Can You Change Your Personality? | Olga Khazan

What if you could intentionally change your personality? Journalist and author Olga Khazan set out to answer that question by embarking on the most personal experiment of her life. In her book Me, But Better, she chronicles her attempts to rewire key aspects of her personality—including becoming more extroverted, more agreeable, and less neurotic—through a series of real-world social and emotional challenges.

We’re along for the ride as we sit down with Olga to explore her journey and the science that guided it. Drawing on the Big Five personality framework and inspired by research from Dr. Nathan Hudson, Olga shares stories of improv classes, sailing meetups, mindfulness training, and even an anger management workshop—all in pursuit of meaningful, measurable change. Her results may surprise you—and might just reshape your beliefs about which parts of yourself are truly fixed.

Join us for a conversation about the psychology of change, the paradox of solitude, and why connection might be a better antidote to burnout than time alone. If you’ve ever felt like a better version of yourself is just out of reach, this episode is full of evidence-based insight, personal reflection, and practical takeaways to help you move toward it.

Want to watch this episode? Check it out on our YouTube Channel