PsychSessions: Conversations about Teaching N' Stuff

In this RE-RELEASE episode Eric chats with Wayne Weiten (UNLV) about his career, retiring from teaching in 2021, and continuing as a leading intro psych textbook author. From a "go it alone" mindset to shaping future instructors, Wayne reflects on the experiences and influences that defined his impact—including contributions to the Society for the Teaching of Psychology.

In this episode at NITOP 2026, Garth interviews Clara Cheng from Carlow University in Pittsburgh, PA. Clara serves as the STP vice president of resources, which includes the journal Teaching of Psychology, peer-reviewed syllabi, wikis, the Idea Exchange, best-practices activities, Psychology in Communities, the teachpsych.org website, and free eBooks. Chang shares her background (born in Hong Kong, moved to Toronto in grade 6), studying at University of Toronto (switching from commerce to psychology), grad school at Ohio State in social cognition, work at American University, and 15 years at Carlow, where she teaches statistics and serves as undergraduate program director and interim associate dean for faculty professional development focused on mentorship and faculty support.
[Note. Portions of the show notes were generated by Descript AI.]

In this sidebar episode Garth interviews Melissa Maffeo from Wake Forest University. They discuss Melissa's new book with Cambridge University Press, "The Science of the Supernatural: Critical Thinking for the Mind and Brain," which grew out of a Wake Forest special-topics course. Melissa explains anomalistic psychology's skeptical, research-methods approach in contrast to parapsychology, and outlines book chapters on the neurobiology and psychology of fear, why people seek scary experiences, ghosts and electromagnetic fluctuations, nighttime phenomena like sleep paralysis, alien abduction and false memory, psychics and tarot (including her own reading), psychedelics and mystical experiences, and "real" supernatural-seeming cases like rabies, toxoplasmosis, and "zombies." She discusses her own nonbeliever perspective, a memorable coincidence from a paranormal investigation, intended broad accessibility and course use, where to buy the book, attending ACT, and advice for aspiring authors.
[Note. Portions of the show notes were generated by Descript AI.]

In this RE-RELEASE episode Garth interviews Elizabeth Loftus from the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, CA. It was a Psychology Today magazine article in 1974 that launched her public fame, and her eyewitness testimony and false memory work have lasting influence. She is a world-renown expert who has experienced cancel culture, death threats, but also induction into the National Academy of Sciences. Elizabeth discusses the current state of misinformation, challenges in solving the two-body problem, and more.

In this episode Garth interviews Beth Schwartz from the American Psychological Association in Washington, DC at NITOP 2026. Beth describes her role supporting psychology teaching through faculty resources, policy, and curriculum work with governance groups (CABE and TOPSS), and a focus on student success and accessibility, within APA's reorganized cross-area "psychology team" that reduces silos. She discusses learning APA's internal structure, collaborating with Division 2 (STP), and plans to broaden engagement with large universities via a new advisory group. Key upcoming priorities include AI workshops and updating resources like the Skillful Psychology Student. Schwartz recounts her career from first-generation student to faculty and administrative roles, provost positions, and a remote transition to APA, which she finds less crisis-driven and more aligned with her passion for psychology education.
[Note: Portions of the show notes were generated with Descript AI.]