Separating the art from the artist
Podcast with Robert Wright
PsychologyPhilosophy
Small Potatoes.
Paul Bloom on psychology, philosophy, and the complexities of human nature.
Recent essays
30 of 54Buying lottery tickets makes sense
Some speculations about fantasy, anticipation, dread, and the shortage of scarcity
Can chatbots cure loneliness?
Podcast with Robert Wright
Could AI Be Better at Peer Review Than Humans?
My Chronicle op-ed, and an invitation to critics
What I wish I’d said in my TED talk
My 2026 TED Talk on AI companions and loneliness was just released.
Some non-obvious advice for psych graduate students
[Originally posted last September; I’m posting it again with minor edits because it’s a new academic year.]
Kids These Days, Part II
More about smartphones, bans, and the good life
Is AI a form of life?
Podcast with Robert Wright
Do doomers believe what they say?
A test
Kids These Days
What we are really arguing about
19 pieces of teaching advice
Because it's a new semester
Is (Human) Writing Doomed?
Podcast with Robert Wright
Are parents better people?
Some pros and cons of the love we have for our children
Death by AI
We are asking the wrong questions
AI Love!
Two podcasts
Are Books Dead?
Podcast with Robert Wright
How to give a better-than-average talk
13 tips
Immortality Sounds Pretty Good, Actually
Responding to some counterarguments
The God Test
Podcast with Robert Wright
Is parenthood selfish or selfless? It’s both.
Guest post by Darby Saxbe
Moneyball for book publishers and Substack writers
Why it will never work
The End of Loneliness
A live performance of my New Yorker article
"Nobody can touch you without your consent"
Some exceptions and why they matter
Intelligence Testy
Podcast with Robert Wright
Is it good to be famous?
Don't believe Bill Murray
A lot of developmental psychology isn't worth doing
A complaint about my field
28 Days Later
Three surprises from my first month with a newborn
"Nobody can touch you without your consent"
Some exceptions and why they matter
Small Potato
Some personal news
Nobody finishes reading my books
Or anyone else's either