The Cabrera Lab Podcast
Join Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera from Cornell University as they inspire you to approach life's challenges with a fresh perspective. Witness their use of GOAT-level thinking to enhance your problem-solving skills. Discover new possibilities, approaches, and solutions you never knew existed. Elevate your thinking and get better every day with their entertaining guidance.
Episodes
98 episodes
#105: Think It Through: Helping Others See What They’re Missing
Get 20% off any STSI course with code SIMPLE20 — start building your mental fitness today!In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle a deceptively hard question: what do you do when someo...
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26:17
#104: It’s Not Too Much Information—It’s Too Little Organization
In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle a problem nearly everyone feels but few can name: constant overwhelm in a world flooded with information. From social media and news to work demands and family pressures...
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28:09
#103: Think It Through: When You Know What to Do—but Don’t Do It
Get 20% off any STSI course with code THINKING20 — start building your mental fitness today!In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle one of the most frustrating human experiences: knowi...
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25:25
#102: Mental Fitness Explained: Why Intelligence Is More Than IQ
Get 20% off any STSI course with code MOTIVATION20 — start building your mental fitness today!In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University unpack a new research paper on mental fitness and challenge nearly everyth...
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36:49
#101: Think It Through: The Negative Inner Voice That’s Holding You Back
Get 20% off any STSI course with code MENTALFITNESS20 — start building your mental fitness today!In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore a struggle many people quietly live with every...
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29:18
#100: The Top 10 Systems Thinking Lessons from 100 Episodes
Get 20% off any STSI course with code 20FOR100 — start building your mental fitness today!In this special milestone episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University celebrate the 100th episode of the Cabrera Lab Podcast by doi...
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45:48
Episode #99: How to Reflect the Right Way Using Systems Thinking
Get 20% off any STSI course with code REFLECT20 — start building your mental fitness today!In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University unpack what reflection actually is—and why most people misunderstand it. Refl...
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23:49
#98: Think It Through: Why Having the “Perfect Holiday” Is the Fastest Way to Ruin It
Get 20% off any STSI course with code HOLIDAY20 — start building your mental fitness today!In this holiday edition of Think It Through, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle one of the most common—and least talked ab...
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30:53
#97: What Can Systems Thinkers Do That Others Can’t?
Get 20% off any STSI course with code SYSTEMS20 — start building your mental fitness today!In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle a deceptively simple question they were asked at a social event: “What...
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41:19
#96: Think It Through: The Hidden Cost of Always Doing What You’re Told
Get 20% off any STSI course with code THINKITTHROUGH20 — start building your mental fitness today!In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University break down a problem facing kids, college students, a...
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29:51
#95: Think It Through: Teaching Your Kids to Love Reality
Get 25% off any STSI course with code THANKS25 - Happy Thanksgiving!In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle a listener’s real-life parenting dilemma: a 10-year-old boy terrified of mon...
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36:49
#94: Fast. Right. Adaptive. The Power of Practicing Is/Is Not List
Get 15% off any STSI course with code THINK15 — start training your brain today!In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University explore one of the simplest—but most profound—thinking skills: drawing the boundary betw...
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33:46
#93: O-Based Education: How to Build Smarter, Freer, More Adaptive Humans
Get 15% off any systems thinking course with code ST-15 - become a professional systems thinker today: https://www.stsi.pro/category/credentialIn this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University revisit two of their most...
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33:20
#92: Think It Through: The Feedback You Don’t Want Is the Feedback You Need
In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University unpack one of life’s most universal challenges: how to take feedback that clashes with your self-image. What starts as a simple question—“How do I handle feedb...
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38:56
#91: From Deming to Donella: Rating the Top Systems Thinking Quotes
In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University take a rapid-fire tour through some of the most famous systems thinking quotes from legends like Donella Meadows, Peter Senge, Russell Ackoff, W. Edwards Deming, and even the B...
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30:09
#90: Think it Through: Stop Arguing Perspectives, Start Solving Systems
In this Think It Through episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University tackle two everyday problems that reveal the hidden power of systems thinking. They start by breaking down why theory and practice are never truly separate, sh...
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33:44
#89: Think It Through: Boundaries, Guilt, and Getting Your Time Back
In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University help a listener untangle a familiar problem: saying yes to everything and ending up exhausted, resentful, and burned out.They diagram the hidden mental model behind ove...
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25:57
#88: Think It Through: Parenting, Culture, and Mental Models
In this practical episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University show how the same underlying mental structures shape both family life and organizational culture.From a frustrated parent arguing with a teen about driving to...
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38:16
#87: Snake Oil, Swamps, and Systems Thinking
In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University take a wrecking ball to the confusion surrounding systems thinking. Whether you’re brand new to the field or knee-deep in its many (often conflicting) methodologies, this episo...
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46:33
#86: Teach Your Kids to Think: The Most Important Parenting Skill
In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University answer a simple but urgent question from a parent: “Can you teach systems thinking to kids?” Spoiler: not only can you, you should—and it may be the most important thing you ev...
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35:03
#85: Love, Marriage, and Mental Models: Systems Thinking in Relationships
How do two people work together, parent together, and live together every day without driving each other nuts?In this personal and powerful episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University share the six systems thinking princ...
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39:00
#84: Why Our Schools are Failing (And How to Fix Them with Systems Thinking)
In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University confront a hard truth: our schools are failing because we're teaching information, not thinking.They expose the real problem behind education’s struggles—what they call...
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41:48
#83: The Science of Thinking Fast, Right, and On Purpose
In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University challenge the binary of Kahneman’s System 1 (fast but often wrong) and System 2 (slow but usually right) thinking—and introduce a third way: System 3 Thinking.System 3 ...
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39:02
#82: Discipline, Ownership, and Doing It Right (Even When No One’s Watching)
In this final chapter of the Culture Code series, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University share the last 12 guiding principles that shape their team's character, cohesion, and capacity to adapt. These aren’t just nice ideas—they’re l...
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42:28
#81: Systems Thinking for Character, Capacity, and Culture
In this next installment of the Culture Code series, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera of Cornell University reveal the next 9 culture principles that guide their team, their leadership, and their lives. These aren’t corporate slogans—these are live...
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34:50