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297 episodes · Page 3 of 13

#5173: Why Actors Keep Auditioning: The Grit Behind the Craft

Most SAG-AFTRA members earn under $26K from acting. So why do they keep auditioning? Research on grit and calling offers surprising answers.

relationshipshabits-and-behavior-changebooks-and-literature

#5162: Retirement Was Invented: Work, Aging, and the Pension Cliff

Retirement as a funded life stage is barely a century old. Here's what pre-industrial work lives actually looked like — and why the cliff-edge pers...

workplace-cultureancient-worldtwentieth-centuryhealthcare-systemsrelationships

#5142: How Parenthood Rewires Your Identity and Purpose

What does becoming a parent actually do to your brain, identity, and sense of purpose? The research — and one father's story — says more than you'd...

relationshipsstress-and-traumachild-safetyhabits-and-behavior-change

#5135: When Reluctant Travelers Make the Best TV

What An Idiot Abroad gets right about comedy, travel, and authenticity — and the rare shows that pull off the same trick.

film-and-televisioncultural-differencesrelationships

#5129: Reality TV's Strangest Shows: Nasubi, Fishtank & Total Surveillance

From a naked man in a room to live-streamed god-mode surveillance — the strangest reality formats ever made.

film-and-televisionethicsrelationshipscultural-differences

#5123: Who Gets to Call Themselves an Artist?

Creative rivalry in couples, engraver vs. painter status, and who decides what counts as art.

relationshipsai-alignment

#5115: Do Early Milestones Actually Predict Success?

Early walkers, early talkers, early readers — does timing matter? Research says most milestone differences wash out.

child-safetyexecutive-functionrelationshipshabits-and-behavior-change

#5105: The 69% Rule: What Gottman Method Says About Recurring Fights

69% of couple conflicts are perpetual. Learn how the Gottman Method turns gridlocked fights into graceful dialogue.

relationshipstherapy-and-counselingstress-and-traumacognitive-biases

#5103: Getting Quoted Without Regret: Source Tips

A listener's dictated email became a published quote he regrets. Here's how to handle being on the record.

journalism-and-mediarelationshipspodcasting

#5100: Why Daycare Drop-Off Hits So Hard: A WEIRD Problem

Is the daycare drop-off misery universal or a product of Western culture? We explore attachment, alloparenting, and what non-WEIRD societies do dif...

child-safetyrelationshipscultural-differencesinfant-sleepchildcare-and-daycare

#5087: Whose Voice Is That? Rewiring Your Self-Image

How to tell the difference between your own self-knowledge and a critical voice installed in childhood — and what actually works to renovate it.

relationshipsstress-and-traumatherapy-and-counselingcognitive-biases

#5086: How to Make Death Reflection Work Without the Terror

Spontaneous death reminders fade fast. Structured reflection changes how you live. Here's the science and the traditions that got it right.

stress-and-traumahabits-and-behavior-changecognitive-biasesrelationships

#5083: The Shared Work of Teshuvah: Why Your Failures Aren't Unique

Why the Jewish New Year's framework for self-improvement mirrors psychology's most common regrets—and why shared struggle dissolves shame.

relationshipsstress-and-traumahabits-and-behavior-changecognitive-biasestherapy-and-counseling

#5081: Babies Communicate Before Words — Here's the Science

Why "baba" might mean everything and nothing — and why your baby is already conversing with you.

child-safetyrelationshipsinfant-sleep

#5020: Korean-Chinese Food: The Real Story Behind K-Drama Delivery

Jajangmyeon, jjamppong, and the diaspora cuisine Korea loves but China doesn't recognize.

history-of-technologyrelationshipscultural-differencesfood-and-cookingmiddle-east-history

#4986: How to Weaponize Small Talk (Anti-Guide)

Turn "How are you?" into a weapon. An escalatory ladder from honest answers to full conversational catastrophe.

therapy-and-counselingrelationshipscognitive-biases

#4981: The Void That Doesn't Heal

Why the grief of not having supportive parents feels different — and what neuroscience reveals about it.

relationshipsstress-and-traumatherapy-and-counselinglocal-ai

#4961: Can You Learn to Be Good at Small Talk?

Why "just be curious" fails anxious people — and what actually works for better conversations.

therapy-and-counselingrelationshipshabits-and-behavior-changestress-and-trauma

#4924: How Tourist Traps Actually Work

Tourist traps aren't lazy restaurants — they're rational responses to broken incentives. Here's how they form and what breaks them.

tourismurban-designrelationshipscultural-differencesethics

#4921: The Breakfast Detective and Other Cringe Icebreakers

Why do some icebreakers create connection while others produce cringe? A three-factor model explains it all.

relationshipscognitive-biaseshabits-and-behavior-change

#4917: Goats, Coffins, and Cuddle Corners: 10 Real Conference Gimmicks

From goat yoga keynotes to rent-a-mourner funerals — ten documented conference engagement stunts ranked by weirdness.

relationshipsstress-and-traumahabits-and-behavior-change

#4901: The Loneliness of Power: How Politics Kills Friendship

Can a president have real friends? The structural barriers that make genuine connection nearly impossible for public figures.

electionscultural-differencesjournalism-and-mediarelationshipshabits-and-behavior-change

#4900: Why You Rebel Against Your Own Budget

The psychology behind overspending when you can't afford it—and what actually works.

habits-and-behavior-changecognitive-biasesstress-and-traumarelationships

#4895: The Tuna Aisle Dilemma: Hypervigilant Prosociality Explained

Why staying with in-laws you like can still feel exhausting—and what to do about it.

relationshipscognitive-biasesstress-and-traumahabits-and-behavior-change