The Decision Education Podcast

What does it really mean to choose with intent—and why do we often go with the default option? Our host, Annie Duke, is joined by award-winning Cornell University professor and expert in organizational psychology Dr. Sunita Sah to explore the hidden forces behind compliance, consent, and ethical decision-making. 

Drawing on her multidisciplinary background in medicine, psychology, and consulting, Sunita unpacks why we say “yes” when we really want to say “no,” and how seemingly simple disclosures can backfire in high-stakes situations. Whether it’s navigating career pivots or teaching kids to stand their ground, Sunita makes a compelling case for redefining defiance not as disobedience, but as integrity in action.

Key takeaways include the difference between compliance and true consent, how to recognize and overcome “insinuation anxiety,” and how to use tools like the Defiance Compass to act in line with your values—especially when it’s uncomfortable.

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This is The Decision Education Podcast, where we explore the science of decision-making with a diverse range of experts and offer practical strategies to transform our understanding of the role decisions play in our lives.

What if knowing about cognitive biases isn’t enough to overcome them? Spencer Greenberg—entrepreneur, mathematician, and host of the Clearer Thinking podcast—joins our host, Annie Duke, to explore how we can move from simply recognizing decision-making errors to applying evidence-based tools that actually improve our thinking.

Spencer discusses his path from a Ph.D. in applied math to creating interactive tools that help people make better decisions. He and Annie explore why awareness of biases isn’t enough to overcome them and how AI can both amplify and challenge our blind spots.Key takeaways from this episode include the power of “precommitments” in shaping future choices, how Bayesian thinking can help us update our beliefs, and why—in a world increasingly influenced by AI—balancing intuition and analysis leads to the best decisions.

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This is The Decision Education Podcast, where we explore the science of decision-making with a diverse range of experts and offer practical strategies to transform our understanding of the role decisions play in our lives.

Season 6 of The Decision Education Podcast unveils decision-making tips from experts in AI, investing, entrepreneurship, and sports. Host, Annie Duke, engages our guests in interesting discussions, in which they unpack their decision toolkits and share how the world might look different if we practiced decision-making skills from a younger age.

How do we bridge the gap between the present and the future? In this episode, our host, Annie Duke, speaks with Bina Venkataraman, journalist, author, and science and technology policy expert, about the psychological, social, and institutional barriers to making long-term decisions. Drawing from Bina’s experiences in science communication, climate policy, and journalism, they discuss the difficulty of imagining the future and yourself within it, and how creative tools such as virtual reality and role-playing games can help us master the tug-of-war between now and later.

Key takeaways include innovative ways to promote future savings, the challenges of communicating complex science in uncertain times, and how culture, social norms, and scarcity affect people's ability to delay gratification and plan for the future.

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This is The Decision Education Podcast, where we explore the science of decision-making with a diverse range of experts and offer practical strategies to transform our understanding of the role decisions play in our lives.

Thanks to First Round Capital for supporting The Decision Education Podcast—empowering leaders to make choices that shape our future.

What forces shape the choices we make? Seth Godin, renowned author, entrepreneur, and marketing expert, joins our host, Annie Duke, to explore the impact of societal and external pressures on decision-making, and the role of systems in shaping our choices. Godin shares his unique perspectives on the power of social identities and the significance of empathy in leadership. Together, they examine how both social identities and systems shape human behavior and discuss actionable ways to reclaim our agency, even as forces work against us.

Key takeaways from this episode include how tribes foster community but can also perpetuate division, how emotional appeals and storytelling drive decisions, and how differentiating between "picking" and "sorting" can reduce decision fatigue.

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This is The Decision Education Podcast, where we explore the science of decision-making with a diverse range of experts and offer practical strategies to transform our understanding of the role decisions play in our lives.

Thanks to⁠ First Round Capital⁠ for supporting The Decision Education Podcast—empowering leaders to make choices that shape our future.

Can optimism be both a strength and a weakness? Annie Duke welcomes cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Tali Sharot to explore her groundbreaking research on optimism bias, memory, decision-making, and human behavior. Tali shares how the brain processes information, the adaptive functions of optimism bias, and the impact of habituation on motivation.

Key takeaways from this episode include the intricate relationship between memory and forecasting, the challenges of updating our beliefs, and practical strategies to help mitigate the negative effects of cognitive biases.

This is The Decision Education Podcast, where we explore the science of decision-making with a diverse range of experts and offer practical strategies to transform our understanding of the role decisions play in our lives.

Thanks to First Round Capital for supporting The Decision Education Podcast—empowering leaders to make choices that shape our future.

How do you know a good founder when you see one? Annie Duke and Josh Kopelman, a co-founder and managing partner of First Round Capital, tackle this question by exploring the transition from gut feeling to quantifiable evaluation in venture capital. Together, they highlight First Round Capital's rigorous process for assessing startups and the role of understanding probability in enhancing decision quality.

Key takeaways from this episode include the importance of making the implicit explicit, addressing long feedback loops, and the necessity of truth-seeking and humility for effective decision-making.

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This is The Decision Education Podcast, where we explore the science of decision-making with a diverse range of experts and offer practical strategies to transform our understanding of the role decisions play in our lives.

Thanks to First Round Capital for supporting The Decision Education Podcast—empowering leaders to make choices that shape our future.

What if the future you imagine is actually based on your memories? Annie Duke chats with neuroscientist and host of the Inner Cosmos podcast, Dr. David Eagleman, about how the surprising ways our brains process and interpret information influence the decisions we make. They tackle sensory hacks, decision quirks, and why “lashing yourself to the mast” could be your best bet against temptation. 

Key takeaways from this episode include the way simulating the future helps us combat temporal discounting and make better decisions, the power of Ulysses contracts, and the social dynamics of decision-making.

This is The Decision Education Podcast, where we explore the science of decision-making with a diverse range of experts and offer practical strategies to transform our understanding of the role decisions play in our lives.

This season of the podcast is brought to you by First Round Capital.

What if happiness is a skill we can learn? Dr. Laurie Santos, a Yale professor, cognitive psychologist, and host of the popular podcast The Happiness Lab, joins our host, Annie Duke, to explore the science behind happiness and why her course, “Psychology and the Good Life,” has become the most popular course in Yale’s 300-year history. Santos advocates for intentional decision-making and social connection as tools for improving mental well-being.

Key takeaways from this episode include the powerful effects of “time affluence” and “time famine,” how to use counterfactual thinking in positive ways and gain insight on how creating intentional happiness habits can lead to a more fulfilling life.

This is The Decision Education Podcast, where we explore the science of decision-making with a diverse range of experts and offer practical strategies to transform our understanding of the role decisions play in our lives.

Thanks to First Round Capital for supporting The Decision Education Podcast—empowering leaders to make choices that shape our future.

Season 5 of The Decision Education Podcast unveils decision-making tips from experts in neuroscience, cognitive biases, entrepreneurship, and social connection. Host Annie Duke engages our guests in interesting discussions where they unpack their decision toolkits and share how the world might look different if we practiced decision-making skills from a younger age.

We’re thrilled to announce that this season of The Decision Education Podcast is sponsored by First Round Capital.