
You Are Not So Smart
You Are Not So Smart
Show overview
You Are Not So Smart has been publishing since 2012, and across the 14 years since has built a catalogue of 343 episodes. That works out to roughly 350 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a fortnightly cadence.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 47 min and 1h 11m — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language Science show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 6 days ago, with 17 episodes already out so far this year.
From the publisher
You Are Not So Smart is a show about psychology that celebrates science and self delusion. In each episode, we explore what we've learned so far about reasoning, biases, judgments, and decision-making.
Latest Episodes
View all 343 episodes346 - No Nocebo Effect - Helen Pilcher
345 - A Pox on Fools - Thomas Levenson
344 - Intellectual Humility - Tenelle Porter
343 - Misguided - Matthew Facciani
342 - The Conspiracy Theorist Who Changed His Mind
341 - Positive Rants - Heather Barnes
340 - Thinking Sideways - Jennifer Shahade
339 - Enlightened Disagreement
338 - May Contain Lies - Alex Edmans (rebroadcast)
337 - Cognitive Surrender - Gideon Nave and Steven D. Shaw

336 - The 3.5 Percent Rule - Erica Chenoweth (rebroadcast)
If you want to overthrow a dictator, resist an authoritarian regime, or create a movement that can change the national status quo, you don't need half the country, you only need 3.5 percent of the population to join – but there are some caveats, and Erica Chenoweth whose research led to the discovery of the 3.5 Percent Rule, explains them to us in this episode. Previous Episodes Erica Chenoweth's Website Why Civil Resistance Works (the paper) Why Civil Resistance Works (the book) The TED Talk The Q&A List of Protests by Size How Minds Change 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.

335 - Align Your Mind - Britt Frank (rebroadcast)
Therapist, teacher, speaker, and trauma specialist Britt Frank tells us all about her new book, Align Your Mind, an all-access pass to understanding, befriending, and leading the multiple voices within yourself. Grounded in the latest research on Parts Work and Internal Family Systems, and offering proven techniques from Frank’s clinical practice and personal challenges, this engaging guide is a user manual to your own mind—and presents a road map for finding peace, confidence, and a deeper understanding of who you truly are. Patreon Previous Episodes Britt Frank’s Practice Align Your Mind Website Britt Frank’s Instagram How Minds Change Newsletter David McRaney’s Twitter David McRaney's Bluesky YANSS Twitter Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

334 - Magical Thinking - Matt Tompkins (rebroadcast)
In this episode, the story of Clever Hans, the horse who changed psychology for the better. We also sit down with psychologist and magician Matt Tompkins. Matt is the author of The Spectacle of Illusion, a book about the long history of the manipulation of our own magical thinking and how studying deception can help us better understand perception, memory, belief, and more. How Minds Change David McRaney’s BlueSky David McRaney’s Twitter YANSS Twitter Matt Tompkins The Spectacle of Illusion Prisoners of Silence Clever Hans Wilhelm von Osten Carl Sagan Quote Science of Magic Association Society for Psychical Research Skeptical Inquirer Magazine Houdini's Debunking Newsletter Patreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

YANSS 333 - Selective Perception - Jay Van Bavel
How can two people watch the same video yet see two different things? How can two people witness the same event but arrive at two different truths about what they witnessed? How can the same evidence lead people to drastically different realities? In this episode, Dr. Jay Van Bavel at NYU explains.Kitted Executive AcademyThe Power of Us WebsiteThey Saw A GameJay Van Bavel’s TwitterJay Van Bavel’s WebsiteHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterDavid McRaney’s BlueSkyYANSS TwitterNewsletterPatreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

332 - Concordance Over Truth Bias (rebroadcast)
In this episode, we sit down with three disinformation researchers whose new paper found something surprising about both our resistance and our susceptibility to both true news we wish was fake and fake news we wish was true.Our guests are three of the scientists exploring a newly named cognitive distortion, one that every human being is prone to exhibiting, one that is so common and so easily provoked that nefarious actors depend on it when distributing disinformation and propaganda.Samuel Woolley, Katie Joseff, and Michael Schwalbe will share their methods, findings, and takeaways. They will also explain the troublesome nature of something they are calling concordance over truth bias – a distortion that most often appears in those who have the most (undeserved) confidence in their own (not-so-objective) objectivity. - How Minds Change- Show Notes- Newsletter- David McRaney's BlueSky- David McRaney’s Twitter- YANSS Twitter- Why Do We Share Our Feelings With Others?- Concordance Over Truth Bias- Samuel Wooley- Katie Joseff- Michael Schwalbe- Geoffrey Cohen Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

331 - Wicked Problems - Martin Carcasson
Dr. Martin Carcasson tells us how he, as the Director of the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State, trains people how to facilitate deliberation and overcome wicked problems so that they can "spark processes that are particularly designed to avoid triggering the worst in human nature and tap into the best."Kitted Executive AcademyThe Center for Public DeliberationThe Listen First CoalitionBetter Together AmericaMartin CarcassonThe Toulmin ModelWicked ProblemsHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterDavid McRaney’s BlueSkyYANSS TwitterNewsletterShow NotesPatreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

330 - A More Beautiful Question - Warren Berger (rebroadcast)
Warren Berger has made a career out of classifying, categorizing, and making sense of the many varieties of questions that we ask and in this episode he explains how we can ask more beautiful questions that can lead to all manner of better outcomes.Warren Berger's WebsiteWarren Berger's TwitterA More Beautiful QuestionCarl Sagan on Asking QuestionsNeil deGrasse Tyson Explains Why The Sky Is BlueThe Real Reason the Sky is BlueHow Does Rayleigh Scattering ACTUALLY Work? (The Blue Sky)KittedHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletterPatreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

329 - Point Taken - Steven Franconeri
Dr. Steven Franconeri explains the powerful insights and opportunities offered by a game he and his team created for having better disagreements about just about anything, but especially about the sort of topics that often lead to arguments, fights, and terrible holiday dinners.Kitted Executive AcademyPoint TakenThe Visual Thinking LabSteven FranconeriHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterDavid McRaney’s BlueSkyYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletterPatreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

328 - Shape - Jordan Ellenberg (rebroadcast)
We sit down with Jordan Ellenberg, a world-class geometer, who takes us on a far-ranging exploration of the power of geometry, which turns out to help us think better about practically everythingHis writing has appeared in Slate, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe, and he is the New York Times bestselling author of How Not to Be Wrong – but in this episode we will discuss his new book, Shape: The hidden geometry of information, biology, strategy, democracy and everything else.Kitted Executive AcademyJordan Ellenberg’s WebsiteJordan Ellenberg’s Academic WebsiteJordan Ellenberg’s TwitterShapeHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterDavid McRaney’s BlueSkyYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletterPatreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

327 - The Trolley Solution - Joshua Greene
Philosopher, neuroscientist, and psychologist, Joshua Greene tells us how the brain generates morality and how his research may have solved the infamous trolley problem, and in so doing created a way to encourage people to contribute to charities that do the most good, and, in addition, play quiz games that can reduce polarization and possibly save democracy.Kitted Executive AcademyPods Fight PovertyGive DirectlyGiving MultiplierJoshua Greene's WebsiteMoral TribesThe Trolley Problem in Real LifeA Buddhist Monk Faces The Trolley ProblemAlief vs BeliefTangoTango Quiz Game ResearchCharitable Giving ResearchHow Minds ChangeDavid McRaney’s TwitterDavid McRaney’s BlueSkyYANSS TwitterShow NotesNewsletterPatreon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.