Episodes
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 things more human-centric. We...
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 building sites,not the cyber...
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 design and customer service....
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 guest is Ros Atkins. He’s a BBC...
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 pieces of art that fuse...
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 our world is run by them....
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 common, then you’re right...
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 show, I’m interviewing 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 Inaugural Chair of Major...
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's the Dr. Barry Jay Epstein...
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 the idea of rewards to encourage good behaviour and punishment to deter bad behaviour. Incentive programmes are common because...
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 use the ideas that underpin...
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-part series recorded at the...
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 this episode.
My guests...
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 on the show before (links...
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 practitioner who works in 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’t been able to do so....
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 this episode, I’m speaking...
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 released a book called...
June 3, 2023
Rupert Evill on Bootstrapping Ethics
How can organisations with limited resources handle ethical issues? While every organisation wants to be ethical — or at the very least, to be seen to be ethical — smaller ones often lack the resources or experience to manage these issues.
My guest...
May 28, 2023
Dr Bettina Palazzo on Compliance Communication
What’s the most effective way to communicate rules and influence humans to comply with them? On the face of it, just telling people what to do seems like a sensible approach. But what about when those rules have a qualitative component, where people...
May 17, 2023
Matt Ballantine on The Human Side of Technology
What happens when people meet technology? As Artificial Intelligence makes machines appear to be more human, what does that mean for the interactions we have with tech?
On this episode, I’m speaking to Matt Ballantine. He has spent spent the past two...
May 5, 2023
Kristina Stiles on Burn Prevention
Why did an advertisement for coffee prompt a nurse to contact the company to ask them to withdraw it? The answer is that the nurse in question has 20 years experience in burn care, and the advertisement — for the coffee chain Costa Coffee — showed a...
April 29, 2023
Jenny-Joy Kreindl on Leadership Communication
What’s the difference between a leader that communicates well and one that doesn’t?
We’ve all seen examples of leaders who are terrible at communicating — whether it’s politicians that can’t find the right words or those nightmare bosses who fail to...