Welcome to Bering in Mind, by Jesse Bering.
Science fodder for uncomfortable conversations.
Human nature isn’t always pretty—actually, it usually isn’t. But it’s never boring.
I’m Jesse Bering, a psychologist, professor, and science writer. And most importantly, dog-father to two border terriers: Hanno and Kora. (That’s Kora in the photo.) I live at the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand with my partner, Juan.
For more than two decades, I’ve written about the stranger corners of human behavior: sex, death, desire, disgust, religion, prejudice, jealousy, shame, and the other things we do with, to, and because of one another.
Bering in Mind is where I explore the psychology behind all of it.
Most posts begin with an empirical study that made me stop and think: Well, that’s interesting. I look at what the researchers found, what the evidence can support, where things get murky—and, when warranted, add a few opinions of my own.
Other people have described my writing more colorfully. Paul Bloom called me “the Hunter S. Thompson of science writing.” Christopher Ryan wrote that “if David Sedaris were an experimental psychologist,” he might write essays like mine. Dan Savage called me “fearless—and peerless.”
I don’t know if any of that is true, but I’ll take it.
For anyone wanting conventional credentials before surrendering an email address: I’m Professor of Psychology and Head of the Science Communication Programme at the University of Otago, and I’ve written several books and contributed to publications including Scientific American, Slate, The Guardian, and The New York Times. I currently write a weekly science column (translated into French) for Le Point.
Everything is free to subscribers.
