Two Psychologists Four Beers

Yoel Inbar, Michael Inzlicht, and Alexa Tullett
  • 4.5 (154)
  • SOCIAL SCIENCES
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY

Two psychologists endeavor to drink four beers while discussing news and controversies in science, academia, and beyond.

  1. SEP 3

    RE-RELEASE: What are Teachers Good For? (with Paul Bloom)

    This is a re-release of Episode 95, which was recorded in September 2023. Paul Bloom joins Yoel and Alexa to talk about the glamour and humiliation of teaching psychology at the college level. They discuss how they've changed their approaches to teaching over the years, and whether they've become more skilled or more out of touch (or both). Alexa shares her experiences teaching about morality and evolution to a predominantly Christian student body, Yoel laments the fact that his students aren't more disagreeable, and Paul claims that critical thinking is overrated. In an era of increasing remote instruction, they claim that online courses can't do what they do. But, only Yik Yak knows for sure. Special Guest: Paul Bloom.

    1h 8m

  2. AUG 7

    When to Quit (with Paul Bloom)

    Paul Bloom takes over the show to interview Yoel about loss of faith: when to give up on a theory, and which of his own findings he no longer believes. But it's not all doom and gloom! They also talk about what social psychology findings they think are robust, and what new research they are excited about. But before all that, they discuss whether Sydney Sweeney's new American Eagle ad campaign is pro-eugenics. Special Guest: Paul Bloom.

    1h 11m

  3. JUL 7

    A New Paradigm for Psychology?

    Yoel is joined by a mysterious pseudonymous duo called Slime Mold Time Mold, who are proposing a new paradigm for psychology based on principles from cybernetics. This means thinking of the behavior as the result of "governors" (think drives) that are trying to reduce the distance between a set point and the state of the world by motivating you to do stuff. So when you are thirsty, you are highly motivated to drink, and when you need to pee, you are highly motivated to find a toilet. Those are simple examples, but can we use the same principles to explain more complex phenomena like emotion, motivation, personality, mental illness, and more? That is what my guests on this episode are proposing. Special Guest: Slime Mold Time Mold.

    1h 24m

  4. JUN 6

    Transparent Replications (with Spencer Greenberg)

    Returning guest Spencer Greenberg joins the show to talk replications, what psychologist think of terror management theory (and other controversial topics), and a machine-learning tool he developed to predict correlations between psychological traits and survey questions. In this episode, we talk about what Spencer has learned by replicating studies from recent publications in psychology, the decline of p-hacking, and what other threats to validity psychologists should be worried about. Special Guest: Spencer Greenberg.

    1h 14m

  5. MAY 7

    The Future of DEI in Higher Ed (with Amori Mikami)

    It's been a tumultuous time for DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts in higher education. Whether due to political pressure, internal arguments, or both, many prominent institutions are revamping their DEI offices (or even eliminating them altogether) and rethinking DEI policies that once seemed unquestionable. Amori Mikami from the University of British Columbia re-joins the show to talk about the changes and what she thinks universities ought to be doing (as well as what she thinks we can do better). Along the way, Yoel and Amori talk about the use of race and gender in hiring, diversity statements, October 7 and the Gaza war, and institutional neutrality (in short, this episode touches every third rail imaginable). There's some debate and some agreement, but most importantly we both finish our beers. Special Guest: Amori Mikami.

    1h 47m

  6. APR 1

    Do We Have a Purity Problem? (with David Pizarro)

    Arguably, the last 25 years of moral psychology have been about people's judgments of "purity violations"--ostensibly harmless acts that "are disgusting or degrading to one’s spiritual nature." From sex with (dead) chickens to pet-eating to baby Jesus buttplugs, moral psychologists have been fascinated by purity transgressions. Moral psychologist and purity expert David Pizarro joins the show to talk about the concept of purity and recent critiques arguing that it's a concept too broad to be useful. Along the way, we also discuss how often to shower, getting into bed in your outside clothes, and ritualistically washing your dad's feet. Special Guest: David Pizarro.

    1h 13m

  7. MAR 6

    Good News for the Chronics (with Mickey Inzlicht)

    On-again off-again co-host Mickey Inzlicht joins the show to debrief about the recent SPSP (Society for Personality and Social Psychology) conference. We then dissect a new paper purporting to show working memory deficits in heavy cannabis users, including a deep dive into the preregistration. Finally, we discuss a recent Op-Ed in the Guardian that argues that research on AI empathy is fatally flawed.

    1h 20m

  8. JAN 23

    Can We Do Science Without Ideology? (with Moin Syed)

    Cultural and developmental psychologist and open science advocate Moin Syed joins the show to talk what he thinks people get wrong about ideology, diversity, and open science. We talk about what role, if any, researchers' ideology should play in their science, and what it means when people describe psychological research as "ideological." In the second half of the show, we talk about what people get wrong about preregistration, and why it seems some misconceptions just won't die. We also talk about Moin's attempt to correct some misinformation (it did not go that well), and some local beer history. Special Guest: Moin Syed.

    1h 27m
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4.5
out of 5
154 Ratings

About

Two psychologists endeavor to drink four beers while discussing news and controversies in science, academia, and beyond.

Information

  • Creator
    Yoel Inbar, Michael Inzlicht, and Alexa Tullett
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2025
  • Episodes
    124
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Yoel Inbar, Michael Inzlicht, and Alexa Tullett
  • Show Website
    Two Psychologists Four Beers

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