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Human Potential Lab — Education
Human Potential Lab

For eleven years and 478 episodes, Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman hosted The Psychology Podcast, one of the most listened-to psychology shows in the world, with more than 30 million downloads. Human Potential Lab is what that show has become.

The questions have moved. What is a mind? What makes something conscious? What happens to being human when the things we build start to look like minds themselves? Too much of the work is happening out of public view. In this new show, Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman sits down with the scientists, philosophers and technologists working at the frontier — the people whose work is actively deciding what we could become as a species.

Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist and the founder of the Center for Human Potential. He holds a Ph.D. from Yale and an M.Phil. from Cambridge, has taught at Columbia, NYU and the University of Pennsylvania, and is the author or editor of twelve books, including Transcend, Ungifted, Wired to Create and Rise Above. New episodes every other week from October 28, 2026.

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Latest Episodes:

Amy Chan || Breakup Bootcamp Jun 28, 2021

Show notes

Today it’s great to chat with Amy Chan on the podcast. Amy is the Founder of Renew Breakup Bootcamp, a retreat that takes a scientific and spiritual approach to healing the heart. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Heart Hackers Club - an online magazine that focuses on the psychology behind love, lust and desire. The Observer calls her "A relationship expert whose work is like that of a scientific Carrie Bradshaw" and her company has been featured across national media including Good Morning America, Vogue, Glamour, Nightline and the front page of The New York Times. Her book, Breakup Bootcamp - The Science of Rewiring Your Heart, was published by Harper Collins on December 1, 2020.

Topics

· How heartbreak can be a bridge to self-actualization

· Understanding our relationship patterns

· Love vs. familiarity

· Amy’s Breakup Bootcamp

· The stages of a breakup

· Amy explains “love addiction”

· The habit of over-giving

· Feeling vs. feeding your emotions

· How to alleviate excessive rumination

· How we should define love

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Loch Kelly || Living an Awakened Life Jun 24, 2021

Show notes

Today it’s great to chat with Loch Kelly on the podcast. Loch is an author, meditation teacher, psychotherapist, and founder of the non-profit, Open-Hearted Awareness Institute. Loch teaches in a non-sectarian human being lineage using an adult education style based in the earliest non-dual wisdom traditions, modern science and psychotherapy. Loch’s work is to help people access awakening as the next natural stage of human development. He offers in-person retreats, workshops, and online video and audio courses and he has served on the New York Insight Teachers Council.

Topics

· Loch’s spiritual journey

· Loch discusses “awake awareness”

· Absorbed vs. panoramic flow

· Deliberate vs. effortless mindfulness

· The neuroscience of meditation

· How to tap into “pure being”

· Mindfulness for individuals with ADD/ADHD

· Loch discusses nondual theory

· How Loch defines “identity”

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Annaka Harris || On the Mysteries of Consciousness Jun 21, 2021

Show notes

Today it’s great to have Annaka Harris on the podcast. Annaka is an author whose work touches on neuroscience, meditation, philosophy of mind, and consciousness. She is author of two books: Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind and the children’s book I Wonder. Annaka is also a volunteer for InnerKids, teaching mindfulness meditation to children in schools.

Topics

· The hard problem of consciousness

· Why Annaka wrote Conscious

· Annaka discusses "panpsychism"

· How to think more creatively about consciousness

· The function of consciousness

· The experience of agnosia

· What consciousness has to do with free will

· Consciousness from an evolutionary perspective

· Annaka’s thoughts on the free will debate

· Annaka’s goals in writing I Wonder

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Tal Ben-Shahar || The Science of Happiness Jun 17, 2021

Show notes

Today it’s great to have Tal Ben Shahar on the podcast. Tal is a Best-Selling Author & Leadership Expert. He taught two of the largest classes in Harvard University’s history. Today, he consults and lectures around the world to executives in multinational corporations, the general public, and at-risk populations. The topics he lectures on include leadership, happiness, education, innovation, ethics, self-esteem, resilience, goal setting, and mindfulness. His books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. Tal is the founder of Happiness Studies Academy, an online program that provides the knowledge and the tools to generate happiness for individuals and school communities.

Topics

· Tal’s former career as a squash player

· How Tal ended up teaching happiness at Harvard

· Tal’s definition of happiness

· How deep learning affects our relationships

· How happiness impacts creativity

· Tal discusses various types of well-being

· How different cultures define happiness

· Is it possible to “achieve” happiness?

· How Tal's approach to happiness can lift up disadvantaged populations

· Why depression levels are skyrocketing

· The impact of social media on happiness

· Empathy vs. compassion

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John McWhorter || Nasty Words Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

John McWhorter teaches linguistics, philosophy, and music history at Columbia University, and writes for various publications on language issues and race issues such as Time, the Wall Street Journal, the Daily Beast, CNN, and the Atlantic. He told his mother he wanted to be a "book writer" when he was five, and is happy that it worked out.

Topics

· Why John wrote a book on profanity

· Why we call it “swearing”

· Why people love the f-word

· How profanity “lives in the right brain”

· Why slurs sometimes become terms of affection

· Why every culture has slurs

· Why John thinks “the elect” is doing harm to society

· How to balance contrasting perspectives on racism

· John and Scott discuss the victim mentality

· Discerning between fact and fiction in racial justice

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Judson Brewer || Unwinding Anxiety Jun 10, 2021

Show notes

Today it’s great to have Jud Brewer on the podcast. Dr. Brewer is a New York Times best-selling author, addiction psychiatrist and neuroscientist. He is an associate professor and the Director of Research and Innovation at the Center for Mindfulness at Brown University and the Executive Medical Director of Behavioral Health at Sharecare Inc. He has developed clinically proven app-based mindfulness trainings including those to help people with quitting smoking, emotional eating and anxiety. He is the author of The Craving Mind: from cigarettes to smartphones to love, why we get hooked and how we can break bad habits (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017) and Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind (Avery/Penguin Random House, 2021).

Topics

· Why Jud practices mindfulness

· How to break unhealthy habits and addictions

· What “everyday addictions” are

· Can addictions be reversed?

· Why we prefer cake to broccoli

· The shortcomings of willpower

· Jud discusses discipline and changing behaviors

· The role of anxiety in habit formation

· The science of curiosity

· Understanding our cravings

· What anxiety sobriety is

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/support

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Arthur Brooks || Love Your Enemies Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

Today it’s great to chat with Arthur Brooks on the podcast. Arthur is the William Henry Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. Before joining the Harvard faculty in July of 2019, he served for ten years as president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), one of the world’s leading think tanks.

Topics

· Arthur’s relationship to music

· Arthur’s experience with silent meditation retreats

· Arthur’s unique spin on the science of happiness

· The importance of suffering

· Arthur’s conversation with the Dalai Lama

· How to treat people like assets instead of liabilities

· Being needed vs. objectifying oneself

· How to cultivate dignity

· The importance of having “useless” friends

· Why fear is the opposite of love

· The difference between empathy and compassion

· How religion and spirituality impact human happiness

· How creativity contributes to happiness

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/support

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Noreena Hertz || How to Restore Human Connection Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

Today it’s great to chat with Noreena Hertz on the podcast. Noreena Hertz is a renowned thought leader, academic, and broadcaster, named by The Observer “one of the world’s leading thinkers” and by Vogue “one of the world’s most inspiring women.” Her previous bestsellers — The Silent Takeover, The Debt Threat, and Eyes Wide Open — have been published in more than twenty countries, and her opinion pieces have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Financial Times. She has hosted her own show on SiriusXM and spoken at TED, the World Economic Forum in Davos, and Google Zeitgeist.

Topics

· The impact of technology on our social lives

· How to boost the health of our society

· The importance of local communities

· “The loneliness economy”

· The healthcare burden of loneliness

· Combating loneliness in the workplace

· How to give and receive care

· “Blue zones"

· How creating community helps our wellbeing

· How to create communities for the elderly

· Innovative methods to combat loneliness

· How artificial intelligence can address loneliness

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/support

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Christian Jarrett || The Science of Personality Change May 27, 2021

Show notes

Today it’s great to chat with Christian Jarrett on the podcast. A cognitive neuroscientist by training, Christian is Deputy Editor of Psyche, a global digital magazine that illuminates the human condition. Christian has written about psychology and neuroscience for publications across the world, including BBC Future, WIRED, New York magazine, New Scientist, GQ Italia and The Guardian. He was the founding editor and creator of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, presenter of their PsychCrunch podcast, and an award-winning journalist on The Psychologist magazine. His books include The Rough Guide to Psychology and Great Myths of The Brain. His latest book is Be Who You Want: Unlocking The Science of Personality Change.

Topics

[1:48] How Christian burst out of his shell

[4:32] The role of biology in temperament

[6:52] How working on your physical health can influence your personality

[8:11] How changing job roles can shape our personality

[10:07] How our peers shape our personalities

[12:17] The effect of stressors on a developing child’s personality

[17:16] The impact of a child’s environment on their personality

[20:04] The happy events in life that don’t positively affect personality

[23:46] The lemon juice personality test

[27:56] Christian’s thoughts on "cancel culture"

[31:03] Christian discusses personality disorders

[35:37] Why US presidents are more likely to display psychopathic traits

[39:30] Challenge mindset vs. threat mindset

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Tim Grover || The Victory Mentality May 22, 2021

Show notes

Today it’s great to have Tim Grover on the podcast. Tim is the CEO of Attack Athletics Inc. which he founded in 1989 and author of the international bestseller Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable. World renowned for his work with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and thousands of athletes and business professionals. He appears around the world as a keynote speaker and consultant to business leaders, athletes, and lead achievers in every field. His latest book is called Winning: The Unforgivable Race to Greatness.

Topics

[00:01:58] Tim’s childhood and upbringing

[00:09:08] Choosing to become a professional trainer

[00:11:50] From "fat kid" to competitive basketball player

[00:16:26] "The most successful are the most coachable"

[00:19:30] Victim Mentality vs. Victory Mentality

[00:22:51] The early days of Tim’s career

[00:25:46] Meeting and working with Michael Jordan

[00:30:55] Michael Jordan’s feedback about Tim

[00:33:54] Being a part of the Chicago Bulls Dynasty

[00:41:50] Meeting Kobe Bryant

[00:45:42] The phone call just before Kobe’s passing

[00:50:39] "The unforgiveable race to winning"

[00:54:48] The difference between competing and winning

[00:56:40] The importance of grit for winning

[01:01:36] How uplifting others is the ultimate win

[01:05:11] Creating personal definitions of winning

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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