This is How We Feel with Dr Ali Walker

AI is Hijacking Our Brains

Our brains have four chemicals that drive everything we do, from every relationship, to every goal and every moment of pleasure we've ever felt. And AI has learned to hijack every single one of them. In this episode, Dr Ali Walker breaks down the DOSE framework (dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins) and explains exactly how social media and AI are exploiting our neurochemistry with a precision no previous technology has achieved. This episode helps us understand what's actually happening in our brains, and what we can do about it.

The Cost of Connection: Why We Avoid the Connection We Say We Want

We say we want deeper, more meaningful relationships. We say we want community, honesty, and a sense of belonging. But when the moment comes to connect, we hesitate. In this episode, Ali explores the gap between wanting connection… and actually choosing it. Drawing on her latest research into human connection in an AI-driven world, she unpacks a powerful truth: avoidance isn’t laziness- it’s protection. Our nervous system is constantly weighing the cost of connection, from social risk to emotional exposure, and asking, “Is this worth it?” Ali also reflects on the 4-week Connection Experiment, including: * Courageous micro-intimacy (talking to strangers, expressing appreciation, interrupting gossip) * Building depth through better questions and vulnerability * Shifting group dynamics by raising emotional standards * Breaking the habit of low-grade bonding through complaint If you’ve ever felt resistance to reaching out, speaking up, or going deeper, this episode will help you understand why. And more importantly, how to move through it. Because connection isn’t built by avoiding discomfort. It’s built by staying in it, just a little longer. This is how we feel.

The Connection Experiment: Small Moments That Transform Relationships

We tend to think connection is built in big moments, but behavioural research suggests something different. Connection is built in tiny moments: small signals of warmth and small moments of repair. Ali shares her connection framework that shows what you need in connection- your frequency and intensity. Then, Ali invites listeners to join a connection experiment - a simple set of small challenges designed to strengthen connection by changing small behaviours in the relationships around us. Each week includes: • A Courage Challenge: reaching outward • A Depth Challenge: strengthening an existing relationship • A Field Challenge: shifting the emotional tone of a group In this episode, Ali walks through the psychology behind connection and the first week of the challenge, including: * Reconnecting with someone you genuinely miss * Repairing small relational ruptures * Upgrading the emotional tone of a room

The Myth of the High-Performance Mindset: Interview with Dr Juliette Tobias-Webb

In this second conversation with Dr Juliette Tobias-Webb, we turn our attention to something many of us struggle with: What happens on the days you are not your high-performance self? The dominant mindset of the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s celebrated intensity, grit, and relentless optimization. But that model only works for one version of you: the high-energy, high-focus version. What about the rest of the time? We explore why willpower is an unreliable strategy and why managing your attention is far more powerful than managing your time. We discuss why most goals are set by our “peak” self, and why that sets up our “most of the time” self to fail. We also go deeper into the psychology of change: * Why the brain is fundamentally a prediction and certainty machine * Why losses loom larger than gains, and how that makes transformation feel threatening * Why real change often requires grieving the person you used to be * Why you must accept the emerging version of yourself before change can truly stick This episode is about expanding beyond a narrow definition of performance. It’s about designing a life that works not just when you’re at your best but also when we’re simply being human. Because sustainable change doesn’t come from your peak self. It comes from the self you are, most of the time.

The House Always Wins (Until You Redesign the House): An Interview with Dr Juliette Tobias-Webb

In this episode of This is How We Feel, Ali is joined by fellow behavioural scientist Dr Juliette Tobias-Webb, who holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge. We explore a deceptively simple idea: the house always wins. In casinos and on smartphones, that’s by design. Every flashing light, every near miss, every notification, algorithm and reward schedule is engineered around one core truth of human psychology: we are wired for hyperbolic discounting. We privilege immediate rewards over future gains. Every time. But here’s the twist: aviation does the opposite. In airline cockpits, systems are deliberately designed to support pilots; to reduce error, scaffold attention, and protect against predictable human biases. The environment assumes fallibility and builds in safeguards. Juliette asks, why don’t we design our own lives that way? We talk about: * Why willpower is a losing strategy * How hyperbolic discounting quietly shapes your daily decisions * What gambling machines can teach us about behaviour * Why aviation safety systems are a model for personal change * Practical ways to “hack” your environment * The science behind temptation bundling * How to make the good choice the easy choice This conversation is about shifting from self-blame to system design, because if the house always wins, maybe it’s time to redesign the house.