Is your commute the most stressful part of your day? Traffic psychologist Dwight Hennessy, PhD, talks about what’s going on when we get behind the wheel -- including what causes “road rage,” why some people find driving more stressful than others and how our personality affects our driving, what’s going on with the “zipper merge,” and how driving may change ... Show More
Mar 25
How accurate are our first impressions? With Nicholas Rule, PhD
How much can you really tell about someone at first glance? Nicholas Rule, PhD, of the University of Toronto, talks about the science of first impressions: How your brain starts making judgments about other people in milliseconds--before you’re even aware of it--how accurate thos ... Show More
36m 26s
Mar 18
Understanding Tourette disorder and other tic disorders, with John Piacentini, PhD
Tourette disorder and other tic disorders affect millions of people yet remain widely misunderstood. John Piacentini, PhD, director of the UCLA Child OCD, Anxiety, and Tic Disorders Clinic, explains the brain basis of Tourette disorder; talks about why tics are very common in you ... Show More
35m 11s
Mar 11
How to become more patient, with Sarah Schnitker, PhD
Life is full of situations -- and people -- that try our patience, from a standstill traffic jam to an obstinate preschooler who won’t put on her shoes. Sarah Schnitker, PhD, talks about why patience can be so hard to come by; whether modern life and modern technology have made u ... Show More
35m 13s
May 2025
Healing Your Nervous System from Stress and Burnout
<p class="MsoNormal">Are you a busy professional with ADHD feeling overwhelmed and burned out? You're not alone. This week, David welcomes Brittany Piper, author of Body-First Healing: Get Unstuck and Recover from Trauma with Somatic Healing, and an expert in trauma-informed care ... Show More
52m 17s
May 2025
393. How to Calm Down Right Now: A Conversation with Emily Decker
Have you ever noticed how your body reacts when you're doom-scrolling? The tightness in your chest, shallow breathing, and racing thoughts aren’t just in your head—they’re physical responses from your nervous system reacting to perceived threats. In today’s episode, I’m joined by ... Show More
34m 35s
Nov 2025
2. Why Am I Always Anxious? (The Threat Response)
In this episode, we explore why people with anxiety disorders often feel anxious most of the day. To understand this, we need to look at the body’s threat response, the system designed to protect us but which can become overactive and misfiring. I talk about how this response fue ... Show More
19m 6s
Aug 2024
744 - Driving Idioms, Vocabulary, And Culture In American English
One of the things that I like about being self-employed is that I’m in the driver’s seat. Being independent like that and not having a boss is one of the driving forces behind my motivation to do this job. In the driver’s seat, the driving force.For today’s podcast English lesson ... Show More
10m 19s