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Richard Docwra

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Humans & HopeHumans & HopeEpisode 19 - Introducing my new book 'Humanise'In this special episode, I talk about my new book, 'Humanise: how knowing ourselves could change the world'. Some of the ideas behind the format for the book evolved from previous episodes of the 'Humans & Hope' podcast. Humanise is a popular psychology book that reveals the latest understanding of how human beings think and behave, and shows how we could use this knowledge to tackle some of our biggest challenges, from obesity to violence to climate change, and build a better future for people and our planet. It therefore aims to bring together some of the previous t...2024-10-2049 minA Short History of IrelandA Short History of IrelandSeries 1: Omnibus 15Omnibus #15 explores Ireland’s rich and turbulent history in the following episodes –● The Scurvy Fort of Blackwater ● The Earl of Essex's Failure ● Mountjoy and Docwra ● We Spare None of What Quality or Sex Soever ● The Battle of Christmas EveWritten by Dr Jonathan Bardon and featuring Frances Tomelty, James Greene, Richard Dormer and Sean Crummey2024-09-1727 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeThe psychology of organised crimeIn this episode I’m talking to Dr Giovanni Travaglino about organised crime and criminal groups - how they gain influence and power and affect people’s lives - and what can be done to address them.We’ll see how organised crime is a bigger part of our lives and the global economy than we might think. We’ll explore the surprising role that criminal groups play in local communities and the steps they take to inspire loyalty in people. We’ll also explore how psychology can help us to tackle organised crime and criminal groups around the...2022-02-2851 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeHow can we reduce the effects of inequality in education?In this episode I’m talking to Dr Matt Easterbrook about how different forms of inequality in education can affect children’s lives - and what can be done to address them.We’ll see how inequality has some surprising consequences - from how children perform and feel about education through to how teachers evaluate the performance and potential of their pupils. We’ll also explore what can be done to build an education system that benefits everyone, regardless of their background or identity. Matt is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sussex. His resea...2022-01-2445 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeHow can Democrats use psychology to beat Trump in 2024?In this episode I’m talking to Dr Frank Mols about how psychology could help the Democratic party to beat the Republicans, likely to be led by Donald Trump, in the 2024 presidential election that many experts believe could be critical to the future of democracy in the USA.We’ll look at the psychology behind Trump’s appeal to voters, who supports him and the messages he uses. We’ll ask how Democrats should campaign to voters in the lead up to the next election, with democracy under threat from Republicans and an electorate that is deeply divided...2022-01-171h 13Humans & HopeHumans & HopeCan human beings cope with life in the modern world?In this episode I’m talking to Professor Bill von Hippel about whether human beings are really equipped to cope with life in the modern world.We’ll discuss how human beings have evolved to live in a world of small hunter-gatherer tribes, not the connected, complex world we now have. We’ll explore how some of the traits of thinking and behaviour we’ve developed for life in that world can cause us problems and challenges in the modern world. And we’ll ask what we can do to make the modern world more suitable for human flou...2021-12-2756 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeHow much self-discipline do we really have?In this episode I’m talking to Professor Roy Baumeister about self-discipline and willpower. We’ll explore how much control we really have over our thinking and behaviour, how self-discipline can help us in life and how we can strengthen our own self-discipline as well as other people’s, such as that of our children! Professor Baumeister is Professor of Psychology at the University of Queensland in Australia. His research explores how we think about the self, and why we feel and act the way we do. He is especially known for his work on the subj...2021-12-2028 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeWhy do we think we're better than other people?In this episode I’m talking to Professor Constantine Sedikides about self enhancement - our tendency to think we’re better than other people.We’ll explore in what ways people think they are superior to others, why this happens and how this varies between people. We will also consider the implications of self-enhancement for society.Professor Sedikides is Professor of Social and Personality Psychology at the University of Southampton. His research focusses on the role of our self and identity in our thinking and behaviour.I hope you enjoy our conversation. Please subscr...2021-12-1331 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeWhat is our potential - and our limits - as individual human beings?In this episode I’m talking to Professor Jonathan Schooler about our potential - and our limits - as individual human beings.We’ll ask whether there are any human capabilities we’ve underexploited to date, or are just not yet aware of. We’ll explore whether we know ourselves very well as creatures, and how knowing ourselves better might improve our lives. Overall, we’ll ask - what should our expectations for ourselves, and human beings in general, be?Professor Schooler is based at the University of California in Santa Barbara in the USA. His resear...2021-12-0647 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeIs it possible to achieve global peace?In this episode I’m talking to Professor Dan Christie about our desire for global peace - and whether it’s realistic, given the creatures we are. We’ll explore some of the tendencies in human thinking and behaviour that can make it difficult for us to achieve global peace between people and nations, as well as those that could help us move towards it. We’ll ask what’s the best we can hope for and how might we most effectively achieve it?Professor Christie is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Ohio State University in the USA...2021-11-2951 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeIs it possible to achieve a more equal society?In this episode I’m talking to Professor Jolanda Jetten about economic equality - and whether it’s possible to achieve a more equal society.We’ll explore some of the tendencies in human thinking and behaviour that can lead people to support inequality, as well as those that could help us promote a more equal society. Professor Jetten is a Fellow at the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland in Australia. Her research has covered a number of areas, including social identity, health and economic inequality.I hope you enjoy our co...2021-11-2242 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeHow can we get better at changing the world?In this episode I’m talking to Dr Maja Kutlaca  and Dr Helena Radke about how we can seek social change more effectively – from confronting discrimination through to building more successful campaigns.We’ll explore some of their fascinating insights, including how we feel about people who stand up against injustice, how to build coalitions to tackle social issues and how to develop more effective campaigns. Dr Kutlaca is Assistant Professor in Quantitative Social Psychology at Durham University and Dr Radke is Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Edinburgh.  They each have their own research...2021-11-1546 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeWill we ever give other animals the same rights as humans?In this episode I’m talking to Dr Jared Piazza about our attitudes towards and treatment of other animals.We’ll ask what our attitudes are, how they vary across different animals and where they come from. We’ll also consider whether we are moving towards a world in which we give more rights to other animals - for example, will we ever stop killing animals for meat?Dr Piazza is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Lancaster University. He studies the psychological processes involved in moral judgment and decision making, particularly in relation to animal...2021-11-0846 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeCan human beings tackle climate change?In this episode I’m talking to Professor Kelly Fielding about whether human beings really have the capacity to respond to global issues like climate change to the level we need.We discuss some of the key things human beings will need to achieve if we are to meaningfully tackle climate change as a global society, and some of the tendencies in human thinking and behaviour that might prevent us from doing this. We also explore the human capacities that might help us respond more effectively to global issues like climate change - and how we can pu...2021-11-0140 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeDo human beings need religion?In this episode I’m talking to Dr Nick Perham about the psychology of religion - and whether human beings need it in their lives. We’ll explore the psychological drivers behind religious belief, why it is so popular, the purpose it serves for human beings and some of its disadvantages. We’ll also ask whether it’s possible for people to get these same benefits without religion.Dr Perham is a senior lecturer in Cognitive Psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan university. His research looks at how cognitive psychology affects various areas of our lives - from rel...2021-10-2441 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeHow moral are human beings?In this episode I’m talking to Dr Pascal Burgmer about morality, and whether it’s really possible for human beings to meet the moral standards we commonly set ourselves.We’ll ask how our moral thinking and behaviour works - and whether the moral standards we set ourselves as human beings are realistic. If they’re not - what’s the best we can hope for and how might we achieve it?Dr Burgmer is a lecturer in Social and Organisational Psychology at the University of Kent in the UK, with a particular research focus on t...2021-10-1745 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeIs it possible to prevent the rise of populism, hate and extremist political movements?In this episode I talk to Professor Joe Forgas to explore whether its possible to prevent the rise of populism, hate and extremist political movements.We discuss what aspects of our psychology can lead people to adopt hateful views and support political movements or parties that discriminate against others. We also explore how these are exploited by media, parties and political leaders - and the institutions around us. We’ then consider what we can do to reduce the rise of populism, hate and far right movements.Professor Forgas is based at the University of New So...2021-10-1146 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeWhat are human beings really like?In this first episode I’m talking to Dr Sophie Russell to set the scene for the series. We’ll explore what we’ve learnt about human beings in the last 50 years, and try to build a more accurate picture of how we think and behave. We’ll ask how this might change our view of ourselves, as well as how we might use it to make our lives and world better.Dr Russell is a lecturer in Psychology at Surrey university in the UK, and she’s published research on a wide range of topics, but has a part...2021-10-0133 minHumans & HopeHumans & HopeIs it possible to stop people falling for fake news and conspiracy theories?In this episode I talk to Dr Daniel Jolley about fake news and conspiracy theories. We explore the psychology behind why people believe them, how these ideas can spread and whether there’s anything we can do to prevent them spreading and protect the idea of the truth in society.Dr Jolley is a senior lecturer in Social Psychology at Northumbria university in the UK, and is a regular blogger and broadcaster on his specialist subject - the psychology of conspiracy theories.I hope you enjoy our conversation. Please subscribe to the podcast on  Apple Pod...2021-09-161h 08Making the world betterMaking the world betterHow to make a happier world (p2 of 2) - with Prof Richard Layard - Ep 10This week you’ll hear the second part of my conversation with Professor Richard Layard, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the LSE. If you’ve not listened to the first part about his work on the subject of happiness and mental health, check it out after you’ve listened to this – it’s fascinating!Richard is an economist who spent much of his life working on how to reduce unemployment and inequality. In more recent years though he has become one of the world’s leading figures exploring the science of happiness, as well as how better mental healt...2020-05-1122 minMaking the world betterMaking the world betterHow to make a happier world (p1 of 2) - with Prof Richard Layard - Ep 9 In this episode I talk to Lord Richard Layard, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the LSE. Richard is an economist who spent much of his life working on how to reduce unemployment and inequality. In more recent years though he has become one of the world’s leading figures exploring the science of happiness, as well as how better mental health could improve our social and economic life.He is the author of a number of books, including ‘Happiness – lessons from a new science’, 'Thrive – the power of psychological therapy' and his new book ‘Can we be happier?’, wh...2020-04-2738 minMaking the world betterMaking the world betterHow eating insects could save the world - with Dr Tilly Collins - Ep 8My conversation in this episode is with Dr Tilly Collins. Tilly is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College, London.She runs research projects in a range of environmental areas, but in this episode we talk about her work on how to make global food production more sustainable, and in particular the potential value of insects as a nutritious and sustainable food source for human beings.You may well have seen a few insect food products making their way on to the shelves of supermarkets as snacks and might have...2020-04-1337 minMaking the world betterMaking the world betterHow to seek Remain - with Mike Buckley - Ep 7My guest in this episode is Mike Buckley. Mike is a political campaigner who has been seeking social and political change for many years, most recently as head of the ‘Labour for a public vote’ campaign. I got to know Mike after my social change consultancy Praxis had prepared a report in 2019 to set out the strategy the Remain campaign needed to take if there were a second referendum on Brexit. In the end of course this report wasn’t needed!Our conversation took place at a very interesting point, when the Labour party was recover...2020-03-3038 minMaking the world betterMaking the world betterHow to improve old age - with Prof Tom Kirkwood - Ep 6In this episode I talk to Professor Tom Kirkwood. Tom is a biologist who for several decades has been a leading figure in the study of aging - how and why we age.He has published several books, including Time of Our Lives: The Science of Human Aging and The End of Age: Why Everything About Aging Is Changing. In 2001 he gave the annual Reith Lectures.I asked Tom to be a guest on the podcast because I’d read some of his papers and books about the science of aging, and found them completely fa...2020-03-1648 minMaking the world betterMaking the world betterHow to raise funds and campaign - with Tim Walker - Ep 5In this episode I speak to Tim Walker. Tim is a direct response copy writer and campaigner. Tim’s been a colleague and friend of mine for many years, and is the founder of the fundraising agency TWCAT, now On agency, and is a member of my team at ChangeStar. He has had decades of success in helping charities and other good causes to raise more funds and build stronger campaigns by communicating better with the public and their supporters.This is an aspect of the work of charities and political causes that is often not...2020-03-0223 minMaking the world betterMaking the world betterHow to make politics better - with Neal Lawson - Ep 4My conversation in this episode is with Neal Lawson. Neal is a political commentator and a director of the centre-left pressure group Compass. He was an adviser to Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, is the editor of the political journal Renewal and has regularly appeared on TV and in newspapers to talk politics.Neal, like many people, feels that traditional politics is broken, and that to get a better, fairer and more sustainable future for everyone, we need to build a new vision of politics that is rooted in people’s lives, relationships an...2020-02-1736 minMaking the world betterMaking the world betterHow self affirmation can change our behaviour - with Prof Peter Harris - Ep 3My conversation in this episode is with Professor Peter Harris. Peter is a professor of Psychology at the University of Sussex.His academic research investigates how people can be encouraged to respond less defensively to important information – especially about their lifestyles or behaviour. This can be particularly important when trying to get people to make positive changes to their lives - including stopping smoking, tackling climate change or just learning more effectively. In other words, it could help to achieve social change on a range of issues.In this conversation with Peter we explore the id...2020-02-0334 minMaking the world betterMaking the world betterImproving the lives of disabled people - with John Russell - Ep 1In this episode I chat to John Russell, who is the founder of The Oyster Project, a community charity for disabled people in the Sussex town of Lewes.The story of how and why John built the charity is fascinating - as are his stories of how people have benefitted from it, and the model of change he uses to achieve his aims.John himself is also a remarkable character. 20 years ago he had a cycling accident which left him with massive injuries, but despite this he's set up a series of amazing community initiatives. 2020-01-1733 minMaking the world betterMaking the world betterHow to seek a tolerant, kind and rational world - with Andrew Copson - Ep 2My conversation in this episode is with Andrew Copson. Andrew is the Chief Executive of Humanists UK, a charity seeking a tolerant world where rational thinking and kindness prevail. Andrew has been a leading voice in the humanist movement for many years and has contributed to a lot of important political and social campaigns in the UK and beyond – from those fighting discrimination and injustice through to initiatives to help people get the emotional support they need at critical moments in life.In this episode we discuss what humanism is, the ways in which Humanists UK...2020-01-1737 minLifeTrapLifeTrapThe Greatness of Perpetuated ConsumerismHatuey quotes the great Richard Docwra and discusses the science-less backwater of projected greatness. Welcome to the LifeTrap! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lifetrap/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lifetrap/support2019-11-3011 min