logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2022
44m 48s

Mind Reading 2.0: Our Better Angels

Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
About this episode
Turn on the news, and you'll be bombarded with stories of people who lie, cheat, and kill. Most of our public and economic policies take aim at these sorts of people. But is there a hidden cost to doing so? In the latest in our "Mind Reading 2.0" series, we revisit a 2020 episode that explores how laws written to govern the lawless end up changing the behavi ... Show More
Up next
Oct 5
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
When historian Kate Bowler was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, she became fascinated by the ways people try to impose order on events they can't control. She joins us to explore what it means to live fully when life offers no satisfying explanation for the tragedies we may face. ... Show More
1h 32m
Sep 28
How to Make a Difference: Part 2
Think about the last time you had a discouraging thought. Maybe you told yourself, "This won't work. I'm not cut out for this." Did you take that thought as fact? Last week, we talked with psychologist Martin Seligman about why some people come to believe that their actions don’t ... Show More
49m 9s
Sep 21
How to Make a Difference: Part 1
Why do some people act on the possibilities before them, while others come to believe that nothing they do will make a difference? Psychologist Martin Seligman describes his groundbreaking research on learned helplessness, and explains how the stories we tell ourselves about setb ... Show More
48m 10s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2019
Why Fools Fall in Love
On The Gist, the 2020 candidates' proposals shouldn't be compared to some progressive ideal, but to some of the stuff we spend taxpayer dollars on now. In the interview, the pace of technological change means we might only be catching onto malicious disinformation techniques afte ... Show More
34m 13s
Aug 2021
Reasons to Be Cheerful (Ep. 417 Rebroadcast)
<p>Humans have a built-in “negativity bias,” which means we give bad news much more power than good. Would the Covid-19 crisis be an opportune time to reverse this tendency?</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.co ... Show More
52m 35s
Dec 2024
Minds blown: are we getting dumber?
Many adults perform worse in tests of literacy and numeracy than the average ten year old. And results have worsened in the past decade. Are our brains rotting? Russia’s economy could finally be nosediving (7:20). And remembering Eichmann’s jailer, Shalom Nagar (14:00).  Listen t ... Show More
21m 52s
Jul 2023
The Age of Fraud
Fraud is everywhere around us — but not everyone steals for the same reasons. This hour, forensic accountant Kelly Richmond Pope explores the motivations and implications of why we cheat the system. TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas fro ... Show More
50m 19s
Sep 2025
A nation of jerks
Americans seem to be getting ruder. Are our attempts at making ourselves better actually making us worse? This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Miranda Kennedy, fact-checked by Melissa Hirsch and Isabelle Lichtenstein, engineered by Matthew Billy and hosted by Jon ... Show More
29m 45s
Dec 2023
George Santos is a Terrible Person and the Embodiment of the American Dream
Is there valor in scamming your way through a system that failed you, even if you hurt people along the way? What is the value of the lies we tell ourselves about ourselves? Can you be morally bankrupt and a camp icon? The questions of America, explored with friend of the show Ka ... Show More
1h 8m
Jul 2023
It's In the Code Ep. 59: "Don't They Care?"
Why do so many on the Christian, cultural, and political right receive such obvious pleasure in enacting policies and legislation that harm others? Don’t they care about the harm they’re doing? And if not, why not? Dan tackles this issue in this week’s episode, taking a look empa ... Show More
26m 44s
Sep 2020
Ep 65 | America’s Narrative WAR – WHY You Are Good!
In this show, Jonathon explains why narratives are critical to how each of us act and are responsible for our good or bad behaviors. He breaks down the narrative of all police being bad and discusses the horrific and vile events of Compton. Lastly, he addresses the failures of so ... Show More
57m 32s
Apr 2020
#198 — A Conversation with Paul Bloom
Sam Harris and Paul Bloom discuss the false tradeoff between the economy and public health, putting a price on human life, framing effects for moral questions, how Covid-19 may change human behavior, "turn-key totalitarianism," the future of education, the long term psychological ... Show More
58m 50s