Gordon Pennycook is an Associate Professor at Cornell University. We talk about his upbringing in rural Northern Canada, how he got into academia, and his work on misinformation: why people share it and what can be done about it.

BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.

Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon

Timestamps

0:00:00: Straight outta Carrot River: From Northern Canada to publishing in Nature

0:37:01: Exploration vs focusing on one topic: finding your research topic

0:48:57: A sense of having made it

0:54:17: Why apply reasoning research to religion?

0:59:45: Starting working on misinformation

1:08:20: Defining misinformation, disinformation, and fake news

1:15:52: Social media, the consumption of news, and Bayesian updating

1:24:48: Reasons for why people share misinformation

1:35:57: Are social media companies listening to Pennycook et al?

1:38:19: Using AI to change conspiracy beliefs

1:44:59: A book or paper more people should read

1:46:33: Something Gordon wishes he'd learnt sooner

1:48:12: Advice for PhD students/postdocs

Podcast links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-pod
• BlueSky: https://geni.us/pod-bsky

Gordon's links

• Website: https://geni.us/pennycook_web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/pennycook-scholar
• BlueSky: https://geni.us/pennycook-bsky

Ben's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholar

References

Costello, Pennycook & Rand (2024). Durably reducing conspiracy beliefs through dialogues with AI. Science.

Dawkins (2006). The God Delusion.

MacLeod, ... & Ozubko (2010). The production effect: delineation of a phenomenon. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition.

Nowak & Highfield (2012). Supercooperators: Altruism, evolution, and why we need each other to succeed.

Pennycook, ... & Fugelsang (2012). Analytic cognitive style predicts religious and paranormal belief. Cognition.

Pennycook, Fugelsang & Koehler (2015). What makes us think? A three-stage dual-process model of analytic engagement. Cognitive Psychology.

Pennycook, Cheyne, Barr, Koehler & Fugelsang (2015). On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshit. Judgment and Decision making.

Pennycook & Rand (2019). Lazy, not biased: Susceptibility to partisan fake news is better explained by lack of reasoning than by motivated reasoning. Cognition.

Pennycook & Rand (2021). The psychology of fake news. Trends in cognitive sciences.

Rand (2016). Cooperation, fast and slow: Meta-analytic evidence for a theory of social heuristics and self-interested deliberation. Psychological Science.

Stanovich (2005). The robot's rebellion: Finding meaning in the age of Darwin.

Tappin, Pennycook & Rand (2020). Thinking clearly about causal inferences of politically motivated reasoning: Why paradigmatic study designs often undermine causal inference. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences.

Thompson, Turner & Pennycook (2011). Intuition, reason, and metacognition. Cognitive Psychology.

Renzo Huber is a staff scientist at NIH. We talk about his work on layer-fMRI: what it is, how Renzo got into it, how to do it, when it makes sense to do it, what the future holds, and much more.

Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon

Timestamps
0:00:00: How Renzo got into high-resolution fMRI
0:11:28: The difference between 3T and 7T fMRI
0:22:46: Is a bigger fMRI scanner always better?
0:33:35: Layer-fMRI
0:56:28: For what types of research is layer-fMRI most useful?
1:02:35: How to do layer-fMRI and make it reproducible
1:19:21: The future of layer-fMRI
1:27:02: A book or paper more people should read
1:30:37: Something Renzo wishes he'd learnt sooner
1:33:11: Advice for PhD students/postdocs

Podcast links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-pod
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twt

Renzo's links

• Website: https://geni.us/huber-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/huber-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/huber-twt

Ben's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twt

References and links mentioned
Episode with Peter Bandettini: https://geni.us/bjks-bandettini
Episode with Emily Finn: https://geni.us/bjks-finn
Renzo's blog about layer fMRI: https://layerfmri.com/
YouTube channel on layer fMRI: https://www.youtube.com/@layerfmri/

Bastos, ... & Friston (2012). Canonical microcircuits for predictive coding. Neuron.
Bollmann & Barth (2021). New acquisition techniques and their prospects for the achievable resolution of fMRI. Progress in Neurobiology.
Boulant, ... & Le Bihan (2024). In vivo imaging of the human brain with the Iseult 11.7-T MRI scanner. Nature Methods.
Finn, ... & Bandettini (2019). Layer-dependent activity in human prefrontal cortex during working memory. Nature Neuroscience.
Feynman (1985). "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!": adventures of a curious character.
Haarsma, Kok & Browning (2022). The promise of layer-specific neuroimaging for testing predictive coding theories of psychosis. Schizophrenia Research.
Huber, ... & Bandettini (2017). High-resolution CBV-fMRI allows mapping of laminar activity and connectivity of cortical input and output in human M1. Neuron.
Huber, ... & Möller (2019). Non-BOLD contrast for laminar fMRI in humans: CBF, CBV, and CMRO2. Neuroimage.
Huber, ... & Bandettini (2020). Sub-millimeter fMRI reveals multiple topographical digit representations that form action maps in human motor cortex. Neuroimage.
Huber, ... & Kronbichler (2023). Evaluating the capabilities and challenges of layer-fMRI VASO at 3T. Aperture Neuro.
Huber, ... & Horovitz (2023). Laminar VASO fMRI in focal hand dystonia patients. Dystonia.
Persichetti, ... & Martin (2020). Layer-specific contributions to imagined and executed hand movements in human primary motor cortex. Current Biology.
Polimeni, ... & Wald (2010). Laminar analysis of 7 T BOLD using an imposed spatial activation pattern in human V1. Neuroimage.

Ella Marushchenko is a scientific illustrator who runs a studio of artists and scientists that creates cover art, scientific and illustrations, and more. We talk about her unlikely path from artist in Russia to scientific illustrator in the US, digital vs classic art, how to interact as scientists with illustrators, how to improve scientific figures, and much more.

BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.

Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon

Timestamps
0:00:00: Ella's unlikely path to doing scientific illustrations
0:33:17: Running a studio for scientific illustrations
0:36:30: The process of commissioning a scientific figure
0:46:44: The changing landscape of scientific publications and communication
0:50:15: Unhelpful things to avoid when interacting with a science illustrator
0:59:06: Who are scientific illustrations for?
1:06:36: The purpose of illustrations in science
1:16:09: How to learn to improve scientific figures
1:22:30: How to become a scientific illustrator
1:26:10: A book or paper more people should read
1:27:48: Something Ella wishes she'd learnt sooner
1:29:10: Advice for PhD students/postdocs

Podcast links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-pod
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twt

Ella's links

• Website: https://geni.us/marushchenko-web
• Twitter: https://geni.us/marushchenko-twt

Ben's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twt

References and links

Some pictures by Sergey Krasnov: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sergey_krasnov/

Sergiy Minko: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TMotc_wAAAAJ

Science diagrams that look like shitposts: https://x.com/scienceshitpost

My photo of the elephant at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle: https://www.bjks.blog/nature/3n6ljuy6noa5470tdsbcuicltu48df

Episode about Cajal: https://geni.us/bjks-ehrlich

Bulgakov (1967). The Master and Margarita.

Roberto Bottini is an Associate Professor at the University of Trento. We talk about his recent work on unusual cognitive maps in blind people, image spaces, metaphors, and he gives me some advice for writing successful grant applications.

BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.

Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon

Timestamps
0:00:00: Roberto's background
0:03:20: Start discussing Roberto's paper on altered grid cells in visually impaired people: theoretical background
0:16:28: Methods & results: walking on a clock face / altered grid cells: fourfold symmetry
0:47:48: Start discussing Roberto's paper on cognitive maps and image spaces (TiCS)
0:52:05: Egocentric and allocentric perspectives
0:55:27: Metaphors and analogies
1:00:08: Tips for grant applications
1:14:18: A book or paper that more people should read
1:18:38: Something Roberto wishes he'd learnt sooner
1:20:30: Advice for PhD students/postdocs

Podcast links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-pod
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twt

Roberto's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bottini-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bottini-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bottini-twt

Ben's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twt

References
Aronov, ... & Tank (2017). Mapping of a non-spatial dimension by the hippocampal–entorhinal circuit. Nature.
Bisiach & Luzzatti (1978). Unilateral neglect of representational space. Cortex.
Bottini & Doeller (2020). Knowledge across reference frames: Cognitive maps and image spaces. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Casasanto (2009). Embodiment of abstract concepts: good and bad in right-and left-handers. Journal of experimental psychology: General.
Constantinescu, ... & Behrens (2016). Organizing conceptual knowledge in humans with a gridlike code. Science.
Derdikman, ... & Moser (2009). Fragmentation of grid cell maps in a multicompartment environment. Nature neuroscience.
Eichenbaum (2014). Time cells in the hippocampus: a new dimension for mapping memories. Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
Gardenfors (2004). Conceptual spaces: The geometry of thought.
Gentner (1983). Structure-mapping: A theoretical framework for analogy. Cognitive science.
He & Brown (2019). Environmental barriers disrupt grid-like representations in humans during navigation. Current Biology.
Horner, ... & Burgess (2016). Grid-like processing of imagined navigation. Current Biology.
Jaynes (1976). The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.
Park, ... & Boorman (2021). Inferences on a multidimensional social hierarchy use a grid-like code. Nature Neuroscience.
Sigismondi, ... & Bottini (2024). Altered grid-like coding in early blind people. Nature Communications.
Stangl, ... & Wolbers (2018). Compromised grid-cell-like representations in old age as a key mechanism to explain age-related navigational deficits. Current Biology.
Tolman (1948). Cognitive maps in rats and men. Psychological Review.
Whittington, ... & Behrens (2022). How to build a cognitive map. Nature Neuroscience.

Robert (Bob) Wilson is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Georgia Tech. We talk about his tutorial paper (w/ Anne Collins) on computational modelling, and some of his recent work on detecting phishing.

BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.

Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon

Timestamps
0:00:00: Bob's strange path through computational cognitive neuroscience
0:07:37: Phishing: a computational model with real-life applications
0:25:46: Start discussing Bob's paper 10 simple rules for computational modeling of behavioral data
0:32:15: Rule 0: Why even do computational modelling?
0:46:24: Rules 1 & 2: Design a good experiment & Design a good model
1:02:51: Rule 3: Simulate!
1:05:48: Rules 4 & 5: Parameter estimation and recovery
1:18:28: Rule 6: Model recovery
1:25:55: Rules 7 & 8: Collect data and validate the model
1:33:15: Rule 9: Latent variable analysis
1:36:24: Rule 10: Report your results
1:37:46: Computational modelling and the open science movement
1:40:17: A book or paper more people should read
1:43:35: Something Bob wishes he'd learnt sooner
1:47:18: Advice for PhD students/postdocs

Podcast links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-pod
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twt

Robert's links

• Website: https://geni.us/wilson-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/wilson-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/wilson-twt

Ben's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twt

References

Episodes w/ Paul Smaldino:
https://geni.us/bjks-smaldino
https://geni.us/bjks-smaldino_2

Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson (1994). Insensitivity to future consequences following damage to human prefrontal cortex. Cognition.
Feng, Wang, Zarnescu & Wilson (2021). The dynamics of explore–exploit decisions reveal a signal-to-noise mechanism for random exploration. Scientific Reports.
Grilli, ... & Wilson (2021). Is this phishing? Older age is associated with greater difficulty discriminating between safe and malicious emails. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B.
Hakim, Ebner, ... & Wilson (2021). The Phishing Email Suspicion Test (PEST) a lab-based task for evaluating the cognitive mechanisms of phishing detection. Behavior research methods.
Harootonian, Ekstrom & Wilson (2022). Combination and competition between path integration and landmark navigation in the estimation of heading direction. PLoS Computational Biology.
Hopfield (1982). Neural networks and physical systems with emergent collective computational abilities. PNAS.
MacKay (2003). Information theory, inference and learning algorithms.
Miller, Eugene & Pribram (1960). Plans and the Structure of Behaviour.
Sweis, Abram, Schmidt, Seeland, MacDonald III, Thomas, & Redish (2018). Sensitivity to “sunk costs” in mice, rats, and humans. Science.
Walasek & Stewart (2021). You cannot accurately estimate an individual’s loss aversion using an accept–reject task. Decision.
Wilson & Collins (2019). Ten simple rules for the computational modeling of behavioral data. Elife.

Nick Wise is a postdoc in fluid dynamics at Cambridge University. We talk about his 'detective work' on publication fraud which has gotten more than 800 papers retracted to date, including tortured phrases, discovering Facebook groups and Telegram channels in which people sell authorships on papers, how 'Special' issues can be exploited, and what we can do about this.

BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.

Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon

Timestamps
0:00:00: How Nick got involved with publication fraud: tortured phrases
0:18:26: Why do people try to publish nonsense papers?
0:24:27: The ecosystem of fraudulent publishing
0:30:22: 'Special' issues
0:49:02: How does Nick do this detective work?
1:00:37: What can we do about publication fraud?
1:38:52: There are practically no jobs to work full-time on fraud detection
1:49:37: A book or paper more people should read
1:55:13: Something Nick wishes he'd learnt sooner
1:57:21: Advice for PhD students/postdocs

Podcast links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-pod
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twt

Nick's links

• Website: https://geni.us/n-wise-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/n-wise-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/n-wise-twt

Ben's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twt

References & links

Episodes with Eugenie Reich: https://geni.us/bjks-reich

Episode with Elisabeth Bik: https://geni.us/bjks-bik

Episode with Adam Mastroianni: https://geni.us/bjks-mastroianni_2

Dorothy Bishop awards 2024: https://www.ukrn.org/2024/03/28/winners-of-the-2024-dorothy-bishop-prize/

Nick's guest blog post on Dorothy Bishop's blog: http://deevybee.blogspot.com/2022/10/what-is-going-on-in-hindawi-special.html

Nick's talk at Cambridge: https://sms.cam.ac.uk/media/4117618

Everything Hertz podcast: https://everythinghertz.com/

James Heathers's series of posts on Hindawi: https://jamesclaims.substack.com/p/the-hindawi-files-part-1-the-timeline

Coffeezilla: https://www.youtube.com/@Coffeezilla

Barnaby Jack's talk at DefCon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkteGFfvwJ0

Cabanac, Labbé & Magazinov (2021). Tortured phrases: A dubious writing style emerging in science. Evidence of critical issues affecting established journals. arXiv.
Mastroianni & Ludwin-Peery (2022). Things could be better. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/2uxwk
Reich (2009). Plastic fantastic: How the biggest fraud in physics shook the scientific world.

This is the 2nd part of my interview with Eugenie Reich, who is a lawyer who represents scientific whistleblowers, and a former investigative science journalist. We talk about her transition from journalism to law, and discuss the legal aspects of scientific fraud: why fraudsters rarely go to prison, what whistleblowers are legally allowed to do, how and when to seek legal advice, and much more. Obviously, none of this is legal advice, but hopefully it provides some useful pointers.

BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.

Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon

Timestamps
0:00:00: How Eugenie went from science journalist to being a lawyer and defending whistleblowers
0:13:15: Why do most people who commit scientific fraud not go to prison?
0:32:36: What are whistleblowers allowed to do?
0:48:24: What if I get sued for reporting scientific misconduct?
0:56:32: How do fraudsters try to intimidate whistleblowers?
1:01:24: What if I can't afford legal help?
1:06:18: Eugenie's plans for the future

Podcast links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-pod
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twt

Eugenie's links

• Website: https://geni.us/reich-web
• Twitter: https://geni.us/reich-twt

Ben's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twt

References and links

Woo-Suk Hwang affair: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwang_affair
Theranos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranos
Cassava: https://www.science.org/content/article/company-misled-investors-possible-alzheimer-s-drug-sec-charges
Eric Poehlman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Poehlman
Luk van Parijs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luk_Van_Parijs
The Scientific Integrity Fund: https://scientificintegrityfund.org/

Reich (2009). Plastic fantastic: How the biggest fraud in physics shook the scientific world.
Reich (2011). Fraud case we might have seen coming. Nature News.

Eugenie Reich is an attorney who represents scientific whistleblowers, and a former investigative science journalist. We talk about her previous work as a science journalist, in particular her book Plastic Fantastic about one of the biggest fraud cases in physics, the case of Jan-Hendrik Schön. We'd planned to also discuss Eugenie's current work as an attorney, but spent all our time on the Schön case. Eugenie kindly agreed to do another interview, in which we cover the legal aspects of fraud, which will be the next episode (#106).

BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.

Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon

Timestamps
0:00:00: One of the biggest fraud cases in physics/all of science
0:05:47: How and why Eugenie started writing about the Schön case
0:09:26: Why did Schön commit fraud?
0:19:30: Schön's PhD: he never saved any original data
0:30:05: Bell Labs vs. Schön's PhD lab: long-term revolutions vs. short-term applications
0:36:42: Schön's first work at Bell Labs was 'unpublishable'
0:41:42: How to get away with fraud: pretend you collected data in another lab
0:47:45: Bertram Batlogg and the role of the supervisors of fraudsters
0:56:20: How the bursting of the Dot-Com Bubble and 9/11 may (indirectly) have exacerbated Schön's fraud
1:01:09: How to use your colleagues' ideas to commit better fraud
1:05:05: How Schön's fraud unraveled
1:13:45: What is Schön doing now?
1:18:11: A book or paper more people should read
1:20:20: Something Eugenie wishes she'd learnt sooner
1:22:58: Advice for PhD students/postdocs

Podcast links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-pod
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twt

Eugenie's links

• Website: https://geni.us/reich-web
• Twitter: https://geni.us/reich-twt

Ben's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twt

References and links

Episode with Simine Vazire: https://geni.us/bjks-vazire
Episode with Elisabeth Bik: https://geni.us/bjks-bik

Bell Labs (2002). The Schon report: https://media-bell-labs-com.s3.amazonaws.com/pages/20170403_1709/misconduct-revew-report-lucent.pdf
Reich (2009). Plastic fantastic: How the biggest fraud in physics shook the scientific world.
Shapin & Schaffer (1985). Leviathan and the air-pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the experimental life.