Episode 32: The Scientific Process

Patience can sometimes feel like a lost art, particularly in a culture that prizes competition and the idea of "failing fast." But psychologist Sarah Schnitker says patience is a vital skill for success in both our personal and professional lives. We talk with Sarah about the dif ... Show More

There are times in life when the challenges we face feel insurmountable. Authors succumb to writer’s block. Athletes and artists hit a plateau. People of a certain age fall into a midlife crisis. These are all different ways of saying: I’m stuck. This week, in a favorite conversa ... Show More

Why do some people act bravely in a crisis, while others flee or freeze up? Today, we bring you the second part of our You 2.0 series on the mental obstacles that can block us when we're charting a new path. Behavioral scientist Ranjay Gulati argues that courage is a choice, and ... Show More

Some people say psychology isn't a science. Are they right? 

Is psychology research in a crisis or a renaissance? Over the past decade, scientists have realized that many published research results, including some classic findings in psychology, don’t always hold up to repeat trials. Brian Nosek, PhD, of the Center for Open Science, discus ... Show More

Today’s episode of Uncertain is about the ways that studies can leave us overconfident and how “just-so stories” can make us feel overly certain about results that are still a work in progress. And sometimes studies get misleading results because of random error or weird samples ... Show More

On hot-button topics such as climate change, vaccines and genetically modified foods, science denial is rampant – and it crosses party and ideological lines. What are the psychological forces that lead people to disbelieve scientific consensus? Is science denial worse than it’s e ... Show More

In this episode, we show how you can decode scientific studies and spot bad science by digging deep into the tools and skills you need to be an educated consumer of scientific information. Are you tired of seeing seemingly outrageous studies published in the news, only to see the ... Show More

<p>Why do we sleep and why do we dream? Despite the fact that every human being spends roughly 1/3 of his or her life asleep, science has yet to crack the mystery of the phenomenon. Why do we sleep and dream? The answer for now is...we don't know. To learn more, we interview psyc ... Show More

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic the UK government has stated that its decisions have been “led by the science”. This pithy phrase implies there is a fixed body of knowledge from a consensus of scientists that provides a road map of what to do to stop the pandemic. But there isn’ ... Show More

<p>This is Episode Three of PsychCrunch, the new podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest. In this episode we explore whether psychology can help you to win an argument.</p> <p>After our presenter Christian Jarrett tries his luck with an argument about Mi ... Show More

Until 2020 developing a new drug took at least 15 years. Scientists by and large competed with each other, were somewhat secretive about their research and only shared their data once publication was secured. And the public and the press had no interest in the various early phase ... Show More

Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs.In today’s programme: A breakthrough in nuclear fusion: what’s happened and what does this mean in practical terms? A new way to stop your glasses fogging up during this cold s ... Show More