The Psychology Podcast

Today it’s great to have Sharon Salzberg on the podcast. Sharon is a meditation pioneer and industry leader, a world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. As one of the first to bring meditation and mindfulness into mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, her relatable, demystifying approach has inspired generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of eleven books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, her seminal work, Lovingkindness, and her newest book, Real Change: Mindfulness To Heal Ourselves and the World, released in September of 2020 from Flatiron Books. Sharon’s secular, modern approach to Buddhist teachings is sought after at schools, conferences, and retreat centers worldwide. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed over 3 million downloads and features interviews with the top leaders and thinkers of the mindfulness movement and beyond. Sharon’s writing can be found on Medium, On Being, the Maria Shriver blog, and Huffington Post. Time Stamps [01:46] Sharon’s book Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World [05:31] The dialectical between thinking and doing [08:06] Sharon Salzberg’s activism [09:26] Art as a form of social action [10:38] Love and kindness meditation and the perception in the west [15:16] The importance of boundaries in love and kindness [16:25] Learning about agency and love in the pandemic [21:00] A false sense of agency and the culture of contempt [22:31] Sharon’s inner state of consciousness [23:41] Being mindful of your anger and acknowledging your suffering [30:10] Being realistic and avoiding activist burnout [32:37] “Benevolent contagion” and Sharon’s vision of interconnection [35:37] Mindfulness Meditation and dissolving the grip of habits like attribution bias and stereotyping [42:48] How do you cultivate equanimity? [46:28] Pairing compassion with equanimity [47:20] The legacy Sharon wants to leave behind Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today it is really great to have W. Keith Campbell on the podcast. Campbell is a professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia as well as the author of The Narcissism Epidemic, When You Love a Man Who Loves Himself, and most recently, The New Science of Narcissism. He also has more than 120 peer reviewed articles and he lives in Athens, Georgia. Time Stamps [00:01:41] Defining grandiose and vulnerable narcissism [00:03:33] Three-factor model of narcissism [00:07:32] The "recipe for narcissism" [00:10:00] Primary goals and motives of narcissists [00:12:56] The role of vanity [00:16:47] Gender differences in narcissistic traits [00:19:12] Gender differences in narcissism personality disorder diagnoses [00:22:14] Dark and light triads of personality [00:26:42] The dark empath and unique personality trait combinations [00:30:12] How narcissistic traits affect relationship dynamics [00:35:07] When do relationships start to fall apart? [00:39:08] Narcissism in today's leadership [00:44:26] Narcissism in social media [00:45:39] Geek culture and the great fantasy migration [00:52:37] How to reduce narcissism [00:55:57] How to deal with narcissists [00:57:55] Psychotherapy for vulnerable narcissism [01:02:04] Narcissistic personality disorder [01:05:54] New treatments for narcissistic personality disorder [01:09:40] Transcending the ego Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today it is great to have Caroline Webb on the podcast. Webb is an executive coach, author and speaker who specializes in showing people how to use insights from behavioral science to improve their professional lives. Her book on that topic, How To Have A Good Day, has been published in 14 languages and more than 60 countries. She is also a Senior Advisor to McKinsey, where she was previously a partner. Time Stamps [01:30] How To Have A Good Day during a pandemic [03:37] The power of practicing mindfulness [08:44] Emotional contagion and deliberate focus [09:56] The state of affairs and focusing on what we can control [13:55] Caroline’s philosophy of “realistic optimism” [17:07] Realistic optimism vs aggressive positivity [20:55] How mental contrasting can help you have a good day [24:07] Changing your environment to change your behaviour [24:48] Does positive thinking work? [30:20] How coaching can help you [32:00] Caroline’s coaching sessions [37:00] Caroline’s scenic route to the field of psychology [40:09] How coaching is not always grounded in science [42:49] The universal need for coaching [46:24] Listening as a basic coaching skill [49:32] Helping people engage with their own creativity [52:22] Burning Man and living a good life Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today it is great to have Ryan Holiday on the podcast. Holiday is one of the world’s foremost thinkers and writers on ancient philosophy and its place in everyday life. He is a sought-after speaker, strategist and the author of many bestselling books including The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph, Ego Is the Enemy, The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living , and the number one New York Times bestseller Stillness is the Key. His books have been translated into over thirty languages, and been read by over two million people. He lives outside Austin, Texas with his family, and his most recent book is Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius. Time Stamps [00:01:10] Stoicism and "works over words" [00:04:04] Modern day Stoicism [00:05:16] Knowledge for knowledge’s sake vs. practical purposes of philosophy [00:06:58] The four virtues of Stoicism [00:07:59] Living well versus living the good life [00:10:04] The founding fathers and Stoicism [00:11:18] Ryan’s writing vs. academic writing [00:17:43] The deeply personal Meditations by Marcus Aurelius [00:19:21] Zeno the Prophet and the founding of Stoicism [00:20:41] Living in harmony with nature [00:22:16] How COVID-19 has given Ryan perspective on being zoomed into life [00:25:33] Eastern and Western conceptions of stillness [00:29:30] The relationship between Stoicism and humor [00:30:11] Aristo the Challenger and the influence of cynicism on Stoicism [00:31:01] Zeno the Maintainer and the repetition of names in Roman times [00:33:38] Antipater the Ethicist and transcending individual selfishness [00:37:56] Panaetius the connector and Stoicism beyond virtue [00:39:36] Women in Stoicism and Portia Cato [00:40:58] “Cancelling” Stoicism and the tearing down of Confederate statues [00:44:48] Posidonius the Genius and the battle between our lower urges and higher nature [00:46:26] The omission of frivolity in Stoic writing [00:48:16] Cato: Roman among the Romans [00:51:58] Epictetus and the nature of freedom [00:54:27] How Marcus Aurelius became the emperor of Rome [00:57:13] How Ryan has grown since his earliest engagements with and writings on Stoic philosophy Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today it is great to have Greg Lukianoff on the podcast. Greg is an attorney, New York Times bestselling author, and the present CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). He is the author of Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, Freedom from Speech, and FIRE’s Guide to Free Speech on Campus. Most recently, he co-authored The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure Check out Greg and Jonathan’s video on why they dislike the use of the word "coddling" in the title of their book. Time Stamps [00:02:39] Why Greg advocates free speech [00:06:00] The story behind why the former executive director of the ACLU, Ira Glasser, began his fight for civil liberties [00:07:54] The Bedrock Principle and why you cannot ban something simply because it is offensive [00:09:42] The limits of free speech and exceptions to the First Amendment [00:11:19] How Greg’s argument for free speech differs from the traditional argument for free speech [00:14:38] Addressing the criticism that free speech could incite violence against vulnerable people [00:16:03] Why we should listen to the arguments of people with whom we strongly disagree [00:20:13] How to balance arguments for free speech with empathy [00:22:37] Humor as a coping mechanism for depression [00:23:14] Greg’s suicide attempt and struggle with depression [00:27:29] How Greg enjoys helping people who struggle with mental health issues [00:28:50] How Greg’s thriving after depression can give people hope [00:29:37] Addressing the stereotype that Greg’s work is always about political correctness, when it is actually often transpartisan [00:30:08] How hyper-bureaucratized universities can exacerbate mental health problems [00:33:10] How cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) influenced The Coddling of the American Mind [00:34:57] The importance of discipline and consistency in the practice of CBT [00:36:14] The pre-2013 repression of free speech by the administration [00:38:02] The post-2013 spike of repression of free speech by students [00:40:23] How anti-free speech administrations taught students habits of anxiety and depression by repressing free speech [00:43:07] The scary anti-Trump riots after his election in 2016 [00:44:35] Arguments over the title of the book The Coddling of the American Mind [00:51:07] The six reasons for the sudden spike in anti-free speech activism [00:55:59] Criticisms against allowing our gender or race identities to define us [00:57:03] Common enemy identity politics versus common humanity identity politics [00:59:16] Why compassion is essential [00:59:57] Naive statism and why we should be cautious when designing laws which repress civil liberties [01:05:04] Components of Greg’s background which led to his powerful advocacy of free speech on campus [01:11:26] Greg and his family’s health after a year of injuries, health problems, and bereavement [01:17:24] Hope that Greg has had since publishing The Coddling of the American Mind Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this engaging dialogue, Spencer Greenberg, an entrepreneur and mathematician focused on mental health, shares his insights on Effective Altruism. He discusses innovative approaches to decision-making and mental health, emphasizing the role of emotions. Spencer introduces practical techniques like behavioral activation for managing depression and highlights the power of automatic if-then rules to foster positive habits. He also critiques personality models and offers frameworks for behavior change, making complex ideas accessible and actionable for listeners.

Today it's great to have Erika Lust on the podcast. Lust is an acclaimed adult filmmaker who creates sex-positive, indie adult cinema that portrays sexually intelligent narratives, relatable characters and realistic hot sex. Her XConfessionsproject turns the public’s anonymous fantasies into explicit and artistic short films. Whilst her recently re-launched LustCinema is a US based studio with original series and feature length films for lovers of cinema and sex. In 2015, Erika gave her essential TEDx talk It’s Time for Porn to Change. Her story was also featured in the first episode of the Netflix documentary series Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On (“Women on Top”), directed by Rashida Jones. This year Erika was named as one of the BBC 100 Women’s most influential women of 2019. Free 7 day subscription of lustcinema.com Check out the first episode of Erika Lust's new miniseries for free now - 'Safe Word'is a full immersion in the BDSM healthy, sexy culture of communication and awareness in sex. The series follows the ruthless and demanding theatre director Christie in her initiation to BDSM. link: https://lustcinema.com/lp/free-episode-soft?utm_medium=web&utm_source=thepsychologypodcast&utm_campaign=safeword Time Stamps [00:01:51] The changes that Erika wants to see in porn [00:03:13] What is wrong with standard porn [00:05:34] What people can expect to see in films produced by Erika [00:08:33] How the sex can stay dirty, but the values must stay clean [00:11:51] How to deal with derogation and humiliation in ethical porn [00:14:08] Why porn, especially taboo porn, is so popular [00:15:32] Common misconceptions about porn as an industry [00:22:19] Exploitation in porn [00:28:05] How to determine if the porn you watch is ethically produced [00:30:00] Erika’s journey from a dissatisfied porn consumer to becoming a producer and an activist [00:35:56] A study on the many reasons people have sex [00:36:38] Objectification in standard porn versus ethical porn [00:43:32] Research on the positive effects of having sex with a sense of care [00:44:43] The objectification and stereotyping of men in porn [00:47:00] The equality of sexual enjoyment [00:48:07] The meaning of feminist porn [00:49:58] Whether ethical porn is constrained by evolved human nature [00:59:10] How to participate in XConfessions [01:00:51] eroticfilms.com [01:01:55] LustCinema [01:03:03] The Porn Conversation Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we have Bret Weinstein on the podcast. Bret has spent two decades advancing the field of evolutionary biology, earning his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan before teaching at the Evergreen State College for fourteen years. He has developed a new Darwinian framework based on design tradeoffs and made important discoveries regarding the evolution of cancer, senescence, and the adaptive significance of moral self-sacrifice. He is currently working to uncover the evolutionary meaning of large-scale patterns in human history and seeking a game theoretically stable path forward for humanity. With his wife Heather Heying, he is co-writing A Hunter Gatherer’s Guide to the Twenty-First Century and is the host of Bret Weinstein’s Dark Horse Podcast. Time Stamps [00:00:00] Introducing Bret Weinstein [00:00:43] The meaning of “evolutionary theoretical biology” [00:01:37] Critiques of evolutionary psychology [00:03:08] Critiques of epigenetics [00:03:59] The unfortunate competition between theory and empiricism in academia [00:05:19] Protests against Bret at Evergreen State College [00:07:35] The role of fear in collective protests [00:08:47] Sources of racial tensions in the US: deindividuation on the left & a lack of interracial compassion on the right [00:12:37] Defining the deindividuation problem [00:15:08] Unity2020and the fight to return policymaking to the average American [00:17:15] The meaning of "wokeness": then and now [00:21:51] Encouraging Black Lives Matter (BLM) supporters to join Unity2020 [00:27:33] Considering Andrew Yang as a center-left candidate for Unity2020 [00:28:45] Considering Admiral William McRaven as a center-right candidate for Unity 2020 [00:29:53] Influencing Trump supporters to join Unity2020 [00:32:07] Analogies between religion and political polarization [00:35:04] "Dichotomy-transcendence" [00:43:25] Scott’s Twitter run in with the Intellectual Dark Web [00:45:13] Defining principles of the Intellectual Dark Web [00:50:26] Possible criticisms of the Intellectual Dark Web [00:55:05] Bret’s experience growing up with a learning disability [01:00:57] Assessing IQ as a measure of intelligence [01:02:07] The danger of studying the correlations between genetics and intelligence [01:07:00] How we are a long way from understanding how the mind works [01:12:10] Answering Twitter questions for Bret Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today it is great to have Chloé Valdary on the podcast. After spending a year as a Bartley Fellow at the Wall Street Journal, Chloe developed the Theory of Enchantment, an innovative framework for socioemotional learning, character development and interpersonal growth that uses pop culture as an educational tool in the classroom and beyond. Chloé has trained around the world including in South Africa, the Netherlands, Germany and Israel. Her clients have included high school and college students, government agencies, business teams and many more. She has also lectured in universities across America including Harvard and Georgetown. Her work has been covered in Psychology Today magazine and her writings have appeared in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today it’s great to have Robert Sutton on the podcast. Sutton is Professor of Management Science and Engineering and Professor of Organizational Behavior by courtesy at Stanford. He co-founded the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design which everyone calls the d.school. Sutton received his PhD in Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan and has served on the Stanford faculty since 1983. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.