Unseen Influences

Send us Fan Mail The grocery shopper two carts behind you may be paying less for that can of tomatoes that you just put on the belt. Why? Because the store knows from your past shopping experiences what your price point is. With AI and even more powerful computers, sellers are about to get a lot more aggressive with their pricing and you may not know what the price is until you reach the register, if you notice at all. And it's not just groceries. Dynamic pricing is about to expand its reach ...

Send us Fan Mail Many years ago, as I was coming off a concourse on my way to the airport baggage claim area, I was hit with an overpowering smell. It was warm and inviting. It made me feel at home. As I descended the escalator, it was the unmistakable scent of warm cinnamon rolls. And at that moment, I didn't care how far I had to walk or what I had to pay, but I was going to have one of those Cinnabon cinnamon rolls no matter how long my luggage spun around the carousel. Today we talk about...

Send a text There used to be a snarky joke about the Bell Company, when it existed back in the 60s and 70s, that the employees had Bell-shaped heads. In other words, they all spouted the same company line. It makes sense when you think about it, everyone needs to be on the same page and chasing the same goals. Today it's called on-boarding. New employees get a manual or handbook talking about the company's culture, history and maybe even a mission statement. Today we'll look at some of the pr...

Send us a text You know your car is loaded with computers, but it also has cameras and microphones. Depending on the make, model and year of your car, it could be giving up a lot of information about you and there isn't much you can do about it -- it has its own cell phone to share what it knows. All this can impact your insurance rates and many other indices that affect the goods and services you have access to. Listen in to find out the secrets your car gives up about you and who is getting...

Send us a text You may believe you're an independent thinker, but odds are you are influenced by others' actions or beliefs. In most cases, the influence is inconsequential, but it's important to know how their beliefs and actions impact you to fully understand why you do what you do. Plus, we'll talk about lying and why we all lie a lot. You'll also learn why lying is a two-way proposition. For a lie to work, you have to be a willing participant.

Send us a text We are surrounded by buttons and devices that are intended to make our lives better, but they do nothing. Want your hotel room to be cooler? Chances are whatever setting you choose, you won't notice much of a difference. They are designed that way, but we will give you the codes to bypass many of those thermostats and get the relief you need, most of which are helpfully provided by airline crews. There are many other things around you that either just don't work or have l...

Unseen Influences launches Feb. 12, 2026 There are hidden forces that shape your choices. Some work to your benefit -- like finding your way through hospital corridors. Others nudge you toward buying products or adopting ideas that may not have occurred to you before. Unseen Influences helps you identify those efforts and make choices that are right for you. You'll learn how to find the right hospital room and why your hotel thermostat lies to you about how low you can set the temperature. We...

Sometimes control is just an illusion. Buttons and signs that tell us we have some control over our movement or environment are there just to make us feel good. They don't do anything. In this episode we'll tell you about those controls, what they do or don't do and why that is. Some of them have secret codes to make them actually work and we'll share those with you. You'll also hear about some efforts to make those useless controls do something beneficial for you and society as a whole...