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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:

Julia Shaw || Humanizing Evil Dec 05, 2019

Show notes

“I firmly believe there is no person, no group, no behavior, no thing that is objectively evil. Perhaps evil only really exists in our fears.” -- Julia Shaw

Today it’s great to have Dr. Julia Shaw on the podcast. Dr. Shaw is a psychological scientist at UCL. She is best known for her work in the areas of memory and criminal psychology. In 2017 Dr. Shaw co-founded the memory science and artificial intelligence start-up Spot. Spot helps employees report workplace harassment and discrimination, and empowers organizations to build a more inclusive and respectful work environment. In 2016 she published her bestselling debut book "The Memory Illusion", which has appeared in 20 languages and in 2019 she published her second international bestseller "Evil: The Science Behind Humanity's Dark Side".

Note: This episode goes down a lot of taboo alleys. The dark side of human nature is a fascinating topic, but there may be some issues that you'd rather not hear about. Please review the list of topics before listening to this episode.

In this episode we discuss:

How Julia got into criminal psychology
How we all do “reality crafting”
The depths of human hypocrisy
Why we don’t always act in accord with our own morality
Julia Shaw’s criticism of the label “evil”
The neuroscience of “evil” and Hitler’s brain
Your brain on porn
How kink is stigmatized in our society
Can you be a feminist and engage in BDSM?
The “deviant sexual interests” scale
The prevalence of rape fantasies
Pedophiles vs. ephebophiles
Why “curiosity shaming” limits discussion and understanding
The science of beastiality and what makes one animal sexier than another animal
Why we shame vegans
Rape culture and how systems fail and lead to harm
What we can do to reduce sexual violence in society
The bright side of your dark side
How we can use the dark side to be a hero (the heroic imagination)

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Rex Jung || The Neuroscience (and Neuroplasticity) of Intelligence, Creativity, and Genius Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

Today it’s great to have Dr. Rex Jung on the podcast. Dr. Jung is an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of New Mexico, and a clinical neuropsychologist in private practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A graduate of the University of New Mexico, he has practiced neuropsychology in Albuquerque since 2002. His clinical work now centers around intraoperative testing of patients undergoing awake craniotomy to remove tumors within eloquent brain tissue – work with particular relevance to the study of individual differences. He has contributed to over 100 research articles across a wide range of disciplines, involving both clinical and normal populations, designed to assess brain-behavior relationships. He is the Editor of the Cambridge Handbook of the Neuroscience of Creativity. His work has been featured on CNN, BBC, NOVA, The New York Times, The Atlantic, and National Geographic.

In this episode we discuss:

Rex’s earlier work on the neuroscience of intelligence
The distributed brain model of intelligence
Rex’s investigation of Scott’s brain
How the brain can compensate for disability
How our intelligence can change over time
Limitations of IQ tests for measuring intellectual potential
The limits of neuroplasticity
The genetics of intelligence
The creative brain
How the neuroscience of creativity is sometimes the inverse of the neuroscience of intelligence
The “default network” of mental simulation
The human capacity to “simulate or try out ideas before you buy them”
The beautiful architecture of the brain
The neuroscience of genius
Rex’s work on awake craniometries (neurological testing while a patient is awake and a tumor is being removed)

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Steven Hayes || Liberate Your Mind Nov 07, 2019

Show notes

Today it’s great to have Dr. Steven Hayes on the podcast. Dr. Hayes is a professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. The author of forty-three books and more than six hundred scientific articles, he has served as president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, and is one of the most cited psychologists in the world. Dr. Hayes initiated the development of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and of Relational Frame Theory (RFT), the approach to cognition on which ACT is based. His research has been cited widely by major media, including: Time magazine, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Men's Health, Self, The Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Salon.com.

In this episode we discuss:

Steven Haye’s journey to studying the science of liberation
The lessons you can learn from your own pain and suffering
How you can apply psychology to human prosperity
Some limitations of the CBT approach (“CBT gone bad”)
How we all have a “dictator within”
Scott and Steven roleplay an ACT session
How to apply ACT principles to dieting
How Steven defines values
The definition and importance of “psychological flexibility”
How to get out of the “anxiety trap”
How to pivot to what you really want
How consciousness connects us to the infinite
The 6 things that get in the way of pivoting
The social/environmental side of ACT
“What does it gain us to give up on people?”
ACT and social transformation
What is love?

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

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[Rerun] Dr. Elaine Aron on The Highly Sensitive Person Oct 31, 2019

Show notes

Dr. Elaine Aron is one of the world’s foremost experts on the highly sensitive person. She ought to be – she was its first researcher! In this episode, we cover this fascinating concept as it relates to a broad swath of psychological concepts like self-esteem, gender, love, leadership, personality, genetics and more. Roughly 20% of the population can be classified as highly sensitive, so all of us likely know someone (or are someone) with this trait. Also, Scott performs a statistical analysis live on air – it’s a first and a lot of fun!

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[Rerun] Helen Fisher on Why We Love, Lust, and Live with Helen Fisher Oct 24, 2019

Show notes

A leader in the psychology of human mating, and an expert on both the cultural and biological foundations of love, Helen Fisher shares science-backed information on attraction, mate selection, infidelity, the neuroscience of love and the effects of culture on our biology. There’s a wealth of interesting facts here and some surprising insight into humanity’s quest for romance. We LOVED this episode!

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[Rerun] "Spectacular Ability in a Sea of Disability”: The Psychology of Savantism with Darold Treffert Oct 17, 2019

Show notes

A leading expert in the psychology of savantism for over 40 years and the scientific advisor for the film Rain Man, Darold Treffert is a wellspring of knowledge on this fascinating yet often misunderstood condition. In this episode we cover the brain anatomy of savantism, its causes and some of the incredible abilities of famous savants like Kim Peak, who memorized thousands of books verbatim (down to the page number)! We feel fortunate to have had this chance to learn so much about such an interesting topic from one of the most well respected researchers in the field. Please enjoy and tell us what you think!

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[Rerun] Todd Kashdan on Dancing with the Dark Side of Your Personality Oct 10, 2019

Show notes

Psychologist Dr. Todd Kashdan shares some unconventional research on how we can harness “negative” psychological characteristics to live whole, successful and fulfilling lives. Topics include the dark triad, emotional experimentation, mindfulness, education, evolution and what it means to live well.

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

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[Rerun] Angela Duckworth on Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Oct 03, 2019

Show notes

Angela Duckworth researches self-control and grit, which is defined as passion and perseverance for long term goals. Her research has demonstrated that there are factors that can be more predictive of success than IQ. In this episode we cover some of her findings on grit, including academic and popular misconceptions of this work. We also discuss research on standardized testing, self-control and more.

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

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[Rerun] Jordan Peterson on Wonder, Creativity, and the Personality of Political Correctness Sep 26, 2019

Show notes

Today we have Dr. Jordan Peterson on the podcast. Dr. Peterson has taught mythology to lawyers, doctors and business people, consulted for the UN Secretary General, helped his clinical clients manage depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and schizophrenia, served as an adviser to senior partners of major Canadian law firms, and lectured extensively in North America and Europe. With his students and colleagues at Harvard and the University of Toronto, Dr. Peterson has published over a hundred scientific papers. Dr. Peterson is also author of two books: Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief and 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, which is a #1 bestseller.

In this wide-ranging conversation we discuss the following topics:

– Why “learned irrelevance” is incredibly important

– Why creativity requires keeping a childlike wonder

– How hallucinogens clear the “doors of perception”

– The “shared vulnerability” model of the creativity-mental illness connection

– The neuroscience of openness to experience

– The personality of personal correctness

– The practical implications of gender differences

– The function of the state in helping to make sure there is equality of individual expression

– How agreeableness and conscientiousness orient us differently in the social world

– The difference between pathological altruism and genuine compassion

– The link between pathological altruism and vulnerable narcissism

– The difference between responsibility and culpability

– How to help people take responsibility and make their lives better

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

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[Rerun] Tim Ferriss on Accelerated Learning, Peak Performance and Living the Good Life Sep 19, 2019

Show notes

Three time bestselling author and human guinea pig Tim Ferriss discusses how to become top 5% in the world with a new skill in just 6-12 months. Scott and Tim debunk the 10,000 hour rule, discuss general principles for accelerated skill acquisition, consider what it means to live the good life and take a sneak peak at Tim’s new show The Tim Ferris Experiment.

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

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