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Alix Spiegel Alix Spiegel is co-host of Invisibilia.
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Alix Spiegel

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Wednesday

Science

Optimism: Is It A Personality Trait, Or Could People Possibly Learn It?

Research shows that optimism is correlated with various good outcomes: higher life expectancy, better recovery rates, success at work. But is optimism a personality trait, or could it be learned?

Optimism: Is It A Personality Trait, Or Could People Possibly Learn It?

Listen · 5:59
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Monday

Her Incredible Sense Of Smell Is Helping Scientists Find New Ways To Diagnose Disease
Leonardo Santamaria for NPR

Shots - Health News

Her Incredible Sense Of Smell Is Helping Scientists Find New Ways To Diagnose Disease

Years before he got diagnosed with Parkinson's, Joy Milne noticed her husband's characteristic scent had changed. The discovery that she could smell his illness has opened up a new field of research.

Her Incredible Sense Of Smell Is Helping Scientists Find New Ways To Diagnose Disease

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Research News

'Invisibilia' New Episode: An Unlikely Superpower

NPR's podcast Invisibilia is back with a new season. A Scottish woman discovers she has a biological gift that allows her to see things that will happen in the future that no one else can see.

'Invisibilia' New Episode: An Unlikely Superpower

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Monday

Morning Edition

NPR's Podcast 'Invisibilia' Begins A New Season

NPR's Invisibilia podcast brings you a story about a new Facebook effort to build a modern kind of Rosetta Stone, using artificial intelligence.

NPR's Podcast 'Invisibilia' Begins A New Season

Listen · 7:07
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Friday

Saturday

Invisibilia: For Some Teens With Debilitating Pain, The Treatment Is More Pain
Christina Chung for NPR

Shots - Health News

Invisibilia: For Some Teens With Debilitating Pain, The Treatment Is More Pain

Thousands of teens suffer from a rare chronic pain condition that makes everyday life excruciating. Some are trying a counterintuitive treatment approach: Load up on pain until you learn to ignore it.

Invisibilia: For Some Teens With Debilitating Pain, The Treatment Is More Pain

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Friday

Health

How Our Culture's Thinking On Pain Has Changed Over The Last Five Decades

NPR's Invisibilia podcast is back for a fifth season. The first episode this season is about pain — and the changing way in which our culture thinks about and treats pain.

How Our Culture's Thinking On Pain Has Changed Over The Last Five Decades

Listen · 8:05
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Friday

Invisibilia: Do the Patterns in Your Past Predict Your Future?
Sara Wong for NPR

Shots - Health News

Invisibilia: Do the Patterns in Your Past Predict Your Future?

A massive computer competition works to identify the patterns that can predict where someone will end up in life. But whether this competition has a winner may depend on your viewpoint.

Invisibilia: Do the Patterns in Your Past Predict Your Future?

Listen · 7:19
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Wednesday

Invisibilia: They Risked Their Lives To Bring Music Back

Xawo Abdi Hassan rehearses her song. Xawo did not win the competition but the show launched her career as a singer. Roopa Gogineni hide caption

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Roopa Gogineni

Goats and Soda

Invisibilia: They Risked Their Lives To Bring Music Back

When Somalia decided to start a reality show with a singing competition, there was a major problem. Singing in public could bring on the wrath of al-Shabab.

Invisibilia: They Risked Their Lives To Bring Music Back

Listen · 7:48
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Friday

Invisibilia: Inspired By 'American Idol,' Somali TV Show Aimed To Change The World
Sara Wong for NPR

Goats and Soda

Invisibilia: Inspired By 'American Idol,' Somali TV Show Aimed To Change The World

Reality TV is popular around the world. It's also roundly mocked as formulaic and contrived. But can that kind of fragile fantasy meaningfully influence the real world?

Invisibilia: Inspired By 'American Idol,' Somali TV Show Aimed To Change The World

Listen · 7:48
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Sunday

Science

How Much Can A Vision Of Your 'Future Self' Motivate You To Achieve?

Invisibilia co-host Alix Spiegel introduces us to a young man whose sights were set far beyond the Syrian orphanage in which he spent part of his childhood.

How Much Can A Vision Of Your 'Future Self' Motivate You To Achieve?

Listen · 5:47
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Thursday

Eager To Burst His Own Bubble, A Techie Made Apps To Randomize His Life

For two years, Hawkins let his app guide him around the globe, including a stop in Gortina, Slovenia. Courtesy of Max Hawkins hide caption

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Courtesy of Max Hawkins

All Tech Considered

Eager To Burst His Own Bubble, A Techie Made Apps To Randomize His Life

Suddenly aware of repetitive feedback loops in his life, Max Hawkins created apps that decided where he should go, what strangers' parties he should attend, even how he should spend Christmas.

Eager To Burst His Own Bubble, A Techie Made Apps To Randomize His Life

Listen · 6:59
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Thursday

Invisibilia: A Man Finds An Explosive Emotion Locked In A Word
Marina Muun for NPR

Shots - Health News

Invisibilia: A Man Finds An Explosive Emotion Locked In A Word

When anthropologist Renato Rosaldo went to live with a Philippine tribe that was known for beheading people, he couldn't grasp the emotion that fueled this violence. Then his wife suddenly died.

Invisibilia: A Man Finds An Explosive Emotion Locked In A Word

Listen · 7:04
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Friday

She Offered The Robber A Glass Of Wine, And That Flipped The Script
Manual Cinema/NPR

Shots - Health News

She Offered The Robber A Glass Of Wine, And That Flipped The Script

NPR's Alix Spiegel, co-host of the podcast and program Invisibilia, tells the story of a robbery that was halted when a woman decided to respond to the threat in an unexpected way — with kindness.

She Offered The Robber A Glass Of Wine, And That Flipped The Script

Listen · 6:39
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Friday

Thursday

Science

Invisibilia: An Experiment Helps One Woman See The World In A New Way

NPR's Invisibilia podcast tells the story of a woman who participated in an experiment that gave her a whole new frame of reference and allowed her to see the world in a different way.

Invisibilia: An Experiment Helps One Woman See The World In A New Way

Listen · 7:38
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Friday

Friday

Invisibilia Season 2: Changing Social Norms Could Save Your Life

Employees serve clients in a McDonald's restaurant on Pushkin square in Moscow on Feb. 1, 2010. The restaurant was the first in Russia and opened on Jan. 31, 1990. Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

Health

Invisibilia Season 2: Changing Social Norms Could Save Your Life

When McDonald's came to the Soviet Union in 1990, it insisted that workers smile. That didn't come easy. But customers grew to like it — and workers did, too. What happens when you change a norm?

Invisibilia Season 2: Changing Social Norms Could Save Your Life

Listen · 6:53
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Wednesday

Wednesday

Friday

Can A Computer Change The Essence Of Who You Are?
Daniel Horowitz for NPR

Shots - Health News

Can A Computer Change The Essence Of Who You Are?

The latest episode of NPR's Invisibilia takes us online. Some people think interacting with these machines is changing us all — for better and worse.

Can A Computer Change The Essence Of Who You Are?

Listen · 6:40
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Friday

By Impersonating Her Mom, A Comedian Grows Closer To Her

Think of human relationships as entanglements. How do they bind you; how do they reveal who you really are? Daniel Horowitz for NPR hide caption

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Daniel Horowitz for NPR

Shots - Health News

By Impersonating Her Mom, A Comedian Grows Closer To Her

Human relationships are entanglements, and those connections often aren't clear to us at all. When Maria Bamford impersonated her mom, she realized what she loved about her — and about herself.

By Impersonating Her Mom, A Comedian Grows Closer To Her

Listen · 8:19
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Friday

By Making A Game Out Of Rejection, A Man Conquers Fear
Daniel Horowitz for NPR

Shots - Health News

By Making A Game Out Of Rejection, A Man Conquers Fear

Jason Comely's fear of rejection was so strong that he'd become completely isolated. So he set out to get himself rejected at least once a day, every day. Funny thing is, it worked.

By Making A Game Out Of Rejection, A Man Conquers Fear

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