The Happiness Lab is serving up scientifically-backed takes this summer that are so hot, even your SPF 50 won’t protect you. With the help of behavioral scientists, historians, and cultural critics, Yale psychologist Dr. Laurie Santos challenges some of our biggest assumptions about what it takes to live a good life. Dr. Laurie explores topics like why we should forget about TMI and lean into oversharing, how dumping small talk makes for better conversations, why the kids these days are actually doing just fine, and how men can establish strong bromances. Each episode unpacks a bold, counterintuitive claim — using research, data, and expert insight to question the conventional wisdom around happiness and wellbeing.
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Society & Culture
We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups – and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They'll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser. New episodes every Friday.
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History
What happens when life doesn’t go according to plan? In this award-winning podcast, cognitive scientist Dr. Maya Shankar explores how we experience change and strategies we can use to better navigate moments of upheaval. Maya’s life took a dramatic turn when an injury ended her career as a violinist and inspired her to study the science of change. Named Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year, A Slight Change of Plans features deeply personal stories and scientific insights about who we are and who we become in the face of a big change. Past guests include Kacey Musgraves, Brené Brown, Ruby Bridges, Amanda Knox, Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth and more. Whether it’s a sudden pivot or a slow transformation, each episode reveals how change can give us an opportunity to reimagine who we are and unlock greater possibility. You can follow Maya on instagram @DrMayaShankar and read her free newsletter at changewithmaya.com. Get early, ad-free access to episodes of A Slight Change of Plans by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkinSubscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus
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Society & Culture
The story of Elon Musk, the way it's often told, makes him sound like a fictional character, a comic-book superhero – or, especially lately, a supervillain. As the world's richest man, the US President’s right-hand man, and the owner of X, he’s possibly the world’s most powerful man. Musk wants to build robots and colonise Mars and appears to be dismantling sizable parts of the US government. His vision of the future seems to stem from the science fiction that has fueled his imagination since he was a boy. But what's the real story, the true history, behind Musk’s sense of destiny? Back in 2021 Harvard history professor and New Yorker writer Jill Lepore became fascinated by this question. So she made a podcast that tried to explain Musk through the science fiction he grew up with. A lot has happened in the four years since. So she’s gone back in to bring the story up to date. “X Man: The Elon Musk Origin Story” is a production of the BBC and distributed by Pushkin Industries.
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Business
In 2020, the Financial Times exposed a €2 billion fraud at Wirecard, a high-flying German fintech. Many thought that was the end of the story. But for reporter Sam Jones, it was just the beginning. This season on Hot Money: Agent of Chaos, Jones investigates Wirecard’s chief operating officer, who vanished just as Wirecard collapsed. And turned out to also be a Russian spy. From an Ibizan sting operation to an attempted takeover of the Austrian intelligence service, his reporting spirals into a world of warlords, espionage, and disinformation. All in an attempt to answer one question: Who is the real Jan Marsalek? And what does his secret life reveal about the powerful forces he serves?
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Business
Every legend has a twist. From pop culture icons to music and comedy greats, award-winning journalists Kai Wright and Emmanuel Dzotsi dig into the BBC archive to unpick the story behind the icons who shape our culture. Each week on Big Lives, Kai and Emmanuel take an iconic figure — from musical trailblazers like David Bowie, Amy Winehouse and Tina Turner to stars of the screen like Richard Pryor, Meg Ryan and Jane Fonda — and dissect their lives. Join them as they see these icons in a new light, uncover deep cuts from the BBC's archive, and learn how each legend set the stage for our contemporary cultural landscape. After all, you can't understand today's culture until you understand the icons who built it. Smart, curious, and full of heart. Listen ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up on the Big Lives show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. Subscribe to BBC on Apple Podcasts and on BBC.com.
There’s a world class thinker behind every show with Pushkin Industries, an award-winning audio network producing work that challenges listeners, encourages their curiosity and inspires joy. In other words: Good, Smart, Fun.
Our podcasts range across many genres, including history, true crime, and music, and include founder Malcolm Gladwell’s hugely successful Revisionist History, Jonathan Goldstein's Heavyweight, Against the Rules from Michael Lewis, The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos, Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford, Broken Record, Deep Cover, Paul McCartney’s A Life in Lyrics, and Apple’s 2021 Show of the Year, A Slight Change of Plans with Dr. Maya Shankar.
Pushkin also produces audiobooks, including Steve Martin’s So Many Steves, Inside Voice by Lake Bell, the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen, Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis, Heartbreak by Florence Williams, and Malcolm Gladwell’s Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon, The Bomber Mafia, and Talking to Strangers.
Pushkin+ subscribers receive full series binges, bonus episodes, audiobooks, ad-free listening, and more. For more information visit pushkin.fm or follow us on social @pushkinpods.