Shankar Vedantam

The use of solitary confinement in prisons has grown since the 1970s. Criminologist Keramet Reiter talks with us about the psychological effects that long-term isolation has on our minds.

With repeated lies, the brain becomes less and less sensitive to dishonesty, supporting ever larger acts of dishonesty. But why do we lie and is it such a terrible thing if we do?

When we think of lies, we think of the big stuff. We say, "I could never do something like that." But big lies start with small deceptions. Dan Ariely talks about why we lie and why we're honest.

Researchers had a hypothesis that when you really want something, you start to focus on it obsessively. It produces a kind of tunnel vision and creates problems for thinking in the long-term.

When you really need something — whether it's money, food, or even time — it can be hard to focus on anything else. Researchers call this scarcity, and say it can affect many aspects of our lives.

As the country has become more polarized, we increasingly disagree not just on policy, but on the facts. Can more and better information solve the problem of fake news?

In politics, it sometimes feels like we can't agree on basic facts. But according to neuroscientist Tali Sharot, facts are not enough — emotions may be the key to changing our minds.

As Republicans unveil their Affordable Care Act replacement, we examine how Medicaid expansion has affected divorce rates among older people.

This week on Hidden Brain, the stories of two men who showed empathy for the other side and found themselves labeled "enemy" by their own people.

Airbnb has come under fire in the last year following reports that hosts are less likely to rent to African-Americans compared to whites. New research looked at ways to address the discrimination.

Chicago is in dire need of solutions for its violent crime. A cognitive behavioral therapy program has been able to help keep teenage boys from acting out on their impulses.

Maz Jobrani, an Iranian-American comedian, uses humor to critique President Trump — whom he describes as "good for comedy but bad for the world."

Social science research finds that students who are taught classical economics about how humans act in their rational self-interest, become more likely to act selfishly after learning those lessons.

We hear a lot about senseless violence: people who lose their lives or their freedom over a stolen backpack, or perceived slight. Two researchers think social science might help prevent these crimes.

Cars are less likely to stop when people of color step into intersections, a study says. That may partly explain why there are higher levels of pedestrian deaths among racial minority communities.

Research suggests that college students are not having more sex than their parents were a generation ago. But sociologist Lisa Wade says the culture around sex has changed dramatically.

Research shows that financial analysts have biases in things like gender and names when it comes to evaluating companies.

J. Marion Sims is remembered as the father of modern gynecology. Forgotten are the mothers of that medical specialty — the enslaved women whose bodies were used for the advancement of his research.

All over the world, people say they make friends by "breaking bread together." Social science research explores why sitting down to eat together makes people feel closer.

President Trump's executive order on refugees left travelers stranded at airports worldwide. To some, the scenes evoked images of Jewish refugees during World War II. We investigate the parallels.