Declining Life Expectancy in the United States
The Measure of Everyday Life
How should we think about death and how it happens? Americans now die more often than our peers in other wealthy countries. What does that shortened mortality say about our lives? On this episode, we talk with Elizabeth Wrigley-Field of the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Population Center.
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How to Think about Fear
The Measure of Everyday Life
Emotion, including fear, is an important part of us. What we fear and how we react can be shaped and influenced, though. On this episode, we talk with Ruth DeFoster of the University of Minnesota, co-author, with Natashia Swalve, of The Fear Knot: How Science, History, and Culture Shape Our Fears and How to Get Unstuck.
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Improving Access to Medicines in Sub-Saharan Africa
The Measure of Everyday Life
Billions of people do not have access to medicines that could save their lives. The Med Aditis Foundation is a non-profit organization that builds partnerships to improve access to high-quality medicines. On this episode, we talk with Bob Blouin, President and CEO of the Med Aditis Foundation.
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Protecting Our Schools with Emergency Drills
The Measure of Everyday Life
In schools across the United States, active shooter drills have been common for years and yet we don’t know all that we could about the effect of such drills on students and educators. On this episode, we talk with two members of a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Consensus Study focused on this phenomenon: Melissa Brymer of the UCLA–Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress and Sonali Rajan of Columbia University.
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Using Artificial Intelligence and Social Stigma
The Measure of Everyday Life
Have you ever felt any sort of shame in admitting you have used an artificial intelligence tool? On this episode, we talk with Jessica Reif of Duke University, lead author of a new paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that explores how people feel about co-workers using AI and what they do about it.
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Mindfulness in Medicine
The Measure of Everyday Life
Healthcare professionals do heroic work and so finding ways to support them can help all of us. Evidence now suggests that mindfulness techniques might help. On this episode, we talk with Misty Rae, an emergency physician with the North Mississippi Health System, about mindfulness and the future of medicine.
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Proteins and the Miracle of Everyday Life
The Measure of Everyday Life
When many people think about the science of life, they think of concepts such as DNA or genes. Proteins also play a vital role in our everyday existence that might surprise you. On this episode, we talk with Shahir Rizk and Maggie Fink, authors of The Color of North: The Molecular Language of Proteins and the Future of Life.
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Healthcare and Humanism
The Measure of Everyday Life
Our healthcare system comprises people -- including patients who need help and healthcare professionals who help them -- and yet our discussions about healthcare in the U.S. often focus on abstract concepts such as financial cost or new technologies. On this episode, we talk with the leader of an organization aiming to change that conversation: Dr. Kathleen Reeves, President and CEO of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, a nonprofit organization that champions humanism in healthcare.
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Emotion as Public Opinion
The Measure of Everyday Life
We have been making progress in incorporating emotional responses into measures of public perceptions to predict behavior. On this episode, we talk with Tomas Gonsorcik, Global Chief Strategy Officer at DDB Worldwide, about innovations in considering how what we feel says something about what we tend to think and do.
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Personal Data and Society
The Measure of Everyday Life
Whenever we use the Internet, we potentially share personal data in exchange for information that can, in turn, shape future information presented to us. What are the implications of that arrangement for society? On this episode, we talk with Jose Marichal, professor at California Lutheran University and author of the new book, You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem: Renegotiating the Socio-Technical Contract.
info_outlineAs we seek to know ourselves, who should help us with that exploration? Many different perspectives on empirical research, philosophy, and contemplation can be helpful as we try to understand our minds and ourselves. On this episode, we talk with Vladimir Miskovic, co-author of DREAMING REALITY: How Neuroscience and Mysticism Can Unlock the Secrets of Consciousness with Steven Jay Lynn.