How To! with Charles Duhigg

4.6 (14K) · SOCIETY & CULTURE · UPDATED WEEKLY

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg explores how to do hard things — using science, psychology, and the wisdom of people who've figured out what most of us find impossible.

5D AGO

How to Say No Without Destroying the Relationship

Organizational psychologist Adam Grant and conflict researcher Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler on the neuroscience of "no" — why saying no triggers the same pain centers as physical harm, how to decline without damage, and the specific phrases that make rejection feel like respect.

12D AGO

How to Actually Change Someone's Mind

Charles talks to political psychologist Dr. Leor Zmigrod about why facts don't change minds and what actually does. The answer involves identity, narrative, and the specific order in which you present arguments. Applicable to everything from family arguments to corporate negotiations.

SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Supercommunicators Extended: The Full Conversation with Charles Duhigg

The full two-hour version of our conversation about what separates supercommunicators from everyone else — including the specific exercises Charles uses himself, the conversation patterns that predict relationship success, and the one type of question that reliably creates connection.

26D AGO

How to Be Less Distracted in a World Designed to Distract You

Attention researcher Dr. Gloria Mark on what 30 years of studying distraction reveals — why it takes 23 minutes to fully recover focus after an interruption, the specific conditions that produce flow states, and the counterintuitive finding about when multitasking is actually fine.

33D AGO

How to Make a Decision You Won't Regret

Decision scientist Dr. Cassie Mogilner Holmes on the psychology of regret — which types of decisions tend to produce the most regret, why we systematically underestimate future regret, and the "10/10/10 rule" for decisions that will still matter in a decade.

40D AGO

How to Get Out of a Rut

Behavioral scientist Dr. Katy Milkman on the science of habit change — why New Year's resolutions fail, the "fresh start effect" and how to manufacture it, and the specific type of commitment device that is twice as effective as willpower for breaking old patterns.

47D AGO

How to Have the Conversation You've Been Avoiding

Difficult conversation researcher Sheila Heen on why we avoid hard talks, the three types of difficult conversations (and which one is actually hardest), and the specific preparation that makes the difference between a conversation that helps and one that makes things worse.

54D AGO

How to Stop Procrastinating for Good

Psychologist Dr. Fuschia Sirois on why procrastination is fundamentally an emotional regulation problem (not a time management one), why self-compassion is the most evidence-based tool for reducing it, and the planning technique that reduces procrastination by 40%.

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Hosts & Guests

Charles DuhiggHost

4.6

out of 5

14K Ratings

Actually useful, not just interesting

Most podcasts about psychology and behavior are interesting but not actionable. How To! is different — every episode gives you specific, research-backed things you can actually do. The episode on changing someone's mind changed how I argue with my partner.

HabitBuilder · Mar 4, 2026

Charles Duhigg is a master interviewer

He understands the science deeply enough to push back on guests and ask genuinely interesting questions. The show never feels like a promotional interview for someone's book — it always digs into the actual research. Consistently excellent.

ScienceJunkie · Feb 19, 2026

Required listening for self-improvement without the cringe

I've tried many self-improvement podcasts and most of them are either shallow or preachy. How To! manages to be genuinely rigorous while remaining warm and funny. Charles's Pulitzer Prize journalism background shows — he knows how to find the real story.

AntiSelfHelp · Feb 4, 2026

About

How To! with Charles Duhigg is hosted by Charles Duhigg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Power of Habit and Supercommunicators. Each week, Charles brings in experts and real people to explore the science and psychology behind doing hard things better — from having difficult conversations to making better decisions, from motivating yourself to motivating others, from quitting bad habits to building good ones. The show is practical without being self-helpy, rigorous without being academic, and consistently finds surprising insights in everyday challenges. It's one of the most genuinely useful podcasts available for anyone who wants to understand how to navigate a complicated world.