logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2020
36m 26s

The Air We Breathe

Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
About this episode

President Trump said this week that a few "bad apples" were to blame for police killings of black people. But research suggests that something more complicated is at play — a force that affects everyone in the culture, not just police officers. In this bonus episode, we revisit our 2017 look at implicit bias and how a culture of racism can infect us all.

Up next
Jul 14
You 2.0: The Path to Contentment + Your Questions Answered on Conversations
Many of us believe that hard work and persistence are the key to achieving our goals. But is that true when it comes to the pursuit of happiness? This week, we revisit a conversation with psychologist Iris Mauss, who explains why happiness can seem more elusive the harder we chas ... Show More
1h 31m
Jul 7
You 2.0: The Passion Pill
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” The idea is that pursuing your passion will feel invigorating — almost magical. But passions can easily wane over time. This week, behavioral scientist Jon Jachimowicz looks at how to ... Show More
49m 25s
Jun 30
You 2.0: What Is Your Life For?
What should you do with your life? There's no one-size-fits-all answer to that question. But there are scientifically-tested methods that can help you to feel more in harmony with yourself and the world. This week, and in a companion conversation for Hidden Brain+, researcher Vic ... Show More
1h 3m
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2020
American Police
Black Americans being victimized and killed by the police is an epidemic. A truth many Americans are acknowledging since the murder of George Floyd, as protests have occurred in all fifty states calling for justice on his behalf. But this tension between African American communit ... Show More
1h 2m
Mar 2021
Ep. 427 - Did you know that Philando Castile was pulled over by police a staggering 53 times? Every day, as he traveled to and from his government job, he was harassed by local police. And the 53rd t
On today's episode of @TheBreakdown I unpack and explain how police brutality is a math problem. African Americans are forced to interact with police FAR too much. And by drastically reducing these number of forced interactions, we will, by default, reduce the incidents of police ... Show More
16m 38s
Jul 2015
Why do American police kill so many black men?
Recent high profile cases of unarmed black men dying at the hands of the US police have sparked outrage, protests and civil unrest in several American cities. The deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Walter Scott and Freddie Gray are - some claim - evidence of long-standing prob ... Show More
27m 46s
Feb 2023
Putting An End To Toxic Cop Culture
When it comes to police reform, a retired NYPD detective argues that policing as a profession must evolve or go away completely.  The problem of police violence, and the excessive use of force in Black and Brown communities in particular, has spanned centuries and retired NYPD de ... Show More
17m 36s
Jun 2020
'The Weight of Living in a Racist World': Finding Emotional Support as a Black Man
This past week has been a lot. Several Bay Area cities joined other communities across the country protesting the police shooting of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Most of the demonstrations were peaceful, all of them were emotional. This past week has been a lot. Several Bay Area ... Show More
46m 40s
Jun 2020
E80 Les Français sont-ils racistes ?
Le 25 mai 2020, à Minneapolis aux États-Unis, un homme, George Floyd, est mort asphyxié par un policier durant ce qui devait être une simple arrestation. Ce nouveau cas de violence policière contre un citoyen afro-américain a provoqué des réactions non seulement aux États-Unis, m ... Show More
50m 54s
Sep 2021
476. What Are the Police for, Anyway?
The U.S. is an outlier when it comes to policing, as evidenced by more than 1,000 fatal shootings by police each year. But we’re an outlier in other ways too: a heavily-armed populace, a fragile mental-health system, and the fact that we spend so much time in our cars. Add in a h ... Show More
45m 58s
Jun 2020
I think I saw a murder. Now, I’m not so sure. #GeorgeFloyd
"When I watch the reporting of this incident, the storyline I tend to hear is that a racist cop arrested a black man and used excessive and unnecessary force when arresting him. (Spoiler alert: He did.) I saw the video of the incident and it looked like murder to me; as it did to ... Show More
7m 40s
Sep 2020
#217 — The New Religion of Anti-Racism
Sam Harris speaks with John McWhorter about race, racism, and “anti-racism” in America. They discuss how conceptions of racism have changed, the ubiquitous threat of being branded a “racist,” the contradictions within identity politics, recent echoes of the OJ verdict, willingnes ... Show More
1h 11m
Jun 2020
A Conversation With a Police Union Leader
In the weeks since George Floyd was killed by the Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, Americans have been confronting hard questions about bias and racism within law enforcement — and what the role of the police should be.In the process, many have asked whether the culture ... Show More
51m 4s