Writing
Articles on psychology, technology, culture, and the human experience, published in leading magazines and newspapers.
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Science Writing
Are Our Brains Wired to Quiet Quit?
Neuroscience has found that passive acceptance is a natural response to prolonged stress.
We’re Doing Downtime Wrong
Most of us think zoning out on Netflix counts as rest. Neurology says real downtime is unstructured, goal-free time that lets the imagination network do its work.
How Diversity Defeats Groupthink
Smarter thinking isn’t about you. It’s about your team.
The Science of How ‘Benevolent Sexism’ Undermines Women
A conversation with psychologist Peter Glick about how paternalistic beliefs undermine women’s careers by excluding them from challenging assignments and depriving them of honest feedback.
Willem Dafoe on the Fine Art of Disappearing
Willem Dafoe on range, instinct, and why he doesn’t pull from his own life experiences to fuel a performance.
Paula Scher on Why Success Kills Creativity
Pentagram graphic designer Paula Scher on why success kills creative work and failure is the engine of breakthrough.
Cindy Chupack on the Divorce That Launched Her Career
Two years into her marriage, her husband told her he might be gay. The lonely years that followed shaped the storylines she’d write for Sex and the City.
Greg Giraldo on Failure
Despite great success as a standup comedian and former host of Comedy Central’s Standup Nation, Greg Giraldo was tortured by a constant sense of failure.
I Can Has Cheezburger... and Pathos?
Why do we project human emotions onto cats on the internet? A deep dive into meme culture and the psychology of cute.
The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living in the Moment
We live in the age of distraction. Yet one of life’s sharpest paradoxes is that your brightest future hinges on your ability to pay attention to the present.
What Your Stuff Reveals About You
Our choices in books, movies, music, and art go to the core of who we are. What your tastes reveal about you.
The Psychology Today Humor Round Table
What happens when you hold a mirror up to seven comedians? Analyzing humor from the experts who make people laugh.
George Carlin’s Last Interview
The last in-depth interview he gave, nine days before his death, recorded over the telephone on Friday, June 13, 2008.
You Are What You Buy
Examining the psychology of personal consumption
Erection Reform
Erection Reform | Psychology Today Erection Reform The hidden risks of recreational Viagra. By Jay Dixit published April 11, 2008 - last reviewed on June 4, 2025 Email No one uses Lipitor…
4 Myths about Low Sexual Desire
Myths About Low Sexual Desire | Psychology Today Myths About Low Sexual Desire The truth about couples and how to reignite the flame By Jay Dixit published February 5, 2008 - last reviewed on June 4,…
Mind Your Body: Doctors’ Orders—Without Distress
How to stick to diet, exercise, or worse. Modern medicine can work wonders, but only when we actually use it.
Marked for Mayhem: How Criminals Select Their Victims
Marked for Mayhem STREET CRIMINALS ARE SELECTIVE ABOUT THEIR VICTIMS. UNFORTUNATELY, MANY OF US UNWITTINGLY GIVE OFF SIGNALS THAT MARK US AS EASY TARGETS. BY CHUCK HUSTMYRE AND JAY DIXIT midnight in…
Night School: A New Take on Dreaming
A hundred years after Freud, one man may have figured out why we dream. You’ll never think the same way about nightmares again.
Barack Obama’s Charismatic, Masculine Body Language
Decision ‘08: Reading Between the Lines | Psychology Today Decision ‘08: Reading Between the Lines Scrutinizing the frontrunners. Word for word, the presidential candidates revealed. By Jay Dixit…
The Ideological Animal
Cinnamon Stillwell never thought she’d be the founder of a political organization. She certainly never expected to start a group for conservatives, most of whom became conservatives on the same day—September 11, 2001. She organized the group, the 911 Neocons, as a haven for people like her—“former lefties” who did…
Q&A with Lynn Sherr
As one of the first women in broadcast journalism — and a 30-year veteran of ABC News — Lynn Sherr is accustomed to the spotlight.
Q&A with Spike Lee
In his two decades of making films, Spike Lee has earned a reputation as one of the most brilliant — and angriest — American directors.
The War on Terror
Shell-shocked troops are coming back from Iraq with snakes in their heads. A new virtual reality treatment offers hope for vets.
Will Shortz, Crossword Puzzle King
Will Shortz is one of those people who seem to hurtle inexorably toward their destinies from the day they are born.
Screen Test
What airport security theater teaches us about trust, technology, and the illusion of safety.
Joey Gay’s Excellent Adventure
When Joey Gay heard that Pips Comedy Club in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, was for sale, he discovered his life’s purpose.
It’s a Blog-Eat-Blog World
Inside the fierce rivalry between Gawker and MediaBistro, two media blogs fighting for dominance in New York’s cutthroat publishing scene.
Take My Life, Please
It’s comedy night at the Parkside Lounge, a dark dive on the Lower East Side, but nobody is laughing.
HOW IT WORKS; So That a Disaster Isn’t a Communications Disaster
When commanders gave the order for firefighters and emergency workers to withdraw from the Pentagon crash site on Sept. 11, some heard it and evacuated. But others did not.
The Incredible Growing Placebo Effect
Drug trials are failing because placebos are working too well. What’s happening in our brains—and what it means for medicine.
Vigil at the Armory
As family members waited for news of survivors, they had to contend with prank phone calls, Tony Soprano jokes and the dull ache of dwindling hope.
A Banner Day for Neo-Nazis
A banner day for neo-Nazis - Salon.com Advertisement: A banner day for neo-Nazis Last month, Hatewatch shut down, declaring that the battle against hate groups has been won. It hasn’t. By Jay Dixit…
Designer Eggs
Designer eggs - Salon.com Advertisement: Designer eggs This month a panel of medical experts responded to a Web pornographer who tried to auction supermodel eggs. By Jay Dixit Published August 25,…
The Hothouse
The Hothouse - The Village Voice Skip to content SEVEN DECADESIn 1973, We Asked, ‘What Is a Man’s Life Worth If He Isn’t an Enemy of the White House?’by Phil Tracy THE FRONTInto the — Very Ample —…