• 349 - AI Risk - Jesse Richardson
    Sep 28 2026

    Jesse Richardson wants to improve our critical thinking about AI risk through the gamification of our rampant speculation. In this episode he explains AI safety isn't just one thing, there are a bunch of different risk profiles and each needs to be considered critically.

    Previous Episodes

    How Minds Change

    Is It Game Over

    School of Thought

    Jesse Richardson’s Website

    Your Bias Is

    Your Fallacy Is

    Melanie Mitchell on AI Intelligence

    David McRaney’s Twitter

    David McRaney’s BlueSky

    YANSS Twitter

    YANSS Facebook

    Newsletter

    Patreon


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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • 348 - The Dress - Decoder Ring
    Sep 14 2026

    We return to The Dress and the psychological lessons offered by one of the most viral moments in the history of the internet via an episode of Decoder Ring in which David McRaney shares some insights from his book, How Minds Change, with Willa Paskin, the host of Decoder Ring.

    Decoder Ring

    Decoder Ring's The Dress Page

    Willa Paskin's Twitter

    CBC Interview with Willa Paskin

    Is It Game Over?

    How Minds Change

    David McRaney’s Twitter

    YANSS Twitter

    Show Notes

    Newsletter

    Patreon


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    44 mins
  • 347 - Under Alien Skies - Phil Plait
    Aug 31 2026

    Astronomer Phil Plait joins us to discuss his new book, Under Alien Skies, in which he describes what it would be like (through human eyes and real physical experiences) to actually travel to Saturn, Mars, asteroids, and distant stars. Also, we discuss the recent surge in UFO sighting as well as his famous talk at The Amazing Meeting.

    Previous Episodes

    How Minds Change

    Under Alien Skies

    Phil Plait's Newsletter

    Phil Plait's Substack

    David McRaney’s Twitter

    David McRaney’s BlueSky

    YANSS Twitter

    YANSS Facebook

    Newsletter

    Patreon


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • 346 - No Nocebo Effect - Helen Pilcher
    Aug 17 2026

    The suffering is real, but the source may not be what you assume. That's the essence of the nocebo effect, the placebo effect's evil twin. As neuroscientist Dr. Helen Pilcher explains, illness is not simply a matter of biology. Our thoughts, conscious or otherwise, can make lead to symptoms in unexpected ways.

    Previous Episodes

    How Minds Change

    Dr. Helen Pilcher

    This Book May Cause Side Effects

    David McRaney’s Twitter

    David McRaney’s BlueSky

    YANSS Twitter

    YANSS Facebook

    Newsletter

    Patreon


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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    1 hr
  • 345 - A Pox on Fools - Thomas Levenson
    Aug 3 2026

    MIT professor Thomas Levenson, the author of the book A Pox on Fools, takes us through the same repeating patterns throughout history which have led to antivaxxers and vaccine hesitancy since the very first vaccines.

    Previous Episodes

    How Minds Change

    Thomas Levenson

    A Pox on Fools

    A History of Vaccines

    David McRaney’s Twitter

    David McRaney's BlueSky

    YANSS Twitter

    YANSS Facebook

    Newsletter

    Patreon


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • 344 - Intellectual Humility - Tenelle Porter
    Aug 3 2026

    Can intellectual humility be measured? What influences it and affects it, limits it and enhances it? What even is it, scientifically speaking? We explore all of this and then play an episode of How to Be A Better Human featuring psychologist Tenelle Porter telling comedian Chris Duffy how she is researching how to conduct better research into intellectual humility.

    Previous Episodes

    Transcript at TED

    How to Be A Better Human

    The Gateway Drugs to Intellectual Humility

    Tenelle Porter's Research

    Tenelle Porter's Website

    The Illusion of Explanatory Depth

    Kitted Shop

    The Story of Kitted

    How Minds Change

    David McRaney’s BlueSky

    David McRaney’s Twitter

    YANSS Twitter

    Show Notes

    Newsletter

    Patreon


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • 343 - Misguided - Matthew Facciani
    Jul 6 2026

    What is misinformation? How does it differ from disinformation or just plain ‘ole propaganda? How do we protect ourselves from people with nefarious intentions using all of these things to affect our thoughts, feelings, and behavior? That’s what we discuss in this episode with Matthew Facciani, social scientist and author of Misguided: Where Misinformation Starts, How it Spreads, and What We Can Do About It.

    Matthew Facciani's Website

    The Misguided Podcast

    Misguided

    Kitted Shop

    The Story of Kitted

    How Minds Change

    David McRaney's BlueSky

    David McRaney’s Twitter

    YANSS Twitter

    Show Notes

    Newsletter

    Patreon


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • 342 - The Conspiracy Theorist Who Changed His Mind
    Jun 22 2026

    Tim Harford of the podcast Cautionary Tales sits down with David McRaney to hear a story from David's book, How Minds Change, about how (and why) a prominent conspiracy theorist realized he was wrong.

    Charlie Veitch was certain that 9/11 was an inside job. The attack on the World Trade Center wasn’t the work of Al-Qaeda, but an elaborate conspiracy. He became a darling of so-called “9/11 truthers” until he actually visited Ground Zero to meet architects, engineers and the relatives of the dead.

    The trip changed his mind. His fellow “truthers” did not take Charlie’s conversion well.

    Kitted

    Previous Episodes

    How Minds Change

    Cautionary Tales

    Tim Harford

    David McRaney’s Twitter

    David McRaney’s BlueSky

    YANSS Twitter

    YANSS Facebook

    Newsletter

    Patreon


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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    47 mins