No Stupid Questions

Is It Weird for Adults to Have Imaginary Friends?

Do You Mind if I Borrow Your Personality?

Is Having Children Worth It?

Are Women Really Less Happy Than Men?

Why Is Chick-fil-A Such a Big Deal?

What’s So Bad About Denial?

What to Do When Everything Looks Like a Catastrophe?

Does the Early Bird Really Catch the Worm? Or Could the Night Owl Get There First?

Is Poor Nutrition a Supply Problem or a Demand Problem?

Do You Savor or Gobble?

If America Is a Train Wreck, Why Am I Doing Fine?

How Valuable Is Enthusiasm?

Is Self-Improvement Too Selfish?

What’s So Great About Retirement?

Should We All Be Taking More Long Shots?

Is Emotional Intelligence Really So Important?

Why Do We Find So Much Meaning in Meaningless Coincidences?

Can You Change Your Mind Without Losing Face?

Which Is More Powerful: Reward or Punishment?

Why Is It So Hard to Talk About Money?

Is a “Success Hangover” Real?

Why Do We Root for Underdogs?

Also: Angela proposes an upgrade to the show.

Why Do We Put Things Off Until the Very Last Minute?

Also: what does your name say about who you are?

How Can You Avoid Boredom?

Also: are we getting any better at assessing COVID risk?

Why Can’t Baby Boomers and Millennials Just Get Along?

Also: how do phone cameras affect the way we experience live events?

Why Do We Seek Comfort in the Familiar? (Replay)

Also: is a little knowledge truly a dangerous thing?

How Do You Deal With Intrusive Thoughts?

Also: how much does confidence really matter?

Does Reverse Psychology Really Work?

Also: does knowing your family history affect your identity?

Is It Okay to Engage in “Social Loafing”?

Also: why is it so great to be part of a team, even when you lose?

If Everyone Hates Meetings, Why Do We Have So Many of Them?

Also: why do so many people feel lost in their 20s?

Why Is Pig Milk the One Milk We Don’t Drink?

Also: what’s a food you love that seems disgusting to everyone else?

How Much Do Your Friends Affect Your Future? (Replay)

Also: which professions have the happiest people?

In a Job Interview, How Much Does Timing Matter?

Also: why is it smart to ignore what your podcast hosts look like?

How Can You Convince Someone They’re Wrong?

Also: what’s the best way to handle rejection?

Why Do We Want What We Can’t Have?

Also: why are humans still so tribal?

How Can You Escape Binary Thinking?

Also: why is it so satisfying to find a bargain?

When Is It OK to Tell a Lie?

Also: is obsessing over your mental health bad for your mental health?

Why Do We Forget So Much of What We’ve Read? (Replay)

Also: do we overestimate or underestimate our significance in other people’s lives?

What’s the Best Advice You’ve Ever Received?

Also: why don’t you need a license to become a parent?

Why Do We Buy Things We Never Use? (Replay)

Also: why do we hoard? (Rebroadcast From Ep. 28)

Are Women Required to Be Nicer Than Men?

Also: should you feel guilty if you don’t read books?

How Contagious Is Behavior? With Laurie Santos of “The Happiness Lab.”

Also: life is good — so why aren’t you happy?

How Can You Escape a Drama Triangle?

Also: how do awards affect motivation?

Should We Just Ignore Our Weaknesses?

Also: why do we like what we like?

Why Do We Complain?

Also: what do you really mean when you say you “don’t have time”?

Do Dreams Actually Mean Anything?

Also: why is music so memorable?

How Can You Stop Comparing Yourself With Other People? (Replay)

Also: how can we stop confusing correlation with causation?

What’s So Gratifying About Gossip?

Also: why do people hate small talk?

Which Incentives Are Best at Boosting Vaccination, and Why?

Also: what does your desired superpower say about you?

Why Is Academic Writing So Bad?

Also: what does your perfect day look like?

What Changes Will Stick When the Pandemic Is Gone?

Also: would you take a confirmation-bias vaccine?

Do You Really Need a Muse to Be Creative?

Also: is short-sightedness part of human nature?

What’s the Secret to Making a Great Prediction?

Also: how do you recover from a bad day?

How Much Should We Be Able to Customize Our World?

Also: does multitasking actually increase productivity?

What Separates Humans From Other Animals?

Also: why do people pace while talking on the phone?

Are You as Observant as You Think?

Also: Angela accidentally discovers the secret to a good night’s sleep.

How Does Facing Death Change Your Life?

Also: why are we so bad at assessing risk?

Do Good Deeds Invite More Bad Ones?

Also: what is the most significant choice you will ever make?

Is Laziness Real?

Also: why do we dislike being alone in public?

How Can You Stop Feeling So Irritable?

Also: what’s wrong with being impatient?

How Much Better Do You Really Want to Be?

Also: why do we pad our speech with so much filler language?

Is Empathy in Fact Immoral?

Also: is it better to “go with the wind” or to “be the wind”?

What Do We Really Learn From Failure?

Also: What is teasing supposed to accomplish?

How Does When You Are Born Affect Who You Are?

Also: how did Angela do with her no-sugar challenge?

Why Are We So Attracted to Fame?

Also: do we subconsciously lie about our major influences?

Have We All Lost Our Ability to Compromise?

Also: is it better to be right or “not wrong”?

Is Everybody Cheating These Days?

Also, what’s better: to learn new skills or go deep on what you’re good at?

What Does It Mean to Be a “Good” Man?

Also: how can you stop ruminating?

How Do You Know if People Don’t Like You?

Also: do self-help books really help?

Which Matters More, a First or Last Impression?

Also: does wisdom really come with age?

Does Psychotherapy Actually Work?

Also: how many “selves” is it okay to have?

Are Humans Smarter or Stupider Than We Used to Be?

Also: how can you become a more curious person?

Is Optimism a Luxury Good?

Also: why is public speaking so terrifying?

How Much of Your Life Do You Actually Control? (Replay)

Also: why do we procrastinate?

Which Gets You Further: Talent or Effort?

Also: where is the line between acronyms, initialisms, and gibberish?

How Much Do Your Friends Affect Your Future?

Also: which professions have the happiest people?

Why Do We Seek Comfort in the Familiar?

Also: is a little knowledge truly a dangerous thing?

How Do You Know When It’s Time to Quit?

Also: why is it so hard to predict success?

Why Do We Hoard?

Also: do you spend more time thinking about the past, the present, or the future?

How Should You Ask for Forgiveness?

Also: why is behavior change so darn hard? 

Do Checklists Make People Stupid?

Also: what’s so great about New York City anyway?

Is Hedonism Better Than Self-Control?

Also: is it wrong to feel inured to the pandemic?

Why Do We Forget So Much of What We’ve Read?

Also: do we overestimate or underestimate our significance in other people’s lives?

Is It Wrong to Crave Praise?

Also: should everyone have their own trauma score?

Why Do We Buy Things We’ll Never Use?

Also: how is social media like a knife?

How Can You Identify Hidden Talent? With Eric Schmidt

Also: is there a downside to billionaire philanthropy? 

Should We Separate the Art From the Artist?

Also: what is the meaning of life?

Is There Such a Thing as Good Estrangement?

Also: how do you know if you have a “bad personality”? 

How Do You Raise a “Likable” Kid?

Also: what’s so great about friendship?

How Can We Get More Virtue and Less ‘Virtue Signaling’?

Also: is it better to be a thinker, a doer, or a charmer?

What’s the Downside to Being Goal-Oriented?

Also: how does a cook become a chef? With Gabrielle Hamilton.

How Much of Your Life Do You Actually Control?

Also: why do we procrastinate?

Are You a Maximizer or a Satisficer?

Also: what is the best question you’ve ever been asked in a job interview?

How Can You Stop Comparing Yourself With Other People?

Also: how can we stop confusing correlation with causation?

Does “As If” Thinking Really Work?

Also: how effective is the placebo effect?

Are Ambitious People Inherently Selfish?

Also: why do we habituate to life’s greatest pleasures?

Why Are Stories Stickier Than Statistics?

Also: are the most memorable stories less likely to be true?

Why Is It So Hard to Be Alone With Our Thoughts?

Also: how do you avoid screwing up your kids?

Wouldn’t It Be Better to Hear Your Eulogy Before You’re Dead?

Also: how does a comedian cope with tragedy? With Eugene Mirman.

How Do You Handle Criticism?

Also: is it better to send a congratulatory note to someone who deserves it or a condolence note to someone who needs it?

Is Incompetence a Form of Dishonesty?

Also: should we all have personal mission statements?

What Do Tom Sawyer and the Founder of Duolingo Have in Common?

Also: is there such a thing as too much science? With special guest Luis von Ahn.

Does All Creativity Come From Pain?

Also: is life precious because it’s finite?

What Does It Mean to Be a “Hard Worker”?

Also: how does age affect happiness?

What Is the Optimal Way to Be Angry?

Also: why do we treat pets better than people?

Did Covid-19 Kill the Handshake?

Also: why can’t humans handle uncertainty already?