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Rating
5from
This podcast has
19 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Stephanie HepburnExplicit
No
Date created
2025/12/12
Latest episode
2026/10/28
Average duration
25 min.
Release period
18 days
Description
Journalist Stephanie Hepburn examines gaps in America’s current mental health system and the innovations trying to bridge them. The first series explores the intersection of AI and mental health.
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Check latest episodes from CrisisTalk podcast
Talkspace Develops Wellness AI Chatbot — Will It Be an Alternative to the Frontier LLMs? - Ep. 19
2026/10/28
Talkspace positions Tee, its new wellness AI chatbot, as an alternative to general-use LLMs. Conversation with clinical psychologist Monika Dargis, head of clinical operations and quality at Talkspace, on what happens when Tee conversations escalate, AI safety, privacy and user data.
We want to hear from you
What questions do you want answered? Have you turned on “Trusted Contact” in ChatGPT? Have you turned to an AI chatbot to discuss a personal or mental health issue? Work at an AI company? Are you a researcher studying AI and mental health? We want to hear from you. Reach us at [email protected]
What to listen to next
Listen to our Signal Award winning episode: After Suicide, Mom Discovers Daughter’s ChatGPT Log. AI and Mental Health – Ep. 6
Can AI Develop Its Own Biases? – Ep. 18Are AI Chatbots Creating a Shadow Mental Healthcare System? – Ep. 17More Young People Are Turning to AI Chatbots for Mental Health Advice. Now What? – Ep 16Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 2 – Ep 15Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 1 – Ep 14Credits
CrisisTalk is hosted and produced by Stephanie Hepburn. Our associate producer is Rin Koenig. Audio engineering by Michael Keene. Music is Vinyl Couch by Blue Dot Sessions.
Can AI Develop Its Own Biases? - Ep. 18
2026/10/14
Researchers discover large language models can spontaneously develop new social biases. A conversation with Addison Wu, a co-author of the study and research student at Tom Griffiths' Computational Cognitive Science Lab.
References
Large Language Models Develop Novel Social Biases Through Adaptive Exploration
We want to hear from you
“Have you turned on “Trusted Contact” in ChatGPT? If so, we’d love to chat with you.”
What questions do you want answered? Have you turned to an AI chatbot to discuss a personal or mental health issue? Work at an AI company? Are you a researcher studying AI and mental health? We want to hear from you. Reach us at [email protected]
What to Listen to Next
Are AI Chatbots Creating a Shadow Mental Healthcare System? – Ep. 17More Young People Are Turning to AI Chatbots for Mental Health Advice. Now What? – Ep 16Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 2 – Ep 15Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 1 – Ep 14What’s Happening With All Your Therapy App Messages? — Ep 13Credits
CrisisTalk is hosted and produced by Stephanie Hepburn. Our associate producer is Rin Koenig. Audio engineering by Michael Keene. Music is Vinyl Couch by Blue Dot Sessions.
Are AI Chatbots Creating a Shadow Mental Healthcare System? - Ep. 17
2026/09/30
Researchers write a position paper outlining a roadmap for evaluating large language models for mental health. Will the AI companies listen? A conversation with Charlotte Blease, researcher and author of “Dr Bot: Why Doctors Can Fail Us and How AI Could Save Lives,” on how AI is a mass population experiment.
References
Multidisciplinary research priorities for artificial intelligence in mental health: a call to action
Strengthening ChatGPT’s Responses In Sensitive Conversations
Dr Bot: Why Doctors Can Fail Us and How AI Could Save Lives
Randomized Trial of a Generative AI Chatbot for Mental Health Treatment
We want to hear from you
Have you turned on “Trusted Contact” in ChatGPT? If so, we’d love to chat with you.
What questions do you want answered? Have you turned to an AI chatbot to discuss a personal or mental health issue? Work at an AI company? Are you a researcher studying AI and mental health? We want to hear from you. Reach us at [email protected]
What to Listen to Next
More Young People Are Turning to AI Chatbots for Mental Health Advice. Now What? – Ep 16Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 2 – Ep 15Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 1 – Ep 14What’s Happening With All Your Therapy App Messages? — Ep 13Can an AI Chatbot Connect Student Survivors of Sexual Violence to Resources? — Ep 12Credits
CrisisTalk is hosted and produced by Stephanie Hepburn. Our associate producer is Rin Koenig. Audio engineering by Michael Keene. Music is Vinyl Couch by Blue Dot Sessions.
More Young People Are Turning to AI Chatbots for Mental Health Advice. Now What? - Ep 16
2026/09/16
New study finds nearly a fifth of adolescents and young adults turning to AI chatbots for mental health advice. A conversation with RAND senior health policy researcher Ryan McBain on the study and whether youth may be sidestepping the skill building they need to navigate identity formation, friendships and dating.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review.
References
AI Chatbot Use and Disclosure for Mental Health Among US Adolescents and Young Adults
We want to hear from you
Have you turned to an AI chatbot to discuss an interpersonal or mental health issue? Work at an AI company? Are you a researcher studying AI and mental health? We want to hear from you. Reach us at [email protected]
What to listen to next
Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 2 – Ep 15Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 1 – Ep 14What’s Happening With All Your Therapy App Messages? — Ep 13Can an AI Chatbot Connect Student Survivors of Sexual Violence to Resources? — Ep 12Is AI Triggering Anxiety and OCD? — Ep 11Credits
CrisisTalk is hosted and produced by Stephanie Hepburn. Our associate producer is Rin Koenig. Audio engineering by Michael Keene. Music is Vinyl Couch by Blue Dot Sessions.
Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 2 – Ep 15
2026/09/02
How is AI affecting the well-being of people working in tech? A conversation with data scientist Brandon Liverence on spikes in layoffs in the tech world and the escalating existential fears he and his peers have about whether they’ll be replaced by AI and what comes next.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review.
References
Is AI Triggering Anxiety and OCD? — Ep 11
Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 1 — Ep 14
We want to hear from you
Have you turned to an AI chatbot to discuss an interpersonal or mental health issue? Work at an AI company? Are you a researcher studying AI and mental health? We want to hear from you. Reach us at [email protected]
What to listen to next
Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 1 — Ep 14What’s Happening With All Your Therapy App Messages? — Ep 13Can an AI Chatbot Connect Student Survivors of Sexual Violence to Resources? — Ep 12Is AI Triggering Anxiety and OCD? — Ep 11You, Me and Your AI Chatbot — How Therapists Are Navigating Chatbot Use — Ep 10Credits
“CrisisTalk” is hosted and produced by Stephanie Hepburn. Our associate producer is Rin Koenig. Audio engineering by Michael Keane. Music is Vinyl Couch by Blue Dot Sessions.
Canary in the Coal Mine: What is the Impact of AI on Tech Workers? Part 1 — Ep 14
2026/08/19
Job insecurity, overload and burnout have implications for our well-being. How employees are faring in the tech industry is a bellwether test for what impacts AI may have on the labor market as a whole and the people who comprise it. A conversation with Ella, an AI researcher, on how LLMs are shifting job expectations, the AI productivity paradox and the overall meta-anxiety in the industry.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review.
References
Is AI Triggering Anxiety and OCD? — Ep 11
We want to hear from you
Have you turned to an AI chatbot to discuss an interpersonal or mental health issue? Work at an AI company? Are you a researcher studying AI and mental health? We want to hear from you. Reach us at [email protected]
What to listen to next
What’s Happening With All Your Therapy App Messages? — Ep 13Can an AI Chatbot Connect Student Survivors of Sexual Violence to Resources? — Ep 12Is AI Triggering Anxiety and OCD? — Ep 11You, Me and Your AI Chatbot — How Therapists Are Navigating Chatbot Use — Ep 10California Jury Finds Meta and Google Liable in Social Media Addiction Case. What Are The Implications for Lawsuits Against AI? — Ep 9Credits
“CrisisTalk” is hosted and produced by Stephanie Hepburn. Our associate producer is Rin Koenig. Audio engineering by Chris Mann. Music is Vinyl Couch by Blue Dot Sessions.
What’s Happening With All Your Therapy App Messages? — Ep 13
2026/07/31
From subpoenaed therapy sessions to messages being used to train AI therapy chatbots, how private are therapy apps? A conversation with Annie Gilbertson, investigative reporter and managing editor for Proof News.
Can an AI Chatbot Connect Student Survivors of Sexual Violence to Resources? — Ep 12
2026/06/25
While a student at Tulane University, Isabella Kulstad founded Cloud IX, an AI platform designed to support students who’ve experienced sexual violence on campus. A conversation with Isabella and Dana Fos, the company’s chief technology officer.
Is AI Triggering Anxiety and OCD? — Ep 11
2026/06/11
Are broad-use AI chatbots reinforcing anxiety and OCD patterns or even creating new ones? A conversation with psychiatrist Elias Aboujaoude, director of the Internet, Health and Society program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and clinical professor of psychiatry and chief of the Anxiety Disorders Section at Stanford University.
You, Me and Your AI Chatbot — How Therapists Are Navigating Chatbot Use — Ep 10
2026/05/22
Are AI chatbots shifting the therapeutic landscape and how we relate to one another? A conversation with cyber psychology expert Rachel Wood.
California Jury Finds Meta and Google Liable in Social Media Addiction Case. What Are The Implications for Lawsuits Against AI? — Ep 9
2026/05/08
Google and Meta were found liable for the plaintiff’s social media addiction to Instagram and YouTube as a child. A conversation with Matthew Bergman, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, on how the outcome sets precedent for lawsuits against AI chatbot companies.
Who Reduces Loneliness Better — an AI Chatbot or a Peer? AI and Mental Health – Ep. 8
2026/04/24
Is a highly empathetic AI chatbot or a randomly assigned peer better at reducing loneliness? A conversation with researcher Ruo-Ning Li on what she found.
How Are Young People Using AI Chatbots for Mental Health? AI and Mental Health – Ep. 7
2026/04/10
Conversation with Shums Alikhan, lead researcher of a new study on how young people are using AI for mental health support.
After Suicide, Mom Discovers Daughter’s ChatGPT Log. AI and Mental Health – Ep. 6
2026/03/27
After her daughter died by suicide, journalist Laura Reiley discovered her ChatGPT chats. What responsibility do AI chatbot companies have to the people who use them?
What Do AI Chatbots Have to Say for Themselves? AI and Mental Health – Ep. 5
2026/02/20
How do AI chatbots respond to explicit and implicit mental health language indicating someone might be in crisis? To test this out, Stephanie Hepburn speaks with four models — ChatGPT, Claude, Character.AI and Gemini.
Podcast reviews
Read CrisisTalk podcast reviews
NONEEE 2026/03/26
Well done
The show is great although the subject matter is heavy. Hepburn delivers a well thought out podcast that deserves a listen.
Erin in Nola 2026/03/01
Great, Accessible, Important Podcast!
Fascinating. Hepburn asks important and probing questions to unlock the world of AI crisis therapy and interventions. An extremely thoughtful and pr...
SBCinraleigh 2025/12/12
Thoughtful and important
Great start to a very important conversation. Looking forward to more episodes.
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