Episodes

Nov. 20, 2023

Dr Freddie Mason on the Future of Museums

What are museums, and what purpose do they serve? As a regular museum-goer — both when I’m travelling and also at home when I need distraction or creative inspiration — I’m always intrigued, both by what they show and how th…
Nov. 12, 2023

Katja Hoyer on Beyond The Wall

What is it like to grow up in a country that no longer exists? That's the challenge faced by my guest Katja Hoyer. She grew up in the GDR, the German Democratic Republic. Or as most of us think of it, East Germany. While …
Oct. 31, 2023

David Mansfield on The Monday Revolution

What is the Monday Revolution, and why do we need it? On this episode, I'm speaking to someone who used to run a company that grabbed a lot of my attention during my teenage and younger years. That company was Capital Radio…
Oct. 21, 2023

Robert Kerbeck on making a career out of lying

How can lying earn you millions? If you’re an actor and good at impersonating people, then the answer is that you become a corporate spy. That’s the unexpected career path followed by my guest Robert Kerbeck, whose memoir …
Oct. 13, 2023

Dr Constance Dierickx on Meta Leadership

Why can senior leaders — usually in post as a result of experience and expertise — often make mistakes? The answer might seem counterintuitive; it’s precisely because of their experience and expertise that this can happen. H…
Oct. 7, 2023

Sebastian Lees on Humanizing Technology

Why is some software a real pain to use? How does it happen, and what can we do to make it not happen? On this episode, I’m speaking with Sebastian Lees, an experienced software developer with a keen interest in making thi…
Oct. 1, 2023

James MacPherson and Elisa Lynch on Trickle Down Safety

What is trickle-down safety? On this episode, I’m finding out with two safety specialists who help me to explroe what it means and why it’s relevant to other fields. By safety, I mean the kind that saves people’s lives on bu…
Sept. 24, 2023

David Wales on Risk Communication & Customer Service

What we can learn about customer service and being more human from the fire service? On this episode, I’m speaking with David Wales, who used to work in the fire and rescue service and has now switched to focus on product d…
Sept. 13, 2023

Ros Atkins on The Art of Explaining

How can we be better at explaining things? On the 250th episode of the podcast, I’m joined by a very special guest who has made explaining an art form and has just published a book called ‘The Art of Explanation’. That gues…
Sept. 10, 2023

Hannah Williams on The Art of Live Scribing

What is livescribing? On this episode, I speak to an artist with a unique creative talent. Hannah Williams is the founder of Scribble Inc. and her talent is that she can summarise presentations and discussions in beautiful p…
Sept. 7, 2023

Dr Erica Thompson on Escape from Modelland

Why are we so reliant on models, how can they lead us astray, and what can we do about it? On this episode, I’m exploring models. Of the mathematical kind, not the fashion or toy kind. Models interest me because so much of …
Sept. 3, 2023

Dr Roger Miles on Money, Motivation and Music

What can music teach us about human behaviour? What impact is remote and hybrid working having on employee conduct? How might we misjudge the risks posed by AI? If these seem like a broad range of topics that have little in…
Aug. 30, 2023

Ayelet Gundar-Goshen on The Wolf Hunt

How well do we really know those who are closest to us? That’s the question that is behind ‘The Wolf Hunt’, a new novel by Israeli author Ayelet Gundar-Goshen. She's my guest on this very special episode. In a first for the…
Aug. 25, 2023

Professor Bent Flyvbjerg on How Big Things Get Done

Why are major projects so often delayed and over budget? On this episode, I'm speaking to Bent Flyvbjerg, the author of 'How Big Things Get Done'. Bent s a Danish economic geographer. He was the First BT Professor and Inaug…
Aug. 17, 2023

Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope on Scams, Stories & Secrets

Why drives people to commit fraud? What turns people into whistleblowers? How does fraud impact victims? On this episode, I'm exploring the scams, stories and secrets behind fraud. My guest is Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope. She…
Aug. 11, 2023

Bruce Rigal on Money and Motivation

How can we design incentive programmes that deliver the right outcomes and avoid the wrong ones? We're all familiar with teh idea of rewards to encourage good behaviour and punishment to deter bad behaviour. Incentive progra…
Aug. 5, 2023

Neil Mullarkey on being In The Moment

How can we be more in the moment in meetings, conversations and presentations? On this episode, I'm speaking to communications expert and comedian Neil Mullarkey. In his new book 'In The Moment', Neil explores how we can …
July 30, 2023

Rory Sutherland, Gerald Ashley & Paul Craven at Abbey Road Part Three

What happens when you put three Behavioural Science gurus in a world-famous music studio? On this episode, we find out as my guests are Paul Craven, Rory Sutherland and Gerald Ashley, who join me for part three of a three-pa…
July 23, 2023

Rory Sutherland, Gerald Ashley & Paul Craven at Abbey Road Part Two

Why do some people become ‘super spreaders’ for fashions and ideas? Why might an acceptance letter from a top University be worth more than a degree from the same establishment? These and many more questions are answered in …
July 14, 2023

Rory Sutherland, Gerald Ashley & Paul Craven at Abbey Road Part One

What happens when you bring three behavioural science gurus into a world-famous recording studio? Find out on three special episodes of the Human Risk podcast. Rory Sutherland, Gerald Ashley and Paul Craven have all been …
July 5, 2023

Nitish Upadhyaya on Behavioural Law

How do we know that laws and rules are effective? On this episode, I'm returning to the field of Behavioural Law. It's something I've explored in previous episodes with academics (links below), but this time I'm joined by a …
June 26, 2023

Dr Vanessa Patrick on the Power of Saying 'No'

Why does a two-letter word ('no') often cause us huge amounts of problems? After all, it's easy to say… except when it isn’t. We’ve all found ourselves in situations where we’ve wanted to say 'no' but, for some reason, haven…
June 16, 2023

Paul Dornan on being truly funny

What does it mean to be truly funny? We often associate the word ‘funny’ with comedy and making people laugh. But it can also mean being witty, incisive ironic, playful, teasing, or delivering little moments of truth. On t…
June 9, 2023

Christian Hunt on Humanizing Rules

Why should we humanize rules? On this episode, your usual show host Christian Hunt is replaced by experienced podcaster and presenter Mark Heywood. That's becuase, the guest on today's episode is...Christian. Having just re…