It’s so easy, especially these days, to numb out. To get bored. To move through life on autopilot. There is even a scientific term for this: habituation. Today we’re talking to a researcher who co-authored a new book about the neuroscience of habit and how to wake up again. To make things exciting. Or as she says, to “

Dr. Tali Sharot is recognized as "one of the top female scientists in her country," and listed as one of the 15 exemplary female Israeli-born scientists alive. She's currently a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at MIT, author of The Optimism Bias, The Influential Mind, and her latest book, Look Again: The Power of N

Is the cup of life half full or half empty? Would you call yourself an optimist or a pessimist? What if you weren’t actually in control of this, but instead through the process of evolution your brain had been hardwired to be optimistic? Neuroscientist Dr. Tali Sharot calls this the ‘Optimism Bias’, it’s the belief tha

What allows people to push on even during the darkest times?  And how can we use that answer to influence our behavior, or the behavior of other people? Today Rick and Forrest are joined by Dr. Tali Sharot to explore the optimism bias, how optimism can exist alongside negativity, and how we can influence others more ef

How to wake society up to the big issues we collectively face. In this week’s podcast, Chris Martenson poses these important questions to Dr. Tali Sharot, professor of cognitive neuroscience in the Department of Experimental Psychology at University College London. Dr. Sharot is known for her research on the neural bas

In her new book, The Influential Mind, neuroscientist Tali Sharot takes readers on a thrilling exploration of the nature of influence, so she and Shermer start the conversation by discussing how we can influence, for example, climate deniers to accept climate science, anti-vaxxers to accept vaccines, and creationists t