Épisodes

  • Episode 126: Using AI to Improve Science (with Paul Litvak)

    Episode 126: Using AI to Improve Science (with Paul Litvak)
    Jan 10 2026
    Paul Litvak joins the show to talk about how AI tools can help us measure research quality and assess evidence in the scientific literature. His first project is a way to extract test statistics and p-values from papers automatically, with no manual coding needed. We also talk about Paul's non-profit dedicated to improving the reliability of scientific research, the legendary judgment and decision making scholar Robin Dawes (whose entirely algorithmic approach to graduate student selection once went terribly awry), and Paul's exit from academia. Plus, Yoel reveals a shameful secret about his use of AI. Special Guest: Paul Litvak.
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    1 h et 15 min
  • Episode 125: Citation Diversity Statements? (with Mickey Inzlicht)

    Episode 125: Citation Diversity Statements? (with Mickey Inzlicht)
    Nov 4 2025
    Mickey is back and fired up about citation diversity statements. We talk about a recent editorial from Nature Reviews Psychology encouraging authors to include a "citation diversity statement" in their articles to "to draw attention to citation imbalances and confirm that they made efforts to cite publications from a diverse group of researchers." We discuss what we don't like about the editorial, as well as the strongest case for it. We also talk about SpringerNature's profit margins, posting on LinkedIn, and Mickey's extremely problematic beer views.
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    1 h et 13 min
  • Episode 124: Civic Honesty Around the Globe (with David Tannenbaum)

    Episode 124: Civic Honesty Around the Globe (with David Tannenbaum)
    Oct 9 2025
    David Tannenbaum (Associate Professor of Management at the University of Utah) joins the show to talk about one of Yoel's favorite papers: a massive field study of honesty in 40 countries that had some unexpected results. We talk about the promises and pitfalls of field studies, what happens when your results are not at all as expected, and how to deal with going viral (in a bad way). Also, we talk about our recent hiking trip and David actually drinks two beers. Special Guest: David Tannenbaum.
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    1 h et 5 min
  • Episode 123: RE-RELEASE: What are Teachers Good For? (with Paul Bloom)

    Episode 123: RE-RELEASE: What are Teachers Good For? (with Paul Bloom)
    Sep 3 2025
    This is a re-release of Episode 95, which was recorded in September 2023. Paul Bloom joins Yoel and Alexa to talk about the glamour and humiliation of teaching psychology at the college level. They discuss how they've changed their approaches to teaching over the years, and whether they've become more skilled or more out of touch (or both). Alexa shares her experiences teaching about morality and evolution to a predominantly Christian student body, Yoel laments the fact that his students aren't more disagreeable, and Paul claims that critical thinking is overrated. In an era of increasing remote instruction, they claim that online courses can't do what they do. But, only Yik Yak knows for sure. Special Guest: Paul Bloom.
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    1 h et 8 min
  • Episode 122: When to Quit (with Paul Bloom)

    Episode 122: When to Quit (with Paul Bloom)
    Aug 7 2025
    Paul Bloom takes over the show to interview Yoel about loss of faith: when to give up on a theory, and which of his own findings he no longer believes. But it's not all doom and gloom! They also talk about what social psychology findings they think are robust, and what new research they are excited about. But before all that, they discuss whether Sydney Sweeney's new American Eagle ad campaign is pro-eugenics. Special Guest: Paul Bloom.
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    1 h et 11 min
  • Episode 121: A New Paradigm for Psychology?

    Episode 121: A New Paradigm for Psychology?
    Jul 7 2025
    Yoel is joined by a mysterious pseudonymous duo called Slime Mold Time Mold, who are proposing a new paradigm for psychology based on principles from cybernetics. This means thinking of the behavior as the result of "governors" (think drives) that are trying to reduce the distance between a set point and the state of the world by motivating you to do stuff. So when you are thirsty, you are highly motivated to drink, and when you need to pee, you are highly motivated to find a toilet. Those are simple examples, but can we use the same principles to explain more complex phenomena like emotion, motivation, personality, mental illness, and more? That is what my guests on this episode are proposing. Special Guest: Slime Mold Time Mold.
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    1 h et 24 min
  • Episode 120: Transparent Replications (with Spencer Greenberg)

    Episode 120: Transparent Replications (with Spencer Greenberg)
    Jun 6 2025
    Returning guest Spencer Greenberg joins the show to talk replications, what psychologist think of terror management theory (and other controversial topics), and a machine-learning tool he developed to predict correlations between psychological traits and survey questions. In this episode, we talk about what Spencer has learned by replicating studies from recent publications in psychology, the decline of p-hacking, and what other threats to validity psychologists should be worried about. Special Guest: Spencer Greenberg.
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    1 h et 14 min
  • Episode 119: The Future of DEI in Higher Ed (with Amori Mikami)

    Episode 119: The Future of DEI in Higher Ed (with Amori Mikami)
    May 7 2025
    It's been a tumultuous time for DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts in higher education. Whether due to political pressure, internal arguments, or both, many prominent institutions are revamping their DEI offices (or even eliminating them altogether) and rethinking DEI policies that once seemed unquestionable. Amori Mikami from the University of British Columbia re-joins the show to talk about the changes and what she thinks universities ought to be doing (as well as what she thinks we can do better). Along the way, Yoel and Amori talk about the use of race and gender in hiring, diversity statements, October 7 and the Gaza war, and institutional neutrality (in short, this episode touches every third rail imaginable). There's some debate and some agreement, but most importantly we both finish our beers. Special Guest: Amori Mikami.
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    1 h et 47 min