Written by Connor Zahler
To get you through the long summer months, we’ve prepared this list of podcast recommendations for you. A note: the views and ideas expressed in any of these shows are not those of the author, QMSS, or the University of Michigan. This is not an endorsement of everything in all of these shows, it is just a list of podcasts that may be interesting due to conceptual overlap.
PSYCH AND VERY BAD WIZARDS
Psych is a new podcast that just wrapped up its first season. Hosted by two psychology professors (Dave Pizarro and Paul Bloom), Psych covers a lot of topics you might hear about in an introductory psychology course: Freud, social psychology, happiness, and so on. There are also more specialized episodes, including an overview of the replication crisis, Bloom’s specialty in language, and Pizarro’s in moral judgment. You’ll gain a lot of the knowledge you might in PSYCH 101 in an environment that feels more like listening to two friends discuss work. Both hosts are researchers, and their experience with rigorous analysis shines through.
Recommended Episode: Chapter 10: The Replication Crisis
Our more qualitatively-minded listeners may also enjoy Pizarro’s other podcast, Very Bad Wizards. Hosted alongside his friend/foil, philosophy professor Tamler Sommers, VBW delves more into philosophy, literature, and media than Psych. There are, however, still some episodes that cover psychological topics, and many open with the hosts discussing recent articles they’ve found important/worthy of mockery. They also have one of the strangest guest catalogs I’ve ever seen: Sam Harris, scion of New Atheism; Christina Hoff Sommers, ethicist and Tamler’s stepmom; Lauren Anderson, former principal ballerina of the Houston Ballet; and Peter Singer, (in)famous bioethicist, among others.
Recommended Episode: Losing Time (“Tár” with Paul Bloom)
PLANET MONEY
A classic from your high school/college economics class when your teacher didn’t want to teach something, Planet Money has a lot to offer. Their creed (“Give us any topic and we can tie it back to the economy”) rings true, with episodes covering both current fads and century-old macroeconomic theory in equal measure. You don’t even have to worry about not liking the hosts: their staff is large and varied, and you’re bound to like at least someone. If you’re interested in academia, they also dabble in analyzing new papers and studies.
Recommended Episode: Planet Money Paper Club
SOCIAL SCIENCE BITES
I mean, it’s right there in the title. Social Science Bites, the flagship podcast of news and blog website Social Science Space, puts out monthly interviews with luminaries across the social sciences. The episodes aren’t strictly about quantitative data, but we could all use a brush-up on our theory. There are even miniseries that walk through the contributions of different fields on one big topic, such as COVID or immigration. Similar to Psych, this podcast will take you on a crash course that elevates your understanding above that of the average laymen, but with the social sciences as a whole rather than just psychology. There’s a guest roll that would make VBW blush, with Nobel Laureates and accomplished thinkers aplenty. It’s also hosted by philosopher David Edmonds, who once had a fellowship here at Michigan. Neat!
Recommended Episode: David Dunning on the Dunning-Kruger Effect