logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2020
28m 6s

Steven Pinker: Cognitive Psychologist, L...

Guy Kawasaki
About this episode
This week on Remarkable People, Guy will blow your mind interviewing Harvard Professor Steven Pinker. Steven Pinker is a professor of cognitive science (the study of the human mind) who writes about language, mind and human nature.  
Up next
Aug 5
What Makes Someone a Supercommunicator with Charles Duhigg
Why do some people instantly put us at ease while others leave us feeling unheard? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Charles Duhigg joins Guy to explain the science behind meaningful conversations and why communication is a skill anyone can learn. Drawing f ... Show More
52m 15s
Jul 29
How Narrative, Ritual, and Purpose Help Us Heal with Suzan Song
What if resilience isn't about grit at all? Dr. Suzan Song—psychiatrist, anthropologist, and author of Why We Suffer and How We Heal—has spent decades studying survivors of war, trafficking, displacement, and personal loss to understand why some people flourish despite unimaginab ... Show More
48m 52s
Jul 22
Why Community Matters More Than Achievement with Daniel Coyle
What if success isn’t the goal—and flourishing is? Daniel Coyle, bestselling author of The Talent Code, The Culture Code, and his newest book Flourish, joins Guy to explore why joyful, meaningful growth can only happen in community. Together they unpack the hidden power of connec ... Show More
47m 46s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2019
Progress, Despite Everything
Steven Pinker returns for a conversation with Dr. Jordan B. Peterson. Steven Arthur Pinker is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, and popular science author. He is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, and is known for his advocacy o ... Show More
2h 5m
Jul 2024
Is This the Death of Harvard? - Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author and Harvard College Professor. One of the world's leading authorities on language and the mind, he is an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. P ... Show More
1h 2m
Nov 2021
593: Steven Pinker | Why Rationality Seems Scarce
Steven Pinker (@sapinker) is a psychology professor at Harvard, one of the world's leading authorities on language and the mind, and an author of several bestsellers. His latest is Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters. What We Discuss with Steven Pinker: W ... Show More
1h 4m
Jan 2022
The Problem With Trying To Be Rational - Steven Pinker - #424
Steven Pinker is a Cognitive Psychologist at Harvard University, a psycholinguist and a Best Selling Author. It would be nice to always make the right decision. To escape the prison of human emotions and biases and operate from a purely rational place. Steven's new book breaks do ... Show More
42m 11s
Sep 2025
Steven Pinker Returns (on common knowledge)
Steven Pinker (When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life) is a cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, and author. Steven returns to the Armchair Expert to discuss how in general things have gotten better, that ... Show More
1h 57m
Sep 2025
167. The Secret of Humanity? It’s Common Knowledge.
<p>Steven Pinker’s new book argues that all our relationships depend on shared assumptions and “recursive mentalizing” — our constant efforts to understand what other people are thinking. He and Steve talk about the psychology of eye contact, the particular value of Super Bowl ad ... Show More
58m 45s
Oct 2021
Steven Pinker || Why Rationality Matters
Today it’s great to have Steven Pinker on the podcast. Dr. Pinker is the Johnstone professor of psychology at Harvard University. A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and the winner of many awards for his research, teaching, and books. He’s been elected to the National Academy of S ... Show More
1h 5m
Aug 2020
Introducing “People I (Mostly) Admire"
<p>A new interview show with host Steve Levitt. Today he speaks with the Harvard psychologist and linguist Steven Pinker. By cataloging the steady march of human progress, the self-declared “polite Canadian” has managed to enrage people on opposite ends of the political spectrum. ... Show More
42m 52s
Nov 2022
Steven Pinker
Claudia Hammond meets cognitive scientist and author Steven Pinker. He describes the times we are living in as a pandemic of poppycock and has advice on how to be more rational. 
28m 3s