Talk Psych to Me

Taste & Flavor Psychology: Food for thought

The next episode in our exploration of the human senses: this time we dig into the psychology of taste. We discuss neurogastronomy, how emotions and sensations impact fla

[RERUN] Melancholy: The uplifting psychology of sadness

Lots of sad things are happening in our lives right now and in the lives of many people we love. So this week, we're replaying our 2020 episode on the psychology of

Touch Psychology: Our most hands-on research

Over the next few episodes, we'll be talking about the psychology of our senses.  On this episode, we touch on the surprising psychology of touch: how it impacts ou

Smell & Odor Psychology: The nose knows

Over the next few episodes, we'll be talking about the psychology of our senses. This week, we're stopping to admire and explore the little-known psychology of

[RERUN] Aging: Water other people's tulips

Tania's birthday is this week, so we're rerunning our episode on the psychology of age and aging. Does being slightly older or slightly younger than your clas

Cold & Flu Psychology: Nothing to sneeze at

In honor of Brian’s sniffles, we’re exploring the psychology of “sickness behavior.” What are the psychological symptoms of colds and flus? What makes some of us more sus

The Milgram Studies: Obedience, conformity, or ideology?

Were the infamous Milgram Experiments evidence of obedience, conformity, ideology, or something more sinister about human nature?  Join us for a deep dive of the shockin

Parapsychology: Our most haunting research yet

Set your skepticism aside and come explore the psychology of the paranormal! From ghost sightings to clairvoyance, we examine the research behind our most mysterious huma

The positive side of negative emotions: Juicing the machine

What's good about feeling bad? In this episode, we explore the psychology of emotional complexity, how to benefit from unpleasant emotions, and the upside of being d

Changing public opinion: part 2 of 2

Calling all activists and change-makers! In our last episode, we tackled the topic of direct influence. This time, we explore the research on framing, protests, mass medi

Changing public opinion: part 1 of 2

In this two-parter, we explore findings on public opinion change.  Is it even possible to change people's minds and, if so, how the heck do you do it? This is a grea

Rituals: Can deodorant swipes improve performance and connection?

Is Brian's morning ritual of doing a set number of deodorant swipes an odd quirk or is it a legitimate strategy to improve performance, reduce anxiety, and spark con

Toxic Positivity (with Whitney Goodman)

This week author and psychotherapist Whitney Goodman joins the show to talk about toxic positivity.  Find out if your attempts to be positive actually cause harm and how

Compassion: Sharing your fries and comics

Why is it that so many of us have the urge to help others, and what stands in our way? Discover the many surprising benefits of compassion (from accelerating your healing

Power & Powerlessness: Escaping the power paradox

What happens to us when we get pumped up on power or deflated by powerlessness?  Does power corrupt us or does it set us free? And how can we escape, what psychologist  D

[RERUN] Hope & Helplessness

With a war looming in Ukraine (where Tania was born), many of us need a whole lot more hope right now. So we're pulling one of our earliest episodes from our archive

Celebrating Black History Month with Black-led Research

In this episode, we celebrate Black History Month by spotlighting some Black psychologists whose research has had profound impacts. We talk stereotype threat, implicit bi

Self-Love & Self-Compassion: What's (self-) love got to do with it?

In this episode we investigate whether there's truth to the saying "you can't love someone until you love yourself." Join the conversation to discover your love

Guilt Proneness & Hyper-Responsibility: Thanks a lot, Uncle Ben

Do you ever feel like no matter how much you do, you’re still not doing enough? To get to the bottom of that emotion, Tania and Brian talk about the psychology of guilt,

Placebo & Nocebo Effects: The power of nothing

In this episode, Tania attempts to induce the nocebo effect -- placebo's evil twin -- on Brian. They explore placebo research (in areas ranging from pain to creativi