{"podcast":{"title":"What in the World","slug":"what-in-the-world-6570991","podcast_index_feed_id":6570991,"rss_url":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/w13xtvrv.rss","website_url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xtvrv","image_url":"http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/3000x3000/p0jq7pnj.jpg","author":"BBC","episode_count":789,"summary":"Helping you make sense of what’s happening in your world. Big stories, small stories and everything in between. Understand more, feel better. Five days a week, Monday to Friday.","last_synced_at":"2026-08-01T02:17:48.456188+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-in-the-world-6570991"},"episode":{"title":"Does rejection therapy actually work?","slug":"does-rejection-therapy-actually-work","published_at":"2026-05-05T13:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-in-the-world-6570991/does-rejection-therapy-actually-work","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-in-the-world-6570991","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct98zm","audio_url":"http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0njctpr.mp3","summary":"What if the best way to stop fearing rejection is to seek it out? Rejection therapy - the idea of deliberately putting yourself in situations where you might be rejected - has exploded on social media. From asking strangers for favours to dancing on trains, people are documenting their experiences online. Supporters say it helps people build resilience, reduce anxiety and stop taking rejection personally. But does rejection therapy actually work? Or is it just another viral self‑help trend? In this episode, Claudia Hammond, a psychologist and BBC presenter, helps us unpack where rejection therapy came from, what psychology says about it, and why it’s taken off on platforms like TikTok. We also hear from Sophie Jones, who’s gone viral for her videos on the topic. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler, Baldeep Chahal, Chelsea Coates and Maria Clara Montoya Editor: Verity Wilde","meta_description":"What if the best way to stop fearing rejection is to seek it out? Rejection therapy - the idea of deliberately putting yourself in situations where you mi…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":600,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/what-in-the-world-6570991/episodes/does-rejection-therapy-actually-work/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-in-the-world-6570991/does-rejection-therapy-actually-work.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}