In this special episode, I talk about my new book, 'Humanise: how knowing ourselves could change the world'. Some of the ideas behind the format for the book evolved from previous episodes of the 'Humans & Hope' podcast. Humanise is a popular psychology book that reveals the latest understanding of how human beings think and behave, and shows how we could use this knowledge to tackle some of our biggest challenges, from obesity to violence to climate change, and build a better futu...

In this episode I’m talking to Dr Giovanni Travaglino about organised crime and criminal groups - how they gain influence and power and affect people’s lives - and what can be done to address them. We’ll see how organised crime is a bigger part of our lives and the global economy than we might think. We’ll explore the surprising role that criminal groups play in local communities and the steps they take to inspire loyalty in people. We’ll also explore how psychology can help us to tackle org...

In this episode I’m talking to Dr Matt Easterbrook about how different forms of inequality in education can affect children’s lives - and what can be done to address them. We’ll see how inequality has some surprising consequences - from how children perform and feel about education through to how teachers evaluate the performance and potential of their pupils. We’ll also explore what can be done to build an education system that benefits everyone, regardless of their background or identity.&...

In this episode I’m talking to Dr Frank Mols about how psychology could help the Democratic party to beat the Republicans, likely to be led by Donald Trump, in the 2024 presidential election that many experts believe could be critical to the future of democracy in the USA. We’ll look at the psychology behind Trump’s appeal to voters, who supports him and the messages he uses. We’ll ask how Democrats should campaign to voters in the lead up to the next election, with democracy under threat fr...

In this episode I’m talking to Professor Bill von Hippel about whether human beings are really equipped to cope with life in the modern world. We’ll discuss how human beings have evolved to live in a world of small hunter-gatherer tribes, not the connected, complex world we now have. We’ll explore how some of the traits of thinking and behaviour we’ve developed for life in that world can cause us problems and challenges in the modern world. And we’ll ask what we can do to make the modern wor...

In this episode I’m talking to Professor Roy Baumeister about self-discipline and willpower. We’ll explore how much control we really have over our thinking and behaviour, how self-discipline can help us in life and how we can strengthen our own self-discipline as well as other people’s, such as that of our children! Professor Baumeister is Professor of Psychology at the University of Queensland in Australia. His research explores how we think about the self, and why we feel and...

In this episode I’m talking to Professor Constantine Sedikides about self enhancement - our tendency to think we’re better than other people. We’ll explore in what ways people think they are superior to others, why this happens and how this varies between people. We will also consider the implications of self-enhancement for society. Professor Sedikides is Professor of Social and Personality Psychology at the University of Southampton. His research focusses on the role of our self and identit...

In this episode I’m talking to Professor Jonathan Schooler about our potential - and our limits - as individual human beings. We’ll ask whether there are any human capabilities we’ve underexploited to date, or are just not yet aware of. We’ll explore whether we know ourselves very well as creatures, and how knowing ourselves better might improve our lives. Overall, we’ll ask - what should our expectations for ourselves, and human beings in general, be? Professor Schooler is based at the Uni...

In this episode I’m talking to Professor Dan Christie about our desire for global peace - and whether it’s realistic, given the creatures we are. We’ll explore some of the tendencies in human thinking and behaviour that can make it difficult for us to achieve global peace between people and nations, as well as those that could help us move towards it. We’ll ask what’s the best we can hope for and how might we most effectively achieve it? Professor Christie is Professor Emeritus of Psycholo...

In this episode I’m talking to Professor Jolanda Jetten about economic equality - and whether it’s possible to achieve a more equal society. We’ll explore some of the tendencies in human thinking and behaviour that can lead people to support inequality, as well as those that could help us promote a more equal society. Professor Jetten is a Fellow at the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland in Australia. Her research has covered a number of areas, including social identity, ...

In this episode I’m talking to Dr Maja Kutlaca and Dr Helena Radke about how we can seek social change more effectively – from confronting discrimination through to building more successful campaigns. We’ll explore some of their fascinating insights, including how we feel about people who stand up against injustice, how to build coalitions to tackle social issues and how to develop more effective campaigns. Dr Kutlaca is Assistant Professor in Quantitative Social Psychology at Durham...

In this episode I’m talking to Dr Jared Piazza about our attitudes towards and treatment of other animals. We’ll ask what our attitudes are, how they vary across different animals and where they come from. We’ll also consider whether we are moving towards a world in which we give more rights to other animals - for example, will we ever stop killing animals for meat? Dr Piazza is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Lancaster University. He studies the psychological processes involved in moral j...

In this episode I’m talking to Professor Kelly Fielding about whether human beings really have the capacity to respond to global issues like climate change to the level we need. We discuss some of the key things human beings will need to achieve if we are to meaningfully tackle climate change as a global society, and some of the tendencies in human thinking and behaviour that might prevent us from doing this. We also explore the human capacities that might help us respond more effectively to...

In this episode I’m talking to Dr Nick Perham about the psychology of religion - and whether human beings need it in their lives. We’ll explore the psychological drivers behind religious belief, why it is so popular, the purpose it serves for human beings and some of its disadvantages. We’ll also ask whether it’s possible for people to get these same benefits without religion. Dr Perham is a senior lecturer in Cognitive Psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan university. His research looks at h...

In this episode I’m talking to Dr Pascal Burgmer about morality, and whether it’s really possible for human beings to meet the moral standards we commonly set ourselves. We’ll ask how our moral thinking and behaviour works - and whether the moral standards we set ourselves as human beings are realistic. If they’re not - what’s the best we can hope for and how might we achieve it? Dr Burgmer is a lecturer in Social and Organisational Psychology at the University of Kent in the UK, with a parti...

In this episode I talk to Professor Joe Forgas to explore whether its possible to prevent the rise of populism, hate and extremist political movements. We discuss what aspects of our psychology can lead people to adopt hateful views and support political movements or parties that discriminate against others. We also explore how these are exploited by media, parties and political leaders - and the institutions around us. We’ then consider what we can do to reduce the rise of populism, hate and...

In this first episode I’m talking to Dr Sophie Russell to set the scene for the series. We’ll explore what we’ve learnt about human beings in the last 50 years, and try to build a more accurate picture of how we think and behave. We’ll ask how this might change our view of ourselves, as well as how we might use it to make our lives and world better. Dr Russell is a lecturer in Psychology at Surrey university in the UK, and she’s published research on a wide range of topics, but has a particu...

In this episode I talk to Dr Daniel Jolley about fake news and conspiracy theories. We explore the psychology behind why people believe them, how these ideas can spread and whether there’s anything we can do to prevent them spreading and protect the idea of the truth in society. Dr Jolley is a senior lecturer in Social Psychology at Northumbria university in the UK, and is a regular blogger and broadcaster on his specialist subject - the psychology of conspiracy theories. I hope you enjoy ou...