{"podcast":{"title":"Easy Prey","slug":"easy-prey-456730","podcast_index_feed_id":456730,"rss_url":"https://easyprey.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"https://www.easyprey.com","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/d/a/7/b/da7b4263e01762f1d959afa2a1bf1c87/EASY_PREY_-_PODCAST_COVER-20250929-rgdpfg4wki.jpg","author":"Chris Parker","episode_count":325,"summary":"Chris Parker, the founder of WhatIsMyIPAddress.com, interviews guests and tells real-life stories about topics to open your eyes to the danger and traps lurking in the real world, ranging from online scams and frauds to everyday situations where people are trying to take advantage of you—for their gain and your loss. Our goal is to educate and equip you, so you learn how to spot the warning signs of trouble, take quick action, and lower the risk of becoming a victim.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/easy-prey-456730"},"episode":{"title":"Wired to Trust","slug":"wired-to-trust","published_at":"2026-04-08T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/easy-prey-456730/wired-to-trust","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/easy-prey-456730","url":"https://www.easyprey.com/318","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/easyprey/EP318.mp3?dest-id=1655398","summary":"It's easy to think scams only work when someone misses something obvious. In reality, most of them don't look obvious at the start. They show up as normal situations with just enough friction to notice, but not enough to stop. That small gap is where people tend to move forward instead of stepping back. My guest today is Tali Sharot, a cognitive neuroscientist who studies how we form beliefs and make decisions. She's known for her research on the neural basis of human optimism, and her work has been published in leading journals. In her books, The Optimism Bias and The Science of Optimism, she explains why we expect things to work out and how that tendency can quietly expose us to risk. We discuss what's happening in those in-between moments, why a situation can feel slightly off and still seem reasonable enough to continue, and how past experience lowers our guard without us noticing. We also look at that brief internal hesitation people tend to override, and why it's often the most useful signal they have. By the time something clearly crosses the line, the decision has usually already been made. Show Notes: [01:14] Tali explains her background as a cognitive neuroscientist and how her work blends psychology, brain science, and behavior. [01:48] Her interest in the field began with a simple question about how the brain drives thoughts, emotions, and actions. [03:00] She shares a personal story about renting out her apartment that turned into a scam. [04:30] Early warning signs show up right away, including unusual requests and meeting conditions. [05:30] Despite noticing those signals, she moves forward and hands over the keys. [08:43] Looking back, she explains how she rationalized each red flag instead of acting on it. [10:02] That uneasy gut feeling is often based…","meta_description":"It's easy to think scams only work when someone misses something obvious. In reality, most of them don't look obvious at the start. They show up as normal…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2480,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/easy-prey-456730/episodes/wired-to-trust/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/easy-prey-456730/wired-to-trust.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}