Can we count on our feelings to guide our decisions? Dr. Paul Slovic, Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon, joins your host, Dr. Joe Sweeney, Executive Director of the Alliance for Decision Education, to discuss the three pillars of the arithmetic of compassion, how our feelings change as we consider one vs. dozens of people in danger, and how flawed thinking could have impacted decisions about the use of nuclear weapons during the Cold War. You’ll also learn about the "warm glow of satisfaction" we get from helping people, why it shines brighter in some situations than others, and why, in certain contexts, we might not help someone in need, even if we can.

How does our mood affect how cooperatively we act in a situation? Dr. Barbara Mellers, I. George Heyman University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, joins your host, Executive Director of the Alliance for Decision Education Dr. Joe Sweeney, to talk about the difference between judgments and decisions, studies on what happens when our desires and our sense of fairness are in conflict, and research on how a positive mood might make you act more cooperatively. You’ll also hear about the differences between how we should make decisions, how we actually make decisions, and what we can do to improve our decision-making.

How can we draw the line between what is inside and what is outside the scope of our decisions? Eyas Raddad, Research Fellow and Decision Scientist at Eli Lilly and Company, joins your host, Executive Director of the Alliance for Decision Education, Dr. Joe Sweeney, to talk about the importance of building the right frames for our decisions, the common attributes of the very best decision scientists in the field, and the decision skills that you can bring to the table at work to support your team’s decision-making. Finally, Eyas leaves us with a valuable lesson on how to distinguish advice from our friends that simply feels good to us, from advice that truly helps us.

Making predictions is part of everyday life, but how can we guard against being overly confident in our predictions? Ted Seides, host of the Capital Allocators podcast and author of a number of successful books on asset management, joins your host, Executive Director of the Alliance for Decision Education Dr. Joe Sweeney, to talk about the uncanny power of premortems, the grave danger of overconfidence in the financial world, and qualities to look for when constructing an effective decision group. Ted also explains how paying close attention to your emotional state can dramatically increase the odds of making a good decision.

Can people with different values sit around a table and make good decisions together? Lee Failing, Partner, Engineer and Decision Analyst at Compass Resource Management, believes that they can. Lee is an expert in group decision-making and works with government agencies and community groups brought together to face controversial complex social and environmental dilemmas. She joins your host, Executive Director of the Alliance for Decision Education Dr. Joe Sweeney, to discuss turning conflict into creative solutions, how our values and beliefs can change more than we think, and her excitement about seeing decision skills catch on in the classroom. You’ll also learn why difficult conversations about our values are essential, if we are serious about crafting solutions that work for everyone.

How might our decision-making improve if we ask ourselves, “What happened when other people were in this situation before?” Michael Mauboussin, Head of Consilient Research at Counterpoint Global, joins your host Dr. Joe Sweeney, Executive Director of the Alliance for Decision Education, to discuss the importance of considering base rates and reference classes when making tough choices, the undervalued impact of keeping a decision journal, and the overlooked role of luck in the outcomes we observe. And when it comes to the choice between exploring and exploiting our resources, you’ll learn what ants and bees can teach us about decision-making. Welcome to Season 1 - Episode 1.

Season 1 of The Decision Education Podcast unveils decision-making tips from experts in finance, natural resource management, drug development, psychology, and chess. Dr. Joe Sweeney, your host, engages our guests in fruitful 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. Tune in to listen!