Rephonic
Artwork for Hidden Brain
Psychology
Mental Health
Creativity
Innovation
Interpersonal Relationships
Memory
Social Media
Entrepreneurship
Resilience
Grief
Depression
Relationships
Human Behavior
Trauma
Behavioral Science
Social Connections
Anxiety
Goal Setting
Covid-19 Pandemic
Connective Labor

Why do I feel stuck? How can I become more creative? What can I do to improve my relationships? If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, you’re not alone. On Hidden Brain, we help you understand your own mind — and the minds of the people around you. (We're routinely rated the #1 science podcast in the United States.) Hosted by veteran science journalist Shankar Vedantam.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes723Founded11 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
Social SciencesArtsPerforming ArtsScience

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for Hidden Brain

Latest Episodes

Most of us have ideas about what we’re looking for in a romantic partner. But psychologist Paul Eastwick says these preferences are surprisingly poor guides for finding love. He explains why attraction is so difficult to predict, and what the researc... more

Why is my friend late? How does nuclear fission work? What can I do to help my baby sleep through the night? We all feel the need to understand why certain things happen. Some researchers think the drive to explain the world is a basic human impulse,... more

Millions of us move through our days without getting enough sleep. We know that sleep deprivation can affect our physical health and our mood. But sleep researcher Chris Barnes says a chronic lack of good sleep can also affect how we make decisions a... more

We often imagine that feelings of unhappiness come from outside us — in our circumstances or the difficult people in our lives. But what if the forces that erode our happiness come from within? Psychologist George Loewenstein joins us to explore why ... more

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Accepts Sponsors
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Similar Podcasts

People also subscribe to these shows.

This American Life
This American LifeThis American Life
Radiolab
RadiolabWNYC Studios
Freakonomics Radio
Freakonomics RadioFreakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Recent Guests

Paul Eastwick
Psychologist at the University of California, Davis and author of Bonded by Evolution
University of California, Davis
Episode: How Love Really Works
Edward Lemay
Psychologist at the University of Maryland who studies projection in relationships
University of Maryland
Episode: How Love Really Works
Tania Lombrozo
Psychologist and director of the Concepts and Cognition Lab at Princeton University
Princeton University
Episode: The Story of Stories
Chris Barnes
Sleep researcher at the University of Washington
University of Washington
Episode: Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?
Rachel Zoffness
Psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and author of Tell Me Where It Hurts
University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine
Episode: Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?
George Loewenstein
Psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University and author of The Opposite of Happiness
Carnegie Mellon University
Episode: Why Am I Unhappy?
Alison Ledgerwood
Psychologist at the University of California, Davis, who studies negativity bias
University of California, Davis
Episode: Why Am I Unhappy?
Kate Bowler
Historian at Duke University Divinity School and author of books on suffering and faith
Duke University
Episode: When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Lisa Miller
Psychologist at Teachers College, Columbia University, who studies spirituality and transcendence
Teachers College, Columbia University
Episode: When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Host

Shankar Vedantam
Veteran science journalist

Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars from 61.4k ratings
  • Everyone can get something from Hidden Brain. Strongly recommend for all that wish to better understand themselves and others.

    Podcast Addict
    5
    Despi
    18 days ago
  • Be honest about reruns!

    I really enjoy this podcast, but I’m so annoyed about realizing 10 minutes in that it’s a rerun and not labeled as such in the notes! Always shows a current published date. I’ve removed it from my feed with regret. Just be honest please so I can come back!

    Apple Podcasts
    4
    BostonUberDeb
    United States2 months ago
  • Way too many ads for subscribers

    I absolutely love the show but the subscriber edition has about as many ads as a non subscribed podcast does as standard. In the beginning I thought I’d just loaded the non-a subscriber version, but nope. Way too many, and they’re often loud and obnoxious - way out of sync with the tone and experience of the podcast itself.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    mleighcrowe
    Australia2 months ago
  • promoting TikTok is unacceptable

    I have listened to and learned from Shankar for many years and have respected and appreciated this show. Until today. TikTok is a scourge and everyone knows it and I refuse to sell our children down the river for $0.25 but it seems this show is willing to.

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    sjobeck
    United States3 months ago
  • 😡🤬

    Horrible

    Too many guests

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    Pls non k g
    Canada3 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

A few criticize unlabeled reruns and the placement of some bonus material behind a subscription.
Listeners value the clean editing, music, and pacing, though some find the host's repeated self-introductions distracting.
Many describe the stories and expert conversations as thoughtful, useful, and helpful for understanding themselves and others.
Some listeners object to advertising volume and placement, including ads they feel clash with the listening experience.
Listeners praise Vedantam's measured, warm interviewing style and the clarity of the research-based explanations.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

How Love Really Works
Q: Can we project our feelings not onto someone, but onto something?
Lemay explains that people anthropomorphize animals and technology, including AI, and may turn to AI companions for connection, particularly when lonely or grieving.
How Love Really Works
Q: If compatibility is hard to predict in advance, how do we know when we have found the one?
Eastwick says compatibility grows from the shared history, rituals, in-jokes and patterns that two people develop over time, so it cannot be reliably identified in advance from a checklist.
The Story of Stories
Q: How can we use explanations to combat this bias?
Prompting people to explain a story or policy can help them notice gaps in their understanding and rethink it at a broader level. Considering opposing explanations can also counter the tendency to favor beliefs they already hold.
The Story of Stories
Q: What's the connection between the world of stories and the world of explanations?
Both help people make sense of the world. Stories use concrete details and emotion, while explanations often extract general structures or principles; everyday understanding commonly combines the two.
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Q: How can we tell apart the patterns that our minds generate from moments where the universe is trying to tell us something?
Miller describes distinguishing synchronicity as a practice of noticing whether a pattern feels deeply meaningful rather than imposed. She suggests paying attention to patterns that feel unmistakable and testing one's perceptions with care.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About Hidden Brain

What is Hidden Brain about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Psychology and behavioral science are made practical through carefully produced conversations about how people think, feel, communicate, and make decisions. Veteran science journalist Shankar Vedantam guides interviews with researchers and other experts, using studies, personal stories, listener questions, and familiar cultural examples to connect complex ideas to everyday life. Recurring themes include relationships, emotion, sleep, pain, spirituality, identity, storytelling, and the ways our assumptions shape what we experience. The format often pairs a central expert interview with additional answers to listener questions, and typically closes with concrete ways to apply the research. Its distinctive strength is the combination of access... more

Where can I find podcast stats for Hidden Brain?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Hidden Brain. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Hidden Brain and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Hidden Brain get?

Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Hidden Brain, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.

What are the audience demographics for Hidden Brain?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Hidden Brain, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does Hidden Brain have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Hidden Brain has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Hidden Brain?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Hidden Brain:

1. TED Radio Hour
2. This American Life
3. Radiolab
4. Freakonomics Radio
5. Fresh Air

How many episodes of Hidden Brain are there?

Hidden Brain launched 11 years ago and published 723 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Hidden Brain?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Hidden Brain?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Hidden Brain from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for Hidden Brain?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Hidden Brain. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on Hidden Brain?

Recent guests on Hidden Brain include:

1. Paul Eastwick
2. Edward Lemay
3. Tania Lombrozo
4. Chris Barnes
5. Rachel Zoffness
6. George Loewenstein
7. Alison Ledgerwood
8. Kate Bowler

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

Find and pitch the right podcasts

We help savvy brands, marketers and PR professionals to find the right podcasts for any topic or niche. Get the data and contacts you need to pitch podcasts at scale and turn listeners into customers.
Try it free for 7 days