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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 21h

Your boss sends you an email. She needs to meet with you on Friday at 4 p.m. If you’re like many people, your first thought is: “I’m going to get fired.” In this week’s episode, why our minds jump to the worst-case scenario— and how to tell ourselves a different story. apple.co/4hV4ohO

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How to Make a Difference: Part 2

Podcast Episode · Hidden Brain · September 28 · 49m

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Left alone, the mind grabs the quickest, most satisfying story and calls it the truth. None of these techniques are automatic. That's the work.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Right before a big moment, your palms sweat and your heart races. We read it as fear. But your body does the exact same thing when it's excited. Next time, try telling yourself: I'm getting ready. Same body, different story.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

When Rika Matsuda was seven, she crashed her bicycle at a park. A stranger stopped to help and made her an origami crane while they waited for her grandfather. Years later, she discovered a message hidden inside. www.hiddenbrain.org/unsunghero/r...

hiddenbrain.org

Rika Matsuda's Story - Hidden Brain Media

When Rika was seven, she crashed her bike. A stranger stopped to help and made her an origami crane. Years later, she discovered a message hidden inside.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Psychologist Martin Seligman describes his groundbreaking research on learned helplessness, and explains how optimism can help us rediscover our ability to change things for the better. open.spotify.com/episode/0F7I...

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How to Make a Difference: Part 1

Hidden Brain · Episode

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

At 16, Reed Norwood was trapped in a burning truck after a crash. A passing trucker stopped and saved his life. www.hiddenbrain.org/unsunghero/r...

hiddenbrain.org

Reed Norwood's Story - Hidden Brain Media

At 16, Reed was trapped in a burning truck after a crash. A passing trucker stopped and saved his life.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

When psychologist Gordon Flett was hospitalized with liver failure, a nurse sat with him for hours in the dark. She didn't just check on him. She talked to him, like he was a person and not just a patient in a bed.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Linguist Deborah Tannen has always been fascinated by the differences in how people communicate. She once recorded a conversation between Californians and New Yorkers, noting the length of pauses and how often they interrupted each other. Listen and follow: open.spotify.com/episode/6Qaw...

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Why Conversations Go Wrong

Hidden Brain · Episode

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Close your eyes and picture an apple. Most see one. Some see nothing at all. It's called aphantasia, and it's a reminder: the person next to you might be experiencing the world in a way you can't even imagine.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

“We took off our hard hats and unclipped our measuring tape and handed it to our boss and said, that's it. We're done.” How many times have you fantasized about quitting your job? In this week’s episode, we explore the moments in our lives that push us to quit apple.co/3SVDrRI

apple.co

Blowing Up Your Life

Podcast Episode · Hidden Brain · September 7 · 1h 26m

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

A millionaire uses folding chairs for furniture. A man with two PhDs can't stop racking up debt. Both are following "money scripts," beliefs formed in childhood that quietly steer your spending. Once you name yours, you can start to rewrite it.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Gyms fill in January. Diets start on Mondays. It isn't random. These "temporal landmarks" draw a line between the you who failed and the you who might succeed. You don't have to wait for January. The next Monday will do.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

What do heroin, alcohol, and your phone have in common? Psychiatrist Anna Lembke calls your phone the modern hypodermic needle. Every scroll delivers a dopamine hit, and your brain pushes back each time you chase it.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

We treat empathy like a fixed trait: you either have it or you don't. But it behaves more like a muscle. Listen a little longer. Ask one more question. Picture the other side. Like any muscle, it grows when you use it.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

After Gary Knight was badly injured in a cycling accident, three passing motorcyclists stopped to help. www.hiddenbrain.org/unsunghero/g...

hiddenbrain.org

Gary Knight's Story - Hidden Brain Media

After Gary was badly injured in a cycling accident, three passing motorcyclists stopped to help.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

From childhood, we're taught that honesty is the best policy. Yet in everyday life, we hedge, soften our words, and leave things unsaid. We talk with psychologist Steven Pinker about why indirect speech is such a fundamental part of human relationships. www.hiddenbrain.org/podcast/the-...

hiddenbrain.org

The Things We Don't Say - Hidden Brain Media

From childhood, we’re taught that honesty is the best policy. Yet in everyday life, we hedge, soften our words, and leave things unsaid. This week, we talk with psychologist Steven Pinker about why in...

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

We're 30 times more likely to laugh with others than alone. Laughter isn't really about how funny something is. It's a signal that we feel safe together. Notice who you laugh with most. That's a map of where you feel at home.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

A growing body of scientific research suggests that music, painting, dance, and storytelling do far more than entertain us. They calm our nervous systems, reshape our emotions, and even influence our physical health. apple.co/4cjEL7s

apple.co

What Art Does For Your Brain

Podcast Episode · Hidden Brain · August 24 · 49m

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

One morning at the beach, Tracy Zito watched in horror as her young son was swept away by a powerful current. As she struggled to get him back to shore, a stranger came to their rescue. www.hiddenbrain.org/unsunghero/t...

hiddenbrain.org

Tracy Zito's Story - Hidden Brain Media

One morning at the beach, Tracy watched in horror as her young son was swept away by a powerful current. As she struggled to get him back to shore, a stranger came to their rescue.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

For centuries, people have turned to music, stories, and art for comfort in difficult times. Psychobiologist Daisy Fancourt explores the science behind those experiences, explaining how the arts can help regulate our emotions, build resilience, and support health. open.spotify.com/episode/4RZk...

open.spotify.com

What Art Does For Your Brain

Hidden Brain · Episode

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

You've been told to visualize success. But the people who fantasize most vividly about the outcome tend to achieve it least. The daydream relaxes you as if you'd already won. Try picturing the obstacle instead, and how you'll handle it.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

In January 2009, John Roberts was swearing in Barack Obama as president of the United States. Both men had spent decades in the public eye. Roberts was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Obama had campaigned coast to coast. But there was a simple sentence that kept tripping them up.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

In the mid-1940s, Jackson Pollock was stuck and drinking in NY. He and Lee Krasner moved to Long Island and developed his drip technique. His paintings mirror nature’s fractals. Marc Berman says nature restores focus and reduces stress. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is step outside.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Under pressure, a second voice shows up: "I'm going to mess this up." Now half your focus is on the task, half on the panic. That's choking. The fix is almost too simple: tell yourself you're excited, not nervous. Your brain can't tell the difference.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Kate Rogan was flying home for her mother's funeral when her connecting flight was canceled. As she sobbed on the plane, a fellow passenger put a hand on her shoulder and offered to help. www.hiddenbrain.org/unsunghero/k...

hiddenbrain.org

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

“We don’t want to see our partners unrealistically. We want to see them generously while still staying grounded in reality.” This week, psychologist Edward Lemay explains how our own fears, desires, and insecurities can shape our perceptions of our partners. www.hiddenbrain.org/podcast/how-...

hiddenbrain.org

How to Be a Better Partner - Hidden Brain Media

When we look at the people we love, how clearly do we really see them? This week, how our fears, desires, and insecurities can shape our perceptions of our partners — sometimes creating the very reali...

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Hospital cleaners with the same job description described completely different jobs. Some emptied trash. Others noticed lonely patients and stopped to talk. It's called job crafting: reshaping what your work means, even when the tasks stay the same.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

We spend so much energy dreading the years ahead, but older adults consistently report more contentment, not less. A sense of limited time pushes them toward what matters most. You don't have to wait for age to do that math: ask now what you'd keep if your time were shorter.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Revenge feels like justice, but the brain treats it like a craving. The more we replay how someone wronged us, the more real it feels, even when the wrong lived mostly in our imagination. Next time a grudge loops in your head, ask if you're remembering it or rewriting it.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

When we shop for someone, we chase the gasp, the surprise that lights up their face. But recipients care far more about whether they'll actually use a gift than whether it surprised them. The most thoughtful thing you can give is often the thing they already told you they wanted.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Mistakes can be costly, unpleasant, and dangerous. It’s no wonder we try to avoid them. But researcher Amy Edmondson says that burying our heads in the sand when we fail might be the biggest mistake of all. Listen and follow: apple.co/4q4blQl

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Making the Most of Your Mistakes

Podcast Episode · Hidden Brain · August 3 · 1h 26m

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

How well do you know the difficult chapters in your family’s story… and not just the happy ones? Psychologists Robyn Fivush and Marshall Duke found that the most resilient children tended to know both: the good moments and the hard ones. It turns out those tougher stories may be just as important.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

We’ve all heard the advice to learn from our mistakes. But not all mistakes contain valuable lessons. This week, what we should do about different kinds of failures. open.spotify.com/episode/3iza...

open.spotify.com

Making the Most of Your Mistakes

Hidden Brain · Episode

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

The hopeful part of Fred's research is that forgiveness is a trainable skill. When people practiced it in his studies, their stress and anger dropped, and the improvements held months later.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Ever land an opportunity through someone you barely know? Sociologist Mark Granovetter found people were more likely to get jobs through ‘weak ties’ than close friends who already share your network. Even brief chats with near-strangers can lift mood and belonging almost as much as close friends do.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

What happens when good people are placed in a bad system? In 1971, Philip Zimbardo put students in a mock Stanford jail as guards and prisoners. It was shut down after six days once guards turned cruel.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

How much of your day is actually a choice? Psychologist Wendy Wood found 43 percent of daily behavior is habitual, done while your mind is elsewhere. That’s why willpower often fails. The fix is environmental: no junk food in the house, running shoes by the door.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Which words say the most about you: the big ones like love and money, or the ones you never notice? Psychologist James Pennebaker analyzed how people write. He found the tiny function words (pronouns, articles, prepositions) carry the real signal.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Two six-year-olds turned a pile of boards into a bridge over imaginary crocodiles, negotiating rules and taking turns. Then an adult stepped in to show them the ‘right way’ to use the boards, with hammers and nails. Within minutes, psychologist Peter Gray says they went from absorbed to bored.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Plenty of Hollywood movies frame a character’s story as a hero’s journey. What if you did that with your own life? This week, social scientist Ben Rogers on how the stories we tell about our own lives can shape our sense of purpose. apple.co/4wudZkQ

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You Are Not Ordinary

Podcast Episode · Hidden Brain · July 27 · 1h 35m

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

You remember getting an A in school. But you forget your Ds. Psychologist Harry Bahrick found people recall good grades eighty-nine percent of the time, bad ones only twenty-nine percent. Memory keeps score, but only for the version of you it wants you to see.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

What does a 1940s movie star have to do with your wireless headphones? Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil invented frequency hopping during WWII. The Navy ignored it. Decades later it became Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, the kind of leap Sheena Iyengar says comes from colliding fields.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

When Jennifer had cold feet before her wedding, her mother reassured her. But years after Jennifer got married, she discovered a secret her mom had withheld. Psychologist Leslie John at Harvard finds that this sort of concealment comes with heavy costs.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Nearly two billion people across the globe live with chronic pain. And psychologist Rachel Zoffness says much of that pain is being mistreated. This week, what's really happening when we experience pain, and how to address it. apple.co/3Rsl3io

apple.co

How to Combat Pain

Podcast Episode · Hidden Brain · July 20 · 50m

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

What would it take to convince you that you committed a crime you don’t remember? For Peter Reilly, it took nearly a full day of interrogation. He was eighteen years old. His case shows that under the wrong conditions, certainty can be constructed under pressure.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

“Pain is both physical and emotional one hundred percent of the time.” This week, how a better understanding of pain can open up new possibilities for treatment and healing. www.hiddenbrain.org/podcast/how-...

hiddenbrain.org

How to Combat Pain - Hidden Brain Media

This week, we look at what's really happening when we experience pain, and how a better understanding of this process can open up new possibilities for treatment and healing.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

The job loss. The car repair that cost a small fortune. The growing credit card balance. Economists Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir found that financial scarcity taxes the brain the same way hunger does. It consumes mental bandwidth and leaves less room for everything else.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

When did you last stop to actually watch a sunset? Psychologist Dacher Keltner finds that experiencing awe makes people feel physically smaller, and their problems less significant. He calls it the "small self effect." Awe was most commonly reported during simple walks outside.

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

“Our habits are not just habits of behavior. They’re also habits of perception.” This week, we revisit a conversation with psychologist and neuroscientist Norman Farb about how our perceptions of the world can lead us astray. open.spotify.com/episode/2KlD...

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Changing Our Mental Maps

Hidden Brain · Episode

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Hidden Brain @hiddenbrain.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

The hike to the summit. The meal you spent hours cooking. The club you had to earn your way into. Researchers call this the effort heuristic: when something costs time, energy, or discomfort, your brain reads that as a signal of worth. The things you’ll value most are usually the hardest to earn.

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