Hidden Brain

Should you tell a harsh truth if it will only cause pain? Or is it sometimes kinder to keep someone in the dark? Psychologist Emma Levine explores the unwritten rules that guide when people feel it’s ...

How do the groups you identify with shape your sense of self? Do they influence the beer you buy? The way you vote? In this favorite episode from 2021, psychologist Jay Van Bavel explains how our grou...

We tend to see depression as an illness to eliminate, evidence that something has gone wrong in the brain. But what if low mood serves a purpose? Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg examines the evolutio...

Disgust is a strong emotion, one designed by evolution to protect us from danger and diseases. But disgust also spills into other areas of our lives, influencing our morals, our intuitions about right...

Charismatic leaders can inspire devotion and give people a powerful sense of meaning. They can also make us vulnerable. This week, we explore how figures across history have gained followers by offeri...

What does it do to a person to feel overlooked? This week, psychologist Gordon Flett examines how the absence of “mattering” can fuel loneliness, depression, and even violence. He outlines how feeling...

From the time we're schoolchildren, we're ranked and sorted based on how smart we are. But what if our assumptions about intelligence limit our potential? This week, we revisit a favorite 2022 convers...

Last week, we talked with psychologist Leslie John about the costs of keeping secrets. Today, Leslie returns with a look at the psychological power of self-disclosure. She says the moments of overshar...

We all carry secrets, from harmless omissions to life-changing truths. But secrecy isn’t neutral: hiding takes mental work and can harm our health and relationships. In this week’s show, and in our ep...

We conclude our month-long You 2.0 series with a look at the hidden power of doubt — not as weakness or indecision, but as a tool that helps us make better choices and navigate an uncertain world. Res...