Megan Phelps-Roper was born into the Westboro Baptist Church, a religious cult called the most rabid hate groups in America. Megan was a true believer and one of the Church’s most vocal advocates...until one day, she changed her mind.

You can follow Maya @DrMayaShankar on Instagram.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Megan Phelps-Roper was born into the Westboro Baptist Church, a religious cult called the most rabid hate groups in America. Megan was a true believer and one of the Church’s most vocal advocates...until one day, she changed her mind.You can follow Maya @DrMayaShankar on Instagram. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

You can follow the show at @DrMayaShankar on Instagram.

Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year 2021 Editor's Note: Maya Shankar blends compassionate storytelling with the science of human behavior to help us understand who we are and who we become in the face of a big change. Maya is no stranger to change. “My whole childhood revolved around the violin, but that changed in a moment when I injured my hand playing a single note,” says Shankar, who was studying under Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School at the time. “I was forced to try and figure out who I was, and who I could be, without the violin." Maya soon discovered a new path in the field of cognitive science, where she earned her PhD as a Rhodes Scholar studying how and why we change. Her insights into human behavior ultimately led her to create A Slight Change of Plans—Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year in 2021. You’ll hear intimate conversations with people like Tiffany Haddish, Kacey Musgraves, and Riz Ahmed, as well as real-life inspirations, like John Elder Robison, who undergoes experimental brain stimulation to deepen his emotional intelligence, Daryl Davis, a Black jazz musician who inspires hundreds of KKK members to leave the Klan, and Shankar herself, who had her own “slight change of plans” earlier this year. The show also explores the science of change with experts like Adam Grant and Angela Duckworth. "What I love most about this show is that the content is evergreen," says Shankar. "You can listen to episodes in any order and at any time."

You can follow the show at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/drmayashankar/?hl=en">@DrMayaShankar</a> on Instagram.
Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year 2021 Editor's Note: Maya Shankar blends compassionate storytelling with the science of human behavior to help us understand who we are and who we become in the face of a big change. Maya is no stranger to change. “My whole childhood revolved around the violin, but that changed in a moment when I injured my hand playing a single note,” says Shankar, who was studying under Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School at the time. “I was forced to try and figure out who I was, and who I could be, without the violin." Maya soon discovered a new path in the field of cognitive science, where she earned her PhD as a Rhodes Scholar studying how and why we change. Her insights into human behavior ultimately led her to create A Slight Change of Plans—Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year in 2021. You’ll hear intimate conversations with people like Tiffany Haddish, Kacey Musgraves, and Riz Ahmed, as well as real-life inspirations, like John Elder Robison, who undergoes experimental brain stimulation to deepen his emotional intelligence, Daryl Davis, a Black jazz musician who inspires hundreds of KKK members to leave the Klan, and Shankar herself, who had her own “slight change of plans” earlier this year. The show also explores the science of change with experts like Adam Grant and Angela Duckworth. "What I love most about this show is that the content is evergreen," says Shankar. "You can listen to episodes in any order and at any time."

A Slight Change of Plans

You can follow the show at @DrMayaShankar on Instagram.

Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year 2021. Editor's Note: Maya Shankar blends compassionate storytelling with the science of human behavior to help us understand who we are and who we become in the face of a big change. Maya is no stranger to change. “My whole childhood revolved around the violin, but that changed in a moment when I injured my hand playing a single note,” says Shankar, who was studying under Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School at the time. “I was forced to try and figure out who I was, and who I could be, without the violin." Maya soon discovered a new path in the field of cognitive science, where she earned her PhD as a Rhodes Scholar studying how and why we change. Her insights into human behavior ultimately led her to create A Slight Change of Plans—Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year in 2021. You’ll hear intimate conversations with people like Tiffany Haddish, Kacey Musgraves, and Riz Ahmed, as well as real-life inspirations, like John Elder Robison, who undergoes experimental brain stimulation to deepen his emotional intelligence, Daryl Davis, a Black jazz musician who inspires hundreds of KKK members to leave the Klan, and Shankar herself, who had her own “slight change of plans” earlier this year. The show also explores the science of change with experts like Adam Grant and Angela Duckworth. "What I love most about this show is that the content is evergreen," says Shankar. "You can listen to episodes in any order and at any time."

You can follow the show at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/drmayashankar/?hl=en">@DrMayaShankar</a> on Instagram.
Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year 2021. Editor's Note: Maya Shankar blends compassionate storytelling with the science of human behavior to help us understand who we are and who we become in the face of a big change. Maya is no stranger to change. “My whole childhood revolved around the violin, but that changed in a moment when I injured my hand playing a single note,” says Shankar, who was studying under Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School at the time. “I was forced to try and figure out who I was, and who I could be, without the violin." Maya soon discovered a new path in the field of cognitive science, where she earned her PhD as a Rhodes Scholar studying how and why we change. Her insights into human behavior ultimately led her to create A Slight Change of Plans—Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year in 2021. You’ll hear intimate conversations with people like Tiffany Haddish, Kacey Musgraves, and Riz Ahmed, as well as real-life inspirations, like John Elder Robison, who undergoes experimental brain stimulation to deepen his emotional intelligence, Daryl Davis, a Black jazz musician who inspires hundreds of KKK members to leave the Klan, and Shankar herself, who had her own “slight change of plans” earlier this year. The show also explores the science of change with experts like Adam Grant and Angela Duckworth. "What I love most about this show is that the content is evergreen," says Shankar. "You can listen to episodes in any order and at any time."

 Leaving a Religious Cult

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d2be0a9f-911f-4c04-962e-ae39003d5931/transcript

Psychologist Jamil Zaki studies the science of human connection and he believes cynicism is holding us back. Cynicism isn't just harmful for our health, he says, it’s also misguided. He talks to Maya about a powerful, alternative mindset that can help: what he calls “hopeful skepticism.”

For more on hopeful skepticism, check out Jamil Zaki’s book “Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness.” 

Psychologist Jamil Zaki studies the science of human connection and he believes cynicism is holding us back. Cynicism isn't just harmful for our health, he says, it’s also misguided. He talks to Maya about a powerful, alternative mindset that can help: what he calls “hopeful skepticism.”
For more on hopeful skepticism, check out Jamil Zaki’s book “<a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jamil-zaki/hope-for-cynics/9781538743065/?lens=grand-central-publishing" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jamil-zaki/hope-for-cynics/9781538743065/?lens%3Dgrand-central-publishing&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1725480941282000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1kW5GXzyjxMumzXbSCe4E1">Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness</a>.”

Cynicism is Exhausting. There’s an Alternative.

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bec62316-15cc-4982-9abc-b1e00159a524/transcript

Sometimes, even when things go precisely as you hoped they would, change hurts. Writer Kelly Corrigan talks to Maya about wrestling with the reality that her daughters' childhood was ending, and that her role as their parent had to transition, too. In this conversation from the archives, Maya and Kelly reckon with the question of what parents and children owe each other.

For more on Kelly, check out her podcast, "Kelly Corrigan Wonders" and her PBS show, "Tell Me More." 

Sometimes, even when things go precisely as you hoped they would, change hurts. Writer Kelly Corrigan talks to Maya about wrestling with the reality that her daughters' childhood was ending, and that her role as their parent had to transition, too. In this conversation from the archives, Maya and Kelly reckon with the question of what parents and children owe each other.
For more on Kelly, check out her podcast, "<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kelly-corrigan-wonders/id1532951390" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kelly-corrigan-wonders/id1532951390&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724463792484000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Si7b4_m7uHUNL0kYtiA4z">Kelly Corrigan Wonders</a>" and her PBS show, "<a href="https://www.pbs.org/show/tell-me-more-kelly-corrigan/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.pbs.org/show/tell-me-more-kelly-corrigan/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724463792484000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2uL15kBEa3xjWup-rmzx_m">Tell Me More</a>."

The Grief of Empty Nesting with Kelly Corrigan

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7d386367-f035-419b-a39e-b1d50109161f/transcript

U.S. track star Gabby Thomas recently won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics. To celebrate, we’re sharing Maya’s conversation with Gabby that took place shortly after the athlete’s Olympic debut in Tokyo. Gabby explains why her relationship with running isn’t as straightforward as you might think, and how competing interests have continually led her to question whether running is the path she wants to pursue.

Connect with Maya on instagram @DrMayaShankar.

U.S. track star Gabby Thomas recently won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics. To celebrate, we’re sharing Maya’s conversation with Gabby that took place shortly after the athlete’s Olympic debut in Tokyo. Gabby explains why her relationship with running isn’t as straightforward as you might think, and how competing interests have continually led her to question whether running is the path she wants to pursue.
Connect with Maya on instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/drmayashankar/?hl=en">@DrMayaShankar</a>.

Olympian Gabby Thomas On Choosing Happiness

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/4f3852a0-366a-4273-884a-b1d00125ec8d/transcript

Leaving a Religious Cult

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A Slight Change of Plans

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