This week, we are joined by esteemed sports psychologist Andrea Furst. With a career that spans continents and disciplines, Andrea is an extremely well respected, established figure in the realm of sports psychology, known for her work with elite athletes across a wide spectrum of sports—from golf and sailing to tennis, hockey, rugby, cricket and beyond. Indeed, among other, she is currently the sports psychologist at current county cricket champions Surrey. She is also the founder of Mental...

This week, we are joined by former England international cricketer Nick Compton. Nick is the grandson of the great Dennis, but a very fine 1st class cricketer in his own right playing for Middlesex, Somerset and 16 tests for England scoring 2 centuries in that time. Nick wrote his memoir 'Legacy' just last year and it is a moving, poignant, searingly honest, at times harrowing story of someone who was supremely talented at his craft, but for whom it became too all consuming and challenged...

This week, we are joined by Ben Stookesberry, legendary white water expedition kayaker whose death defying exploits on some of the most extreme rapids in the world are nothing short of awe inspiring. “In the last 4 years alone I’ve made dozens of first descents on six continents from the tropics to the Arctic with long time kayaking partners Chris Korbulic and Pedro Oliva,” says Ben. “In total I have over 130 first descents and counting.” SEE BEN IN ACTION! Show notes: Facing fear and...

This week, we are joined by former professional footballer, now broadcaster and author Pat Nevin. Pat had a long and successful career on the pitch, but his hinterland is arguably richer. He was a darting winger for Chelsea, Everton, Tranmere Rovers and Scotland, but also chairman of the Professional Footballers Association, player/CEO at Motherwell, an ardent anti-racism campaigner as well as lover of music and the arts. He has a deep understanding and appreciation for the psychology of...

This week, we are joined by Mo Bobat, until recently Performance Director at the English Cricket Board, now fulfilling the same role with IPL team the Royal Challengers Bangalore. We discuss how elite athletes and teams harness mental strength and innovative strategies to achieve greatness. From the art of managing maverick talents to the science behind creating cohesive, high-performing teams, Mo shares his insights, experiences, and the cutting-edge techniques that make him a sought-after...

In this first in a new series, we talk to former England international, Kent and Middlesex cricketer Ed Smith. Ed is also a prolific writer and broadcaster, past England national selector and now founder of the Institute of Sports Humanities which teaches a unique degree in sports leadership. We talk about: What sport and cricket mean to EdWhat the study of history has taught Ed about sportThe problem with team talksEmotionally intelligent coachesTeam selection and risk takingHow to make...

Dr Grace Lordan is an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science. She is also Founding Director there of The Inclusion Initiative which focuses on bringing together teaching, research and practice to build more inclusive work environments. She has also written a book which I personally took huge value from, 'Think Big: Take Small Steps and Build the Career You Want', which uses behavioural science to give really practical...

I welcome this week the behavioural scientist Patrick Fagan, described by comedian David Mitchell as a "Mother Superior in nipple tassels". He's also a former Cambridge Analytica man, if your minds can take you back to that scandal and time in history. Patrick is the author of Hooked whose by-line is 'Why cute sells and other marketing magic we just can't resist. And by the way, he is soon to publish a new book Free Your Mind: The New World of Manipulation and How to Resist It in...

We're back and firing with the final part in my mini-series with the wonderful Dave Blakely, Executive VP at venture builder Mach49, talking innovation, design and creativity in organisations. In this episode, we talk about risk taking, storytelling, how we live in partnership with AI and the invention of Scrabble. And plenty more. Show notes Do corporations take enough risk?What do we mean by acceptable failure?How Alfred Butts invented ScrabbleTS Elliot’s answer to the problem with...

Today is the second in my A Load of BS on Best Behaviour with Dave Blakely, Executive VP at venture builder and super growth builder Mach49, who I continue to be delighted to collaborate with on this mini-series of conversations on innovation, design and creativity in organisations; answering questions on how we move leaders and teams to change their behaviour, to lose their conservatism and scepticism and experiment wisely. Today Dave and I talk about discipline. We argue that leaders should...

Today is the first in a 3-part series with Dave Blakely, an extraordinarily talented, sharp-witted and humble man whom I’m so happy to be collaborating with and indeed his company Mach49 where he is Executive Vice President. We talk innovation, creativity, design and the vagaries of the human condition. Check out some of the amazing work Mach49 does driving growth and building new ventures with some of the greatest brands around. Dave was a leader at design agency IDEO for many years and...

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I welcome Nate Barr and Shannon O’Malley to wrap up my series with the BEworks team. We share our highlights of the series and what the future holds for BS and BEworks. Show notes Surprises and learning: what does it really mean to be a behavioural scientist practitioner?Issues at the centre of our zeitgeist: our money, healthcare, sustainabilityMeeting the drop in the bucket challengeUnderstanding the Anthropocene: our human epoch and disruptions to earth’s systemsLanguage affects the...

I welcome David Thomson, VP and Head of the Sustainability Practice at BEworks. Dave is a cognitive experimental psychologist working with large multinational corporations and governments on behaviour change challenges such as electricity consumption reduction, adoption of energy efficient technology and food waste reduction; all of which we touch on in the podcast. Show notes How do we bridge the values-action gap in sustainability?Who’s responsibility is it – companies’ or consumers’?The...

Alex is Head of Behavioural Risk at NatWest Group  where she and her team develop innovative data-led ways to reduce the risk of poor outcomes for the bank, and customers, resulting from behavioural root causes. She has also just regained her student card; as of September she started a part-time PhD at The London School of Economics! She is also the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Poles Apart: Why People Turn Against Each Other, and How to Bring Them Together’, clearly a book for our...

Name one thing that we all think about or discuss every single day… money. We carry so many unconscious biases when it comes to looking after our finances. You probably think you’re the exception… Michelle Hilscher leads the financial services practice at BEworks and, armed with a PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of Toronto, is particularly interested in applying behavioural science to bring about improvements in financial decision-making and financial well-being. Show...

Preeti KS set up and leads the BS team at Grab in Singapore. Grab is the super app which provides users with transportation, food delivery and digital payments. Think the Uber of SE Asia, approximately! It is Southeast Asia's first decacorn and the biggest technology startup in the region. Show notes Grab’s motivation for getting into behavioural scienceHow Preeti set up a BS practice from scratch and what were the objectivesHow Preeti built credibility and convinced colleagues to take...

This week we’re diving into healthcare; what could be more critical? To help me understand how behavioural science is impacting this field, I’m joined by Dr. Ada Le, healthcare expert at BEworks and Dr. Mousumi Sannigrahi, newly installed as Head of Commercial for Innovative Medicines at Fosun Pharma US, having spent the last 8 years at Novartis Pharma. Show notes What’s happening at the intersection of behavioural science and the pharma industry?How behavioural science plays out at Fosun...

Introducing Zeina Afif, Renos Vakis and Ana Maria Muñoz Boudet I’m privileged to welcome to A Load of BS the core team at eMBeD, the Mind, Development and Behaviour Unit at the World Bank. Zeina, Ana Maria and Renos are working on the front lines, alongside governments and policy makers, challenging standard policy design and trying to change behaviour in complex, unpredictable environments and solving the thorniest of problems in gender, inequality and poverty among other. They have worked...

Clémence is Director and co-founder at Magenta Consulting where she and her team use behavioural insights to make sustainable and scalable change in some of the poorest, war torn and least developed parts of the world, seeking to to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of communications interventions in support of social impact; in places like Nigeria, Tunisia, Afghanistan and Lebanon. The focus of their projects so far has been civic education, governance and stabilisation, preventing...

It's a cracker this week on A Load of BS as I welcome my partner BEworks' co-founder, behavioural science leading light, writer, practitioner and speaker, Dan Ariely. Beyond his numerous entrepreneurial ventures, Dan is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Economics at Duke University and has written seminal books like Predictably Irrational and Irrationally Yours. He's a multi time TED speaker and recognised globally as one of behavioural science's most foremost,...

In partnership with BEworks, one of the very best behavioural science consultancies globally. Cerita Bethea is Director of behavioural science at The Coca-Cola Company, and a practitioner of over 30 years standing, having also worked at Kimberley-Clark, Toyota and Ford. Listen in for a lovely case study about washing hands; a nostalgic trip down Covid memory lane. We also project towards the next frontier; behavioural science in the metaverse. Your guess is as good as mine. Show...

I’m thrilled to be launching my partnership with BEworks today. Co-founded by Dan Ariely and Nina Mazar (previous guest on the show alongside Dilip Soman), BEworks is a multidisciplinary team of behavioural scientists and psychologists working on complex challenges across financial services to healthcare to sustainability, helping businesses reimagine a future in which individuals flourish and prosper. And so today starts a 10-part series of short, sharp and very digestible conversations...

My guest today is sports nut, almost pro golfer but primarily Professor at the University of Chicago and Chief Economist at Walmart John List. Just when you thought we were about to dive into the politics of diverging golf tours, instead we're going to turn our attention to ride hailing companies Uber and Lyft, where John was also Chief Economist. What was Travis Kalanick really like to work for? John also recently published ‘The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas...