Why Brains Need Friends w/ Dr. Ben Rein

This week, Scott sits down with Dr. Ben Rein, a Stanford neuroscientist and one of today’s most engaging science communicators. Dr. Rein has spent over a decade studying the neuroscience of social interaction, and his new book, Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection, explores how our relationships shape our minds and well-being. Toge ... Show More

After 11 years, 478 episodes, and countless conversations exploring the depths of human potential, this episode marks the final chapter of The Psychology Podcast in its current form. In this deeply meaningful farewell episode for Scott, he sits down with acclaimed science writer ... Show More

This week, Scott sits down with his longtime friend and colleague, Dr. Alia Crum—one of the world’s leading researchers on the science of mindsets. Dr. Crum’s groundbreaking work investigates how our subjective beliefs and interpretations can produce real, measurable changes in b ... Show More

This week, Scott welcomes Dr. Elisabet Lahti—educator, applied psychology researcher, and founder of the Sisu Lab. Dr. Lahti is the world’s leading expert on sisu, a Finnish concept that embodies extraordinary courage, resilience, and determination in the face of adversity. Toget ... Show More

<p>In this episode of Bulletproof Radio, my guest is Lydia Denworth, author of “<a href="https://lydiadenworth.com/books/friendship/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bon</a>d.” Our discuss ... Show More

In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychologist and affective neuroscientist Jim Coan. Jim is a leading researcher on how social connection impacts our minds, brains, and bodies, and he's also pushing the boundaries of impactful science communication. This conversation covers man ... Show More

<p dir="ltr">Two decades on from the start of the smartphone revolution, we have the first humans who, for as long as they've been alive, have had the entire internet just a few taps away. What has this done to our brains?</p> <p dir="ltr">It's been an unprecedented period of rap ... Show More

Love. Touch. Speech. Movement. Consciousness. What do they all have in common? From before birth to after death, our brains underpin our experiences and feelings. They make us who we are. But how? In How We’re Wired, evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin goes behind the scen ... Show More

Half of Americans say they are lonely and the average person reports having only one close friend. Loneliness can also make us sick, contributing to heart disease, depression, suicide and cognitive decline. Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Br ... Show More

Can You REALLY Talk to the Dead? MIT Neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart Says Yes—And Brings the Science to Prove It What happens when one of the world’s leading MIT neuroscientists, Dr. Tara Swart (Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan and author of THE SIGNS: The New Science of How to Trust Y ... Show More

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Allan Schore, Ph.D., a faculty member in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, a longtime clinical psychotherapist, and a multi-book author. We discuss how early child-parent interaction ... Show More

WIRED FOR WHY: How We Think, Feel and Make Meaning. (Self-Published 2025) spans eighteen chapters exploring everything from how we manage to stay alive against all odds, to why language separates us from other species, to whether death might be a metaphor. It's a journey through ... Show More

<p dir="ltr"><strong>Traumatic Brain Injury is a major cause of death, disability, and cognitive decline. Thankfully, evolving research is helping us protect our heads and lessen the long-term impacts of TBIs.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">In this episode of 'Your Brain On...' we dis ... Show More

Today’s book is: The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World (Princeton University Press, 2024), by Dr. Allison Pugh, which explores the human connections that underlie our work, arguing that what people do for each other is valuable and worth preserving. D ... Show More