Aller au contenu
Why We Do What We Do
PodcastÉducationPhilosophieAnglais

Why We Do What We Do

NouveauThe Many Books of B.F. Skinner pt. 111 novembre 2026 · 1 h 1 min
Épisodes
633
Parution
hebdomadaire
Dernier épisode
11 Nov 2026

À propos du podcast

We explain popular and weird, little-known ideas in psychology. Whether you are a little curious about psychology, or a student, or even a professional, we have something for everyone.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

Épisodes 633

  1. The Many Books of B.F. Skinner pt. 1

    1 h 1 minÉpisode 497

    Skinner eventualy did become a writer. In fact, he is well known for many of his books, although he authors substantially more articles, lectures and essays. We spend this and the next episode reviewing …

  2. Mini: Qualitative Analyses

    15 min

    Data are often depicted as numbers. However, data can include narrative observations. This is called qualitative data. We believe there is a lot of value to qualitative data, so we are making the case for …

  3. B.F. Skinner: A Life

    1 h 6 minÉpisode 496

    B.F. Skinner was a profoundly impactful figure in modern psychology. His work set the foundation for the field that now consists of tens of thousands of professionals around the world. Yet, we have discussed …

  4. Mini: Regulations Gone Good and Bad

    16 min

    Many argue against government regulations. But, it seems they often seem to ignore the regulations that have saved their lives, or the ones that industries affected by the regulations have asked for …

  5. Possessed

    1 h 4 minÉpisode 495

    For our last Halloween-season-themed episode, we are talking about possessions. We have discussed exorcisms in the past. So, for this discussion, we dug more into the philosophy of science for bringing a …

  6. Mini: What Scared Us As Kids

    16 min

    Our fears change over time. What scares us when we were young is not so scary when we get older. And, what scares us when we get older, does not scare us when we are young... sometimes. We explain the kinds of …

  7. The Warrens

    55 minÉpisode 494

    The super famous ghost-hunting couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren are the subject of some of the most popular scary stories and pop-culture media. And if history has taught us anything, it is that when people are …

  8. Mini: The Winchester Mansion

    14 min

    The story of The Winchester Mansion is shrouded in a carefully curated concoction of fanciful stories. These stories have largely been exaggerated or even entirely fabricated. The house is a strange labyrinth …

  9. Ectoplasm: Ghost Goo

    53 minÉpisode 493

    What happens when you regurgitate items out of your esophagus for a magic trick? A lot of digestive juices on the stuff you just regurgitated. But, if you don't want your audience to know, you might tell them …

  10. Mini: Traditions of Samhain

    18 min

    We did an episode about the history of halloween a while back. This mini explores more of the myths, legends, ideas, and traditions of the tradition that eventually became Halloween. This is all about the …

  11. Ghost Ships

    44 minÉpisode 492

    We are kicking off this spooky season with a discussion about the spectres of the ocean: ghost ships! We tell a few of the both lesser and more well-known stories of ghost ships. We also talk about why they …

  12. Mini: Centralia

    13 min

    We are kicking off this year's spooky seasons mini with a brief history of the town on fire. This is a real place in the United States that has become unlivable since the town accidentally set a gigantic …

  13. Happiness

    1 h 4 minÉpisode 491

    One of the most enduring values, mottos, or goals is the pursuit of happiness. We strive for it implicitly or explicitly for much of our lives. So, what is happiness? How do we achieve it? Why can't you just be …

  14. Mini: This is the End-ish

    16 min

    An important announce and brief explanation.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.Support our podcast: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast

  15. How to Lie With Math

    1 h 2 minÉpisode 490

    The title maybe a little misleading. This is about how we delude ourselves into adopting information as factual becuase it is presented using real math. Math is extremely important and valuable and a necessity …

    Notes de l’épisode
    The title maybe a little misleading. This is about how we delude ourselves into adopting information as factual becuase it is presented using real math. Math is extremely important and valuable and a necessity for most sciences. However, like any other tool, math can give the illusion of knowledge while actually tricking us into believing things that are not correct. We primarily focus on averages and how problematic this concept can be, but extrapolate this into other forms of math that can be used to lie and mislead even the ones who are executing the computations.

    Recommendations
    • Abraham: Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain With Democracy (Jonathan Rauch (https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300273540/cross-purposes/)
    • Shane: Chat Pile - Who Loves The Sun (https://open.spotify.com/album/2ITnf8HOokOJxjv483Dszk?si=3v175T9iRP2BY8aTU8XPqw)

    Holidays (9/23/2026):
    • Celebrate Bi-Sexuality Day
    • Dogs in Politics Day
    • International Day of Sign Languages
    • National Checkers Day
    • National Great American Pot Pie Day
    • National Snack Stick Day
    • Restless Legs Syndrome Awareness Day
    • See You at the Pole
    • Teal Talk Day
    • Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week
    • Constitution Week
    • Deaf Dog Awareness Week
    • International Clean Hands Week
    • International Deaf Awareness Week
    • International Interpreters and Translators Week
    • National Adult Day Services Week



    Click here to join our Patreon club!

    Links and References:
    1. https://www.toddrose.com/endofaverage
    2. https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/on-average/
    3. https://www.anecdote.com/2023/03/179-there-is-no-average/
    4. https://austraffic.com.au/aba/us-air-force-finds-averages-can-kill


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

    Support our podcast: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
  16. Mini: Do We Need Privacy?

    18 min

    We have many mechanisms in place to protect our privacy. Some people care less about this and some people have taken this to tremendous extremes. Of course, many want unambiguous rules about privacy, but there …

  17. Writer's Block

    57 minÉpisode 489

    Creating content can be very effortful. Particularly when that creating entails a lot of writing. And in pursuit of that endeavor, writers sometimes find themselves stuck and unable to produce ideas to further …

  18. Mini: Snake Oil

    15 min

    We use the term snake oil to refer any fradulant product, service, or claim that is not what it says it is and lies or misconstrues what it does. You might already know that this comes from a real product that …

  19. Diagnoses: More Harm Than Good? With Dr. Stu Law pt. 3

    44 minÉpisode 488

    This is the final discussion in which we "break our silence" as the click-bait headlines like to call it, on our final thoughts about diagnoses and why we believe that they have caused more harm than good. Due …

  20. Mini: Life Expectancy

    13 min

    How we understand, talk about, and think about life expectancy is sometimes misunderstood by some flukes of math. Understanding how numbers work can illuminate a clearer picture of history and mortality. Long …

  21. Diagnoses: More Harm Than Good? With Dr. Stu Law pt. 2

    58 minÉpisode 487

    This continues our discussion with Dr. Stu Law. We further elaborate on the issues with a diagnostic system for mental health and what the pitfalls are, including faulty underlying assumptions. After recording …

  22. Mini: Talking With Myself

    13 min

    You've probably noticed people talking to themselves and had some thought or comment about that. Perhaps something along the lines of: "That person might be crazy." Well, turns out it is much more normal than …

  23. Diagnoses: More Harm Than Good? With Dr. Stu Law pt. 1

    1 h 11 minÉpisode 486

    Diagnosing mental health has dramatically shaped how we think about and appraoch our thinking and treatment of mental health conditions. In some ways, this effect has had a profoundly helpful impact for many …

  24. Mini: No Homework

    15 min

    There have been some advocates to reduce or eliminate homework altogether. It begs the question of what is the purpose of homework anyway? What would we lose by eliminating it? What do we gain by keeping it. We …

  25. Functional Analysis pt. 4

    1 h 8 minÉpisode 485

    In the fourth and final installment of our series on Functional Analyses, we finally discuss some of the controversies and disagreements among practitioners. We also offer our own hot takes and personal …

  26. Mini: The Weirdest Thing We Believe

    14 min

    In a totally unscripted, candid conversation, we ask one another: what is the weirdest thing you believe? It's a conversation bound to leave you a little surprised, confused, and maybe disappointed. Or maybe …

  27. Functional Analysis pt. 3

    54 minÉpisode 484

    This is the third installment in what will turn out to be a four-part series on the functional anlaysis technology employed by behavior analysts to identify casues and motivations for challenging behavior …

  28. Midlife Crisis

    16 min

    Are you already skeptical? Do you think you know? Are you a true believer? We take a scientific lens to the idea of the midlife crisis. Consider that this might be cultural, which would indicate that it is not …

  29. Functional Analysis pt. 2

    58 minÉpisode 481

    In our ongoing discussion about the tool used to determine why we do what we do, the functional analysis, we explore more about the various research initiatives that pioneered ways to improve on the …

  30. Mini: One Hit Wonders

    14 min

    What are one-hit wonders? Why do one-hit wonders happen? Is this a real thing? What about no-hit wonders? We'll get into some of the reasons and misconceptions around one-hit wonders and answer some of those …

Voici les 40 derniers épisodes sur 633. Les épisodes plus anciens se trouvent dans le flux du podcast.

C’est votre podcast ?

Confirmez-le avec une entrée dans votre flux : vous recevez ici un code, vous l’ajoutez comme podcast:txt dans le canal de votre flux, et nous le vérifions. Votre podcast apparaît ensuite comme « vérifié » sur SoundNode.

Paramètres

Affichage

Langue

Détermine les stations affichées en premier sur la page d’accueil.

Historique

Les stations et épisodes écoutés récemment et tes dernières recherches sont seulement enregistrés dans ce navigateur.

Notifications

Un court message quand un podcast que tu suis publie un nouvel épisode. Désactive un podcast précis avec la cloche sur sa page.

Compte

Enregistrez vos favoris – dans l’app et sur le site.

Raccourcis clavier

/
Ouvrir la recherche
Espace
Lecture ou pause
← →
Dans le lecteur : 15 s en arrière, 30 s en avant (épisodes) · dans une rangée : tuile suivante
↑ ↓
Dans une rangée : cible dans la tuile
Début / Fin
Dans une rangée : première ou dernière tuile
Esc
Fermer la fenêtre ou le menu
?
Cet aperçu
En cours de lecture

Voir la station

À suivre

    Ajoutez des épisodes avec « À suivre » – ils seront lus après l'épisode en cours.