Humans & Hope
A podcast about human behaviour - and our hopes of building a better world. In each episode writer and consultant Richard Docwra is joined by an expert psychologist to explore one of humanity’s biggest hopes and challenges - including stopping conflict and hate, tackling the spread of misinformation, and preventing climate change. We’ll explore the latest evidence about how humans think and behave, and ask whether each aim is realistic, given the creatures we are. And if we can’t achieve them - what’s the best we can hope for? New episode every Monday - subscribe now! @RichardDocwra www.richarddocwra.com My new book ‘Life – and how to think about it’ is out now – buy it here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08V4BFQ
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 46 minutes
- Episodes
- 18
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2024
Episode 19 - Introducing my new book 'Humanise'
In this special episode, I talk about my new book, 'Humanise: how knowing ourselves could change the world'. Some of the ideas behind the format for the book evolved from previous episodes of the 'Hu…
The psychology of organised crime
In this episode I’m talking to Dr Giovanni Travaglino about organised crime and criminal groups - how they gain influence and power and affect people’s lives - and what can be done to address them.
We…
How can we reduce the effects of inequality in education?
In this episode I’m talking to Dr Matt Easterbrook about how different forms of inequality in education can affect children’s lives - and what can be done to address them.
We’ll see how inequality has…
How can Democrats use psychology to beat Trump in 2024?
In this episode I’m talking to Dr Frank Mols about how psychology could help the Democratic party to beat the Republicans, likely to be led by Donald Trump, in the 2024 presidential election that man…
Can human beings cope with life in the modern world?
In this episode I’m talking to Professor Bill von Hippel about whether human beings are really equipped to cope with life in the modern world.
We’ll discuss how human beings have evolved to live in a …
How much self-discipline do we really have?
In this episode I’m talking to Professor Roy Baumeister about self-discipline and willpower.
We’ll explore how much control we really have over our thinking and behaviour, how self-discipline can hel…
Why do we think we're better than other people?
In this episode I’m talking to Professor Constantine Sedikides about self enhancement - our tendency to think we’re better than other people.
We’ll explore in what ways people think they are superior …
What is our potential - and our limits - as individual human beings?
In this episode I’m talking to Professor Jonathan Schooler about our potential - and our limits - as individual human beings.
We’ll ask whether there are any human capabilities we’ve underexploited to…
Is it possible to achieve global peace?
In this episode I’m talking to Professor Dan Christie about our desire for global peace - and whether it’s realistic, given the creatures we are.
We’ll explore some of the tendencies in human thinkin…
Is it possible to achieve a more equal society?
In this episode I’m talking to Professor Jolanda Jetten about economic equality - and whether it’s possible to achieve a more equal society.
We’ll explore some of the tendencies in human thinking and …
How can we get better at changing the world?
In this episode I’m talking to Dr Maja Kutlaca and Dr Helena Radke about how we can seek social change more effectively – from confronting discrimination through to building more successful campaign…
Will we ever give other animals the same rights as humans?
In this episode I’m talking to Dr Jared Piazza about our attitudes towards and treatment of other animals.
We’ll ask what our attitudes are, how they vary across different animals and where they come …
Can human beings tackle climate change?
In this episode I’m talking to Professor Kelly Fielding about whether human beings really have the capacity to respond to global issues like climate change to the level we need.
We discuss some of the…
Do human beings need religion?
In this episode I’m talking to Dr Nick Perham about the psychology of religion - and whether human beings need it in their lives.
We’ll explore the psychological drivers behind religious belief, why …
How moral are human beings?
In this episode I’m talking to Dr Pascal Burgmer about morality, and whether it’s really possible for human beings to meet the moral standards we commonly set ourselves.
We’ll ask how our moral thinki…
Is it possible to prevent the rise of populism, hate and extremist political movements?
In this episode I talk to Professor Joe Forgas to explore whether its possible to prevent the rise of populism, hate and extremist political movements.
We discuss what aspects of our psychology can le…
What are human beings really like?
In this first episode I’m talking to Dr Sophie Russell to set the scene for the series. We’ll explore what we’ve learnt about human beings in the last 50 years, and try to build a more accurate pictu…
Is it possible to stop people falling for fake news and conspiracy theories?
In this episode I talk to Dr Daniel Jolley about fake news and conspiracy theories. We explore the psychology behind why people believe them, how these ideas can spread and whether there’s anything w…