Ever caught yourself thinking, Why am I like this? Maybe you wish you were more outgoing, less anxious, better at setting boundaries, or just less awkward at small talk (or maybe that’s just me).

But this episode isn’t about forcing you to become someone you’re not. It’s about understanding how personality works, what’s actually within our control, and whether we can tweak the internal settings to become a version of ourselves we actually like being.

And that’s exactly what our guest set out to prove—through science and a little self-experimentation.

Olga Hazan is an award-winning journalist, staff writer for The Atlantic, and the author of Me, But Better, where she explores the science of personality change. But she didn’t just research it—she spent a year experimenting on herself, testing whether she could intentionally reshape key aspects of her personality. Because why just write about something when you can live it?

The truth is, whether you like it or not, you are changing. The question is: do you want to have a say in how?

Connect with Olga Khazan:

Website: https://olgakhazan.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/olganator/

Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Me-But-Better/Olga-Khazan/9781668012543

Substack: https://olgakhazan.substack.com/

X: https://x.com/olgakhazan

Related Podcast Episodes: