Podcast Episodes

Episode 55: Snooki and the Handbag

Look down at what you're wearing. You picked out that blue shirt, right? And those boots — you decided on those because they're warm, didn't you? Well, maybe not. Researcher Jonah Berger says, we ten…

Published on 9 years ago

Episode 54: Panic in the Streets

It sounds like the plot of a movie: police discover the body of a young man who's been murdered. The body tests positive for a deadly infectious disease. Authorities trace the killing to a gang. They…

Published on 9 years ago

Episode 53: Embrace the Chaos

Many of us spend lots of time and energy trying to get organized. We KonMari our closets, we strive for inbox zero, we tell our kids to clean their rooms, and our politicians to clean up Washington. …

Published on 9 years, 1 month ago

Episode 52: Losing Face

It happens to all of us: someone recognizes you on the street, calls you by name, and says hello... and you have no idea who that person is. Researchers say this struggle to read other faces is commo…

Published on 9 years, 1 month ago

Episode 51: What Happened?

On the morning after election day, pundits, pollsters, politicians, and citizens woke up feeling stunned. All signs, all year, had been pointing towards a victory for Democrat Hillary Clinton. So, wh…

Published on 9 years, 1 month ago

Encore of Episode 27: Losing Alaska

We didn't hear very much about climate change during this election cycle — and social science research might give us some insight as to why not. This week, an encore of one of our favorite episodes a…

Published on 9 years, 1 month ago

Episode 50: Broken Windows

In the early 1980s, a couple of researchers wrote an article in The Atlantic that would have far reaching consequences. The article introduced a new idea about crime and policing. It was called Broke…

Published on 9 years, 1 month ago

Episode 49: Filthy Rich

Several years ago, sociologist Brooke Harrington decided to explore the secret lives of billionaires. What she found, she said, shocked her.

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Published on 9 years, 2 months ago

Episode 48: Men: 44, Women: 0

A century after women won the vote in the US, we still see very few of them in leadership roles. Researchers say women are trapped in a catch-22 known as "the double bind." Note: an early version of …

Published on 9 years, 2 months ago

Episode 47: Give Me Your Tired...

Our airwaves are filled with debates about migrants, refugees, and undocumented immigrants... Who should be in the United States, who shouldn't, and who should decide? Immigration is, without questio…

Published on 9 years, 2 months ago