Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, a psychologist who has spent decades working to advance the mental health of youth of color, was selected as one of 12 global leaders to receive a $20 million grant-making fund from philanthropist Melinda French Gates. Dr. Alfiee discusses the state of youth mental health, particularly for intersectional youth of color, the biggest challenges facing young people today, how the conversation around youth mental health has changed in recent years and how she hopes to use the new funding to make a difference in young people’s lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaking of Psychology

Supporting mental health for youth of color, with Alfiee Breland-Noble, PhD

Today, music therapies are being used to help treat mental and physical health conditions as diverse as chronic pain, Parkinson's disease and stroke. Renowned soprano Renée Fleming, editor of a new book on music, the arts and health, joins music cognition researcher Aniruddh Patel, PhD, to talk about the connections between music, mind and body, whether humans evolved to be an inherently musical species, the science behind some of the most effective music therapies and promising directions for future research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harnessing the healing power of music, with Renée Fleming and Aniruddh Patel, PhD

Is your commute the most stressful part of your day? Traffic psychologist Dwight Hennessy, PhD, talks about what’s going on when we get behind the wheel -- including what causes “road rage,” why some people find driving more stressful than others and how our personality affects our driving, what’s going on with the “zipper merge,” and how driving may change with more automated and self-driving cars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Road rage, traffic jams and why driving stresses us out, with Dwight Hennessy, PhD

For those with health anxiety, worrying about sickness can be a constant struggle that can harm their mental health, relationships and even physical health. Karen Lynn Cassiday, PhD, author of the book “Freedom from Health Anxiety,” talks about how to recognize health anxiety (once known as hypochondria), why the internet and “Dr. Google” can make health anxiety worse, and what to do if you or someone you love struggles with health anxiety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to handle health anxiety, with Karen Lynn Cassiday, PhD

Are you and your job just not clicking anymore? New York University psychology professor Tessa West, PhD, author of “Job Therapy: Finding Work that Works for You,” talks about the most common sources of job dissastisfaction, how you can figure out why you’re unhappy at work and find a job that’s a better fit, how to handle -- or avoid -- toxic coworkers, and the importance of good communication at work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Job therapy and toxic coworkers, with Tessa West, PhD

Conversational chemistry might seem intangible, but psychologists are beginning figure out what makes some conversations work while others fall apart. Charles Duhigg, author of the upcoming book Supercommunicators and conversation researcher Michael Yeomans, PhD, talk about how anyone can learn to communicate better, the best way to build rapport with someone you just met, why it’s important to think about your goals in a conversation, how to have a productive conversation about a disagreement, and how technology changes conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Encore - How to have great conversations, with Charles Duhigg and Michael Yeomans, PhD

Whether your idea of the perfect vacation involves the beach, exploring a city, or just relaxing at home, you probably look forward to your time off all year. Sarah Pressman, PhD, of the University of California Irvine, and Jessica de Bloom, PhD, of Groningen University in the Netherlands, talk about why taking a break from work is important for physical and mental health, what you can do to make the most of your vacation time, and differences in work and vacation culture around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Encore - Why you should take a vacation—and how to get the most out of it, with Jessica de Bloom, PhD, and Sarah Pressman, PhD

After a lifetime of thinking that she was just a little bit bad at remembering people, Sadie Dingfelder learned that she had prosopagnosia, a disorder more colloquially known as face blindness. Harvard psychologist Joe DeGutis, PhD, who runs the research study that Dingfelder participated in, joins her to discuss how people with face blindness see the world, why it’s such an interesting disorder to study, and promising treatments that his lab is exploring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Encore - What is it like to be face blind? With Joe DeGutis, PhD, and Sadie Dingfelder

Octopuses haven’t shared a common ancestor with humans in at least 600 million years. But somehow, separately, these invertebrates evolved remarkable problem-solving abilities, curiosity and intelligence. Octopus researcher Jennifer Mather, PhD, talks about what we know about octopus behavior and cognition, how they evolved to be so smart, how the octopus brain is structured, and what can we learn about thinking and intelligence in general from studying how it evolved in a species so far removed from us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inside the mind of an octopus, with Jennifer Mather, PhD

APA’s 2024 Work in America survey found that younger workers are more likely than older workers to feel stressed, lonely and undervalued at work. Dennis Stolle, PhD, senior director of APA’s office of applied psychology, talks about why that might be and how employers can create workplaces where all ages can thrive; as well as other key findings from the survey including the state of remote work, hybrid work and four-day work weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why psychological safety matters in a changing workplace, with Dennis Stolle, PhD

A few decades ago, the idea of being able to interact directly with a computer using only your thoughts would have sounded like science fiction. But today researchers and companies are testing brain-computer interfaces that allow patients to move a computer cursor or control a prosthetic limb directly with their thoughts. Nicholas Hatsopoulos, PhD, discusses the future of brain-computer interfaces, how they work, the practical challenges researchers face, and what scientists have learned about the brain as they develop this technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The future of brain-computer interfaces, with Nicholas Hatsopoulos, PhD

From getting lost in a novel to binge-watching a favorite TV show, we humans spend a lot of time in fictional worlds. Jennifer Lynn Barnes, PhD, a psychologist and novelist, talks about why we’re drawn to fictional worlds; the psychology of fandom and fan fiction; and how insights from psychology helped her write her best-selling series “The Inheritance Games.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to use psychology to write a best seller, with Jennifer Lynn Barnes, PhD

From roaring leaf blowers to screeching trains, the world is full of unwelcome noise – and researchers have found that noisy environments can take a real toll on people’s mental and physical health. Arline Bronzaft, PhD, talks about how noise affects health and well-being, how it can harm kids’ learning, why it’s not just a problem in big cities, and the most unusual noise complaints she’s heard in her five decades of advocacy combating noise pollution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How noise pollution harms our health, with Arline Bronzaft, PhD

Last year -- 2023 -- was the world’s warmest on record, and 2024 could bring another record-shattering summer. Psychologist Kim Meidenbauer, PhD, and public health researcher Amruta Nori-Sarma, PhD, discuss how heat affects people’s mental health, emotions and even cognitive abilities; the link between heat, violence and aggression; who is most vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat; and what policy makers could be doing to mitigate its effects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mental health in a warming world, with Kim Meidenbauer, PhD, and Amruta Nori-Sarma, PhD

Why can’t I get myself to run that 5K? Why isn’t my child getting better grades? We all have things that we struggle to accomplish – or that we struggle to get someone else to accomplish. Frank Worrell, PhD, and Wendy Grolnick, PhD, co-authors of “Motivation Myth Busters: Science-based Strategies to Boost Motivation in Yourself and Others,” discuss how our misconceptions about motivation get in the way of reaching our goals, why there’s no such thing as an “unmotivated” person, and the merits and drawbacks of strategies like rewards, competition and praise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to motivate yourself and others, with Wendy Grolnick, PhD, and Frank Worrell, PhD

"Speaking of Psychology" is an audio podcast series highlighting some of the latest, most important and relevant psychological research being conducted today. Produced by the American Psychological Association, these podcasts will help listeners apply the science of psychology to their everyday lives.

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Speaking of Psychology

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