This week, we search for the answer to a deceptively simple question: why is the brain divided? Psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist explains why popular distinctions between the “left brain” and “right brain” aren’t supported by research. He argues that one hemisphere has come to shape Western society — to our detriment.
For more information about this episode, please visit https://n.pr/2SxITco
One Head, Two Brains Read More »
What happens when we connect with people whose view of the world is very different from our own? We look at the links between diversity, conflict, and creativity.
Creative Differences Read More »
All of us think back to turning points in our lives, and imagine how things could have unfolded differently. Why do we so often ask ourselves, “What if?”
Rewinding & Rewriting Read More »
We like to think that science evolves in a way that is…rational. But this isn’t always the case. This week, we look at how information and misinformation spread in science.
The Vegetable Lamb Read More »
This week, we look at the science of compassion, and why doing good things for others can make a big difference in your own life.
We dig into the psychology that determines the foods that make us salivate and the scents that make us squirm.
Arguments and bickering can sour family gatherings during the holiday season. This week, we share tips on how to avoid miscommunication from our January 2018 conversation with actor Alan Alda. You might know him from his roles on television shows like M*A*S*H, The West Wing and 30 Rock, but in recent years Alda has also focused on helping scientists, and the rest of us, communicate better. His book is If I Understood You, WouldI Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating.
Alan Alda Wants Us To Have Better Conversations Read More »
When a newspaper shuts down, there are obvious costs to the community it serves: job losses, fewer local stories. But new research suggests there’s another consequence that’s harder to spot—one that comes with a hefty price tag for residents. This week on Hidden Brain we ask, who bears the cost when nobody wants to pay? For more information about the research in this episode, visit https://n.pr/2zSPraS.
Starving the Watchdog Read More »
Why do we always fall for surprise endings? It turns out that our capacity to be easily fooled in books and movies is made possible by a handful of predictable mental shortcuts. We talk this week with Vera Tobin, one of the world’s first cognitive scientists to study plot twists. She says storytellers have been exploiting narrative twists and turns for millennia — and that studying these sleights of hand can give us a better understanding of the contours of the mind.
We try to translate the mysterious language of babies. And we ask, when should we step back and just let our children be?
