The Cabrera Lab Podcast

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The Cabrera Lab Podcast

Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera

93 episodes

1 week ago

Get 20% off any STSI course with code 20FOR100 — start building your mental fitness today! In this special milestone episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University celebrate the 100th episode of the Cabrera Lab Podcast by doing something big: ranking the top 10 themes that have emerged across the entire show. From simple rules creating complex results to embracing both-and thinking, from culture as shared mental models to seeing webs of causality instead of root causes, they rev...

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Self-Improvement

Society & Culture,

Health & Fitness

All content for The Cabrera Lab Podcast is the property of Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Get 20% off any STSI course with code 20FOR100 — start building your mental fitness today! In this special milestone episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University celebrate the 100th episode of the Cabrera Lab Podcast by doing something big: ranking the top 10 themes that have emerged across the entire show. From simple rules creating complex results to embracing both-and thinking, from culture as shared mental models to seeing webs of causality instead of root causes, they rev...

Show more...

Self-Improvement

Society & Culture,

Health & Fitness

Episodes (20/93)

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#100: The Top 10 Systems Thinking Lessons from 100 Episodes

Get 20% off any STSI course with code 20FOR100 — start building your mental fitness today! In this special milestone episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University celebrate the 100th episode of the Cabrera Lab Podcast by doing something big: ranking the top 10 themes that have emerged across the entire show. From simple rules creating complex results to embracing both-and thinking, from culture as shared mental models to seeing webs of causality instead of root causes, they rev...

1 week ago

45 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

Episode #99: How to Reflect the Right Way Using Systems Thinking

Get 20% off any STSI course with code REFLECT20 — start building your mental fitness today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University unpack what reflection actually is—and why most people misunderstand it. Reflection isn’t a feeling, a yearly ritual, or a vague act of looking back. It’s a structural process rooted in how the mind organizes information. Using systems thinking and DSRP, they explain why you don’t learn by doing—you learn by reflecting on experience,...

2 weeks ago

23 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#98: Think It Through: Why Having the “Perfect Holiday” Is the Fastest Way to Ruin It

Get 20% off any STSI course with code HOLIDAY20 — start building your mental fitness today! In this holiday edition of Think It Through, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle one of the most common—and least talked about—seasonal struggles: why fully capable adults suddenly feel like children again the moment they walk into their childhood home. They break down how identity shifts based on who we’re with, why old family dynamics snap back into place, and how tiny reactio...

3 weeks ago

30 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#97: What Can Systems Thinkers Do That Others Can’t?

Get 20% off any STSI course with code SYSTEMS20 — start building your mental fitness today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle a deceptively simple question they were asked at a social event: “What can you do that other people can’t do if you’re a systems thinker?” Their answer is grounded in research, not hype. They break down the stunning cognitive law showing that most people rely on only 20% of the mental structures reality is made of, leaving 75%...

4 weeks ago

41 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#96: Think It Through: The Hidden Cost of Always Doing What You’re Told

Get 20% off any STSI course with code THINKITTHROUGH20 — start building your mental fitness today! In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University break down a problem facing kids, college students, and professionals alike: what do you do when you do exceptional work—but the system only rewards strict compliance? Using a real classroom story, workplace examples, and a surprisingly accurate metaphor involving “shit sliders,” they unpack how tiny acts of c...

1 month ago

29 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#95: Think It Through: Teaching Your Kids to Love Reality

Get 25% off any STSI course with code THANKS25 - Happy Thanksgiving! In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle a listener’s real-life parenting dilemma: a 10-year-old boy terrified of monsters lurking in his house. What begins as a bedtime fear unfolds into a profound lesson on mental models, evidence, and how we teach kids to tell what’s real from what’s imagined. Through the lens of systems thinking, the Cabreras show how fears—childhood o...

1 month ago

36 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#94: Fast. Right. Adaptive. The Power of Practicing Is/Is Not List

Get 15% off any STSI course with code THINK15 — start training your brain today! In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore one of the simplest—but most profound—thinking skills: drawing the boundary between what something is and what it is not. They unpack how this move, called Is/Is Not List, sits at the core of systems thinking and shows up in everything from team communication to personal growth. From construct validity in science to everyday misundersta...

1 month ago

33 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#93: O-Based Education: How to Build Smarter, Freer, More Adaptive Humans

Get 15% off any systems thinking course with code ST-15 - become a professional systems thinker today: https://www.stsi.pro/category/credential In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University revisit two of their most powerful ideas about the future of education: “We teach humans, not subjects,” and “What if we taught thinking through content, not content through thinking?” They explain how O-based education—rooted in the DSRP patterns of thought and the Love Reality Loo...

1 month ago

33 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#92: Think It Through: The Feedback You Don’t Want Is the Feedback You Need

In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University unpack one of life’s most universal challenges: how to take feedback that clashes with your self-image. What starts as a simple question—“How do I handle feedback that hurts?”—turns into a deep exploration of identity, ego, and growth. They reveal how most people unconsciously build mental “castle walls” around their self-concept, blocking feedback that could help them evolve. Through humor, real-world examp...

2 months ago

38 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#91: From Deming to Donella: Rating the Top Systems Thinking Quotes

In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University take a rapid-fire tour through some of the most famous systems thinking quotes from legends like Donella Meadows, Peter Senge, Russell Ackoff, W. Edwards Deming, and even the Buddha. Laura reads each quote, and Derek rates them 1–10 on validity, reliability, and usefulness—revealing which ideas stand up to science and which ones fall apart under scrutiny. From “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets” (...

2 months ago

30 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#90: Think it Through: Stop Arguing Perspectives, Start Solving Systems

In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle two everyday problems that reveal the hidden power of systems thinking. They start by breaking down why theory and practice are never truly separate, showing how real solutions emerge when people think structurally—whether they’re leading teams or navigating family life. Using a 7% market growth challenge as a case study, they introduce a powerful move called P Gen S Drop P—a simple way to align marke...

2 months ago

33 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#89: Think It Through: Boundaries, Guilt, and Getting Your Time Back

In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University help a listener untangle a familiar problem: saying yes to everything and ending up exhausted, resentful, and burned out. They diagram the hidden mental model behind overcommitment—a self-made loop of guilt, fear, and misplaced responsibility—and show how systems thinking can break it. You’ll learn how to set real boundaries without guilt, stop assuming what others think of you, and reclaim your time and energy. From the “2...

2 months ago

25 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#88: Think It Through: Parenting, Culture, and Mental Models

In this practical episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University show how the same underlying mental structures shape both family life and organizational culture. From a frustrated parent arguing with a teen about driving to a CEO dealing with conflicting rules in the workplace, the problem isn’t people—it’s the invisible mental models guiding their behavior. Using simple systems thinking tools, they break down how to surface, compare, and rebuild shared mental models that actua...

3 months ago

38 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#87: Snake Oil, Swamps, and Systems Thinking

In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University take a wrecking ball to the confusion surrounding systems thinking. Whether you’re brand new to the field or knee-deep in its many (often conflicting) methodologies, this episode will save you years of frustration by cutting straight to the core: what systems thinking is, what it’s not, and how to actually get good at it. They reveal why most systems thinking resources are either snake oil or rabbit holes, and why practicing...

3 months ago

46 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#86: Teach Your Kids to Think: The Most Important Parenting Skill

In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University answer a simple but urgent question from a parent: “Can you teach systems thinking to kids?” Spoiler: not only can you, you should—and it may be the most important thing you ever do. They break down why kids are actually better systems thinkers than adults (fewer bad habits), how to teach the Six Moves in everyday life (with groceries, frogs, or even sugar packets), and why teaching the structure of thought—not just informat...

3 months ago

35 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#85: Love, Marriage, and Mental Models: Systems Thinking in Relationships

How do two people work together, parent together, and live together every day without driving each other nuts? In this personal and powerful episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University share the six systems thinking principles that transformed their relationship—and how you can apply them to yours. They break down the practical tools that help them avoid blame, navigate patterns, embrace honesty, and understand each other better using DSRP and the Love-Reality Loop. Whether ...

3 months ago

39 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#84: Why Our Schools are Failing (And How to Fix Them with Systems Thinking)

In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University confront a hard truth: our schools are failing because we're teaching information, not thinking. They expose the real problem behind education’s struggles—what they call the tyranny of “Content is King”—and make the case for O-based education: teaching students how to organize information and build mental models, not just memorize facts. From the over-management of teachers to the manipulation of public mental models by ind...

3 months ago

41 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#83: The Science of Thinking Fast, Right, and On Purpose

In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University challenge the binary of Kahneman’s System 1 (fast but often wrong) and System 2 (slow but usually right) thinking—and introduce a third way: System 3 Thinking. System 3 is both fast and accurate. But it doesn’t happen by chance—it’s built through metacognition and daily practice. Drawing on research and real-world examples from special forces, pro athletes, and high performers, they show you how the Six Moves and the Love-Re...

4 months ago

39 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#82: Discipline, Ownership, and Doing It Right (Even When No One’s Watching)

In this final chapter of the Culture Code series, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University share the last 12 guiding principles that shape their team's character, cohesion, and capacity to adapt. These aren’t just nice ideas—they’re lived systems of belief and behavior. You’ll explore ideas like Carhartts & Cufflinks (being comfortable anywhere), Extreme Ownership, No Discipline = No Freedom, Underpromise & Overdeliver, and the golden rule: The Way You Do Anything Is the Wa...

4 months ago

42 minutes

The Cabrera Lab Podcast

#81: Systems Thinking for Character, Capacity, and Culture

In this next installment of the Culture Code series, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University reveal the next 9 culture principles that guide their team, their leadership, and their lives. These aren’t corporate slogans—these are lived mental models rooted in systems thinking, science, and character development. They unpack what it means to Get the GETs, be Vitruvian, Make Monergy, and practice Better Every Day. You’ll hear why Being Your Own GOAT matters more than fitting in, how ...

4 months ago

34 minutes