Ben Cohen on the 'Hot Hand': the Mystery & Science of Streaks

Have you ever found yourself 'on fire' — not literally (I hope!) — but in terms of being on good form? On this episode, I speak to Ben Cohen, the author of "The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks". Ben is a sports reporter for the Wall St Journal, who was inspired by a basketball game, to explore a phenomenon that is well understood in the sport.In our discussion, we talk about the incident that got Ben interested in the phenomenon and the other cases of it that he explores in his book. We also look at the broader psychology of sport and what we can learn from it. And we explore one of Ben's reports that has absolutely nothing to do with sport.To find out more about Ben's book: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062820723/the-hot-hand/The article we refer to in our discussion: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-joys-of-watching-a-bridge-shave-the-tops-off-trucks-1452045185

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People are often described as the largest asset in most organisations. They are also the biggest single cause of risk. This podcast explores the topic of 'human risk', or "the risk of people doing things they shouldn't or not doing things they should", and examines how behavioural science can help us mitigate it. It also looks at 'human reward', or "how to get the most out of people". When we manage human risk, we often stifle human reward. Equally, when we unleash human reward, we often inadvertently increase human risk.