Keeping Secrets

We all carry secrets, from harmless omissions to life-changing truths. But secrecy isn’t neutral: hiding takes mental work and can harm our health and relationships. In this week’s show, and in our episode next week, psychologist Leslie John explores the costs of concealment — and how opening up can give us more mental space and deepen our connections. After you listen to today's episode, check out our Hidden Brain+ conversation called "When to Hide the Truth." In that episode, we talk with Leslie about when and where it may be best to withhold information. If you're not yet a Hidden Brain+ subscriber, you can hear that episode with a free seven-day trial -- just go to support.hiddenbrain.org or apple.co/hiddenbrain . Thanks for listening! Our next stops on Hidden Brain's live tour are coming soon! Join Shankar in Philadelphia on March 21 or New York City on March 25. More info and tickets are at hiddenbrain.org/tour . Episode illustration by Dadi Prayoga for Unsplash+ . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You can listen to Keeping Secrets online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Keeping Secrets is an episode from Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain.

This episode is 00:50:15 long.

This episode was published on Feb 2, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Hidden Brain when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.