You Are Not So Smart

David McRaney’s BlueSky

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351 - Megachurches - Hahrie Han Oct 26, 2026

Show notes

What have scientists learned about the social infrastructure of megachurches that not only explains their growth but also their resilience, and how can we apply what we've learned to institutions that are not megachurches? Political scientist Hahrie Han joins us to explain why belonging is more important than belief when it comes to the push-pull of top-down and bottom-up within organizations that depend on fractal superstructures of cellular relationships in order to survive internal conflict.

Deborah Prentice’s Website

YANSS Twitter

Show Notes

Newsletter

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350 - Pluralistic Ignorance Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

There are several ways to define pluralistic ignorance, and that’s because it’s kind of a brain twister when you try to put it into words. Strange and harmful behavior can follow from the fact that, on certain issues, most people believe that most people believe what, in truth, few people believe. Or put another way, pluralistic ignorance is the erroneous belief that the majority is acting in a way that matches its internal philosophies, and that you are one of a small number of people who feel differently, when in reality the majority agrees with you on the inside but is afraid to admit it outright or imply such through its behavior. Everyone in a group, at the same time, gets stuck following a norm that no one wants to follow, because everyone is carrying a shared, false belief about everyone else’s unshared true beliefs.

Robb Willer’s Website

Robb Willer’s Twitter

YANSS Twitter

Show Notes

Newsletter

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349 - AI Risk - Jesse Richardson Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

Jesse Richardson wants to improve our critical thinking about AI risk through the gamification of our rampant speculation. In this episode he explains AI safety isn't just one thing, there are a bunch of different risk profiles and each needs to be considered critically.

Previous Episodes

Jesse Richardson’s Website

Is It Game Over

School of Thought

Your Bias Is

Your Fallacy Is

Melanie Mitchell on AI Intelligence

David McRaney’s BlueSky

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348 - The Dress - Decoder Ring Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

We return to The Dress and the psychological lessons offered by one of the most viral moments in the history of the internet via an episode of Decoder Ring in which David McRaney shares some insights from his book, How Minds Change, with Willa Paskin, the host of Decoder Ring.

Decoder Ring

Decoder Ring's The Dress Page

Willa Paskin's Twitter

CBC Interview with Willa Paskin

Is It Game Over?

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347 - Under Alien Skies - Phil Plait Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

Astronomer Phil Plait joins us to discuss his new book, Under Alien Skies, in which he describes what it would be like (through human eyes and real physical experiences) to actually travel to Saturn, Mars, asteroids, and distant stars. Also, we discuss the recent surge in UFO sighting as well as his famous talk at The Amazing Meeting.

Previous Episodes

How Minds Change

Under Alien Skies

Phil Plait's Newsletter

Phil Plait's Substack

This Book May Cause Side Effects

David McRaney’s BlueSky

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346 - No Nocebo Effect - Helen Pilcher Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

The suffering is real, but the source may not be what you assume. That's the essence of the nocebo effect, the placebo effect's evil twin. As neuroscientist Dr. Helen Pilcher explains, illness is not simply a matter of biology. Our thoughts, conscious or otherwise, can make lead to symptoms in unexpected ways.

Previous Episodes

How Minds Change

Dr. Helen Pilcher

David McRaney’s BlueSky

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345 - A Pox on Fools - Thomas Levenson Aug 03, 2026

Show notes

MIT professor Thomas Levenson, the author of the book A Pox on Fools, takes us through the same repeating patterns throughout history which have led to antivaxxers and vaccine hesitancy since the very first vaccines.

A History of Vaccines

The Gateway Drugs to Intellectual Humility

David McRaney's BlueSky

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344 - Intellectual Humility - Tenelle Porter Aug 03, 2026

Show notes

Can intellectual humility be measured? What influences it and affects it, limits it and enhances it? What even is it, scientifically speaking? We explore all of this and then play an episode of How to Be A Better Human featuring psychologist Tenelle Porter telling comedian Chris Duffy how she is researching how to conduct better research into intellectual humility.

Previous Episodes

Transcript at TED

How to Be A Better Human

Tenelle Porter's Research

Tenelle Porter's Website

The Illusion of Explanatory Depth

Kitted Shop

The Story of Kitted

How Minds Change

David McRaney’s BlueSky

Matthew Facciani's Website

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343 - Misguided - Matthew Facciani Jul 06, 2026

Show notes

What is misinformation? How does it differ from disinformation or just plain ‘ole propaganda? How do we protect ourselves from people with nefarious intentions using all of these things to affect our thoughts, feelings, and behavior? That’s what we discuss in this episode with Matthew Facciani, social scientist and author of Misguided: Where Misinformation Starts, How it Spreads, and What We Can Do About It.

The Misguided Podcast

David McRaney's BlueSky