by Spencer Greenberg
Clearer Thinking is a podcast about ideas that truly matter. If you enjoy learning about powerful, practical concepts and frameworks, wish you had more deep, intellectual conversations in your life, or are looking for non-BS self-improvement, then we think you'll love this podcast! Each week we invite a brilliant guest to bring four important ideas to discuss for an in-depth conversation. Topics include psychology, society, behavior change, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, math, economics, self-help, mental health, and technology. We focus on ideas that can be applied right now to make your life better or to help you better understand yourself and the world, aiming to teach you the best mental tools to enhance your learning, self-improvement efforts, and decision-making. • We take on important, thorny questions like: • What's the best way to help a friend or loved one going through a difficult time? How can we make our worldviews more accurate? How can we hone the accuracy of our thinking? What are the advantages of using our "gut" to make decisions? And when should we expect careful, analytical reflection to be more effective? Why do societies sometimes collapse? And what can we do to reduce the chance that ours collapses? Why is the world today so much worse than it could be? And what can we do to make it better? What are the good and bad parts of tradition? And are there more meaningful and ethical ways of carrying out important rituals, such as honoring the dead? How can we move beyond zero-sum, adversarial negotiations and create more positive-sum interactions?
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Publishing Since
10/13/2020
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April 20, 2025
Read the full transcript here. (https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/258/#transcript) • Is the bar for what counts as new knowledge higher in psychology than in other scientific fields? Why did the field of psychology formally start centuries later than other scientific fields? Why is it so hard to make progress in psychology? How useful are social science "mega-studies"? What actually helps people stick to habits? What do scientists often get wrong about the philosophy of science? What have social scientists learned so far from the replication crisis? And how does that compare to what they should perhaps have been learning from it? Why is so much meaningless, useless psych research still being done? How can scientists communicate about their work more effectively? When might a blog be a better outlet than an academic journal for a scientific report? Is there a tension in science communication between honesty and explicability? What are the pros and cons of peer review? • Adam Mastroianni is a psychologist and metascientist who writes the popular blog Experimental History . He got his PhD in 2021 and then left academia to publish research directly to the public, like a crazy person. Learn more about him at his website, experimental-history.com (https://www.experimental-history.com/). • Further reading • "Things could be better", by Adam Mastroianni (https://www.experimental-history.com/p/things-could-be-better) • Spencer's analysis of the gym mega-study (https://x.com/SpencrGreenberg/status/1614012795665764357) • Staff • Spencer Greenberg (https://www.spencergreenberg.com/) — Host / Director • Josh Castle (mailto:[email protected]) — Producer • Ryan Kessler (https://tone.support/) — Audio Engineer • Uri Bram (https://uribram.com/) — Factotum • WeAmplify (https://www.weamplify.info/) — Transcriptionists • Music • Broke for Free (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated) • Josh Woodward (https://www.joshwoodward.com/song/AlreadyThere) • Lee Rosevere (https://archive.org/details/MusicForPodcasts04/Lee+Rosevere+-+Music+for+Podcasts+4+-+11+Keeping+Stuff+Together.flac) • Quiet Music for Tiny Robots (https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Quiet_Music_for_Tiny_Robots/The_February_Album/05_Tiny_Robot_Armies) • wowamusic (https://gamesounds.xyz/?dir=wowamusic) • zapsplat.com (https://www.zapsplat.com/music/summer-haze-slow-chill-out-house-track-with-a-modern-pop-feel-warm-piano-chords-underpin-the-track-with-warm-pads-and-a-repetitive-synth-arpeggio/) • Affiliates • Clearer Thinking (https://www.clearerthinking.org/) • GuidedTrack (https://guidedtrack.com/) • Mind Ease (https://mindease.io/) • Positly (https://positly.com/) • UpLift (https://www.uplift.app/) [Read more: https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/258/adam-mastroianni-how-f-ed-is-psychology]
April 10, 2025
Read the full transcript here. (https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/257/#transcript) • Why might being the victim of sexual abuse increase the likelihood of being re-victimized? What warning signs, if any, might an abuser exhibit before becoming abusive? How might trauma differ when caused by someone the victim knows versus by someone who is a stranger to them? Why might victims choose to continue interacting with their abusers after receiving abuse? Why might trauma even cause a person to bond with their abuser? What is "affirmative" consent? Which states in the US recognize affirmative consent as a meaningful legal concept? What forms of refusal to engage in sexual activities are legally defensible? Why might victims choose to pursue legal recourse or not? What percent of victims pursue legal recourse? What sorts of things drive abusers to abuse others? Is it mere lust, or are there other factors? How often do abusers apologize or correct their behavior? How can you help a friend who has experienced sexual abuse? • Further reading • "Why Some Sexual Assault Victims Are Revictimized", by Wendy L. Patrick | Psychology Today (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/why-bad-looks-good/202210/why-some-sexual-assault-victims-are-revictimized) • "Why Some Rape Victims Continue to Date Their Rapist", by Wendy L. Patrick | Psychology Today (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/why-bad-looks-good/202105/why-some-rape-victims-continue-to-date-their-rapist) • "I Kept Talking to My Rapists", by Jeannie Vanasco | The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/there-no-right-way-respond-sexual-assault/607033/) • "Why am I still attracted to someone who assaulted me?" | Columbia Health (https://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/why-am-i-still-attracted-someone-who-assaulted-me) • "Why I continued sleeping with my rapist", by Sian Ferguson | news.com.au (https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/sex/why-i-continued-sleeping-with-my-rapist/news-story/91401bf5d91bcd47f56f327f9f50b53b) • "Are sexual abuse victims being diagnosed with a mental disorder they don't have?", by Alexandra Shimo | The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/mar/27/are-sexual-abuse-victims-being-diagnosed-with-a-mental-disorder-they-dont-have#:~:text=This%20misdiagnosis%20affects%20sexual%20survivors,depression%2C%20emptiness%20and%20displaced%20anger) • "Briefing on ‘Personality Disorder’ and the labelling of survivors of abuse and violence", by Platfform (https://platfform.org/policy-and-influence/labelling-survivors-of-abuse-and-violence/) • "Female soldiers raped by colleagues were ‘misdiagnosed’ with personality disorder", by Danielle Sheridan | The Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/01/14/female-soldiers-raped-colleagues-misdiagnosed-personality-disorder/) • "Abuse Survivors Can Be Revictimized — Here’s What You Should Know", by Lori Lawrenz | Healthline (https://www.healthline.com/health/revictimization) • "Sexual Revictimization", by National Sexual Violence Resource Center (https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_NSVRC_ResearchBrief_Sexual-Revictimization.pdf) • "I fell in love with my rapist. What should I do?" | Quora (https://www.quora.com/I-fell-in-love-with-my-rapist-What-should-I-do) • "Why do I still love him after he raped me?" | Quora (https://www.quora.com/Why-do-I-still-love-him-after-he-raped-me) • "Why did I go back to my rapist and had sex with him? Was it because I was ashamed, or I wasn't thinking straight?" | Quora (https://www.quora.com/Why-did-I-go-back-to-my-rapist-and-had-sex-with-him-Was-it-because-I-was-ashamed-or-I-wasnt-thinking-straight) • "I am in love with my rapist" by u/Throwaway97547997 | Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/ptsd/comments/1are101/i_am_in_love_with_my_rapist/) • Staff • Spencer Greenbe... [Read more: https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/257/a-sexual-abuse-survivor-a-conversation-with-a-multiple-time-survivor-of-sexual-abuse]
April 2, 2025
Read the full transcript here. (https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/256/#transcript) • How important is story-telling for changing the world? What counts as a story? How closely should persuasive stories conform to the formula of "the hero's journey"? How much time do we spend on average thinking about stories? How can raw data be shaped into a story that's both true and compelling? What are some good examples of stories that have changed the world for the better? When, if ever, do scare tactics work? Can a bad guy with a story only be stopped by a good guy with a story? Why are there so many valid ways of understanding and treating depression? Why are anxiety and depression always so closely linked (if they're not just the same thing)? Is it true that most depression treatments will make most people feel worse before they begin to feel better? How far along are we in the development of artificial wombs? Why might some people be resistant to the usage or even to the development of artificial wombs? • Elizabeth Cox is the founder of Should We Studio (https://www.shouldwestudio.com/), an independent production company dedicated to projects that raise awareness of the most important issues shaping the future, where she wrote and directed the award-winning animated series Ada (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJicmE8fK0Egu9kfkc8Dz_H_yKONuMHvu;si=L8mnmNGgI43iPO16). Before that, she was the Senior Editorial Producer at TED-Ed, where she wrote and edited the scripts for over 200 educational animated videos on all sorts of subjects which have hundreds of millions of views and more than 10,000 years of watch time. Learn more about her at her website, elizdcox.com (https://www.elizdcox.com/), or connect with her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-cox-077b0bb0/). • Further reading • "The Many Models for Depression", by Spencer Greenberg (https://www.spencergreenberg.com/2018/02/the-many-models-for-depression/) • Staff • Spencer Greenberg (https://www.spencergreenberg.com/) — Host / Director • Josh Castle (mailto:[email protected]) — Producer • Ryan Kessler (https://tone.support/) — Audio Engineer • Uri Bram (https://uribram.com/) — Factotum • WeAmplify (https://www.weamplify.info/) — Transcriptionists • Music • Broke for Free (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated) • Josh Woodward (https://www.joshwoodward.com/song/AlreadyThere) • Lee Rosevere (https://archive.org/details/MusicForPodcasts04/Lee+Rosevere+-+Music+for+Podcasts+4+-+11+Keeping+Stuff+Together.flac) • Quiet Music for Tiny Robots (https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Quiet_Music_for_Tiny_Robots/The_February_Album/05_Tiny_Robot_Armies) • wowamusic (https://gamesounds.xyz/?dir=wowamusic) • zapsplat.com (https://www.zapsplat.com/music/summer-haze-slow-chill-out-house-track-with-a-modern-pop-feel-warm-piano-chords-underpin-the-track-with-warm-pads-and-a-repetitive-synth-arpeggio/) • Affiliates • Clearer Thinking (https://www.clearerthinking.org/) • GuidedTrack (https://guidedtrack.com/) • Mind Ease (https://mindease.io/) • Positly (https://positly.com/) • UpLift (https://www.uplift.app/) [Read more: https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/256/elizabeth-cox-a-story-can-change-the-world]
Dwarkesh Patel
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
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Russ Roberts
Sam Harris
Patrick McKenzie
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Peter Singer & Kasia de Lazari Radek
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Alex J O'Connor
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Michael Shermer
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