Episode 42: Decide Already!

Do you ever struggle to communicate with your mom? Or feel like you and your spouse sometimes speak different languages? This week, we revisit a favorite conversation with linguist Deborah Tannen. She shows how our conversational styles can cause unintended conflicts, and what we ... Show More

Have you ever had a flash of insight that hit you when you least expected it? How did it change your life? Psychologist Anthony Klotz studies the "jolts" that shake us out of our routines, and how these moments can help us make more intentional decisions about the people we want ... Show More

From childhood, we're taught that honesty is the best policy. Yet in everyday life, we hedge, soften our words, and leave things unsaid. This week, we talk with psychologist Steven Pinker about why indirect speech is such a fundamental part of human relationships. How long can yo ... Show More

What do you think will make you happy next year? According to Dan Gilbert’s research, your guess is probably wrong. Dan is a Harvard psychologist, bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness, and popular TED talker, and he and Adam discuss why it’s so difficult to make accurate ... Show More

Psychologist Daniel Gilbert delves deep into the weird, counterintuitive science of happiness and explains why our minds worry about things we needn’t worry about (and fail to worry about things we really should worry about).We're doing a TED Interview survey! If you have a few m ... Show More

At a moment when the world feels like a particularly unsettling place, Science Weekly is asking what it is that makes humans happy – and how we can bring more happiness into our lives. In episode two, Ian Sample asks which happiness strategies are backed up by science. He hears f ... Show More

Today I'm talking about conquering indecision. Fearing there is a wrong choice keeps us from taking much of the action we want to take in our lives and misleads us into believing that our happiness is dependent on making the right choice. In the end we can't possibly predict even ... Show More

How can winning the lottery ruin your life - while contracting an incurable disease feel like 'a gift'? Dr Laurie Santos hears about dreams come true and nightmares realised; and talks with Dr Dan Gilbert about why human happiness isn't defined by these major events in the way we ... Show More

Life has its ups and downs, its sudden successes and unexpected obstacles. But amongst all the unpredictable variation, two economists believe they have identified a deep and powerful influence on our happiness: age. Happiness, it turns out, is U shaped. Hannah Fry tells a tale o ... Show More

<p>Life is full of choices, from the mundane (like what to wear today) to the critical (how should we deal with the pandemic?). So how can we make the best decisions? That’s what listener David wants to know.</p><p>To investigate, Caroline Steel learns how being smarter doesn’t n ... Show More

Hannah Fry explores two tales of data and discovery.Do orangutans - or humans - experience a midlife crisis? Hidden deep in the data, two economists have found a surprising pattern: happiness is U shaped. And, John Carter has a terrible choice to make. One path offers glory, the ... Show More

<p><span data-sheets-root="1" data-sheets-value= "{"1":2,"2":"Feeling stuck in the happiness illusion? Do you truly know what and how you can be authentically happy in life? Darren debunks the myths about what we 'think' makes us happy in this episode. He reveals the three mistak ... Show More

Career, family, relationships - how do we think about big decisions and in turn how do they shape our lives? And what makes a 'good decision?' On All in the Mind this week, we hear from three people who have faced big life decisions and an expert who researches life's choices and ... Show More