Long Talk Short

Thoughts, stories and ideas.
Public Psychology · 6 min read ·

Memory Series, Part 3: You're Built to Forget Most of Your Life. A Memory Scientist on How to Keep What Matters

Most of your life will be forgotten, and that's by design. Memory scientist Charan Ranganath explains why your phone splits your memories, how curiosity makes things stick, and which habits really protect memory.

By Truman
Read the story →
Members Psychology · 29 min read ·

Whoever Frames the Room Wins: Chase Hughes's Persuasion Playbook, Every Tactic Explained and Fact-Checked

Most persuasion is over before anyone argues. Chase Hughes's full playbook from The Diary Of A CEO, from framing and identity hacks to micro-compliance and courtroom tricks: how each works, how to spot it, and what the evidence says.

By Truman
Public Psychology · 6 min read ·

You Can Learn to Wake Up Inside Your Dreams. The Pill Works, but the Free Method Is Better

More than half of us have known we were dreaming while still asleep. Scientists can now spot it in the brain, and a pill can triple the odds. But the method with the best evidence costs nothing.

By Truman
Read the story →
Public Science · 5 min read ·

Orcas Kill Blue Whales and Great Whites. So Why Has No Wild Orca Ever Killed a Human?

They ram blue whales to death and cut the livers out of great white sharks. Yet the wild record of orcas killing people stands at zero. The best explanation isn't gentleness. It's culture.

By Truman
Read the story →
Public Psychology · 6 min read ·

Never Open With a Joke, Never End With "Thank You": MIT's Legendary Rules for Speaking

Your first sentence is probably a joke. Your last is probably "thank you." MIT's Patrick Winston says both are mistakes, and his fixes have drawn more than 23 million views.

By Truman
Public Psychology · 6 min read ·

Your Brain Overrates Your Future. Don't Fight It, Budget for It (Tali Sharot's Playbook)

Your plans run late and your budgets run over, because your brain filters out bad news. Neuroscientist Tali Sharot's fix isn't gloom. It's a buffer, plus a few rules for persuading others.

By Truman
Read the story →
Public Economics · 6 min read ·

The Gambler Who Beat the Horses Explains Why Almost Everyone Else Loses

Bill Benter built one of the most successful betting operations in history on Hong Kong horse racing. In a 2004 lecture he explains the math behind it: expected value, the law of large numbers, Kelly sizing and a model of every horse. Plus the real money figures.

By Truman
Read the story →
Public Psychology · 5 min read ·

Memory Series, Part 2: There's No Such Thing as a Bad Memory (Jim Kwik's Case, and Where It Falls Apart)

Memory Series, Part 2. A teacher called him "the boy with the broken brain." Now Jim Kwik tells Steven Bartlett memory, focus and motivation are things you do, not traits you own. His learning habits hold up. His speed-reading promises and brain types don't.

By Truman
Public Psychology · 5 min read ·

Man's Search for Meaning in 5 Minutes: Viktor Frankl on the One Freedom No One Can Take

Frankl lost his parents, brother and wife to the Nazi camps, then wrote a short book on what keeps people going. His answer: you can't always choose what happens, but you can choose how you answer. The core ideas, plus what history and research say.

By Truman
Read the story →
Public Economics · 6 min read ·

AI Isn't the Bubble. The Debt Behind It Might Be.

A company drowning in orders just saw its debt priced like it was in distress. French economics channel Grand Angle says the AI boom is three bubbles stacked up, and the one to watch isn't the tech. It's the money borrowed to build it.

By Truman
Read the story →
Public Psychology · 6 min read ·

You're Not Shy. You've Just Practiced It for Years: A Speaking Coach's Way Out

Shyness feels like who you are. Speaking coach Vinh Giang says it's a habit you've rehearsed for decades, and habits can be retrained. His method starts with one uncomfortable five-minute video. What works, and what needs caveats.

By Truman
Read the story →
Public Psychology · 5 min read ·

The Marshmallow Test Was Never About Willpower. One Professor Says It Measured Trust.

The kid who grabs the marshmallow isn't weak. He may be reading his world correctly. Jiang Xueqin argues self-control, grit and growth mindset follow from a stable childhood, and that blocked ladders spark revolutions. What holds up, and what overreaches.

By Truman
Read the story →

Get the next talk, distilled.

One email when a new conversation goes up — the ideas worth keeping, none of the filler.

Subscribe free
Sign in or subscribe · unsubscribe anytime.