Chris Frith is a real-life comic book hero. In his new graphic novel Two Heads, he and his wife Uta Frith explore how our brains work together—literally. We discuss his pioneering work in schizophrenia and social neuroscience, why he abandoned the viola for brain imaging, and whether humans are fundamentally selfish or altruistic.

Is the solution to climate change psychological, not technological? Cameron Brick joins the podcast to argue that understanding human behavior is the key to saving the planet. We discuss why individual actions (like going vegan) might be less impactful than we think, how identities shape our environmental choices , and the "illusory essences" that plague psychological science.

Can jazz teach us about the brain? Peter Vuust, a neuroscientist and professional jazz bassist, joins the podcast to discuss the "predictive coding of music" model. We explore why syncopation makes you want to dance, how shared predictions allow musicians to improvise together, and how he manages a dual career as a professor and a performing artist.

Can you p-hack your way to any result you want? Angelika Stefan joins the podcast to discuss her systematic analysis of "questionable research practices." We explore which p-hacking strategies are the most dangerous (and which ones might surprise you), why large sample sizes aren't always a cure-all, and how preregistration can—but doesn't always—protect against bias.

Are psychologists suffering from "measurement schmeasurement"? Jessica Flake joins the podcast to explain why transparent reporting of measurement practices is just as crucial as transparent statistics. We also discuss how to make statistics engaging for undergrads, the challenges of translating psychological instruments across cultures, and her work with the Psychological Science Accelerator.

Is the pressure to publish only "positive" results ruining science? Chris Chambers argues that it is—and offers a solution. We discuss the revolutionary concept of "Registered Reports," where journals commit to publishing research before the results are known. Plus: how Peer Community In (PCI) is taking power back from corporate publishers.

Do you need a CV full of Nature papers to win a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship? Toby Wise explains why the answer is no, offering a step-by-step guide to crafting a winning proposal, finding the right sponsor, and surviving the dreaded interview panel.

For the 50th episode, the tables turn: Benjamin James Kuper-Smith gets interviewed by Cognitive Revolution host Cody Kommers. We discuss the realities of producing a science podcast while doing a PhD, why most academic interviews are too long (and how to fix them), and whether focusing on specific papers rather than career retrospectives is the future of the show.

Is the brain a symbolic computer, a neural network, or something in between? We conclude our journey through Peter Gärdenfors' Conceptual Spaces with chapters seven and eight, exploring the computational side of thought. We discuss whether the conceptual level represents a "third wave" of AI, how the brain might perform coordinate transformations, and why this 20-year-old book still feels like a research program for the future.

How do we grasp abstract ideas? In this episode, we explore the dense world of Semantics and Induction in chapters five and six of Conceptual Spaces. We discuss why children learn the word "dog" before "animal," the evolutionary basis for our conceptual systems, and whether scientific theories should really model human thought. Plus: a look at how metaphors map existing structures onto new ideas.

Are our thoughts shaped like a donut? In this episode, we tackle chapters three and four of Conceptual Spaces, diving into the geometry of properties and concepts. We discuss why the color spectrum is best represented as a circle, how context changes the "shape" of our ideas (like the relativity of "white" skin), and whether we can map complex concepts like personality onto simple geometric axes.

Is there a hidden geometry to our thoughts? We kick off our deep dive into Peter Gärdenfors' Conceptual Spaces, exploring how the brain might represent abstract ideas using geometric principles. From the circular nature of color perception to the difference between symbolic, conceptual, and sub-conceptual representation, we ask: could this 20-year-old philosophy book offer a new framework for modern neuroscience?

Can a mobile game really help scientists cure Alzheimer's? Michael Hornberger discusses Sea Hero Quest, a game played by over 4 million people that has generated the largest dementia research dataset in history. We cover how gaming can be used for serious science, the early detection of Alzheimer's through navigation deficits, and lifestyle factors that can reduce dementia risk by up to 40%.

Open data is crucial for scientific reproducibility, but what if your participants are identifiable? Dan Quintana explains how synthetic datasets solve this privacy paradox. We also discuss how to leverage Twitter to advance your research career, and the realities of running a successful science podcast.

How do you get a great postdoc position? Matthias Stangl discusses his transition from PhD to postdoc, sharing how he secured a position without a long list of publications. We cover the importance of "one-on-one" vetting of potential labs, why a change in methodology can be an asset rather than a liability, and how the postdoc phase differs from a PhD as a time to learn mentorship and lab management.

Why does our internal GPS falter as we age? Matthias Stangl discusses how unstable grid cell representations—not just memory loss—lead to navigation errors. We also cover groundbreaking research recording deep brain waves in freely walking humans to reveal how we track the location of others.

I review two more books called “Prisoner’s Dilemma”.

I review two books called “Prisoner’s Dilemma”