Behavioral Scientist

Approximately 2 billion people live in conflict-affected areas. Yet the field of behavioral science has developed most of its theories, run most of its experiments, and built most of its interventions in stable contexts. When behavioral scientists do work in conflict settings, we tend to follow a familiar pattern: take what worked elsewhere, “localize” it, and evaluate it. But this isn’t enough. …

If you live in America in the twenty-first century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “ Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the stock response is a kind of congratulation: “That’s a good problem to have,” or “Better than the o…

Landing the Perseverance rover on Mars, working in clean rooms to minimize the microbial bug count, and slogging through hundreds of engineering trade-offs with Swati Mohan, an aerospace engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. What are the "seven minutes of terror"? And is there evidence of past life on Mars? [buzzsprout episode='18903199' player='true'] View the episode transcript About Wh…

Take a long, deep breath in. Now slowly let it out. Each time you inhale, you’re drawing in oxygen from the plants around you. Once in your lungs, oxygen navigates the bloodstream, where it gets exchanged for carbon dioxide. With each exhale, you fill the air with carbon dioxide, the very substance that all these plants need for photosynthesis. What we breathe out, plants breathe in. What plants …

Defusing a crisis after an ambassador hinted at a preemptive strike on Russia, delivering demarches in multiple languages, and surviving the frantic evacuation of the Kabul embassy with John Johnson, a retired diplomat who spent more than twenty years in the US Foreign Service. Do diplomats still send “cables” in the 21st century? And what does “not/not” mean? About What It’s Like to Be… In each …

I first saw the light in the city of Boston in the year 1857. “What!” you say. “Eighteen fifty-seven? That is an odd slip. He means nineteen fifty-seven, of course.” I beg pardon, but there is no mistake. It was about four in the afternoon of December the 26th, one day after Christmas, in the year 1857, not 1957, that I first breathed the east wind of Boston, which, I assure the reader, was at th…

In southwest Philadelphia in August 2019, a young Black man sat down on a folding chair in a high school auditorium and clipped a lapel mic to a bright yellow T-shirt that read “Philly Thrive.” “So, how you doin’? My name is Ricky,” he said into a camera. “I’m a resident in the Gray’s Ferry community, and I’m hoping and praying the refinery gets shutdown.” The refinery in question was Philadelphi…

Wiring a neighborhood back to life after a tornado, coveting the work of helicopter linemen in Faraday suits, and surviving the collapse of a rotten utility pole with Elden Rivas, a journeyman lineman in Houston, Texas. What is the one sound on the crew radio that stops every lineman cold? And why does a squirrel on a transformer mean easy money? About What It’s Like to Be… In each episode of Wha…

Consider the following. A young child, having received a playhouse as a gift and finding its interior too dark, asks her mother how she makes their house so light. “By flipping a switch,” says the mother. The child finds a spare switch in the basement, hangs it on the playhouse wall, and flips it, but gets no light. How charming is the innocence of young children. And how oblivious adults can be …

Suspending the licenses of unsafe restaurant operators, hunting down the origins of foodborne illness outbreaks, and eliciting truthful answers from anxious managers with Justin Dwyer, a health inspector in Peoria, Illinois. What happens when a restaurant locks the door on an inspector? And why should you never wash your Thanksgiving turkey? About What It’s Like to Be… In each episode of What It’…

In February 2026, Behavioral Scientist partnered with the peace science organization Neuropaz to host an online event exploring the latest work and thinking at the intersection of behavioral science and peace and conflict. The theme of Neuropaz 2026—hard truths and paths forward—reflects the many roadblocks that characterize this line of work, including funding cuts to research and aid agencies, …

In part 1 of my discussion of Choose Wisely, I detailed a typical decision—what to do on a beautiful Saturday—to illustrate the sorts of decisions we face in everyday life. My aim was to show that even a simple decision such as this one comprises a complexity that we often fail to appreciate. Far from a straightforward, algorithmic process of weighing pros and cons and specifying their probabilit…

I am a big believer in meditation and one of my favorite apps is Headspace. Users are encouraged to imagine the mind as a blue sky—the canvas onto which our thoughts and emotions appear. Clouds will inevitably roll in, representing anxiety and negative emotions, and, at times, those clouds may blanket the entire sky. But above the clouds, when you break through, the blue sky is always there. For …

Negotiating cases in which neither spouse wants custody of the cat, setting clients' expectations about what's legally possible (versus what feels "right"), and finding hope in people's ability to bounce back from dark times with Lucy Stewart-Gould, a divorce lawyer in London. What simple question can break open a deadlocked settlement? And what's a "jurisdiction race"? [buzzsprout episode='18579…

Tinkering with the recipe for gingerbread cake until it's right, adjusting to the variability of local grains, and cherishing the quiet mornings when the sun fills the bakery windows with Sophie Williams, a baker in Bellingham, Washington. What happens when you bake all your sourdough starter by accident? And what's a "starch attack"? [buzzsprout episode='18563714' player='true'] View the episode…

Join us today—Friday, February 6—for an online event exploring the latest work and thinking at the intersection of behavioral science and peace and conflict. The event is free to attend, and you can join the event here . Below you'll find more about the theme and the full program for the event. Date: Friday, February 6, 2026 Time: 9:00am - 4:30pm New York/Bogotá | 2:00pm - 9:30pm London | 3:00pm …

Imagine waking up on a Saturday morning, gazing out the window to see the sun shining, and asking yourself, “What should I do today?” You quickly review your obligations and responsibilities and discover that there’s nothing you have to do; the day is yours. Complete freedom awaits. So you do some stock taking. Will you be facing any challenges at work next week that maybe you should get a jump o…

My dear fellow citizens, For 40 years you heard from my predecessors on this day different variations on the same theme: how our country was flourishing, how many million tons of steel we produced, how happy we all were, how we trusted our government, and what bright perspectives were unfolding in front of us. I assume you did not propose me for this office so that I, too, would lie to you. Our c…

Judging the permissibility of real-time battle decisions, advising commanders how to handle soldier misconduct, and assessing "hostile acts" and "hostile intent" with Lieutenant Colonel Susan Upward, a Marine Corps JAG. What does "dispo" mean in military justice? And how do you tell a commander his idea is colossally stupid -- while keeping your job? [buzzsprout episode='18332921' player='true'] …

Sculpting mullets on Havanese, enduring countless bites, and surviving level-five furnadoes with Aaron Williams, a dog groomer in Alabama. Why is the grooming table his most powerful psychological tool? And which part of the grooming process is most dreaded by dogs? You can see Aaron in action at his YouTube channel . [buzzsprout episode='18366434' player='true'] View the episode transcript About…