Maria Konnikova was born in Moscow and grew up in the United States. She writes the weekly Literally Psyched column for Scientific American, and formerly wrote the popular psychology blog Artful Choice for Big Think. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where she studied psychology, creative writing, and government. She also holds an MPhil in psychology and an MA in political science from Columbia, where she is currently studying for a doctorate in psychology. Maria Konnikova's first book is Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes.

First broadcast on 1st February 2013.