Why getting it right might mean admitting you're wrong. What if we were to replace intellectual combat with genuine discussion and treat beliefs as hypotheses to be tested rather than treasures to be defended? In his guide to thinking better, P

Headlines and trendlines

Jan 27th, 2022 28m 49s

The media fills our minds with vivid images of rare events from plane crashes to terrorist attacks. In his guide to thinking better, Professor Steven Pinker explores how we can stop the news from distorting our understanding of the world. He’s

Sentence first, verdict afterwards

Jan 20th, 2022 28m 33s

Decision making in the courtroom: In his guide to thinking better, Professor Steven Pinker explores the life and death choices made by judges and juries.To help him sift signals from noise, he’s joined by: Judge Nancy Gertner: former United Sta

Nudges and noise

Jan 13th, 2022 28m 58s

The way we think makes us vulnerable to bad decision making, but in his guide to thinking better, Steven Pinker explores how we can exploit our cognitive biases to make better choices. Professor Pinker is joined by:Daniel Kahneman, Professor Em

Rational soothsaying

Jan 6th, 2022 29m 4s

Making predictions can be hard, especially about the future. In his guide to thinking better, Professor Steven Pinker explores the cognitive flaws that hobble us as forecasters.He’s joined by Barbara Mellers, the George I. Heyman University Pro

The Climate Game

Dec 30th, 2021 28m 44s

How flaws in the way we think make it harder to tackle climate change. In his guide to thinking better, Professor Steven Pinker examines how global warming is also a problem in the psychology of judgement and decision making.To search for solu

Future you

Dec 23rd, 2021 29m 5s

Should we eat, drink and be merry or make sacrifices now to benefit our future selves? In his guide to thinking better, Professor Steven Pinker explores what's called 'future discounting' in decision making.He's joined by...Dr Maria Kournikova,

You Can’t Think That!

Dec 16th, 2021 28m 38s

Are some thoughts too evil to think? Sometimes we avoid seemingly rational lines of reasoning, not because of logic, innumeracy or ignorance, but for morality. In his guide to thinking better, Professor Steven Pinker explores the trade-offs be

Don’t expect a zebra

Dec 9th, 2021 28m 56s

Why medical students are advised - if you hear hoofbeats behind you, don't expect to see a zebra. In his guide to thinking better, Professor Steven Pinker explores Bayesian reasoning.Steven is joined by Talithia Williams, professor of mathemati

In touch with reality

Dec 2nd, 2021 28m 44s

Why do so many of us believe in quackery and conspiracy? In his guide to thinking better, Professor Steven Pinker tries to make sense of the senseless.Steven is joined by Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and the autho

Methinks it is a weasel

Nov 25th, 2021 28m 45s

It’s tempting to see patterns in the random kaleidoscope of everyday experiences, but it's also dangerous. Along with his business partner Warren Buffet, vice-chair of Berkshire Hathaway Charlie Munger has made billions of dollars but, by his

Think Twice

Nov 18th, 2021 28m 56s

Sabermetrics, the search for objective knowledge about baseball by analysing statistical records, has transformed the sport. But can statistics and formulas really do a better job of picking the best players than a baseball coach with decades o

Welcome to Think with Pinker

Nov 10th, 2021 2m 21s

Professor Steven Pinker has spent his life thinking about thinking. Now he wants us to join him. For this series Professor Pinker has created a critical thinking toolkit which he hopes will help all of us make better decisions about – well, eve