The best podcasts on why people buy, decide and change their behavior. Research-driven shows that give marketers and product people ideas the promotional podcasts never mention. Ranked for ideas you can test.
Phill Agnew, a UK behavioural science practitioner and former senior product marketer at Hotjar, who writes and hosts the show himself.
solo explainers mixed with expert interviews · 25-30 min · weekly (Mondays) · since 2019
Why it is #1: It turns behavioural science papers into specific copy, pricing and offer changes, and Agnew often tests the claims himself instead of repeating them.
What it is like: Short, tightly produced episodes that take one study or principle, test it against a real brand or ad, and end with what a marketer should do differently. Guests include Robert Cialdini and Rory Sutherland.
Katy Milkman, behavioral scientist and professor at the Wharton School, author of How to Change. The show is produced by Charles Schwab.
narrative stories plus interviews with researchers · 30-35 min · every two weeks during seasons, with breaks between seasons · since 2018
Why it is #2: Every claim is tied to a named study and its author, so the ideas are safe to repeat in a strategy deck.
What it is like: A produced, story-led show: a real event, then the researcher who studied the bias behind it, then Milkman's takeaway. Calm and precise.
4.7
Apple Podcasts rating (US store) from 1.4K ratings
Why do people keep investing in a failing project, and how do I stop my team doing it?
Why do we prefer experiences that get better over time, and how should that shape onboarding?
When does peer accountability actually change behavior?
Why do dashboards and metrics sometimes make decisions worse?
Start with
The Temptation of Now: With Guests Richard Thaler & Angela Duckworth.Two of the best-known names in the field on present bias, the reason people choose now over later (12 Nov 2018).
Death by Dashboard.On how metrics distort decisions, directly relevant to growth teams (18 May 2026).
Melina Palmer, founder of The Brainy Business, an applied behavioral economics consultancy, and author of What Your Customers Want and Can't Tell You.
solo concept episodes and author interviews · 45-50 min · weekly (Thursdays) · since 2018
Why it is #3: It has a 600-episode archive organised around named concepts, so you can look up almost any bias and hear how it applies to selling.
What it is like: Palmer explains one behavioral economics concept at a time (anchoring, social proof, scarcity) or interviews an author, always with business examples. Friendly and teacher-like.
Shankar Vedantam, founder, host and executive editor of Hidden Brain Media, former NPR science correspondent and author of The Hidden Brain.
narrative episodes built around one researcher interview · 50-95 min · weekly (Mondays), with some re-releases · since 2015
Why it is #4: It explains the research behind behavior in more depth than any other show on this list, which helps you understand why a tactic works and not just that it works.
What it is like: Slow, carefully produced storytelling about unconscious patterns in behavior, with one researcher guiding each episode. Some weeks are re-releases of older episodes.
MichaelAaron Flicker, founder and president of the Consumer Behavior Lab (and founder of the agency XenoPsi), and Richard Shotton, Consumer Behavior Lab co-founder and author of The Choice Factory.
campaign case studies and author interviews · 40-55 min · weekly (Wednesdays) · since 2022
Why it is #5: It connects principles to named campaigns with results, which is the format marketers need when pitching an idea internally.
What it is like: Each episode takes a brand or award-winning campaign (KitKat, Guinness, Novartis) and names the principle that made it work, or interviews the author of a behavioral science book.
How did a brand turn scarcity into the story of a campaign?
Is implied popularity more effective than claiming to be the best seller?
How do discounts damage long-term pricing power?
How do anchoring and fairness shape what people will pay?
Start with
How William Poundstone's book Priceless turns anchoring, relativity and fairness into pricing power.A clear pricing episode (23 Sep 2026).
Interview: Les Binet, co-author of The Long and the Short of It, on why volume is a cost and how discounts erode pricing power.One of the most cited advertising-effectiveness researchers on discounting (28 Oct 2026).
Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK and author of Alchemy, and Elfried Samba, CEO and co-founder of Butterfly Effect and former global head of social at Gymshark.
long-form interviews with two co-hosts · 65-90 min · roughly every two weeks · since 2025
Why it is #6: Sutherland is the best-known advocate of behavioral science in advertising, and this show gives you his ideas in long form, with guests who push back.
What it is like: Loose, opinionated conversations about what slows companies down: bad metrics, timid strategy, and the human reasons customers behave as they do. Rory does most of the talking.
Why does the fear of a better option stop customers from buying?
How do metrics mislead marketing teams?
What would Rory Sutherland change about my brand's offer?
Start with
Rita McGrath with Rory Sutherland on why big companies kill their best ideas.A Columbia strategy professor on innovation inside large companies (19 Aug 2026).
Caroline Orange-Northey with Rory Sutherland and Elfried Samba discuss the Fear of Better Options.Directly about a buying-decision barrier (18 Oct 2026).
Best for: Founders and senior marketers who like contrarian ideas
Skip it if: You want structured, evidence-first episodes; this is opinion and anecdote.
Kurt Nelson, PhD, founder and lead behavioral scientist at The Lantern Group, and Tim Houlihan, founder of the consultancy BehaviorAlchemy.
long-form interviews with researchers plus host discussion · 60-80 min · about twice a week, including 'Throwback Monday' re-releases · since 2017
Why it is #7: Its guest list covers most of the field (Cialdini, Shotton, Duhigg, Epley), and the takeaway segment makes each episode usable.
What it is like: Two warm, curious hosts interview researchers and authors, then close with a 'grooving session' where they pull out takeaways. Some music talk mixed in.
Kristen Berman, co-founder and CEO of Irrational Labs, a behavioral science product design company she co-founded with Dan Ariely.
No new episodes lately, archive still worth it
interviews with product leaders and behavior-change experts · 35-45 min · every two weeks while it was publishing; no new episodes since May 2025 · since 2021
Why it is #10: It is the only show here made specifically for product and growth teams, and the 29-episode archive is still useful.
What it is like: Berman asks people who change behavior for a living (product leaders at Booking.com, Noom, Headspace, plus magicians, winemakers and dog trainers) what product and growth teams can learn from them. No new episodes since May 2025.
What does a Booking.com product leader say about A/B testing?
What can pricing teams learn from how a winemaker sets prices?
How do Noom and Headspace design for retention?
Start with
What a former Booking.com product leader says about testing | Kristina Gibson (Director of Product, Booking.com).Experimentation at one of the most test-driven companies (19 Jan 2025).
How Does Duolingo Get Us To Learn a Language?.A behavioral breakdown of a famous retention product (12 Oct 2021).
Jennifer Clinehens, founder of the Choice Hacking consultancy and author of the book Choice Hacking.
No new episodes lately, archive still worth it
solo explainers and brand case studies · 10-15 min · irregular; last episode June 2026 · since 2020
Why it is #11: It gets to one usable idea in about 10 minutes, with a brand example.
What it is like: Short solo episodes that explain one principle or tell the psychological story behind a brand's rise or fall (Shein, Borders, Windows Phone, Duolingo).
Seth Godin, marketing author (This Is Marketing, This Is Strategy) and daily blogger at seths.blog.
solo monologues · 20-30 min · weekly in the past; irregular since 2025 · since 2018
Why it is #12: Godin's ideas about status, tribes and the smallest viable audience are widely used by founders, and he explains them clearly in short episodes.
What it is like: Godin talks alone about one idea per episode: status, culture, how markets and people change. Short and opinion-led, with no guests.
4.8
Apple Podcasts rating (US store) from 1.8K ratings
Angela Duckworth, research psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Grit, with tech and sports executive Mike Maughan (Stephen Dubner co-hosted the early episodes).
No new episodes lately, archive still worth it
two co-hosts talking, answering listener questions · 30-40 min · weekly re-releases; no new episodes since December 2024 · since 2020
Why it is #13: Duckworth brings research to everyday decision questions, and the 223-episode archive is easy to browse by question.
What it is like: Two friends discuss one question per episode using psychology research. Light and conversational. The show has ended and now replays old episodes.
4.6
Apple Podcasts rating (US store) from 3.5K ratings
Samuel Salzer, behavioral designer and creator of the Habit Weekly newsletter, and Aline Holzwarth, applied behavioral scientist working on digital health and product design.
No new episodes lately, archive still worth it
two co-hosts plus expert interviews, released in seasons · 50-65 min · every two weeks during a season; long breaks between seasons · since 2020
Why it is #15: It is written by and for people who apply behavioral science in product work, and the product deep dives are useful exercises.
What it is like: Two practitioners discuss how to design for behavior change, with guest experts and 'Product Deep Dive' episodes that analyse everyday products. The latest season is about AI.
Steve Levitt, University of Chicago economist and co-author of Freakonomics.
No new episodes lately, archive still worth it
long-form interviews · 40-50 min · weekly re-releases; no new episodes since December 2025 · since 2020
Why it is #16: Its episodes with behavioral economists such as John List and Richard Thaler are worth finding in the archive.
What it is like: Levitt interviews scientists and high achievers about their work and lives. Only some guests are behavioral scientists. The show has ended.
4.6
Apple Podcasts rating (US store) from 1.9K ratings
Practical depth first: does an episode leave you with something you can use at work on Monday? Then the quality of the hosts and guests, whether the show is still publishing, and how consistent it is. Fame counts for little. Listener numbers are shown only when the show or a credible source has published them, with a link to where; we never estimate them. Facts were checked in October 2026.
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