We like to think we’re fair. But what if our minds and our machines aren't? In this PsychTalks bonus episode, hosts Nick and Cassie are joined by Harvard's Mahzarin Banaji discuss implicit bias, AI, and what responsibility for fairness really means.

omny.fm/shows/psycht...

t’s time to get curious because Raising the Bar is coming back to Melbourne with a special health edition. On 13 May, MDHS is hosting 20 talks across 10 CBD venues in one night, featuring Prof Michelle Jongenelis and Prof Andy Perfors. www.rtbevent.com/melb-2026

What is consciousness? Michael Pollan spent 4 years looking for the answer In A World Appears, Michael Pollan wonders if the search for consciousness might be a socially (and scientifically) acceptable proxy for the search for the soul.

Looking for your next read?

In his latest book reviews, Prof Nick Haslam guides us through two books that reward readers who enjoy complexity and uncertainty.

The Life You Want by Adam Phillips
insidestory.org.au/get-a-life/

Michael Pollan’s A World Appears
theconversation.com/what-is-cons...

The QS subject rankings for 2026 have shown MSPS has improved on last year’s results, moving up a spot to be #20 in the world and remaining #1 in Australia.

Unimelb is the top ranked Australian university in Life Sciences and Medicine, and #14 in the world.

www.topuniversities.com/university-s...

New article in The Conversation @theconversation.com by Lauren Fong about her recent work on preference-driven decisions! Featuring some tough choices between baked goods. (Journal article quoted below)

theconversation.com/are-we-ever-...

@psychunimelb.bsky.social @paulmgarrett.bsky.social

Our paper on double decisions in working memory tasks is now published in Computational Brain and Behaviour!

When you give people a second chance, it reveals a lot about the contents of their memory.

Led by @paulmgarrett.bsky.social
@psychunimelb.bsky.social

rdcu.be/e8SLX

The Matter Of Facts Hamish Macdonald wants to know what happens if we lose our faith in facts. We are all navigating a digital ecosystem where truth and lies can be indistinguishable, and where information is created - a...

What happens if we lose our faith in facts?

Profr Katherine Johnson was featured in ABC's The Matter of Facts, a show that investigates how our digital ecosystem changes what we believe, how we behave and who we vote for.

Watch it here: iview.abc.net.au/show/matter-...

The secret to keeping secrets Secrets can be a burden - especially when they flash back into our minds when we least expect.

According to Dr Valentina Bianchi, most people have nine secrets. This can be a burden, but is it better to share them or just learn how to live with them?

Listen as she discusses the secrets of keeping secrets on Radio New Zealand:
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

"Menopause can be really empowering and an awesome opportunity for a relationship reset."

Dr Lydia Brown was featured in a Herald Sun article by Ruby Kraner-Tucci about how Australian women are rewriting the rules of midlife sexuality.

Read it here: www.heraldsun.com.au/health/condi...

Mental illness —Taking stigma out of media reporting - ABC listen When a violent crime makes the news, mental illness is often part of the story. But how that story is told, the words chosen, the details included, the connections drawn, has consequences that ripple ...

Irresponsible reporting of mental illness fuels stigma and fear. ABC Big Ideas has released our World Mental Health Day panel with MISRA and MSPGH, hosted by Dr Chris Groot and featuring Dr Anna Ross, Tim Heffernan and Gayle McNaught

Listen here: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

A huge congratulations to @simine.com!!

Happy World Sleep Day! Today MSPS researchers Professor Amy Jordan and Dr Joanne Avraam joined Leanne Ngo and others from the Health Promotion unit to quiz students, answer questions and promote good sleep.

❗ Venue change for Blindspot with Prof Mahzarin Banaji ❗

Due to technical issues, tonight's Miegunyah Lecture has moved to the Carrillo Gantner Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, 761 Swanston St. We'll also be starting slightly later - please be seated by 6.15pm.

📍 maps.app.goo.gl/iST38CE9446R...

There's just a week remaining until the Miegunyah Lecture with Prof Mahzarin Banaji as she presents "Blindspot: Hidden Biases in Humans and Machines"

When: Wednesday, 11 March, 6-7.30pm
Where: Public Lecture Theatre, Old Arts, Parkville
Register here: go.unimelb.edu.au/str2

Why do I get ‘butterflies in my stomach’? Prepping for a job interview or giving a speech at your best mate’s wedding? Here’s why your tummy’s a-flutter.

“Butterflies in the stomach” is a cute description for one part of the fight-or-flight response. But what exactly are these butterflies? Why can we feel them in our stomach? And is there anything we can do about them?

Read Dr Amy Loughman's article:
go.unimelb.edu.au/akr2

In this bonus episode of PsychTalks, Cassie Hayward and Nick Haslam welcome one of the world’s most influential developmental psychologists, Professor Alison Gopnik for an extended conversation on how our minds grow and change over the lifespan.

Listen here: go.unimelb.edu.au/7axe

Behind the Screens by Dr Niraj Lal We are delighted to have University of Melbourne Professor Peter Koval host the launch of Niraj Lal's new book, Behind the Screens. Niraj Lal is a Melbourne author and the host of ABC Kid’s Imagine ...

Tonight, Prof Pete Koval hosts the launch of Behind the Screens by Dr Niraj Lal, host of ABC Kid's Imagine This podcast.

In Behind the Screens, Lal explores one of the most life-changing inventions in history, the internet!

Learn more and book here: www.readings.com.au/events/behin...

Part 1: How do LLMs work? YouTube video by Andrew Perfors

I just created a series of seven deep-dive videos about AI, which I've posted to youtube and now here. 😊

Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.

Tobacco companies targeting gen Z through social media Experts say Australia risks becoming complacent in the war against tobacco, with big companies pivoting to social media to "greenwash" their products to generation Z.

Prof Michelle Jongenelis warns: "Sixty-six Australians die every day from smoking, still to this day... We need to go back to the mass media campaigns that really highlight the dangers of smoking — we've dropped the ball on that."

Read more: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

How to Cope With Failure: 10 Tips You can’t win at everything, but you can learn how to handle setbacks more gracefully. Experts share their best tips on what to do when things don’t work out.

Associate Professor and Co-director of the FEEL Lab @elisekalo.bsky.social contributed to an article about ways to cope with failure: www.everydayhealth.com/mental-healt...

Weight loss drug success does not last study finds - ABC listen A study published by the British Medical Journal has found most people will regain weight lost within two years of stopping taking weight loss medications.

"Medications should not be treated as a standalone cure."

A/Prof Trevor Steward spoke to the ABC about studies finding that weight loss drug success does not last.

Listen to it here: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Or learn more here: www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clini...

We said the season was over – but for Prof Alison Gopnik, we made an exception. In this bonus PsychTalks episode, Nick and Cassie had a conversation with one of the world's most influential developmental psychologists about how our minds change across our lives.

Listen here: go.unimelb.edu.au/3axe

Congratulations Prof Michelle Jongenelis! She is Chief Investigator on a project (led by Prof Rebecca Bentley in MSPGH) that has received $5 million in NHMRC Synergy Grant funding. They will conduct research on reducing mould exposure in homes, focusing on people with respiratory conditions.

Can social media bans protect young minds?

The teen social media ban has unofficially begun today across several platforms. This ban marks a world-first experiment in how to best tackle social media's impact on young people.

Listen to our PsychTalks episode with A/Prof Scott Griffiths: open.spotify.com/episode/0Npt...

The $220 billion mind gap: Meet the startup founder tackling entrepreneurial burnout Founder-turned-psychologist Byron McCaughey has launched Sublime Studio, a membership for mental fitness to tackle burnout.

MSPS alumni Byron McCaughey and Craig Hyde-Smith were featured in Forbes Australia for their startup Sublime Studio which combines evidence-based psychology with founder-specific coaching to help entrepreneurs build resilience, focus and clarity to prevent burnout. www.forbes.com.au/news/entrepr...

Congratulations to Master of Applied Psychology grads Olivia Vermeesch and Robert Capp for their success at The Research Society Awards! Olivia Vermeesch (The Behavioural Architects) won The Young Researcher of the Year Award and Robert Capp (Ipsos) won the Rookie of the Year Award.

🏆 Individual: @simine.com, psychologist at @unimelb.bsky.social & editor-in-chief of Psychological Science, is recognized for pioneering methodological rigor, reproducibility & collaborative research, driving initiatives such as @improvingpsych.org & the journal Collabra @ucpress.bsky.social. (2/5)

‘Supervised’ self-driving cars are here – and Australia’s laws aren’t ready

Dr Angus McKerral and Professor Kristen Pammer contribute to a discussion in The Conversation:

theconversation.com/supervised-s...

New preprint from the lab led by @violetchae.bsky.social! We debut an open EEG dataset for research into food cognition and dietary choices.

Featuring data from 117 different brains relating to 120 different food stimuli.

@tgro.bsky.social @psychunimelb.bsky.social

Congratulations to the successful recipients of 2026 ARC Discovery Project funding: A/Prof Piers Howe, Dr Daniel Bennett, Prof Nick Haslam, Dr Sarah Tashjian and Prof Katherine Johnson!