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

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?

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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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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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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

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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?

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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

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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

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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?

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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

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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

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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

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