Tag: Hidden Brain

Bullshit Jobs

Hidden Brain | 3 September 2018 | 0h 45m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with David Graeber about the rise of meaningless, unfulfilling jobs, and how these positions affect the people who hold them. Discusses the ideas in Bullshit Jobs: A Theory.

Buy, Borrow, Steal

Hidden Brain | 22 June 2020 | 0h 50m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Sufi Amir about ideas from his book House of Debt. Examines the role of debt as a hidden driver of recessions, and how we might create a more stable system. Argues against stimulus packages and low-interest rates intended to encourage borrowing to spend.

When Things Click

Hidden Brain | 4 February 2020 | 0h 50m | Listen Later | iTunes
Sets out the benefits of learning without external praise or criticism. Uses examples of clicker training with dolphins, dogs and humans to show that learning is fastest with value-less feedback that keeps the student focused internally on the process. Many implications for education and parenting.

The Sorting Hat

Hidden Brain | 15 April 2019 | 0h 50m | Listen Later | iTunes
The desire to know who we are and where we belong has led to a thriving industry built on the marketing and sale of personality tests. These tests offer individuals – and, increasingly, employers – quick and easy insights that can be used to make some of life’s biggest decisions. But most fail to stand up to scientific scrutiny. An exploration of the world of personality testing, and the many ways we assess personality and potential – from the Chinese zodiac to Harry Potter houses to the Myers-Briggs test.

Radically Normal

Hidden Brain | 8 April 2019 | 0h 52m | Listen Later | iTunes
For generations, living openly as a gay person in the United States was difficult, and often dangerous. But there’s been a dramatic change in public attitudes toward gay people. Explores one of the most striking transformations of public attitude ever recorded. Also considers whether the strategies used by gay rights activists hold lessons for other groups seeking change.

What Twins Tell Us

Hidden Brain | 25 March 2019 | 0h 30m | Listen Later | iTunes
Nancy Segal on the story of the Bogota twins – two sets of identical twins mixed up at birth and raised as fraternal twins. A tragedy, a soap opera, and a science experiment, all rolled into one. Uses the stories of twins raised apart to explore the role that genes and the environment play in shaping our identities. Based on the book Accidental Brothers: The Story of Twins Exchanged at Birth and the Power of Nature and Nurture.

Unreal Sex

Hidden Brain | 11 March 2019 | 0h 28m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Kate Devlin, author of Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots. Explores the history of artificial love and considers what love and sex look like in an age of robots and artificial intelligence.

When Did Marriage Become So Hard?

Hidden Brain | 13 February 2018 | 0h 51m | Listen Later | iTunes
Marriage is hard – and there are signs it’s becoming even harder. Examines how long-term relationships have changed over time, and whether we might be able to improve marriage by asking less of it.