A Slight Change of Plans Creators & Guests

Dr. Maya Shankar is a Global Director of Behavioral Science at Google and former violinist.

Podcast veteran specializing in working the mic, running shows and building community. Currently the Senior Producer for Apple Podcasts' Best Show of the Year "A Slight Change of Plans" and host of "This Is My Family."Formerly worked at Pod People, WBEZ, The Moth, Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me and collaborated with NPR, WNYC Studios, American Public Media, LeVar Burton, Buzzfeed and more.

Sachar Mathias is a multimedia storyteller, editor, producer, and sound designer from Brooklyn, NY. She is the Executive Producer of Audio at TIME Studios, building and overseeing the publisher’s new audio division. Prior to joining TIME, Sachar was the Director of Content at Pushkin Industries and head of its Society & Culture department, and was the NY Emmy-winning Content Director of BRIC TV and founding Executive Producer of its podcast network, BRIC Radio, before that. Her development and production credits span podcasting, film and tv, and her work been highlighted by the DOC NYC, Santa Barbara, Sundance, Tribeca, and Big Sky International film festivals as well as the HearSay International Audio Festival, NY Emmy Awards, and Signal Awards. She is an adjunct professor at the Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema and holds a B.A. from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA.

Dr. Kristin Neff is the co-founder of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion.

Dr. Sunita Sah is a professor of management and organizations at Cornell University's SC Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Nate Silver is the founder and editor in chief of Five Thirty Eight and the author of “The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail — But Some Don’t.” He is an American Statistician who is famous for analyzing sports events as well as US elections. He formerly was a contributor for the NY Times where he built traction for his near accurate prediction of the polling data for the 2012 presidential election.

Samantha Bee is a comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actress, and television host.

Amanda Knox is a writer, journalist, host of The Truth About True Crime Podcast, and author of the book Waiting to Be Heard.

Angela Duckworth is an academic, psychologist, and popular science author. She is Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studies grit and self-control and the Founder and CEO of Character Lab.

Maria Konnikova is a writer and psychologist. She has worked as a television producer, written for several magazines and online publications, and authored two New York Times best selling books.

Ramsey Khabbaz is Associate Editor, Multiplatform at Harvard Business Review.

Ethan Kross is an experimental psychologist, neuroscientist, writer, and Professor of Psychology & Management at the University of Michigan.

Riz Ahmed is an actor, rapper, and activist.

Kelly Corrigan is a writer and host of the PBS podcast.

Gretchen Rubin is an author, blogger, and speaker.

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and non-fiction author. He was a reporter for The New York Times and is the author of two books on habits and productivity, titled The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business and Smarter Faster Better.

Olga Khazan is a journalist who reports on health, gender, and science. She is currently a staff writer for The Atlantic.Prior to becoming a staff writer, Khazan was The Atlantic’s Global editor. She has also written for the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Forbes, and other publications. She is a two-time recipient of the International Reporting Project’s Journalism Fellowship and winner of the 2017 National Headliner Awards for Magazine Online Writing.Khazan's first book, "Weird," is to be published in 2020.Khazan was raised in West Texas. She received her B.A. in political science from American University, and her M.A. in journalism from the University of Southern California. She began reporting at The Eagle newspaper at American.

Annie Duke is a professional poker player and author. She holds a World Series of Poker gold bracelet and used to be the leading money winner among women in WSOP history.

Daryl Davis is a blues musician, activist, author, actor, and bandleader.