Accessibility links
regret regret
Stories About

regret

Looking Back: Reflecting On The Past To Understand The Present

"Nostalgia is memory with the pain removed." — Jim Holliday Gpointstudio/Getty Images/Cultura RF hide caption

toggle caption
Gpointstudio/Getty Images/Cultura RF

Hidden Brain

Looking Back: Reflecting On The Past To Understand The Present

Why are we so often pulled into memories of the past? This week, we bring you a 2018 episode about our ruminations on what we could have done differently, and what we wish we could do again.

Looking Back: Reflecting On The Past To Understand The Present

Listen · 50:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/810498673/810560480" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Looking Back: Reflecting On The Past To Understand The Present

"Nostalgia is memory with the pain removed." - Jim Holliday Gpointstudio/Getty Images/Cultura RF hide caption

toggle caption
Gpointstudio/Getty Images/Cultura RF

Hidden Brain

Looking Back: Reflecting On The Past To Understand The Present

So often we get stuck in the past, rehashing what we should have done, and what we no longer have. But researchers say our obsession with the past can tell us something important about our future.

Looking Back: Reflecting On The Past To Understand The Present

Listen · 50:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/607757718/619990903" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Rewinding & Rewriting: The Alternate Universes in Our Heads

Laura Ogden, Jack Hannan, and Dr. Jones the dog. Courtesy of Laura Ogden hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Laura Ogden

Hidden Brain

Rewinding & Rewriting: The Alternate Universes in Our Heads

All of us think back to turning points in our lives, and imagine how things could have unfolded differently. Why do we so often ask ourselves, "What if?"

Rewinding & Rewriting: The Alternate Universes in Our Heads

Listen · 30:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/612458913/613127761" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Why We Can't Shake Life's 'Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda' Moments
Hong Li/Getty Images

Hidden Brain

Why We Can't Shake Life's 'Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda' Moments

Amy Summerville runs the Regret Lab at Miami University in Ohio. She says regret is pervasive — but it doesn't always have to be a negative emotion.

Why We Can't Shake Life's 'Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda' Moments

Listen · 30:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/550260750/553782067" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org