PsychCrunch

In this episode of PsychCrunch, join our host, Tabby Taylor Buck, as she explores cutting-edge and historical approaches to voice hearing therapies. Come along for an insider look at the hallucination-mimicking AVATAR2 trial as Tabby sits down with Trial Coordinator Dr Clementine Edwards, then take a tour of the Mental Health Museum in Wakefield with her, Museum Curator Jane Stockdale, and Museum Officer Sally Evans. Learn what it's like to hear voices from Dr Andrew Grundy (Lived Experience Researcher, Manchester University), and what exactly schizophrenia, voice hearing, and psychosis mean with Dr Chris Taylor (University of Sheffield). This is Episode 47 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Zanda. Episode Credits: Hosted by Tabby Taylor Buck. Audio wizardry by Jeff Knowler. Edited by Emma Barratt. Produced by Tabby Taylor Buck. Hungry for more? Check out this piece from Ben Gray, Peer Support Worker at EPUT (Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust), in which he gives a unique account of how hearing voices support sessions can provide inspiration and hope. Or head over to The Psychologist and explore. We're always interested in hearing from you. If you'd like to get in touch, you can find us on BlueSky @ResearchDigest. PsychCrunch is brought to you by Zanda, the all-in-one practice management software designed for psychologists. With telehealth, easy mobile access, and automated tools, including online scheduling and reminders, Zanda helps you run your practice, your way. Find out more at ZandaHealth.com

We all love psychology, but it feels safe to say that most of us probably would love it more if it did some things differently. For many, psychology would benefit from a revolution (or two). In this episode, we share hot takes on the matter from the expert contributors to the March 2026 issue of our magazine, The Psychologist. What do they believe needs a revolution within the discipline? And should we call for revolutions at all? Special thanks to our guests: Audrey Linden, Jamie Cummins, Marcus Munafo, Margarita Panaiyoutou, Madeleine Pownall, Richard Wiseman. Thanks also to those who contributed via LinkedIn. This is Episode 45 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Zanda. Episode Credits: Hosted and edited by Emma Barratt. Audio wizardry by Jeff Knowler. Produced by Jon Sutton. Missed previous episodes? Get up to date via our PsychCrunch collection page. Want to learn more? Check out our guests' manifestos in full in the March 2026 issue of The Psychologist. PsychCrunch is brought to you by Zanda, the all-in-one practice management software designed for psychologists. With telehealth, easy mobile access, and automated tools, including online scheduling and reminders, Zanda helps you run your practice, your way. Find out more at ZandaHealth.com

Join Dr Jon Sutton and Dr Andrea Oskis (Food Writer and Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University, London) for a research-packed feast, through which they navigate the deep and meaningful connections between us and the food we eat. From appetiser to dessert, every dish opens the door to exploring fascinating studies and discoveries. This is Episode 43 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Zanda. Episode Credits: Hosted by Dr Jon Sutton. Audio editing by Jeff Knowler. Edited by Emma Barratt. Hungry for more? Find out more about 'cupboard love' with this piece by Andrea Oskis that explores the intrinsic connection between food and feelings. Or check out this piece from Chukwudi Barrah on nine psychological insights that may just turn down the heat at the dinner table. Find these and much, much more over at The Psychologist. PsychCrunch is brought to you by Zanda, the all-in-one practice management software designed for psychologists. With telehealth, easy mobile access, and automated tools, including online scheduling and reminders, Zanda helps you run your practice, your way. Find out more at ZandaHealth.com

Most of us remember what it was like to start school. Intimidating new places, being unsure of the schedule, lots of new potential friends — and maybe a few foes. It's a huge moment for kids, and their families, that brings with it a lot of big, complex challenges. In this episode, Jon Sutton chats with Professor Claire Hughes, Deputy Director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge, about the hurdles families face when children start school, what it means to be 'school ready', and more. This is Episode 41 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Zanda. Episode Credits: Hosted by Jon Sutton. Audio wizardry by Jeff Knowler. Edited by Emma Barratt. Hungry for more? Why not check out this piece on fixing the home-school relationship by Clinical Psychologist Dr Tara Porter. Or get to grips with current research on school avoidance with this recent article from Educational Psychologist Meg Fairclough. Find these and much, much more over at The Psychologist. PsychCrunch is brought to you by Zanda, the all-in-one practice management software designed for psychologists. With telehealth, easy mobile access, and automated tools, including online scheduling and reminders, Zanda helps you run your practice, your way. Find out more at ZandaHealth.com

There's no question that we find ourselves in uncertain times. Looking at current events and wondering about what the future may hold can leave us feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed, to say the least. But uncertain times aren't always the ominous force we make them out to be. In fact, research suggests that they can create unique opportunities for growth and transformation that we wouldn't otherwise encounter. This episode, Ella Rhodes chats with Maggie Jackson — author of Uncertain and expert on uncertainty — unpacking how uncertainty shapes our lives. Together, they explore how embracing the unknown can open doors to unexpected possibilities, and can lead us to greener pastures. This is Episode 39 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Episode Credits: Hosted by Ella Rhodes. Audio wizardry by Jeff Knowler. Edited by Emma Barratt. Missed previous episodes? Get up to date via our PsychCrunch collection page. Want to learn more? Read more about how we can embrace uncertainty in therapeutic settings with The wisdom of therapist uncertainty, over at The Psychologist. Or check out Resilience to uncertainty by Eleanore Batteux for a practical exploration of what we can do to become resilient to future uncertainties, explored through the lens of the pandemic. 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.

This is Episode 37 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. [Content warning: This episode centres around cancer. As such, it makes references to medical events and themes that some listeners may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised.] In the face of significant medical challenges, we would all hope for compassionate, informative communication from medical professionals and those close to us. Sometimes, though, the reality falls short of that expectation. This episode, Editor of The Psychologist, Dr Jon Sutton, meets Professor Dame Lesley Fallowfield, Director of the Sussex Health Outcomes Research and Education in Cancer (SHORE-C) group at the University of Sussex. Through their conversation, our guest shares personal reflections on her career at the cutting edge of psycho-oncology, improving the experiences of those with cancer by creating new ways to measure difficult things, and forging new paths to help people talk about the disease. Episode Credits: Hosted by Dr Jon Sutton. Mixed and edited by Jeff Knowler. Edited by Emma Barratt. Missed previous episodes? Get up to date via our PsychCrunch collection page. Want to learn more about psycho-oncology? Check out The Psychologist's article on the SHORE-C group's recent film 'They just don't know what to say or do'. Or browse our collection of articles on psychology and cancer, with comment from Dr Mike Rennoldson, Chair of the DCP Faculty for Oncology and Palliative Care. 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.

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.

Have you ever had the feeling that there was someone – or something – nearby? Perhaps you were in bed falling asleep when you suddenly became convinced that a person was standing next to you, even though you couldn't actually 'see' or 'hear' anyone at all. Or maybe you were out in the wilderness, with no-one for miles around, and couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following you. In this episode, Dr Jon Sutton, editor of The Psychologist magazine, talks to Dr Ben Alderson-Day, Associate Professor at Durham University, about the phenomenon of the 'felt presence' – that often eerie sensation that someone is near us. Jon and Ben's wide-ranging discussion touches on everything from Shackleton's unusual experiences in Antarctica, to the frightening yet common phenomenon of sleep paralysis and the modern practice of 'tulpamancy'. Read a transcript of the interview at The Psychologist Ben's book will be released in March and is available to pre-order here Episode credits: Presented and produced by Jon Sutton, with additional content from Matthew Warren. Mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch is sponsored by Routledge Psychology

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: Attachment bonds between domestic cats and humans The quality of being sociable: The influence of human attentional state, population, and human familiarity on domestic cat sociability What's inside your cat's head? A review of cat (Felis silvestris catus) cognition research past, present and future

Why do people share false information? In this episode, our presenters Ginny Smith and Jon Sutton explore the psychology of misinformation. They hear about the factors that make people more or less likely to share misinformation, discuss strategies to correct false information, and learn how to talk to someone who is promoting conspiracy theories. Our guests, in order of appearance, are Tom Buchanan, Professor of Psychology at the University of Westminster, and Briony Swire-Thompson, senior research scientist at Northeastern University's Network Science Institute. Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ginny Smith, with additional reporting by Jon Sutton. Script edits by Matthew Warren. Mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music by Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work by Tim Grimshaw. Relevant research from our guests includes: Why do people spread false information online? The effects of message and viewer characteristics on self-reported likelihood of sharing social media disinformation. Spreading Disinformation on Facebook: Do Trust in Message Source, Risk Propensity, or Personality Affect the Organic Reach of "Fake News"? Predictors of likelihood of sharing disinformation on social media 2019-2020 Correction format has a limited role when debunking misinformation Backfire effects after correcting misinformation are strongly associated with reliability Public Health and Online Misinformation: Challenges and Recommendations

This is Episode 27 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. At Latitude Festival in Suffolk in July, The Psychologist Editor Dr Jon Sutton hosted a conversation in The Listening Post with Greta Defeyter, Professor of Developmental Psychology and founder and Director of the "Healthy Living" Lab at Northumbria University. An expert on food insecurity, social injustice, school feeding programmes and holiday hunger, Professor Defeyter considered why children go hungry, what we can do about it, and how her own experiences of poverty have shaped her. Episode credits: Presented by Jon Sutton. Mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music by Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work by Tim Grimshaw. Thanks to Latitude Festival's arts and special events curator Kirsty Taylor. We hope to return with more from 'The Psychologist Presents…' in 2022. Tickets for next year's event are already on sale via http://latitudefestival.com Background reading Professor Defeyter has just published her new book, Holiday Hunger in the UK, co-authored by Michael A. Long and Paul B. Stretesky The Psychologist also met Professor Defeyter as part of their special edition around the British Psychological Society policy theme of 'From poverty to flourishing' Reports and transcripts from other appearances at Latitude Festival

This is Episode 25 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Are our personalities set in stone, or can we choose to change them? In this bonus episode, Matthew Warren talks to former Research Digest editor Christian Jarrett about his new book Be Who You Want: Unlocking the Science of Personality Change. Christian discusses the evidence-based methods you can use to alter your personality, whether you're an introvert who wants to become the life of the party, or you simply wish you were a little more open to new experiences. He also explains how our personalities evolve over the course of our lifespans, even when we're not consciously trying to change them, and ponders how they might be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Be Who You Want: Unlocking the Science of Personality Change is out on May 18th in the United States and May 20th in the United Kingdom. Episode credits: Presented by Matthew Warren. Mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music by Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work by Tim Grimshaw. Work discussed in this episode includes: Merely desiring to alter your personality is not enough, and may backfire unless you take concrete action to change Longest ever personality study finds no correlation between measures taken at age 14 and age 77 Here's How Our Personality Changes As We Age Other background reading A little discussed effect of therapy: it changes your personality Here's How Personality Changes In Young Adulthood Can Lead To Greater Career Satisfaction When Deciding How To Improve Our Personalities, Moral Character Is Not A Priority New insights into lifetime personality change from "meta-study" featuring 50,000 participants

This is Episode 23 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest. In this episode, Emily Reynolds, staff writer at Research Digest, explores modern psychology's relationship with race and representation. It's well-known that psychology has a generalisability problem, with studies overwhelmingly using so-called "WEIRD" participants: those who are Western and educated and from industrialised, rich and democratic societies. But how does that shape the assumptions we make about participants of different racial identities or cultures? And how can top-tier psychology journals improve diversity among not only participants but also authors and editors? Our guests, in order of appearance, are Dr Bobby Cheon, Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Dr Steven O. Roberts, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Episode credits: Presented and produced by Emily Reynolds. Script edits by Matthew Warren. Mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music by Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work by Tim Grimshaw. Research mentioned in this episode includes: How USA-Centric Is Psychology? An Archival Study of Implicit Assumptions of Generalizability of Findings to Human Nature Based on Origins of Study Samples Racial Inequality in Psychological Research: Trends of the Past and Recommendations for the Future Toward a psychology of Homo sapiens: Making psychological science more representative of the human population