The Psychology Podcast

About The Psychology Podcast

For eleven years and 478 episodes, Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman hosted The Psychology Podcast, one of the most listened-to psychology shows in the world, with more than 30 million downloads. Human Potential Lab is what that show has become. The questions have moved. What is a mind? What makes something conscious? What happens to being human when the things we build start to look like minds themselves? Too much of the work is happening out of public view. In this new show, Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman sits down with the scientists, philosophers and technologists working at the frontier — the people whose work is actively deciding what we could become as a species. Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist and the founder of the Center for Human Potential. He holds a Ph.D. from Yale and an M.Phil. from Cambridge, has taught at Columbia, NYU and the University of Pennsylvania, and is the author or editor of twelve books, including Transcend, Ungifted, Wired to Create and Rise Above. New episodes every other week from October 28, 2026.

Publisher

Scott Barry Kaufman

Category

science · society & culture · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Nov 2014

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

72 of 480 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Welcome to Human Potential Lab

   Host Dr. Robert Greene interviews leading scientists, philosophers, and technologists shaping humanity's future in this inaugural episode of Human Potential Lab.

2. 

   4 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT

   End of an Era — Reflections on 11 Years of The Psychology Podcast w/ Annie Murphy Paul

   Host Scott Barry Kaufman and acclaimed science writer Annie Murphy Paul reflect on 11 years of "The Psychology Podcast," sharing core insights into human potential and the show's enduring legacy.

3. 

   20 Nov 2025TRANSCRIPT

   How Mindsets Shape Reality w/ Dr. Alia Crum

   Host Scott Barry Kaufman interviews Dr. Alia Crum, a leading researcher, about how mindsets shape our reality and drive measurable changes in well-being and performance.

Inside a recent episode

Welcome to Human Potential Lab

Published 14 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] If we are building mines, we should probably know that. Too much of that work is happening out of public view. I want to bring the frontier into the open. In the last couple of years, we've made novel living beings that have never been here before. It will be infinitely validating. It will tell you you're a genius because people like to hear that. Alignment is a kind of brainwashing. We force them to have exactly the goals that we want them to have. The presumption with alignment seems to be if we instill the right rules for the AI to follow, Then we'll be fine. Then something comes along that the rules didn't think of. […]

Who has been a guest on The Psychology Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Annie Murphy Paul
• Alia Crum
• Elisabet Lahti
• RaQuel Hopkins
• Dr Ben Rein

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

419,108,275

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

1,764 ratings

Spotify

4.5 / 5

865 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 87 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

96

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

100

Contact The Psychology Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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• 

  Speaking of Psychology

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  Psychology Unplugged

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  The One You Feed

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  Therapy in a Nutshell

Questions about The Psychology Podcast