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    Talk Psych to Me

    Let's get psychology out of the lab and into the streets. Join hosts Tania Luna (psychology researcher) and Brian Luna (total layperson) as they turn fascinating research into practical tips for getting better at being human.
    en-us60 Episodes

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    Episodes (60)

    Taste & Flavor Psychology: Food for thought

    Taste & Flavor Psychology: Food for thought

    The next episode in our exploration of the human senses: this time we dig into the psychology of taste. We discuss neurogastronomy, how emotions and sensations impact flavor, comfort foods, super tasters,  picky eaters, food aversions, and Brian's stance on the best sodas.

    Let's chew on this topic together:
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast 
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me 
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com 

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    [RERUN] Melancholy: The uplifting psychology of sadness

    [RERUN] Melancholy: The uplifting psychology of sadness

    Lots of sad things are happening in our lives right now and in the lives of many people we love. So this week, we're replaying our 2020 episode on the psychology of melancholy. 

     For mental health support please call SAMHSA's National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) 

    Talk psych to us:
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast 
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me 
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com 

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Touch Psychology: Our most hands-on research

    Touch Psychology: Our most hands-on research

    Over the next few episodes, we'll be talking about the psychology of our senses. 

    On this episode, we touch on the surprising psychology of touch: how it impacts our communication, associations, relationships, influence, and wellbeing. 

    Keep in touch!
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast 
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me 
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com 

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Smell & Odor Psychology: The nose knows

    Smell & Odor Psychology: The nose knows

    Over the next few episodes, we'll be talking about the psychology of our senses. This week, we're stopping to admire and explore the little-known psychology of smell, including: smell evolution, odor evaluation, smell and memory, social odors, olfactory dysfunction, and the world's worst scent.

    Let us nose what you think!
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast 
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me 
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com 

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    [RERUN] Aging: Water other people's tulips

    [RERUN] Aging: Water other people's tulips

    Tania's birthday is this week, so we're rerunning our episode on the psychology of age and aging.

    Does being slightly older or slightly younger than your classmates in school impact you later in life? (Spoiler alert: yes!) What are some of the benefits of aging? And what advice do older adults have that we should all pay attention to today?

    Talk psych to us:
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast 
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me 
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com 

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Talk Psych to Me
    en-usOctober 04, 2022

    Cold & Flu Psychology: Nothing to sneeze at

    Cold & Flu Psychology: Nothing to sneeze at

    In honor of Brian’s sniffles, we’re exploring the psychology of “sickness behavior.” What are the psychological symptoms of colds and flus? What makes some of us more susceptible to sickness than others? And is it possible that our germs are controlling our actions?

    Cough up your questions:
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast 
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me 
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com 

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    The Milgram Studies: Obedience, conformity, or ideology?

    The Milgram Studies: Obedience, conformity, or ideology?

    Were the infamous Milgram Experiments evidence of obedience, conformity, ideology, or something more sinister about human nature? 

    Join us for a deep dive of the shocking ;) research and its many little-known replications. We’ll explore why good people sometimes do bad things, and Tania will recreate the Milgram experiment to see if Brian will follow orders to inflict pain. 

    Talk psych to us:
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast 
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me 
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com 

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Parapsychology: Our most haunting research yet

    Parapsychology: Our most haunting research yet

    Set your skepticism aside and come explore the psychology of the paranormal! From ghost sightings to clairvoyance, we examine the research behind our most mysterious human experiences.

    Come haunt us:
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    The positive side of negative emotions: Juicing the machine

    The positive side of negative emotions: Juicing the machine

    What's good about feeling bad? In this episode, we explore the psychology of emotional complexity, how to benefit from unpleasant emotions, and the upside of being down.

    Share your feelings with us:
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Changing public opinion: part 2 of 2

    Changing public opinion: part 2 of 2

    Calling all activists and change-makers! In our last episode, we tackled the topic of direct influence. This time, we explore the research on framing, protests, mass media, influencers, and public policy. Which of them has the power to change our minds?

    The complete meta-analysis we reference in this episode is available here: https://www.sentienceinstitute.org/public-opinion

    Come share your opinion:
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Changing public opinion: part 1 of 2

    Changing public opinion: part 1 of 2

    In this two-parter, we explore findings on public opinion change.  Is it even possible to change people's minds and, if so, how the heck do you do it? This is a great episode for anyone looking to change one mind or one million.

    The complete meta-analysis we reference in this episode is available here: https://www.sentienceinstitute.org/public-opinion

    Come share your opinion:
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Rituals: Can deodorant swipes improve performance and connection?

    Rituals: Can deodorant swipes improve performance and connection?

    Is Brian's morning ritual of doing a set number of deodorant swipes an odd quirk or is it a legitimate strategy to improve performance, reduce anxiety, and spark connection? Come learn about the psychology of ritual and how you can put it to good use in your own life.

    Make it your ritual to connect with us!
    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Twitter: @talkpsych2me
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Edited by Alyssa Greene 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Toxic Positivity (with Whitney Goodman)

    Toxic Positivity (with Whitney Goodman)

    This week author and psychotherapist Whitney Goodman joins the show to talk about toxic positivity.  Find out if your attempts to be positive actually cause harm and how to stop saying "everything happens for a reason" and "at least you still have your health"!

    Learn more:

    Share a healthy degree of positivity:

    Produced by Scarlet Moon Things
    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Edited by Alyssa Greene 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Compassion: Sharing your fries and comics

    Compassion: Sharing your fries and comics

    Why is it that so many of us have the urge to help others, and what stands in our way? Discover the many surprising benefits of compassion (from accelerating your healing factor to increasing your sexiness), and add even more meaning and fulfillment to your life.

    Feeling compassionate? Here are some of our favorite organizations supporting the urgent situation in Ukraine:

    Come-pass-on some questions and feedback:
    Instagram:
    @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    Produced by Scarlet Moon Things
    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Power & Powerlessness: Escaping the power paradox

    Power & Powerlessness: Escaping the power paradox

    What happens to us when we get pumped up on power or deflated by powerlessness?  Does power corrupt us or does it set us free? And how can we escape, what psychologist  Dacher Keltner calls, the "power paradox"?

    Do you have the power to help people and animals in Ukraine? Here are some of our favorite organizations in urgent need of donations:

    You have the power to talk to us:
    Instagram:
    @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    Produced by Scarlet Moon Things
    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    [RERUN] Hope & Helplessness

    [RERUN] Hope & Helplessness

    With a war looming in Ukraine (where Tania was born), many of us need a whole lot more hope right now. So we're pulling one of our earliest episodes from our archive on the psychology of hope, first aired on Jan 25, 2020. We talk about the difference between hope and optimism, the truth behind learned helplessness, and how to bulk up our hope muscles.

    We hope to hear from you at:
    Instagram:
    @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    We've made a donation to the ASPCA in honor of the animal research mentioned in this episode.

    Produced by Scarlet Moon Things
    Music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings


    Celebrating Black History Month with Black-led Research

    Celebrating Black History Month with Black-led Research

    In this episode, we celebrate Black History Month by spotlighting some Black psychologists whose research has had profound impacts. We talk stereotype threat, implicit bias, Optimal Psychology, and  attempt to recreate the famous Doll Test on an adult(ish) man.

    Researchers mentioned include: Francis Sumner, Inez Prosser, Solomon Fuller, Maxie Maultsby, Jr., Mamie Clark, Kenneth Clark, Diane Byrd, Toni Sturdivant, Iliana Alanis, Claude Steele, Beverly Daniels Tatum, Hope Landrine, Jennifer Eberhardt, Robert Lee Williams II, Joseph White, Linda James Myers, and Robert V. Guthrie.

    Celebrate with us:
    Instagram:
    @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    Produced by Scarlet Moon Things
    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Edited by Alyssa Greene 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Self-Love & Self-Compassion: What's (self-) love got to do with it?

    Self-Love & Self-Compassion: What's (self-) love got to do with it?

    In this episode we investigate whether there's truth to the saying "you can't love someone until you love yourself." Join the conversation to discover your love style and build your self-compassion skills.

    Show us some love:
    Instagram:
    @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    Produced by Scarlet Moon Things
    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Edited by Alyssa Greene 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Guilt Proneness & Hyper-Responsibility: Thanks a lot, Uncle Ben

    Guilt Proneness & Hyper-Responsibility: Thanks a lot, Uncle Ben

    Do you ever feel like no matter how much you do, you’re still not doing enough? To get to the bottom of that emotion, Tania and Brian talk about the psychology of guilt, guilt proneness, and hyper-responsibility. Come take a guilt trip with us to discover the benefits, risks, and alternatives to chronic guilt. We spent hours making this episode -- the least you can do is listen ;) 

    You never call, you never write. But if you want to:
    Instagram:
    @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    Produced by Scarlet Moon Things
    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Edited by Alyssa Greene 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings

    Placebo & Nocebo Effects: The power of nothing

    Placebo & Nocebo Effects: The power of nothing

    In this episode, Tania attempts to induce the nocebo effect -- placebo's evil twin -- on Brian. They explore placebo research (in areas ranging from pain to creativity), why it works, and how to put it to good use! It turns out "mind over matter" really does matter.
     
    P.S. Because we mentioned drug use in this episode, we also wanted to mention the SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357. Get free and confidential substance use treatment and information.

    Talk psych to us:

    Instagram: @talkpsychtomepodcast
    Email: tp2mpodcast@gmail.com

    Produced by Scarlet Moon Things
    Co-hosted by Brian Luna and Tania Luna
    Edited by Alyssa Greene 
    Theme music by Barrie Gledden, Kes Loy, and Richard Kimmings