So for a while it's just been talk and ideas floating in the ether. But today Psychobabble goes live!

What is Psychobabble? It's a fortnightly podcast on the topic of experimental psychology. If you're interested in the way people think, the why's of behaviour, and the how's of the brain, then this is for you.

By and large a search on iTunes for 'Psychology' or related turns up a bit about clinical psychology, and then a bunch of assorted Lecture-series'. Psychobabble is not a lecture series, it's an informal, informed, referenced discussion on a given topic. Our opening episode relates to the science of First Impressions, but meanders amusingly (hopefully) through some tragic first dates, the age old debate of blue eyes vs. brown eyes, why your dolcet tones are an amazing asset, and if you rock socks-and-sandles and sport a beard... well, you need to listen to this.

If that seems like a little bit of a 'soft' topic then episode 2 (due in a fortnight's time) might be more up your alley. It'll be about the nature of time perception - how we (and our brains) perceive it, why its far from constant, and under what circumstances it varies. That's all I can give, because we can't know where the conversation will end up.

If you're into podcasts, check out the first episode of Psychobabble, it's 35 minutes long and will keep you company on the bus/a jog/riding to work/while making love. If you've never heard of podcasts before, check it anyway! Even if you don't like us, you'll find something you do like on iTunes - just search whatever your interest is.

I was spurred to create Psychobabble because the whys-and-hows of the human animal are so fascinating, and yet are so misrepresented, or misunderstood, in the broader world. Each episode is well referenced, with each participant reading ~ 3 - 4 research articles on the topic, and myself (as host) reading up to ~10 for each show. It's pretty easy to tell when we're talking science, and when we're speculating, but each episode is accompanied by a full list of references for further reading and fact checking.

It will take a few days before iTunes 'approves' it for listing, but keep your eyes and ears open. Until that point, it is available for download from the Psychobabble website - where you'll also find forums on the episodes itself, and on a million other things*. If you do listen to it, please do us a favour and 'like' it on facebook or Digg, and when it comes up on iTunes, please do up a quick review. It's well enough to just write 'sexy voices on a sexy topic. It changed my life.'. See, just a few words will make a huge impact.

Until then, if you listen to it and have questions, comments or critiques regarding the show/topic hit up the www.psycho-babble.net forums and engage in a bit of discussion. For the record, here's the reference list used for the first show:

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*yes, yes, yet to be populated. Be the first post ever!

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Eye color predicts but does not directly influence perceived dominance in men Personality and Individual Differences, 49 (1), 59-64 DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2010.03.011

Suedfeld, P., Paterson, H., Soriano, E., & Zuvic, S. (2002). Laeng, B., Mathisen, R., & Johnsen, J. (2006). Why do blue-eyed men prefer women with the same eye color? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 61 (3), 371-384 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-006-0266-1

Watkins, C., Fraccaro, P., Smith, F., Vukovic, J., Feinberg, D., DeBruine, L., & Jones, B. (2010). Taller men are less sensitive to cues of dominance in other men Behavioral Ecology, 21 (5), 943-947 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq091

Callison, C., Karrh, J., & Zillmann, D. (2002). The Aura of Tobacco Smoke: Cigars and Cigarettes as Image Makers Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32 (7), 1329-1343 DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb01439.x

Surawski, M., & Ossoff, E. (2006). The effects of physical and vocal attractiveness on impression formation of politicians Current Psychology, 25 (1), 15-27 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-006-1013-5

Mast, M., & Hall, J. (2004). Who Is the Boss and Who Is Not? Accuracy of Judging Status Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 28 (3), 145-165 DOI: 10.1023/B:JONB.0000039647.94190.21

Wyer, N. (2010). You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First (Implicit) Impression: The Role of Elaboration in the Formation and Revision of Implicit Impressions Social Cognition, 28 (1), 1-19 DOI: 10.1521/soco.2010.28.1.1

And the paper discussed in detail:

Naumann, L., Vazire, S., Rentfrow, P., & Gosling, S. (2009). Personality Judgments Based on Physical Appearance Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35 (12), 1661-1671 DOI: 10.1177/0146167209346309