Hidden Brain

Hidden Brain Hidden Brain explores the unconscious patterns that shape human behavior.

Led by Host & Executive Editor Shankar Vedantam, our work makes ideas accessible and useful. We get millions of downloads each week and appear on more than 425 public radio stations

As we spend the day giving thanks, we’re reflecting on an episode about gratitude —what gets in its way, and how we can ...
11/27/2025

As we spend the day giving thanks, we’re reflecting on an episode about gratitude —what gets in its way, and how we can cultivate more of it:

One of the mysteries of human behavior is that it’s often easier to focus on what’s going wrong than on what’s good in our lives. Why is that? Psychologist Thomas Gilovich studies the barriers that prevent us from feeling gratitude, and how we can overcome them.

This week on My Unsung Hero: After fainting at work on her first day on the job, Emily Vinson found comfort not from cow...
11/26/2025

This week on My Unsung Hero: After fainting at work on her first day on the job, Emily Vinson found comfort not from coworkers — but from a customer.

After fainting at work on her first day on the job, Emily found comfort not from coworkers — but from a customer.

“In many ways adults have taken over children’s lives. And I think the cost of that is that it takes away from children’...
11/26/2025

“In many ways adults have taken over children’s lives. And I think the cost of that is that it takes away from children’s own opportunities to figure things out for themselves.”

If you’re a parent or a teacher, you’re constantly asking yourself how to balance risk and safety for the kids in your care. Tip too far in one direction, and you can put children in danger. Go too far in the other, and you deprive kids of the joy and power of exploration. This week, revisit a conversation with psychologist Peter Gray about how this balance has changed for many children, and how that change is shaping their minds.

If you are a parent or a teacher, you're constantly wondering: how do I balance play and safety for the kids in my care? You don't want to put children in danger, but you also don't want to rob them of the joy of exploration. This week, we talk with psychologist Peter Gray about how this balance has...

This week on My Unsung Hero: During a painful divorce, Jolena Rothweil was out of money and overwhelmed. Then a coworker...
11/20/2025

This week on My Unsung Hero: During a painful divorce, Jolena Rothweil was out of money and overwhelmed. Then a coworker slipped her an envelope with $200 and a simple message: pay it forward.

During a painful divorce, Jolena was out of money and overwhelmed. Then a coworker slipped her an envelope with $200 and a simple message: pay it forward.

After Robyn Fivush got married, she noticed something about her then-husband's family: they told the same story every ye...
11/19/2025

After Robyn Fivush got married, she noticed something about her then-husband's family: they told the same story every year, without fail, at Thanksgiving.

“And it had to get told the same way, with the same punchlines, every year.”

This week, how family stories shape who we are.

Podcast Episode · Hidden Brain · 11/17/2025 · 1h 37m

Think it’s impossible to remain passionately in love over the long haul? You should check out this episode, which we’re ...
11/18/2025

Think it’s impossible to remain passionately in love over the long haul? You should check out this episode, which we’re thrilled to share was just selected as one of the Best Episodes of 2025 by Apple Podcasts!

Podcast Episode · Hidden Brain · 04/28/2025 · 50m

"[Stories] become ways of understanding both how the world works and how we fit into that world.” There's a tradition ...
11/18/2025

"[Stories] become ways of understanding both how the world works and how we fit into that world.”

There's a tradition around many Thanksgiving dinner tables that's as consistent as pumpkin pie: the family stories that get told year after year. This week, we revisit a conversation with psychologist Robyn Fivush about the profound impact that family stories can have on our lives.

There's a tradition around many Thanksgiving dinner tables that's as consistent as pumpkin pie: the family stories that get told year after year. This week, we talk to psychologist Robyn Fivush about the profound impact that family stories can have on our lives.

Just a few days left until our next Hidden Brain live show! Join Shankar at the Orpheum in Los Angeles on November 22. H...
11/17/2025

Just a few days left until our next Hidden Brain live show! Join Shankar at the Orpheum in Los Angeles on November 22. He’ll be sharing seven key insights from Hidden Brain’s first decade. More info and tickets at

Are there parts of our minds that are hidden from us? This question launched the Hidden Brain podcast ten years ago. Since then, the program has helped millions of listeners accomplish their goals, improve their relationships, and develop a deeper understanding of their emotions. Now, host and creat...

This week on My Unsung Hero: When her purse went missing on a trip to Chicago, Lavonne Schaafsma panicked. What she didn...
11/14/2025

This week on My Unsung Hero: When her purse went missing on a trip to Chicago, Lavonne Schaafsma panicked. What she didn’t know: two strangers had already stepped in to help.

When her purse went missing on a trip to Chicago, Lavonne panicked. What she didn’t know: two strangers had already stepped in to help.

When it comes to our goals, plans, or pursuits, it’s very easy to get lost in romantic ideas about the future. The poetr...
11/13/2025

When it comes to our goals, plans, or pursuits, it’s very easy to get lost in romantic ideas about the future. The poetry, if you will.

But the poetry can often get in the way of the planning and preparation needed to execute those ideas in the first place. In this week’s episode, we talk to Huggy Rao about how to combine poetry and plumbing to turn vision into reality.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2RXZEgdXEkKj1iHZNipKyZ?si=oaMpJnIjTeaesEsySfELEA

Hidden Brain · Episode

New York and Philly, we’re heading your way in 2026! Join Shankar for the next stops on Hidden Brain’s live tour – more ...
11/13/2025

New York and Philly, we’re heading your way in 2026! Join Shankar for the next stops on Hidden Brain’s live tour – more info and tickets at

Are there parts of our minds that are hidden from us? This question launched the Hidden Brain podcast ten years ago. Since then, the program has helped millions of listeners accomplish their goals, improve their relationships, and develop a deeper understanding of their emotions. Now, host and creat...

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