A Slight Change of Plans

By: Pushkin Industries
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  • Summary

  • 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."
    2025 Pushkin Industries and Maya Shankar
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Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • Amanda Knox Knows What You’re Thinking

    Amanda Knox Knows What You’re Thinking
    Apr 7 2025

    Amanda Knox was just 20 years old when she was found guilty of a crime she did not commit — the murder of her roommate. Amanda spent four years in an Italian prison before she was finally exonerated and allowed to return to her life back home in the U.S. But she soon discovered that that life didn’t exist anymore.

    Note: this is part one of a two-episode series we’re running this month about Amanda Knox. It was recorded in 2021.

    Sign up for Maya’s new newsletter here.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    44 mins
  • Extreme Makeover: Personality Edition

    Extreme Makeover: Personality Edition
    Mar 31 2025

    Science writer Olga Khazan didn’t really like herself. A self-described neurotic, she tended to fixate on the negative. She assumed she’d always be this way, but then she came across research showing that personality is something you can change. In today's episode, Olga chronicles her year-long journey to "fix" her personality, and invites us to consider whether it’s truly possible to change who we are.

    Try the personality test that Olga talks about here.

    Sign up for Maya’s new newsletter, where she shares the results of *her* personality test (!) here.

    Get early, ad-free access to episodes of A Slight Change of Plans by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.

    Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
    Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    41 mins
  • How to Say No

    How to Say No
    Mar 17 2025

    Have you ever found yourself saying yes to something you really didn’t want to do? Psychologist Sunita Sah is an expert on why it can be so difficult to say no, especially when our relationships or reputations are on the line. But there's good news! Defiance is actually a skill we can build if we understand the science behind it. Sunita shares a framework we can use in those challenging moments when we want to push back, but just aren’t sure how.

    Sign up for Maya’s new newsletter here.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    43 mins

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Profile Image for F. Williams

A lot to think about.

Made me look at my regrets differently. This was informative for me. I will look at life and try to lose my grip the regrets that I wollow in. Excellent job.

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Profile Image for N. Rhoades

interesting

I love this podcast. It's a heart felt examination of what causes us to change and grow. Pure inspiration!

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