How to Hack Your Brain's Moral Code (Joshua Greene)

How to Hack Your Brain's Moral Code (Joshua Greene)

Author: Knox Robinson Productions July 14, 2026 Duration: 1:03:38
What if a quiz show could fix America's political divide? Amanda talks with Harvard psychologist Joshua Greene about the neuroscience behind moral decision-making, why people don't donate to the charities that do the most good even when they want to, and how a simple cooperative quiz game is measurably reducing animosity between Republicans and Democrats. Amanda and Joshua also dig into effective altruism without the guilt trip, why dialogue alone often fails to bridge divides, and Joshua's own surprising evolution on religion and meditation. Added bonus: Listeners can try Joshua's donation-matching platform at givingmultiplier.org/knox to give to a cause you love (Amanda's is The Innocence Center) and a highly effective charity at the same time, with bonus matching funds for Hard Knox listeners. https://givingmultiplier.org/invite/KNOX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a particular kind of confinement that has nothing to do with physical walls, a feeling Amanda Knox understands in a way few others do. In Hard Knox with Amanda Knox, she moves beyond the headlines of her own story to examine the universal prisons we all inhabit-those of expectation, trauma, fear, and our own minds. This isn't a true-crime podcast; it's a series of conversations about the path out. Through candid talks with writers, artists, philosophers, and everyday people who've faced their own hard truths, the show digs into the raw materials of a resilient life. Listeners will hear explorations of mental fortitude, the messy pursuit of physical well-being, and how culture shapes our understanding of justice and personal freedom. Each episode feels like a deep, meandering walk with a curious friend, tackling how we rebuild after life fractures us. Produced by Knox Robinson Productions, the podcast creates a space where struggle is acknowledged not as a failure, but as a catalyst for becoming more grounded and authentic. For those who subscribe, there's an added layer of direct dialogue with Amanda herself in regular segments where she answers listener questions with remarkable candor. It’s ultimately about finding agency, the kind that can’t be taken away.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Hard Knox with Amanda Knox
Podcast Episodes
Why We Turn Our Worst Moments Into Punchlines (Jamie Kilstein) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:33
Amanda met comedian Jamie Kilstein at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and found an unlikely kindred spirit. Both arrived at Fringe to prove themselves, battle misconceptions, and reclaim their narratives through art. Both…
Old School: Zen and the Art of Emergency (Kat Moore) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:51
The emergency room and the ICU are not just emotionally draining and traumatic environments for patients, but for healthcare workers as well. ER doctor Kat Moore tells us how Zen Buddhism is working its way into emergenc…
Creative Aftermath [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:58
When you finally deliver a creative project you've been working on for a long time, how do you cope with the emotional hangover, how do you make space to reflect, and how do you give yourself grace to not have the answer…
Why Unreasonable Women Go to Prison (Justine van der Leun) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:23
What happens when fighting for your life becomes a crime? Why are thousands of women and girls who defend themselves against violence prosecuted as offenders, sometimes for life. Amanda sits down with journalist Justine…
Old School: The Modern Trauma Toolkit (Christine Gibson) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:29
"Trauma" has become a controversial word in the current culture wars. It's a point of pride for some, an excuse for others. But trauma is undoubtedly real, and it effects the body. Dr. Christy Gibson, author of The Moder…
Humor as Catharsis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:47
As she prepares for the premiere of her one-woman show, Cartwheel, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August, Amanda has been thinking about the relationship between tragedy and comedy. This episode from her 20-part R…
Old School: The Outlaw (Seth Ferranti) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:01
Seth Ferranti is a former LSD kingpin and fugitive on the US Marshall’s Top 15 Most Wanted list who faced a highly publicized and lengthy prison sentence due to the DEA's early-'90s crackdown on LSD. The self-described o…
Good News Bad News [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:18
Amanda woke up to good news and bad news arriving at the exact same moment — again. In true Hard Knocks fashion, that personal experience sends Chris and Amanda down a rabbit hole exploring one of life's most disorientin…
Why Fear Makes Bad Policy (Laura Porter) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:50
The death penalty is often sold as justice. But what if it's just a very expensive decades-long process, doesn't deter crime, and gets it wrong often enough that 190 people have been exonerated from death row? Amanda sit…
Fifty Words for Snow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:39
Amanda Knox is a multi-linguist and self-described word nerd. In this essay she explores the fascinating world of untranslatable words, the ones that exist in some languages but not others, and what they reveal about the…