A Slight Change of Plans

Written by: Pushkin Industries
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  • Summary

  • You can follow the show at @DrMayaShankar on Instagram.

    Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year 2021 Editor's Note: Maya Shankar blends compassionate storytelling with the science of human behavior to help us understand who we are and who we become in the face of a big change. Maya is no stranger to change. “My whole childhood revolved around the violin, but that changed in a moment when I injured my hand playing a single note,” says Shankar, who was studying under Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School at the time. “I was forced to try and figure out who I was, and who I could be, without the violin." Maya soon discovered a new path in the field of cognitive science, where she earned her PhD as a Rhodes Scholar studying how and why we change. Her insights into human behavior ultimately led her to create A Slight Change of Plans—Apple Podcasts’ Best Show of the Year in 2021. You’ll hear intimate conversations with people like Tiffany Haddish, Kacey Musgraves, and Riz Ahmed, as well as real-life inspirations, like John Elder Robison, who undergoes experimental brain stimulation to deepen his emotional intelligence, Daryl Davis, a Black jazz musician who inspires hundreds of KKK members to leave the Klan, and Shankar herself, who had her own “slight change of plans” earlier this year. The show also explores the science of change with experts like Adam Grant and Angela Duckworth. "What I love most about this show is that the content is evergreen," says Shankar. "You can listen to episodes in any order and at any time."
    2025 Pushkin Industries and Maya Shankar
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Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • BONUS: Make your inner voice work for you

    BONUS: Make your inner voice work for you
    Jan 27 2025

    Welcome back, Slight Changers! 2025 has already been quite the year. Whew. Because so many of us are feeling overwhelmed, we in the Slight Change family produced a compilation episode with wisdom from our past guests about how we can rethink our inner voice and the sometimes negative things it tells us. This episode tackles topics like rumination, stress, and self-compassion. We each found this episode to be a helpful resource on a personal level as we navigate hard times and we hope it helps you too :)

    If you liked the format of this episode, let us know! You can find me on instagram at @DrMayaShankar.

    If you want to hear more from the guests featured here, listen to their full-length episodes at the links below.

    Ethan Kross: The Science of Our Inner Voice

    Modupe Akinola: The Upside of Stress

    Kristin Neff: The Science of Self-Compassion

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    35 mins
  • The Secret to a Good Conversation

    The Secret to a Good Conversation
    Dec 16 2024

    Charles Duhigg is a journalist who is interested in what makes for a good conversation. He talks to Maya about some science-backed techniques we can try to improve our conversational skills, including the art of asking deep questions.

    To learn more, check out Charles' book, “Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection.”

    If you enjoyed this episode, you might like our episode with champion debater Bo Seo, "Let's Agree to Disagree More."

    Connect with Maya on instagram @DrMayaShankar.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    37 mins
  • Breaking Free From Family Beliefs

    Breaking Free From Family Beliefs
    Dec 9 2024

    Writer Safiya Sinclair grew up on the north coast of Jamaica in a Rastafari family. Her father was the head of the household and he made Safiya and her siblings follow a strict interpretation of Rastafari, a religious and social movement. But as Safiya grew older, living under her father’s rules became suffocating. She talks to Maya about how she broke free from her father's influence and charted her own path.

    Connect with Maya on instagram @DrMayaShankar.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    32 mins

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