Why do we use “literally” figuratively? Does conveying an "emotional truth" justify making things up? And are Angela’s kids really starving or just hungry? RESOURCES: " My Response to The New Yorker Article ," by Hasan Minhaj (YouTube video, 2023). " Hasan Minhaj’s 'Emotional Truths ,'" by Clare Malone ( The New Yorker, 2023). " Lying to Spice up Life ," by Holly Cole ( Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2019). Words on the Move: Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Liter...
Nov 12, 2023•35 min•Ep. 171
How can you be lonely when so many people showed up at your birthday party? Can you fight loneliness by managing expectations? And where can you find company while enjoying the best garlic cheeseburger in the greater Salt Lake City metro area? RESOURCES: " Surgeon General: We Have Become a Lonely Nation. It’s Time to Fix That ," by Vivek H. Murthy ( The New York Times, 2023). " Home Alone: More Than A Quarter of All Households Have One Person ," by Lydia Anderson, Chanell Washington, Rose M. Kre...
Nov 05, 2023•30 min•Ep. 170
Do you suffer from the sin of certainty? How did Angela react when a grad student challenged her research? And can a Heineken commercial strengthen our democracy? RESOURCES: " Disagree Better ," National Governors Association initiative led by Spencer Cox (2023-2024). " Cooling Heated Discourse: Conversational Receptiveness Boosts Interpersonal Evaluations and Willingness to Talk ," by Julia Minson, David Hagmann, and Kara Luo (Preprint, 2023). " Megastudy Identifying Effective Interventions to ...
Oct 29, 2023•39 min•Ep. 169
Should you become an artist or an accountant? Did Sylvia Plath have to be depressed to write The Bell Jar ? And what can Napoleon Dynamite teach us about the creative life? RESOURCES: " The Science of Why You Have Great Ideas in the Shower ," by Stacey Colino ( National Geographic, 2022). " So, You Think You’re Not Creative? " by Duncan Wardle ( Harvard Business Review, 2021). " The Correlation Between Arts and Crafts and a Nobel Prize ," by Rosie Cima ( Priceonomics, 2015). " Report: State of t...
Oct 22, 2023•31 min•Ep. 168
Is it better to be an egocentric navigator or an allocentric navigator? Was the New York City Department of Education wrong to ban ChatGPT? And did Mike get ripped off by Michael Jackson’s cousin? RESOURCES " Don’t Ban Chatbots in Classrooms — Use Them to Change How We Teach ," by Angela Duckworth and Lyle Ungar ( Los Angeles Times, 2023). " How GPS Weakens Memory — and What We Can Do about It ," by Mar Gonzalez-Franco, Gregory Dane Clemenson, and Amos Miller ( Scientific American, 2021). " Habi...
Oct 15, 2023•38 min•Ep. 167
What’s the difference between being busy and being productive? Would you be better at your job if you cared a little less? And can somebody get Mike a cup of coffee? RESOURCES: " State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report ," ( Gallup, 2023). " What’s Really So Wrong About Secretly Working Two Full-Time Jobs at Once? " by Alison Green ( Slate, 2023). " The Problem With Venting ," by Ethan Kross ( Character Lab, 2021). " Conan O'Brien's Final Monologue: 'Nobody in Life Gets What They Thought They ...
Oct 08, 2023•37 min•Ep. 166
Do you get grittier as you age? What's worse for mental health: video games or social media? And do baby boomers make the best D.J.s? RESOURCES: Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents — and What They Mean for America's Future , by Jean Twenge (2023). " 5 Things to Keep in Mind When You Hear About Gen Z, Millennials, Boomers and Other Generations ," by Michael Dimock ( Pew Research Center, 2023). " Lock Screens ," by Jean Twenge ( Character Lab, ...
Oct 01, 2023•37 min•Ep. 165
Does anyone really know what they’re doing? How do we reward the competent and not the confident? And what’s wrong with using TikTok for research? RESOURCES: " Why Everyone Feels Like They’re Faking It ," by Leslie Jamison ( The New Yorker, 2023). " The Impostor Phenomenon Revisited: Examining the Relationship between Workplace Impostor Thoughts and Interpersonal Effectiveness at Work ," by Basima Tewfik ( Academy of Management Journal, 2022). " You’re Not an Imposter. You’re Actually Pretty Ama...
Sep 24, 2023•39 min•Ep. 164
How much control do you really have over your body? Could understanding genetics help combat fat-shaming? And why is Mike’s life coach so happy all the time?
Sep 17, 2023•28 min•Ep. 163
How do you practice self-care if you don’t have time for a break? Is it weird to talk to yourself? And does Mike need a bag of Doritos — or just a hug?
Sep 10, 2023•40 min•Ep. 162
How final is a final offer, really? Does anonymity turn nice people into jerks? And should you tell your crush that you dreamed about marrying them?
Sep 03, 2023•37 min•Ep. 161
Why would a successful person feel the need to stick it to the little guy? Is Angela a name-dropper? And why do rappers grab their crotches?
Aug 27, 2023•40 min•Ep. 160
How do you deal with a close talker? Is Angela drinking too much water? And why can’t Mike keep his phone out of his bedroom?
Aug 20, 2023•34 min•Ep. 159
Is it better to be the best player on the worst team or the worst player on the best team? How did Angela cope with her extremely impressive freshman dorm mates? And why won’t Shaquille O'Neal let Charles Barkley have an onion ring?
Aug 13, 2023•29 min•Ep. 158
How well do you know the people in your life, really? Are you stuck having surface-level conversations? And should we all be in couples therapy?
Aug 06, 2023•39 min•Ep. 157
How vulnerable should you get with your coworkers? What’s the benefit of telling strangers about your relationship with your mother? And why did Mike’s childhood home burn down — twice?
Jul 30, 2023•41 min•Ep. 156
What’s more stressful, divorce or jail? Are you in the middle of a “lifequake”? And should we all be taking notes from Martha Stewart?
Jul 23, 2023•44 min•Ep. 155
Why do people drink? Why do people not drink? And why specifically do Angela and Mike not drink?
Jul 16, 2023•30 min•Ep. 154
Is a walk through the city as good as a walk through the woods? Who’s most likely to die while taking a selfie? And how does Angela protect herself from the beer cans falling onto her deck?
Jul 09, 2023•32 min•Ep. 153
Is it worse to regret something you’ve done, or something you haven’t done? What’s the upside of rejection? And which great American short-story writer convinced Angela to quit driving?
Jul 02, 2023•33 min•Ep. 152
Must one always strive for excellence? Is perfectionism a good thing? And can Mike have two bad days in a row?
Jun 25, 2023•46 min•Ep. 151
What makes a con succeed? Does snake oil actually work? And just how gullible is Angela?
Jun 18, 2023•38 min•Ep. 150
How do friendships change as we get older? Should you join a bowling league? And is Angela more important to Mike than Mike is to Angela?
Jun 11, 2023•40 min•Ep. 149
What’s the difference between people who preserve special things and people who devour them right away? Why do we love to binge-watch? And did Adam really eat an apple?
Jun 04, 2023•40 min
Why does time fly when you’re having fun? How do you teach rats to play hide and seek? And what does all this have to do with Anne Boleyn?
May 28, 2023•35 min•Ep. 148
Is it enough to toss a soda can in the recycling? Why is Maria obsessed with Nobel Prize lectures? And wait — is that a news alert or a tiger?
May 21, 2023•40 min•Ep. 147
Should you visualize success or failure? How do you bounce back from a mistake? And will Maria hustle Angela into a poker game?
May 14, 2023•39 min•Ep. 146
Are highly effective people quicker to share credit? What does poverty do to your brain? And how did Stephen's mother teach him about opportunity costs? Plus: an announcement about the future of the show.
May 07, 2023•49 min•Ep. 145
We asked you to nominate the worst sins of the modern age. Which one do Stephen and Angela think belongs on the list? And which does Angie struggle with the most?
Apr 30, 2023•44 min•Ep. 144
What does the Seven Deadly Sins survey tell us about the people who listen to this podcast? Are we more afflicted by sloth or by lust? And what does Angela mutter under her breath? Take the Seven Deadly Sins survey: freakonomics.com/nsq-sins/
Apr 23, 2023•42 min•Ep. 143
