The Debt Trap

The Debt Trap

From Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

April 6, 2026 · 1h 40m

About this episode

The episode explores the complex psychology behind financial decisions and the mental biases that influence spending and borrowing.

We like to think that good financial decisions come down to discipline and basic math. But the psychology of money turns out to be deeply complicated. Researcher John Dinsmore explains the hidden mental biases that shape how we think about spending, borrowing, and the future. We explore how these forces can steer us toward costly mistakes — and how to guard against them. Then, on Your Questions Answered, researcher Bobby Parmar returns to consider the upsides of embracing uncertainty.

People in this episode

Host: Shankar Vedantam

Guests: John Dinsmore, Bobby Parmar

Topics covered

  • psychology of money
  • financial decisions
  • mental biases
  • spending
  • borrowing
  • uncertainty

Keywords

  • financial decisions
  • psychology
  • mental biases
  • spending
  • borrowing
  • uncertainty

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