Jul 27

You Are Not Ordinary

Stories about unlikely heroes have captivated people for thousands of years. This week, social scientist Ben Rogers explores why the "hero's journey" resonates so deeply, and how the stories we tell about our own lives can shape our sense of purpose. He explains why seeing oursel ... Show More

1h 35m

Jul 20

How to Combat Pain

Pain feels like a simple message from the body. If your elbow hurts, there must be something wrong with your elbow. If your back is painfully stiff, you need some work done on your back. But psychologist Rachel Zoffness says our minds play a much larger role in our experience of ... Show More

50m 24s

Jul 13

Changing Our Mental Maps

As we move through the world, it's easy to imagine we're processing everything that happens around us and then deciding how to respond. But psychologist and neuroscientist Norman Farb says our brains actually navigate the world by coming up with mental maps. These maps act like a ... Show More

1h 34m

May 2025

Downstream: Big Tech Is Making Our Children Depressed and Anxious. Here’s How w/ Jonathan Haidt

As smart phone use has soared, Generation Z’s mental health has plummeted. But just how bad is this crisis, and who should we hold responsible? In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt sets out his comprehensive diagnosis of the problems caused by the mass in ... Show More

1h 15m

Mar 2024

Jonathan Haidt: "The Anxious Generation"

After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why? Phone-based childhoods. Michael talks to social psycholo ... Show More

23m 24s

Mar 2024

The Anxious Generation with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt

Anxiety disorders affect Gen Z at astronomically higher rates than previous generations. There's plenty to be anxious about in the modern world. But the reason behind Gen Z's mental health crisis might be simpler than you'd think. According to social psychologist and NYU professo ... Show More

35m 31s

May 2023

We Need To Talk About Teens, Social Media And Mental Health

This week, the American Psychological Association issued its first-of-kind guidelines for parents to increase protection for children online. It comes at a time of rising rates of depression and anxiety among teens.This episode, NPR science correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff looks ... Show More

13m 12s

Jun 2024

This is your kid on smartphones

Old people have always worried about young people. But psychologist Jonathan Haidt believes something genuinely different and troubling is happening right now. He argues that smartphones and social media have had disastrous effects on the mental health of young people, and derail ... Show More

53m 58s

Sep 2024

602. Is Screen Time as Poisonous as We Think?

Young people have been reporting a sharp rise in anxiety and depression. This maps neatly onto the global rise of the smartphone. Some researchers are convinced that one is causing the other. But how strong is the evidence? <ul><li>SOURCES:<ul><li>< ... Show More

40m 29s

Oct 2024

ANXIOUS GENERATION (Part 1): What Social Media Is Doing to Our Kids

It’s rare these days for a book to go viral, but that’s exactly what happened with “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by Jonathan Haidt. Now in its seventh month on the New York Times bestseller list, the book sh ... Show More

54m 9s

Mar 2024

The Smartphone Kids Are Not All Right

Hanna talks to her child Jacob about the thing they've argued the most about: being on their phone. Then, Hanna sits down with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. In his new book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness ... Show More

29m 30s

Jun 2024

Jonathan Haidt: Why Social Media Has Caused a Collapse in Mental Health & #1 Way to Solve Your Anxiety

How are smartphones linked to anxiety? What mental health issues are linked to excessive social media use? Today, let's welcome Jonathan Haidt is a renowned social psychologist, professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, and a widely published author. He is know ... Show More

1h 27m

May 2024

Babbage: Teens and their screens

Ever since there have been smartphones and social media, there have been concerns about how they might be affecting children. Over the past decade, doctors have seen a decline in mental health in the young in much of the rich world. But whether that rise can be attributed to t ... Show More

42m 16s

Escaping the Matrix