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The Human Risk Podcast

The Human Risk Podcast

De: Human Risk
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People are often described as the largest asset in most organisations. They are also the biggest single cause of risk. This podcast explores the topic of 'human risk', or "the risk of people doing things they shouldn't or not doing things they should", and examines how behavioural science can help us mitigate it. It also looks at 'human reward', or "how to get the most out of people". When we manage human risk, we often stifle human reward. Equally, when we unleash human reward, we often inadvertently increase human risk.

To pitch guests please email guest@humanriskpodcast.comCopyright Human Risk Ciencia Ciencias Sociales
Episodios
  • Paul Craven on Living With Uncertainty

    Paul Craven on Living With Uncertainty
    Aug 15 2026
    What happens when someone who spends his life thinking about risk, decision-making and human behaviour is confronted with an uncertainty he simply can’t control?Episode summaryMy guest is Paul Craven, a behavioural scientist, former investment professional, magician and keynote speaker, and one of my favourite people to talk to. When we sat down to record this episode, I noticed that Paul’s voice sounded different.His explanation — that he had recently been diagnosed with oral cancer — took our conversation in an unexpected and deeply personal direction.We explore what his experience has taught him about uncertainty, why he deliberately chose not to Google his diagnosis, and the difference between having information and having useful information.From there, we explore luck and skill, decision and gratitude journals, relationships versus transactions, the dangers of binary thinking, and why sometimes the best thing you can do when you’re in a bad mood is go for a walk in the rain. It’s a conversation about behavioural science, but also about perspective, paying attention and what we discover about ourselves when life doesn’t go according to plan.Key themesLiving with uncertainty and the psychological value of having a planWhy more information isn’t always better informationAI, search engines and our desire for certaintyNuance versus binary thinkingLuck, skill and decision journalsGratitude and paying attention to what mattersRelationships versus transactionsStorytelling, lived experience and different ways of seeing the worldChameleon Thinking and the value of changing perspectiveGuest Profile - Paul CravenPaul is a behavioural scientist, keynote speaker and former investment professional who brings together insights from psychology, behavioural science, finance and magic to explore how people really think and make decisions. LinksPaul Craven — speaker profile and booking enquiriesPaul Craven’s websiteIain McGilchristMartin ShawMark VernonPaul’s previous appearances on the Human Risk PodcastSolo: Paul Craven on Magic, Money & The MindWith Gerald Ashley: Gerald Ashley & Paul Craven on Statistics, Spreadsheets & Scam Artistsand Paul Craven & Gerald Ashley on Context, Consequences & ChangeabilityWith Rory Sutherland: Rory Sutherland & Paul Craven on Alchemy & Magic and Paul Craven & Rory Sutherland on Magic & AlchemyWith Rory Sutherland & Gerald Ashley at Abbey RoadTimestamped summary00:00 — Introduction01:35 — Paul’s diagnosis and living with uncertaintyPaul reveals his cancer diagnosis and reflects on why not knowing can sometimes be harder than receiving difficult news.07:00 — Medicine, empathy and different perspectivesWhat Paul’s experience of the NHS taught him about communication, multidisciplinary thinking and the importance of context.10:00 — Appreciating life, stories and walking in the rainFrom Iain McGilchrist and Martin Shaw to Rowan Williams’ wonderfully simple advice for dealing with a bad mood.17:10 — Reframing, Chameleon Thinking and “All shall be well”Why changing perspective can help us navigate difficult circumstances — including Paul’s own illness.25:45 — Why Paul chose not to Google his cancerThe risks of searching without context, what AI adds to the problem, and why life rarely provides simple binary answers.31:20 — Luck, skill and keeping journalsWhat investment management can teach us about hindsight, decision quality and the value of both decision and gratitude journals.37:20 — Relationships, transactions and the limits of efficiencyWhy trust and relationships matter, and what can be lost when we optimise purely for efficiency.43:25 — Authenticity, AI and Chesterton’s FenceThe value of individuality in an AI-mediated world and why we should understand what we’re discarding before we replace it.47:10 — Wisdom under every rockPaul brings together the themes of reframing, curiosity and learning from different perspectives.49:10 — An update on PaulChristian shares encouraging news following Paul’s surgery and looks forward to welcoming him back to the show.
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    51 m
  • Benji Wilson on why we rate everything

    Benji Wilson on why we rate everything
    Aug 8 2026
    Why do we rate everything and why do we do so on a scale of one to five stars? What happens when systems designed to help us make better choices start influencing our behaviour in ways we don’t necessarily notice?

    Episode Summary
    My guest is Benji Wilson, a journalist, TV critic and author of Rate This Book. Benji’s day job involves rating other people’s work, but when his children pointed out that Rotten Tomatoes was also rating him, it prompted him to investigate the ratings culture that surrounds us. In our conversation, we explore where ratings came from, why the five-star system became dominant and the psychology that makes us pay attention to the opinions of people we’ve never met.

    We discuss social proof and the wisdom of crowds, why we often use ratings to avoid making bad decisions rather than to identify the very best option, and what happens when reviews are fake, manipulated or simply unfair.

    We also explore the consequences of moving from rating products and services to rating people, including Uber drivers, hospitality workers and doctors, and why a single negative review can have significant consequences.Benji also explains how ratings might have applications in places we wouldn’t necessarily expect, including workplace appraisals and even democracy, where alternative voting systems use ratings to allow people to express more nuanced preferences.

    And, appropriately for someone who has written a book called Rate This Book, we discuss what it feels like when the ratings are turned back on you — including why an anonymous three-star review might actually be more useful than a perfect five-star score.

    Guest Profile
    Benji is a journalist, author and TV critic. His book, Rate This Book, explores how ratings and reviews came to dominate modern life, the psychology that makes them work and what happens when the systems designed to help us make choices begin shaping those choices themselves.

    Links
    • Benji's website — more about Benji and his work.
    • Rate This Book — How Star Ratings Took Over the World, published by New Modern Arcade.
    • Rate This Book audiobook — read by Benji Wilson.
    AI-Generated Timestamped Summary

    00:00 — Introduction: why we rate everything
    01:45 — Benji’s life as a TV critic and discovering that Rotten Tomatoes was also rating him.
    03:30 — Where ratings came from, from our instinct to rank things to the emergence of star ratings.
    08:30 — The psychology of ratings: prospect theory, avoiding bad decisions and why we rely on other people’s opinions.
    10:15 — Why five stars became the dominant rating system.
    16:00 — Experts versus crowds, social proof and why thousands of reviews can feel so persuasive.
    20:00 — Fake reviews, manipulated ratings and why critical thinking still matters.
    25:00 — What happens when we move from rating products to rating people — and the real-world consequences of negative reviews.
    29:30 — Reputation management, review blackmail and whether ratings platforms need greater regulation.
    33:30 — Ratings and democracy: could STAR voting offer a less binary way of choosing politicians?38:30 — Workplace appraisals, reciprocal ratings and what happens when a numerical score overwhelms everything else.
    43:00 — Uber and how our relationship with rating systems changes over time.
    44:30 — What it feels like to have Rate This Book rated — including Benji’s mysterious three-star review.
    47:30 — Why three stars may be our most natural — and least useful — rating.
    52:30 — How writing the book changed Benji’s own behaviour and why trusted personal recommendations can beat aggregated reviews.
    56:30 — Why companies really want our ratings and the commercial incentives behind endless requests for feedback.
    01:01:00 — Amazon Vine, gamification and how rating systems can influence the people doing the rating.
    01:02:30 — Where to find Benji and Rate This Book, plus the inevitable invitation to rate both the book and the podcast.
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    1 h y 4 m
  • Mark Heywood on The Stories We Tell About Ourselves

    Mark Heywood on The Stories We Tell About Ourselves
    Aug 2 2026
    What parts of yourself have you learned to hide in order to be taken seriously? My guest on this episode is Mark Heywood, a friend of the show, returning guest and someone I've collaborated with on a number of projects. Episode Summary & Guest ProfileMark has spent more than twenty years working in crisis management and operational resilience, while simultaneously building a successful career as a bestselling novelist, screenwriter and, more recently, stand-up comedian.On the morning we recorded this conversation, Mark published an article marking his fifty-first birthday. In it, he reflected on the pressure many of us feel to present only one version of ourselves professionally, arguing that his creative and corporate lives were never really separate. As he puts it, they were 'not two jobs, but one obsession wearing two different lanyards.' That simple idea becomes the starting point for a much wider discussion about the stories we tell ourselves, and the stories organisations tell themselves.Along the way we explore:Why "stay in your lane" may say more about other people's expectations than your own potential.Why organisations often encourage people to bring their whole selves to work, while rewarding conformity.What interviews, dress codes and organisational culture reveal about human behaviour.Why stories often influence behaviour more effectively than rules, policies and frameworks.What films can teach us about operational resilience, cybersecurity and crisis management.Why the Titanic remains one of the most powerful lessons in organisational failure.How imagination is a strategic capability rather than a soft skill.Why thinking through "severe but plausible" scenarios requires organisations to become better storytellers.LinksMark's birthday article: "A Birthday Declaration from Someone Who Spent Over Twenty Years Pretending to Be Half of Himself" (LinkedIn)Mark's Behind The Spine podcastThe Writing SalonBehind The Spine podcastMark on LinkedInMark's previous appearances on the show talking about The Creative Industries under COVID, and Human Risk in the Creative IndustriesFilms, Stories & People MentionedDie Hard Apollo 13 The Martian The Odyssey (Christopher Nolan)Don't Look UpSnakes on a Plane Sharknado Noah's Ark RMS TitanicRachel Heyhoe Flint Jeremy King AI-Generated Timestamped Summary00:00 – Why do we hide parts of ourselves to be taken seriously?03:40 – Mark explains why he stopped separating his creative and corporate identities.08:00 – Which hobbies and outside interests are considered professionally acceptable—and why?10:30 – Job interviews, authenticity and bringing your whole self to work.16:00 – Jeremy King on why behaviour matters more than dress codes.19:00 – Rachel Heyhoe Flint, the MCC and what institutional rules reveal about culture.23:00 – Why stories influence behaviour more effectively than rules.24:00 – The Trojan Horse and using films to teach cybersecurity and resilience.29:00 – The Titanic as a lesson in organisational resilience rather than maritime history.32:00 – Conduct versus outcomes: why testing matters more than compliance.36:00 – Using stories and popular culture to make risk real.38:00 – Noah's Ark, history and the enduring power of storytelling.40:30 – CrowdStrike, PPE and why organisations keep repeating the same mistakes.46:00 – Stories aren't predictions—they're a way of exploring possibility.49:00 – A ransomware exercise and the danger of relying on fixed policies.52:00 – Returning to the Titanic: preparing for the inquiry before the crisis.55:00 – Thinking like an attacker and challenging assumptions about cyber risk.58:00 – Taylor Swift, insurance and why seemingly ordinary data can become highly sensitive.1:02:00 – The idea of "risk inflation" and why yesterday's rules aren't enough.1:10:00 – Why memorable stories change behaviour more effectively than realistic scenarios.1:15:00 – Reverse stress testing and imagining what could really break an organisation.1:20:00 – RAG ratings, reporting and the danger of looking resilient instead of being resilient.1:23:00 – Final reflections on creativity, identity and why being more than one thing is a strength.
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    1 h y 22 m
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