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Maggie Penman

Stories

  • WOOP stands for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan.
    Science

    You 2.0: WOOP, WOOP!

    American culture is all about positive affirmations. Dream big! Shoot for the stars! But do positive fantasies actually help us achieve our goals? This week, as part of our You 2.0 summer series, we revisit a conversation with researcher Gabriele Oettingen about how we can make our goals more attainable.

  • caption: A young Maya Shankar.
    Arts & Life

    You 2.0: Loss And Renewal

    Maya Shankar was well on her way to a career as a violinist when an injury closed that door. This week, as part of our annual You 2.0 series on personal growth and reinvention, we revisit our 2015 conversation with Maya, in which she shares how she found a new path forward after losing an identity she loved.

  • Hundreds of protesters rally outside City Hall on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, in San Francisco, California. Protestors are seen holding signs and kneeling. (Santiago Mejia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
    Race & Identity

    The Air We Breathe: Implicit Bias And Police Shootings

    President Trump said this week that a few "bad apples" were to blame for police killings of black people. But research suggests that something more complicated is at play — a force that affects everyone in the culture, not just police officers. In this bonus episode, we revisit our 2017 look at implicit bias and how a culture of racism can infect us all.

  • caption: Dan Ariely has found that "what separates honest people from not-honest people is not necessarily character, it's opportunity."
    Science

    Liar, Liar, Liar

    We all lie. But what separates the average person from the infamous cheaters we see on the news? Dan Ariely says we like to think it's character — but in his research he's found it's more often opportunity. Dan Ariely is a professor at Duke University and the author of the book, The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone — Especially Ourselves. We spoke to him in March 2017.

  • caption: Scarcity can make it difficult for us to focus on anything other than the problem right in front of us.

    You 2.0: Tunnel Vision

    When you're hungry, it can be hard to think of anything other than food. When you're desperately poor, you may constantly worry about making ends meet. When you're lonely, you might obsess about making friends. This week, as part of our You 2.0 series, we bring you a favorite 2017 episode about the psychological phenomenon of scarcity. Researchers say this form of tunnel vision can affect our ability to see the big picture and cope with problems in our lives.

  • caption: The belief that vaccines cause autism has persisted, even though the facts paint an entirely different story.
    Health

    Facts Aren't Enough: The Psychology Of False Beliefs

    Sometimes when we believe something, no amount of data can change our minds. This week, we look at how we rely on the people we trust to shape what we believe, and why emotions can be more powerful than facts. This episode features new reporting and favorite conversations with neuroscientist Tali Sharot and philosopher of science Cailin O'Connor.

  • caption: Modern psychology shows that we all have a little bit of Narcissus in us. Most of us like people who remind us of ourselves — whether that is someone else with the same name or the same birthday.
    Science

    Me, Myself, and IKEA: What Our Love For Swedish Furniture Says About Narcissism

    Are women named Virginia more likely to move to Virginia? Are people with the last name of Carpenter more likely to be carpenters? This week on Hidden Brain, we bring you a favorite 2017 episode about our preference for things that remind us of ourselves, and why this tendency can have larger implications than we might at first imagine.

  • Many of us intuitively feel that the bitter partisanship of American politics is bad for our nation. So should we be concerned about the health of our democracy?
    Politics

    More Divided Than Ever? Excavating the Roots Of Our Political Landscape

    Many of us intuitively feel that the bitter partisanship of American politics is bad for our nation. So should we be concerned about the health of our democracy? This week on Hidden Brain, we revisit two of our favorite conversations about U.S. politics. We start by talking with political scientist John Hibbing about the psychological differences between liberals and conservatives. Then, we explore the role of conflict in democracy with historian David Moss.