PsychTalks: Modern life explored by psychology experts
PsychTalks: Modern life explored by psychology experts
2026 marks PsychTalks’ fifth season, and our hosts Associate Professor Cassie Hayward and Professor Nick Haslam are thrilled to bring you another stellar line up of psychology experts – from within the University of Melbourne and beyond.
How are our judgments (and those of the AI tools we’ve created) affected by implicit bias? What role does impulsivity have on our likelihood to drink? And how can we ensure our children with disability are psychologically safe and included?
Where to listen
We’re busy recording Season 5 and can’t wait to share it with you late June 2026. In the meantime, we’ve released an early bonus episode Season 5 below, featuring Professor Mahzarin Banaji (Harvard University) in conversation about her work with implicit bias and AI.
Follow PsychTalks on your favourite platform to be notified of new episodes, sign up to our monthly newsletter, or catch up on old episodes:
Apple Podcasts Spotify
Bonus episode:
Hidden biases in humans and machines: Can we really be fair?
We like to think we’re fair. But what if our minds and our machines don’t always agree?
In this special bonus episode of PsychTalks, hosts Professor Nick Haslam and Associate Professor Cassie Hayward are joined by Professor Mahzarin Banaji (Harvard University), one of the world’s leading researchers on implicit bias.
Drawing on decades of research across psychology, neuroscience and artificial intelligence, Professor Banaji explains how bias can shape judgments and decisions without our awareness – even when we genuinely value fairness and accuracy. She explores how these hidden processes affect everyday life, social institutions and the technologies we are increasingly relying on.
Recorded during Professor Banaji’s visit to the University of Melbourne as a Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellow, this conversation asks what it really means to take responsibility for bias and how a clearer understanding of the human mind might help us build a more just and accountable world.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to our fantastic production team, who helped create Season 5 of the PsychTalks podcast.
- Hosts: Cassie Hayward and Nick Haslam
- Producers: Mairéad Murray, Gemma Papprill and Celia Harvey
- Sound engineer: Phil Shaw
- Music composer: Chris Falk