Info

PsychCrunch

PsychCrunch is the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest. Each episode we explore whether the findings from psychological science can make a difference in real life. Just how should we live, according to psychology? We speak to psychologists about their research and whether they apply what they've discovered in their own lives.
RSS Feed
PsychCrunch
2024
March


2023
October
June
February


2022
September
May
January


2021
October
August
May
April
January


2020
November
September
March
January


2019
September
July
May
March


2018
November
August
June
February


2017
November
February


2016
November
August
June
March


2015
December
October
June
February


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: Category: general
Mar 14, 2024

This is Episode 36 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

Why do we dream? And what business does a good dream have turning into a nightmare?

In this episode, Ella Rhodes embarks on an exploration of our non-waking life.

In it, she speaks with Director of the Swansea University Sleep Laboratory, Professor Mark Blagrove, about his research and latest theories about the origins of dreams.

Research Clinical Psychologist Dr Bryony Sheaves of Oxford University also shares her expert insights into why we have nightmares, and the innovative research revealing how treating them can improve our mental health.

Episode Credits:

Written and hosted by Ella Rhodes.
Mixed and edited by Jeff Knowler.
Edited by Emma Barratt.

Missed previous episodes? Get up to date via our PsychCrunch collection page.

Not done dreaming? 

Check out The Psychologist’s most recent interview with Mark Blagrove for much more on the function of dreams.

Or explore some of Bryony’s latest research on nightmares in this Research Digest piece by Emily Reynolds.

PsychCrunch is sponsored by Routledge Psychology

Routledge Psychology is part of the Taylor & Francis Group, and publishing partner for the BPS Core Textbooks Series. Browse over 5 million articles, and related books. BPS members are entitled to a 25% discount on all books published by Routledge – find your discount code here and visit the dedicated BPS Member page at Routledge here.

Oct 26, 2023

This is Episode 35 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

From haunted houses to scary movies, many of us find a thrill in a good scare. But… isn’t that a bit counter-intuitive?

In this episode, we ask why so many of us are drawn to things that should make us run a mile, and whether we can use fear to help us better cope with day-to-day anxiety. Host Ella Rhodes speaks with Director of The Recreational Fear Lab, Dr Mathias Clasen, and Cambridge University PhD student Lucie Daniel-Watanabe to discover why fear isn’t always to be feared.

Episode credits:

Written and hosted by Ella Rhodes.

Audio mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler.

Edited by Emma Barratt.

 

Not done learning about fear? 

Get into Dr Ciaran O’Keeffe’s look at the psychology of fear, fright-nights and exploring the unknown
Or if coping with fear piques your interest, why not explore what children know about managing fear with this piece by Christian Jarrett.
Still curious? Dive deeper into our guest Dr Matthias Clasen’s work right here.

PsychCrunch is sponsored by Routledge Psychology

Routledge Psychology is part of the Taylor & Francis Group, and publishing partner for the BPS Core Textbooks Series
Browse over 5 million articles at www.tandfonline.com, and related books at www.routledge.com.

Sep 6, 2022

We’ve lived side-by-side with domestic cats for thousands of years, yet they maintain an aura of mystery and a reputation for aloofness and even outright disdain for humans. But are cats really so enigmatic – or are we only just beginning to understand them?

In this episode, Ella Rhodes, journalist for The Psychologist, speaks to two experts who are working to help us to understand cats. They discuss research on cat cognition and intelligence, chat about what we can do how to make our cats’ lives happier, and even share some tips on how to train them. Our guests are Dr Kristyn Vitale, assistant professor of animal health and behaviour at Unity College, and Dr Zazie Todd, author of the Companion Animal Psychology blog and recent book Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy.

Episode credits:

Presented and produced by Ella Rhodes. Script edits by Matthew Warren. Mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music by Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Artwork by Tim Grimshaw.

Relevant research and writing from our guests includes:

Companion Animal Psychology: a blog written by Zazie Todd

Several articles by Kristyn Vitale and colleagues:

Oct 19, 2015

On October 1, 2015 Dr Christian Jarrett (Editor, BPS Research Digest) met with Dr Jon Sutton (Editor, The Psychologist magazine) to debate Michael Jackson's legacy. This is their full argument!

Excerpts from their debate about MJ appear in Episode Three of PsychCrunch, which explored whether psychology can help you to win an argument.

1