The Human Risk Podcast
People are often described as the largest asset in most organisations. They are also the biggest single cause of risk. This podcast explores the topic of 'human risk', or "the risk of people doing things they shouldn't or not doing things they should", and examines how behavioural science can help us mitigate it. It also looks at 'human reward', or "how to get the most out of people". When we manage human risk, we often stifle human reward. Equally, when we unleash human reward, we often inadvertently increase human risk. To pitch guests please email guest@humanriskpodcast.com
Episodes
December 7, 2025 • 61 mins
Are we losing our ability to think critically as we rely more on AI?
Episode Summary
My guest is social psychologist Dr Guy Champniss to explore the role of behavioural science in business and the emerging challenges of AI in the workplace. We discuss why behaviour change is so hard to sell, the myth that behavioural science is only needed when everything else fails, and how organisations often overlook the human factors in transform...
Episode Summary
My guest is social psychologist Dr Guy Champniss to explore the role of behavioural science in business and the emerging challenges of AI in the workplace. We discuss why behaviour change is so hard to sell, the myth that behavioural science is only needed when everything else fails, and how organisations often overlook the human factors in transform...
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November 23, 2025 • 65 mins
Why do governments rely on coercion and punishment when voluntary cooperation often produces better, more sustainable outcomes?
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined once again by Professor Yuval Feldman, who returns to explore the core question behind his latest book: Can The Public Be Trusted?
Instead of asking how much we trust our governments, Yuval flips the script, asking how much governments trust us, and whether that tr...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined once again by Professor Yuval Feldman, who returns to explore the core question behind his latest book: Can The Public Be Trusted?
Instead of asking how much we trust our governments, Yuval flips the script, asking how much governments trust us, and whether that tr...
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November 16, 2025 • 58 mins
We all intuitively know that hypocrisy is a bad thing. But what if it isn’t a flaw, but a feature? But maybe the real problem isn’t hypocrisy, it’s how we think about it.
Episode Summary
On this episode, I'm talking to Dr Michael Hallsworth, a leading behavioural scientist and the author of The Hypocrisy Trap. We explore a topic that’s instantly recognisable but not often properly understood. Hypocrisy is something we’re quick to spo...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I'm talking to Dr Michael Hallsworth, a leading behavioural scientist and the author of The Hypocrisy Trap. We explore a topic that’s instantly recognisable but not often properly understood. Hypocrisy is something we’re quick to spo...
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November 9, 2025 • 64 mins
Can a single sentence change the way you see the world? My guest on this episode, James Geary thinks so.
Episode Summary
On this episode, I speak with writer and journalist James, whose lifelong fascination with aphorisms — the world’s shortest literary form — reveals why brevity really is the soul of wit.
James explains what makes an aphorism work, shares the five laws that define them, and explores how these concise little sayings ...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I speak with writer and journalist James, whose lifelong fascination with aphorisms — the world’s shortest literary form — reveals why brevity really is the soul of wit.
James explains what makes an aphorism work, shares the five laws that define them, and explores how these concise little sayings ...
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November 1, 2025 • 62 mins
What can war teach us about how the human brain really works? And why is human decision-making a more significant factor than military strength in wars?
Episode Summary
On this episode, I'm exploring how the human brain truly manifests in conflict—and what that reveals about everyday decision-making. Dr Nicholas Wright, a neurologist-turned-neuroscientist who advises the Pentagon Joint Staff, joins me to discuss his new book Warhead:...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I'm exploring how the human brain truly manifests in conflict—and what that reveals about everyday decision-making. Dr Nicholas Wright, a neurologist-turned-neuroscientist who advises the Pentagon Joint Staff, joins me to discuss his new book Warhead:...
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October 25, 2025 • 66 mins
What if your body is learning things your mind doesn’t know? What if memory wasn't just something that our brain has?
Episode Summary
On this episode, I'm exploring a bold idea with neuroscientist Dr Nikolay Kukushkin: memory doesn’t just live in the brain. It might be a basic property of life itself. We unpack how scientists define memory (behavioural change over time) versus how the rest of us use the word, and why that distinctio...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I'm exploring a bold idea with neuroscientist Dr Nikolay Kukushkin: memory doesn’t just live in the brain. It might be a basic property of life itself. We unpack how scientists define memory (behavioural change over time) versus how the rest of us use the word, and why that distinctio...
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October 18, 2025 • 68 mins
What if the biggest AI risk isn’t bias or data, but human behaviour itself? How might AI impact the people using it and what does that mean for how we design solutions and deploy the technology?
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined by a returning guest. Richard Chataway is a behavioural science expert and strategist who joins me to explore how we can design AI systems that truly work for humans. Richard brings a unique lens t...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined by a returning guest. Richard Chataway is a behavioural science expert and strategist who joins me to explore how we can design AI systems that truly work for humans. Richard brings a unique lens t...
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October 5, 2025 • 55 mins
What happens when the worst thing you’ve ever done becomes the foundation for your life’s work?
Episode Summary
My guest on this episode is Tom Hardin, otherwise known as Tipper X. He's been on the show before, but this time we're tackling a different angle.
If you don’t already know his story, Tom was a rising star in the hedge fund world in his twenties when he became involved in insider trading. Caught by the FBI, he made the deci...
Episode Summary
My guest on this episode is Tom Hardin, otherwise known as Tipper X. He's been on the show before, but this time we're tackling a different angle.
If you don’t already know his story, Tom was a rising star in the hedge fund world in his twenties when he became involved in insider trading. Caught by the FBI, he made the deci...
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September 27, 2025 • 64 mins
Why do so many workplaces run on bullshit processes and procedures? And how might Behavioural Science help resolve them?
Episode Summary
In this episode, I sit down with author, speaker and advisor James Healy to explore his book BS at Work — and the everyday nonsense we all recognise inside organisations.
James argues that while behavioural science has transformed public policy and consumer behaviour, workplaces have lagged behind. ...
Episode Summary
In this episode, I sit down with author, speaker and advisor James Healy to explore his book BS at Work — and the everyday nonsense we all recognise inside organisations.
James argues that while behavioural science has transformed public policy and consumer behaviour, workplaces have lagged behind. ...
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September 6, 2025 • 63 mins
What if the most powerful tool at work isn’t logic, but laughter? On this episode I'm speaking to a comedian who far from thinking humour is a workplace distraction, thinks it might be one of our most powerful tools.
Episode Summary
My guest is Pep Rosenfeld: comedian, improviser, and co-founder of the Amsterdam-based comedy institution Boom Chicago. He’s also the author of Work Laugh Balance, a manifesto for injecting humour into t...
Episode Summary
My guest is Pep Rosenfeld: comedian, improviser, and co-founder of the Amsterdam-based comedy institution Boom Chicago. He’s also the author of Work Laugh Balance, a manifesto for injecting humour into t...
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August 31, 2025 • 54 mins
Why do cyclists in London run red lights? It's against the law, and yet, if you've cycled, driven or just observed London's cyclists, you'll know that many of them don't stop when there's a red light.
Confession time: I'm one of them. Not all the time, but some of the time, and weirdly not when I'm in Munich — the other city I live in — but only in London.
The question of why this happens — not just my red light running, but the act...
Confession time: I'm one of them. Not all the time, but some of the time, and weirdly not when I'm in Munich — the other city I live in — but only in London.
The question of why this happens — not just my red light running, but the act...
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August 24, 2025 • 67 mins
What if the ideas that linger in the back of your mind — the ones you can’t quite explain — are the ones you most need to pay attention to?
Episode Summary
In this episode, I explore that question with Dr Nuno Reis, a former physicist and investment banker turned thinker and guide in uncovering what he calls rare dots — those unique, pre-verbal insights that feel deeply resonant but don’t yet fit into our existing models of the world...
Episode Summary
In this episode, I explore that question with Dr Nuno Reis, a former physicist and investment banker turned thinker and guide in uncovering what he calls rare dots — those unique, pre-verbal insights that feel deeply resonant but don’t yet fit into our existing models of the world...
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August 17, 2025 • 69 mins
Is listening a hidden superpower we’ve overlooked? You've heard of Active Listening, but what is Radical Listening and why does it matter?
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined by Professor Christian van Nieuwerburgh, an academic who also describes himself as 'Coach on a Motorcycle'. He's on the show to help me explore what he calls 'Radical Listening'.
Christian is Professor of Coaching and Positive Psychology at the Universit...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined by Professor Christian van Nieuwerburgh, an academic who also describes himself as 'Coach on a Motorcycle'. He's on the show to help me explore what he calls 'Radical Listening'.
Christian is Professor of Coaching and Positive Psychology at the Universit...
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August 9, 2025 • 62 mins
Why do we follow orders or go along with things that feel wrong? Why might defiance be better than compliance? And how can we go about becoming more defiant?
Episode Summary
I’ve always been fascinated by why people obey, even when it clashes with their instincts or values. In this conversation, I’m joined by Dr Sunita Sah — a physician-turned-organisational psychologist whose work explores the hidden social, cultural, and psychologi...
Episode Summary
I’ve always been fascinated by why people obey, even when it clashes with their instincts or values. In this conversation, I’m joined by Dr Sunita Sah — a physician-turned-organisational psychologist whose work explores the hidden social, cultural, and psychologi...
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August 2, 2025 • 60 mins
What happens when citizens lose faith in the institutions that serve them? And how can we rebuild that trust?
Episode Summary
On this episode, I'm speaking to someone who cares passionately about this subject and who has made it her life's work to research and solve it.
From politicians who lie, to corruption scandals, to public services that simply don’t work the way we expect—especially when we're paying taxes and getting poor val...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I'm speaking to someone who cares passionately about this subject and who has made it her life's work to research and solve it.
From politicians who lie, to corruption scandals, to public services that simply don’t work the way we expect—especially when we're paying taxes and getting poor val...
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July 26, 2025 • 65 mins
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘the show must go on’. But when shouldn’t the show go on? To help me answer that, I’m speaking to someone who has spent 35 years managing some of Australia’s most iconic large-scale events — from Taylor Swift concerts to public city spectacles with crowds over 200,000, and corporate experiences — and has often faced the question: when should the show really stop?
My guest is Iain Morrison, wh,o as well a...
My guest is Iain Morrison, wh,o as well a...
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July 19, 2025 • 69 mins
What if the real risk of AI isn’t job loss but brain atrophy?
Episode Summary
If you've spent any time on social media recently, you'll be familiar with the flood of low-quality AI-generated sludge. And on this episode, I'm speaking to someone who is leading a one-woman campaign against it and in favour of human-generated content.
Her name is Zsike Peter and she's the fiercely human founder of an agency called Vampire Digital; you'll...
Episode Summary
If you've spent any time on social media recently, you'll be familiar with the flood of low-quality AI-generated sludge. And on this episode, I'm speaking to someone who is leading a one-woman campaign against it and in favour of human-generated content.
Her name is Zsike Peter and she's the fiercely human founder of an agency called Vampire Digital; you'll...
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July 12, 2025 • 62 mins
What if we treated mental health like a capability instead of a crisis? On this episode, I'm talking to a business school professor and a counselling psychologist about their new book that looks at practical ways we can manage mental health. Not after it manifests itself, but beforehand.
Episode Summary
Mental health has become part of the workplace conversation, but all too often, that conversation stops at slogans and superficial g...
Episode Summary
Mental health has become part of the workplace conversation, but all too often, that conversation stops at slogans and superficial g...
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July 6, 2025 • 62 mins
What if joy became the most important metric when we organised events? Or, to put it another way, why are so many events uninspiring and not very joyful?
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined by event strategist, educator, and author Tahira Endean to explore a provocative question: what if we measured events not just by financial metrics, but by the joy they deliver?
Drawing from her new book Our KPI is Joy: How Live Events Cata...
Episode Summary
On this episode, I’m joined by event strategist, educator, and author Tahira Endean to explore a provocative question: what if we measured events not just by financial metrics, but by the joy they deliver?
Drawing from her new book Our KPI is Joy: How Live Events Cata...
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June 29, 2025 • 70 mins
Why is getting shit done so hard, and what can we do about it?
Episode Summary
Getting shit done isn’t just about motivation or tools, it’s about design. In this episode, I speak to Claus Raasted: consultant, author, speaker, experience designer, and someone who describes himself — with tongue firmly in cheek — as an “overpaid rockstar consultant.”
But behind the flair is a deep understanding of how to remove friction, reframe work,...
Episode Summary
Getting shit done isn’t just about motivation or tools, it’s about design. In this episode, I speak to Claus Raasted: consultant, author, speaker, experience designer, and someone who describes himself — with tongue firmly in cheek — as an “overpaid rockstar consultant.”
But behind the flair is a deep understanding of how to remove friction, reframe work,...
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