In this episode we welcome psychologist Mary C. Murphy, author of Cultures of Growth, who tells us how to create institutions, businesses, and other groups of humans that can better support collaboration, innovation, performance, and wellbeing. We also learn how, even if you know all about the growth mindset, the latest research suggests you not may not be creating a culture of growth despite what feels like your best efforts to do so. Mary Murphy’s Website Cultures of Growth Carol Dweck at Google Paper: A Culture of Genius How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

Alex Edmans, a professor of finance at London Business School, tells us how to avoid the Ladder of Misinference by examining how narratives, statistics, and articles can mislead, especially when they align with our preconceived notions and confirm what we believe is true, assume is true, and wish were true. Alex Edmans May Contain Lies What to Test in a Post Trust World How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter David McRaney’s BlueSky YANSS Twitter YANSS Facebook Newsletter Kitted Patreon

In this episode we sit down with Brian Klaas, author of Fluke, and get into the existential lessons and grander meaning for a life well-lived (once one finally accepts the power and influence of randomness, chaos, and chance). In addition, we learn not to fall prey to proportionality bias - the tendency for human brains to assume big, historical, or massively impactful events must have had big causes and/or complex machinations underlying their grand outcomes. It’s one of the cognitive biases that most contributes to conspiratorial thinking and grand conspiracy theories, one that leads to an assumption that there must be something more going on when big, often unlikely, events make the evening news. Yet, as Brian explains, events big and small are often the result of random inputs in complex systems interacting in ways that are difficult to predict. Previous Episodes Brian Klaas Fluke How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter David McRaney’s BlueSky YANSS Twitter YANSS Facebook Newsletter Kitted Patreon

If you want to overthrow a dictator, resist an authoritarian regime, or create a movement that can change the national status quo, you don't need half the country, you only need 3.5 percent of the population to join – but there are some caveats, and Erica Chenoweth whose research led to the discovery of the 3.5 Percent Rule, explains them to us in this episode. Previous Episodes Erica Chenoweth's Website Why Civil Resistance Works (the paper) Why Civil Resistance Works (the book) The TED Talk The Q&A How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter David McRaney's BlueSky YANSS Twitter YANSS Facebook Newsletter Patreon

Professor Neil Theise, the author of Notes on Complexity, provides an introduction to the science of how complex systems behave – from cells to human beings, to ecosystems, the known universe, and beyond – and we explore if Ian Malcolm was right when he told us in Jurassic Park that "Life, um, finds a way." Previous Episodes Neil Theise's Website Notes on Complexity Conway's Game of Life The Santa Fe Institute Technosphere How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Newsletter Patreon

In this episode we sit down with Greg Satell, a communication expert whose book, Cascades, details how rapid, widespread change can sweep across groups of people big and small, and how understanding the psychological mechanisms at play in such moments can help anyone looking to create change in a family, institution, or even nation, prepare for the inevitable resistance they will face. • Special Offer From Greg Satell • Greg Satell's Website • Greg Satell's Blog • Greg Satell's Twitter • Newsletter • How Minds Change • David McRaney’s Twitter • Kitted • YANSS Twitter • Show Notes

Therapist, teacher, speaker, and trauma specialist Britt Frank tells us all about her new book, Align Your Mind, an all-access pass to understanding, befriending, and leading the multiple voices within yourself. Grounded in the latest research on Parts Work and Internal Family Systems, and offering proven techniques from Frank’s clinical practice and personal challenges, this engaging guide is a user manual to your own mind—and presents a road map for finding peace, confidence, and a deeper understanding of who you truly are. Previous Episodes Britt Frank’s Practice Align Your Mind Website Britt Frank’s Instagram How Minds Change Newsletter David McRaney’s Twitter David McRaney's Bluesky YANSS Twitter

In 1974, two psychologists, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, as the New Yorker once put it, "changed the way we think about the way we think." The prevailing wisdom, before their landmark research went viral (in the way things went viral in the 1970s), was that human beings were, for the most part, rational optimizers always making the kinds of judgments and decisions that best maximized the potential of the outcomes under their control. This was especially true in economics at the time. The story of how they generated a paradigm shift so powerful that it reached far outside economics and psychology to change the way all of us see ourselves is a fascinating tale, one that required the invention of something this episode is all about: The Psychology of Single Questions. They Thought We Were Ridiculous Opinion Science Behavioral Grooves How Minds Change Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

In this episode, the story of Clever Hans, the horse who changed psychology for the better. We also sit down with psychologist and magician Matt Tompkins. Matt is the author of The Spectacle of Illusion, a book about the long history of the manipulation of our own magical thinking and how studying deception can help us better understand perception, memory, belief, and more. How Minds Change David McRaney’s BlueSky David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Matt Tompkins The Spectacle of Illusion Prisoners of Silence Clever Hans Wilhelm von Osten Carl Sagan Quote Science of Magic Association Society for Psychical Research Skeptical Inquirer Magazine Houdini's Debunking

In this episode, we sit down with three disinformation researchers whose new paper found something surprising about both our resistance and our susceptibility to both true news we wish was fake and fake news we wish was true. Our guests are three of the scientists exploring a newly named cognitive distortion, one that every human being is prone to exhibiting, one that is so common and so easily provoked that nefarious actors depend on it when distributing disinformation and propaganda. Samuel Woolley, Katie Joseff, and Michael Schwalbe will share their methods, findings, and takeaways. They will also explain the troublesome nature of something they are calling concordance over truth bias – a distortion that most often appears in those who have the most (undeserved) confidence in their own (not-so-objective) objectivity. - How Minds Change - Show Notes - Newsletter - David McRaney's BlueSky - David McRaney’s Twitter - YANSS Twitter - Why Do We Share Our Feelings With Others? - Concordance Over Truth Bias - Samuel Wooley - Katie Joseff - Michael Schwalbe - Geoffrey Cohen

This episode’s guest is Mónica Guzmán, the author of I Never Thought of It That Way – a book with very practical advice on how to have productive conversations in a polarized political environment via authentic curiosity about where people’s beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and values come from. It's also about how to learn from those with whom we disagree by establishing the sort of dynamic in which they will eagerly learn from us as well. - How Minds Change - Show Notes - Newsletter - David McRaney's BlueSky - David McRaney’s Twitter - YANSS Twitter - Mónica Guzmán’s Website - Mónica Guzmán’s Twitter - I Never Thought of it That Way - Braver Angels - My Article on Intellectual Humility

Our guest in this episode is Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and writer for the New Yorker Magazine who is also the New York Times Bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better. His new book is Supercommunicators, a practical and approachable guide to what makes great conversations work. In the episode we discuss the science behind what it takes to form a connection with another human being through dialogue, how to generate or nurture a bond, and how to form, repair, and maintain a conversational pipeline through listening and communicating that guarantees reciprocation and understanding. Charles DuHigg's Website Charles DuHigg's Twitter Supercommunicators How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

In an era in which we have more information available to us than ever before, when claims of “fake news” might themselves be, in fact, fake news, Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris, authors of The Invisible Gorilla, are back to offer us a vital tool to not only inoculate ourselves against getting infected by misinformation but prevent us from spreading it to others – a new book titled Nobody's Fool. Previous Episodes Dan Simon's Website Christopher Chabris' Website Nobody's Fool Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

In this episode we return to The Dress and the psychological lessons offered by one of the most viral moments in the history of the internet via an episode of Decoder Ring in which David McRaney shares some insights from his book, How Minds Change, with Willa Paskin, the host of Decoder Ring. Decoder Ring Decoder Ring's The Dress Page Willa Paskin's Twitter CBC Interview with Willa Paskin Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

In this episode we sit down with Warren Berger, the author of A More Beautiful Question – and a man who has made a career out of classifying, categorizing, and making sense of all the many varieties of questions we ask, when we are likely to ask them, and how that can lead to all manner of outcomes, some positive, some negative. Warren Berger's Website Warren Berger's Twitter A More Beautiful Question Carl Sagan on Asking Questions Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Why The Sky Is Blue The Real Reason the Sky is Blue How Does Rayleigh Scattering ACTUALLY Work? (The Blue Sky) Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

In this episode we welcome Dr. Sarah Stein Lubrano, a political scientist who studies how cognitive dissonance affects all sorts of political behavior. She’s also the co-host of a podcast about activism called "What Do We Want?" and she wrote a book that’s coming out in May of 2025 titled don’t talk about politics which is about how to discuss politics without necessarily talking about politics. Sarah Stein Lubrano's Website Sarah Stein Lubrano's Substack Sarah Stein Lubrano's Twitter Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

In this episode, the story of a doomsday cult that predicted the exact date and circumstances of the end of the world, and what happened when that date passed and the world did not end. Also, we explore our drive to remain consistent via our desire to reduce cognitive dissonance. When you notice you’ve done something you believe is wrong, then you will either stop doing that thing or stop believing it is wrong. And if you believe something is true but you come across some information that disconfirms that belief, you’ll either change your belief, challenge the validity of the challenging information, or go looking for confirmation you were right all along. How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

Our guests in this episode are Thomas H. Costello at American University, Gordon Pennycook at Cornell University, and David G. Rand at MIT who created Debunkbot, a GPT-powered, large language model, conspiracy-theory-debunking AI that is highly effective at reducing conspiratorial beliefs. In the show you’ll hear all about what happened when they placed Debunkbot inside the framework of a scientific study and recorded its interactions with thousands of participants. Debunkbot Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

In this episode we sit down with renowned cultural psychologist Michael Morris to discuss his new book, Tribal, in which he makes the case for seeing humans as an "us" species, not a "them" species. Morris says that since we genetically predisposed to collaborate, coordinate, and cooperate. He believes we can leverage our innate desire to work together to solve problems and reach goals to improve our lives, our relationships, and our jobs – and while we are at it, save the world. Tribal Notre Dame Researchers Overimitation Study CSICon Forecasting the Future Tournament Insurrection Episode Antivaxxer Episode Antimasking Episode Partisanship Episode Uncivil Agreement Episode Tribal Psychology Episode Kitted How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon

Brian Brushwood tells us how he put together the most recent season of The World's Greatest Con, his podcast about incredible scams and over the top chicanery. This season is all about how two teenagers pulled off an incredible hoax called Project Alpha, a con job and a publicity stunt meant to improve scientific rigor and methodology when it comes to studying the possibility of the existence of psychic phenomena. Brian's Website Brian's Twitter The World's Greatest Con New Yorker Article about Spiritualism How Minds Change David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Show Notes Newsletter Patreon