🧠 The Illusion of Choice: How Nudges Shape Our Decisions Without Us Noticing

Send us Fan Mailsee our substack for additional episode resourcesYou make decisions every day—what to eat, how to save money, whether to click that “accept cookies” button without thinking. But what if those choices aren’t as free as you think?In this episode of Heliox: Where Evidence Meets Empathy, we unravel the science of nudges—those subtle, often invisible forces shaping our behaviour. From hospitals reducing medical errors to marketers influencing what you buy, behavioural science is everywhere. But when does a helpful nudge become a manipulative shove? And are we really in control of our choices?Join us as we explore the ethics of decision-making, the power of dynamic segmentation, and the future of AI-driven personalization. Are these techniques making life better—or just making us more predictable?The answer might just change the way you see every decision you make.Ethics of Nudging in the COVID-19 CrisisNudging to Manage the Spread of COVID-19Tools for public health policyClimate change and pro-sustainable behaviors'Nudging' pro-climate choicesDeveloping nudgesThe little green book of nudgesGreen defaultsThe power of green defaultsNudging à la carte Green NudgingThis is Heliox: Where Evidence Meets EmpathyIndependent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, clinical, global, and community conversations about things that matter.  Breathe Easy, we go deep and lightly surface the big ideas. Support the showDisclosure: This podcast uses AI-generated synthetic voices for a material portion of the audio content, in line with Apple Podcasts guidelines. We make rigorous science accessible, accurate, and unforgettable.Produced by Michelle Bruecker and Scott Bleackley, it features reviews of emerging research and ideas from leading thinkers, curated under our creative direction with AI assistance for voice, imagery, and composition. Systemic voices and illustrative images of people are representative tools, not depictions of specific individuals.We dive deep into peer-reviewed research, pre-prints, and major scientific works—then bring them to life through the stories of the researchers themselves. Complex ideas become clear. Obscure discoveries become conversation starters. And you walk away understanding not just what scientists discovered, but why it matters and how they got there.Independent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, clinical, global, and community conversations about things that matter.  Breathe Easy, we go deep and lightly surface the big ideas.Spoken word, short and sweet, with rhythm and a catchy beat.http://tinyurl.com/stonefolksongs