary movies, many of us find a thrill in a good scare. But… isn’t that a bit counter-intuitive? In this episode, we ask why so many of us are drawn to things that should make us run a mile…

1
Ep 34: How do you make friends as an adult? 19:11

1+ y ago19:11

19:11

This is Episode 34 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Despite it being easier than ever to communicate, so many of us find it challenging to make new friends – especially as we get older. Opening up conversations with strangers can leave us feeling like a bother, an…

1
Ep 33: Have you experienced the unseen other? 33:49

1+ y ago33:49

33:49

Have you ever had the feeling that there was someone – or something – nearby? Perhaps you were in bed falling asleep when you suddenly became convinced that a person was standing next to you, even though you couldn’t actually ‘see’ or ‘hear’ anyone at all. Or maybe you were out in the wilderness, with no-one for miles around, and couldn’t shake the…

1
Ep 32: How to face grief 26:01

1+ y ago26:01

26:01

Grief is a universal experience, but one which affects every individual differently. A grieving person might feel guilty, listless, frightened, or angry. And at a time when they most need support, the bereaved may find other people turning away from them, not really knowing how to talk to them about their feelings and the person they’ve lost. So ho…

1
Ep 31: How to better understand your cat 22:09

2y ago22:09

22:09

We’ve lived side-by-side with domestic cats for thousands of years, yet they maintain an aura of mystery and a reputation for aloofness and even outright disdain for humans. But are cats really so enigmatic – or are we only just beginning to understand them? In this episode, Ella Rhodes, journalist for The Psychologist, speaks to two experts who ar…

1
Ep 30: The psychology of superstitions 20:46

2+ y ago20:46

20:46

From carefully avoiding cracks in the pavement to saluting every magpie that you meet, superstitious behaviour is really common. But why do we have superstitions? Where do they come from? And are they helpful or harmful? To find out, our presenter Ginny Smith talks to Stuart Vyse, former professor of psychology at Connecticut College and author of …

1
Ep 29: Why do people share false information — and what can we do about it? 20:45

3y ago20:45

20:45

Why do people share false information? In this episode, our presenters Ginny Smith and Jon Sutton explore the psychology of misinformation. They hear about the factors that make people more or less likely to share misinformation, discuss strategies to correct false information, and learn how to talk to someone who is promoting conspiracy theories. …

1
Ep 28: Why songs get stuck in our heads 24:59

3y ago24:59

24:59

Why do some songs get stuck in our heads? In this episode, our presenter Ginny Smith explores the psychology of earworms. Ginny hears about the possible evolutionary reasons for why we experience the phenomenon, learns what earworms can teach us about memory — and finds out how to get rid of them. Our guests, in order of appearance, are Kelly Jakub…

1
Episode 27: The Psychologist presents… at Latitude Festival 2021 — Child food poverty 50:55

3y ago50:55

50:55

This is Episode 27 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. At Latitude Festival in Suffolk in July, The Psychologist Editor Dr Jon Sutton hosted a conversation in The Listening Post with Greta Defeyter, Professor of Developmental Psychology and founder and Director of …

1
Ep 26: How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected our mental health? 21:10

3+ y ago21:10

21:10

This is Episode 26 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. What impact has the pandemic had on people’s mental health? In this episode, our presenter Ginny Smith talks to researchers who have been conducting work throughout the pandemic to understand the toll that it h…

1
Ep 25: How to change your personality 26:12

3+ y ago26:12

26:12

This is Episode 25 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Are our personalities set in stone, or can we choose to change them? In this bonus episode, Matthew Warren talks to former Research Digest editor Christian Jarrett about his new book Be Who You Want: Unlocking …

1
Ep 24: How Children Learn Through Play 21:48

3+ y ago21:48

21:48

This is Episode 24 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. What role does play have in child development? In this episode, our presenter Ginny Smith talks to some top play researchers to find out how children learn new skills and concepts through play, and explores wha…

1
Ep 23: Whose psychology is it anyway? Making psychological research more representative 13:34

4y ago13:34

13:34

This is Episode 23 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest. In this episode, Emily Reynolds, staff writer at Research Digest, explores modern psychology’s relationship with race and representation. It’s well-known that psychology has a generalisability problem, with studies overwhelmingly using so-called…

1
Ep 22: Drifting Minds — Maladaptive Daydreaming And The Hypnagogic State 16:24

4y ago16:24

16:24

This is Episode 22 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. In this episode, Ella Rhodes, Journalist for The Psychologist, explores the boundaries between wakefulness and dreaming. What can we can learn about consciousness from the strange transition period between bein…

1
Ep 21: How To Stay Connected In The "New Normal" 21:03

4y ago21:03

21:03

This is Episode 21 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. What can we do to stay connected in the middle of a pandemic? We’ve all played our part in fighting COVID-19, and for many of us that has meant staying away from our friends and families. In this episode, our p…

1
Episode 20 19:55

4+ y ago19:55

19:55

This is Episode 20 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. What can psychology teach us about dealing with pain? Our presenter Ginny Smith learns that swearing can have a pain-reducing effect, and puts the theory to the test with an experiment on editor Matthew Warren.…

1
Episode 19 16:46

5y ago16:46

16:46

This is Episode 19 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Do we worry too much about screen time? The issue of screen use by children and teenagers is rarely out of the headlines, and institutions including the World Health Organization have recommended specific limit…

1
Episode 18 20:02

5y ago20:02

20:02

This is Episode 18 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help us become more creative? Our presenter Ginny Smith learns how we can develop our creativity with practice, and discovers that our best “Eureka” moments often come when we step away from the …

1
Episode 17 21:54

5+ y ago21:54

21:54

This is Episode 17 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help make running more enjoyable? Our presenter Christian Jarrett speaks to several experts about various strategies including "cognitive reappraisal" and the benefits of taking part in organised…

1
Episode 16 (bonus episode) 29:29

5+ y ago29:29

29:29

Ella Rhodes, journalist for The Psychologist magazine, delves into the growing body of research exploring aphantasia – a condition she has personal experience of. While most people can see images formed in their minds people with aphantasia draw a blank, what might this mean for autobiographical memory, face perception and imagination? Our guests, …

1
Episode 15 14:46

5+ y ago14:46

14:46

This is Episode 15 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Mindfulness is everywhere these days, but is it really as beneficial as it's often made out to be? Our presenter Ginny Smith hears from clinical psychologist Dr Catherine Wikholm(co-author of The Buddha Pill: C…

1
Episode 14 14:20

6y ago14:20

14:20

This is Episode 14 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help your cooking taste better? Our presenter Ginny Smith hears about the importance of food presentation, pairing and sequencing, and how our perception of food is a multi-sensory experience. Sh…

1
Episode 13 13:01

6y ago13:01

13:01

This is Episode 13 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help us to learn better? Our presenter Christian Jarrett discovers the best evidence-backed strategies for learning, including the principle of spacing, the benefits of testing yourself and teach…

1
Episode 12 17:50

6+ y ago17:50

17:50

This is Episode 12 of PsychCrunch the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Download here. Can psychology help us to be funnier? Our presenter Ginny Smith hears how a key ingredient of humour is "incongruity" and the surprise of unexpected meanings. Individual words too can be amusing, …

1
Episode 11 14:02

6+ y ago14:02

14:02

This is Episode 11 of PsychCrunch the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help us get a better night's sleep? Our presenter Ginny Smith hears how worry about sleep is sometimes more of a problem than lack of sleep itself. She gives us some evidence-backed sleep tips and…

1
Episode 10 13:19

7y ago13:19

13:19

It's been a while coming, but this is Episode 10 of PsychCrunch the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help us avoid procrastinating and get on with the important things we know we should be doing? Our presenter Christian Jarrett hears about what causes procrastination…

1
Episode 9 14:19

7+ y ago14:19

14:19

This is Episode 9 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology help us work together better in teams? Our presenter Christian Jarrett hears about the benefits of appointing a "meta-knowledge champion" for the team, making sure everyone has contact with the te…

1
Episode 8 10:14

8y ago10:14

10:14

This is Episode 8 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can we trust psychological studies? We speak to Brian Earp, of Oxford University and Yale University, about how to respond when we're told repeatedly that the veracity of eye-catching findings, or even cherished…

1
Episode 7 11:39

8y ago11:39

11:39

This is Episode Seven of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Can psychology give you a competitive edge in sport? Our presenter Christian Jarrett learns about the importance of having the right competitive mindset, and how to use self-talk and positive imagery to boos…

1
Episode 6 10:26

8+ y ago10:26

10:26

This is Episode 6 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Have you ever sent a sarcastic email or text message and discovered to your horror that the recipient thought you were being literal? If so, this episode is for you! Research Digest editor Christian Jarrett spea…

1
Episode 5 12:18

8+ y ago12:18

12:18

This is Episode Five of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. In this episode we explore whether psychology can help us learn a new language.We hear about research showing the benefits of music training to language learning, and how it may be possible to boost your lear…

1
Episode 4 12:24

9y ago12:24

12:24

This is Episode Four of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest. In this festive episode we explore whether psychology can help us with gift giving. Our presenter Christian Jarrett and his guests discuss the benefits of giving "giver-centric" gifts; how recipients like to receive gifts on their wish lists; …

1
Episode Three Bonus Material 12:48

9y ago12:48

12:48

On October 1, 2015 Dr Christian Jarrett (Editor, BPS Research Digest) met with Dr Jon Sutton (Editor, The Psychologist magazine) to debate Michael Jackson's legacy. This is their full argument! Excerpts from their debate about MJ appear in Episode Three of PsychCrunch, which explored whether psychology can help you to win an argument.…

1
Episode Three 12:56

9y ago12:56

12:56

This is Episode Three of PsychCrunch, the new podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest. In this episode we explore whether psychology can help you to win an argument. After our presenter Christian Jarrett tries his luck with an argument about Michael Jackson's legacy, we find out why convincing people of your point of view i…

1
Episode Two 11:46

9+ y ago11:46

11:46

This is Episode Two of PsychCrunch, the new podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest. In this episode we speak to psychology researchers in the field of habit change to see if their findings can provide real-life tips for people hoping to break bad habits or form new healthy ones. We can't promise you a life of health and su…

1
Episode One 9:36

9+ y ago9:36

9:36

This is Episode One of PsychCrunch, the new podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest. In this episode we speak to researchers in the field of personal attraction to see if their findings can provide real-life tips for people on a romantic date. Our guests, in order of appearance, are Adam Pazda (University of Rochester), Cor…

1
PsychCrunch Trailer 0:39

9+ y ago0:39

0:39

PsychCrunch, the new podcast coming soon from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest. Trailer credits: Presented by Christian Jarrett. Producer Lorna Stewart. Music and mixing Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler.

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The British Psychological Society Research Digest Podcasts

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