Mindmasters (Anna Caputo version)

The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior

By: Sandra Matz

Narrated by: Anna Caputo

As algorithms become increasingly adept at accessing the human mind, they also become more and more powerful at controlling it, enticing us to buy a certain product or vote for a certain political candidate. Some of us say this technological trend is no big deal. Others consider it one of the greatest threats to humanity. But what if the truth is more nuanced and mind-bending than that?

In Mindmasters, Columbia Business School professor Sandra Matz reveals in fascinating detail how big data offers insights into the most intimate aspects of our psyches and how these insights empower an external influence over the choices we make. This can be creepy, manipulative, and downright harmful, with scandals like that of British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica being merely the tip of the iceberg. Yet big data also holds enormous potential to help us live healthier, happier lives—for example, by improving our mental health, encouraging better financial decisions, or enabling us to break out of our echo chambers.

With passion and clear-eyed precision, Matz shows us how to manage psychological targeting and redesign the data game.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2025 Sandra Matz (P)2025 Ascent Audio

An Important book!! Very well written!! Empowering!

Thank you for doing this! This book is giving me hope! I want to try these ideas, and am so happy to see that I’m not alone! I’ve been feeling like a part of a roller coaster that’s about to crash and everyone is just waiving happily.

Cyclical ramblings with little substance.

I cannot see the 5-star reviews here being anything but the author's friends being guilted into leaving false reviews.

boring redundant

Nothinv lofty or novel to read here. Basically just a list of tge moral hazards of data sharing.