All In The Mind

Why do people lie? Why do relationships fall apart? Can trauma change your brain?

Every week on All in the Mind, award-winning journalist Sana Qadar explores the psychology behind the biggest questions in our lives — how we think, feel and behave.

Featuring leading experts like Esther Perel, Billy Garvey and Ethan Kross, you’ll hear personal stories and practical insights that will leave you thinking long after the podcast ends.

Whether it’s debunking pop psychology trends or translating the latest neuroscience research, more than 100,000 listeners join Sana each month to learn the best strategies for surviving life with your mental health intact.

All in the Mind is created for ABC’s Radio National by specialist journalists and reporters at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and was awarded Best Health and Wellness podcast at the 2026 Australian Audio Awards

Latest Episodes:

The vicious cycle of alcohol and anxiety Apr 24, 2022

Show notes

Anxiety and alcohol misuse are a common pairing. How do the two egg each other on and what can be done to halt the cycle?

Plus, the personality traits that shape our likelihood of harmful alcohol use.

Grief and the pandemic Apr 17, 2022

Show notes

Grief is deeply painful but it's something the majority of us …eventually … find ways to live with.

But research is starting to emerge on how the pandemic may have changed the way we grieve - making the experience more intense, more debilitating.

As places like Australia and the US move on from the harshest restrictions of the last two years… is how we grieve returning to baseline? Or is it still too early to know? On All in the Mind this week, how the COVID pandemic has changed the nature of grief.

Co-morbidity: why one mental illness can lead to more Apr 10, 2022

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About one in five Australians experience a mental illness in any given year. But what about when mental health issues occur ... together?

On All in the Mind this week, we look at a massive Scandinavian epidemiological study series which considers why having one mental illness puts you at greater risk of developing subsequent ones, and explore what that might mean for the treatment and prevention of mental health issues.

What happens when our minds wander? Apr 03, 2022

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What are the constructive things our minds do when they wander?

And when does mindwandering cross over … into not-so-constructive territory?

Why heartbreak hurts so bad Mar 27, 2022

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If you’re lucky enough to have fallen in love at some point in your life, you’ve probably also had your heart broken.

The experience can be excruciating, protracted, disorienting … but can it cause you lasting psychological – even physical – harm?

Hacking humans: social engineering and the power of influence Mar 20, 2022

Show notes

Chris Hadnagy’s job involves breaking into banks. But he’s not after money, gold or jewels. He’s searching for weaknesses – in systems, in security, and in people.

And he doesn’t use weapons or threats of violence to get past guards and into vaults. He uses a smile - and a few tricks from his toolbox of psychology and social engineering techniques.

Chris is the founder and CEO of Social Engineer LLC and lectures about social engineering around the globe.

On All in the Mind this week, the psychology of influence and what makes some people more vulnerable to being ‘hacked’ than others.[This episode originally aired on 01 August 2021]

Humour me: why we laugh and what counts as funny Mar 13, 2022

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Why do we laugh, and what makes something funny? A psychologist, a neuroscientist and satirist Mark Humphries weigh in on humour and the brain.

All In The Mind presents... What The Duck?! Mar 10, 2022

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An excerpt from a new ABC podcast called What the Duck?! Each week the ABC's resident nature nerd Ann Jones explores the most unusual elements of our natural world — the ones that make you go What the Duck?!

The pleasure of pain Mar 06, 2022

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Spicy food, scary movies, BDSM … why do humans sometimes chase painful experiences and how are they linked to pleasure?

'Utterly catastrophic' — life with frontotemporal dementia Feb 27, 2022

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Frontotemporal dementia, or FTD, is tricky to pick up at the doctor's office and impossible to cure.

And for those who live with the condition, their families and their carers, the situation can be very challenging.

On All in the Mind this week, we hear from those people and a researcher who has spent decades working on the condition.