Podcast

Weiji Ma is an associate professor of neural science and psychology at NYU. He is the co-founder of the Growing Up in Science seminar series in New York (you can find more about those seminars online), as well as the Rural China Education Foundation. In this episode, Weiji and I talk about making friends when you're different than your peers, living up to expectations, how we dealt with an "addiction" to online chess and other pathological cases of distraction, finding the right "tough love" mentors, surviving the post-doc phase to get running your own lab, setting the tone of a lab as a PI, managing friction between lab members, why working with Christof Koch didn't go well for him, and how to make the academy a better place to work in. More info at codykommers.com/podcast. Subscribe at codykommers.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codykommers.substack.com

David Pizarro is an associate professor in the department of psychology at Cornell. He is also chief science officer at BEworks and cohost of the venerable psychology/philosophy podcast Very Bad Wizards. In this episode, Cody and David talk about learning to work with your natural strengths and weaknesses, finding collaborators who make you better, how to structure your work around laziness, learning to say no, using anger as an academic motivator, getting in early on the podcast scene, and what Cody's advisor thinks about him doing this podcast. More info available on codykommers.com/podcast. Subscribe at codykommers.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codykommers.substack.com

Dorsa Amir is a postdoctoral fellow at Boston College. She took her PhD in anthropology from Yale, and has a popular Ted Talk on how the industrial revolution changed childhood. In this episode, Cody talks with Dorsa about strategic planning as a daily routine, mastering self-regulation, aiming big even when you're risk averse, ultimate goals versus proximal goals, and the most important things psychologists can learn from anthropologists. More info available at codykommers.com/podcast. Subscribe at codykommers.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codykommers.substack.com

The podcast delves into topics like the advantages of getting married young, differences between psych departments and business schools, balancing fatherhood during grad school, and designing a good life. Nick Epley shares insights on liberal arts education, psychology, and proposing to his wife in a funny way.

David DeSteno is a professor of psychology at Northeastern University, where he directs the Social Emotions Group. He has published many books, including "Emotional Success: The Power of Gratitude, Compassion, and Pride." In this episode, Cody talks to David about the difference between academic and popular writing, balancing your true interests with pragmatic considerations, how to be optimally interdisciplinary, and debating core beliefs versus trying to learn from one another. More info available at codykommers.com/podcast. Subscribe at codykommers.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codykommers.substack.com

Linda B. Smith is a professor of psychology and cognitive science at Indiana University. She is a prolific cognitive scientist, specializing in child development, who has won many of the most prestigious awards in the field -- including the Rumelhart prize and the Norman Anderson Lifetime Achievement Award. In this episode, she talks to Cody about transfering from engineering to psychology, what it means to be truly rigorous as a psychologist, going against the grain of Chomsky, getting through personal doubts and crises, being influenced by unexpected sources, and making the best local decisions in your career. More info available at codykommers.com/podcast. Subscribe at codykommers.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codykommers.substack.com

Cory Clark is a professor of quantitative social psychology at Durham University. She is the co-host of the Psyphilopod podcast, as well as the proud owner of the prestigious Twitter handle @ImHardCory. In this episode, Cody and Cory talk about the gateway drugs to psychology, getting traction in research, on being a modern psychologist (with a podcast), and what we still don't know about successful de-biasing. More info available at codykommers.com/podcast. Subscribe at codykommers.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codykommers.substack.com

Bradley Voytek is a professor of cognitive science, neuroscience, and data science at UC San Diego. He is the author of Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep? and was the first data scientist at Uber. In this episode, Cody talks to Brad about the neuroscience of zombies, community building, being an insanely good mentor, overcoming low grades or initial setbacks, the influence of Oliver Sacks, and Brad's CV of failures. You can follow him on Twitter @BradleyVoytek. More info available at codykommers.com/podcast. Subscribe at codykommers.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codykommers.substack.com

Axel Cleeremans is a professor of cognitive science in the Department of Psychology of the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium. He is also a Research Director for the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research. In this episode, Cody talks with Axel about his decision to move to the US for his PhD and work with pioneers in artificial intelligence like Jay McClelland and Herb Simon. They also discuss significant life changes, being at the forefront of neural network research in AI, how students mold their advisor's interests, and being in on the ground floor of scientific interest in consciousness. More info available at codykommers.com/podcast. Subscribe at codykommers.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codykommers.substack.com

Susan Fiske is a professor of psychology at Princeton University. She is a pioneer in the field of social cognition, and co-author of the famous text Social Cognition. In this episode, Cody digs into her decades of experience as a social psychologist. They discuss the biggest single thing that psychologists can contribute to society, why conservatives tend not to become social psychologists, how Professor Fiske made her mark in a male dominated field, and the trip around the world that jump-started her research career. More info at codykommers.com/podcast. Subscribe at codykommers.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codykommers.substack.com