Dr. Berry Billingsley: Big Questions That Change How We Learn
Release Date: 06/03/2025
Dr. Barbara Fredrickson: How Positivity Strengthens Us in Crisis
Stories of Impact
The first episode of the Stories of Impact podcast special, five-part Covid-19 conversation series features Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Host Richard Sergay speaks with Dr. Fredrickson about why her work in positive psychology is more relevant than ever during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Fredrickson offers tips on how to nurture our positive emotions and resilience amid the stress and anxiety we are all experiencing, as well as how to foster strong social connections going forward...
info_outline
Dr. David O’Brien: Protecting Democracy in the Digital Age
Stories of Impact
Today’s conversation is with David O’Brien, Assistant Research Director at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Prof. O’Brien talks to Richard about how we as citizens can bring our democratic values to bear on social media platforms; the role privacy plays online in allowing democracy and democratic citizenship to flourish; and more. More about and the Mentioned in this episode: Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcasts More about Read the , , , Comments, questions and suggestions Supported...
info_outline
Dr. Packer, Dr. Van Bavel, Dr. Han, Evan Mawarire, Uriel Epshein & Joshua Fryday: What Fuels Political Division Part 2
Stories of Impact
In today’s episode, we consider what writers, researchers, and scholars say we can learn from the history of polarization in other countries and learn about some of their potential solutions for polarization. Today’s episode features researchers and , co-authors of . We also hear from , Professor of Political Science and the Director of the at Johns Hopkins University; , Executive Director of the ; , Chief Service Officer for the State of California with ; and , a Zimbabwean clergyman who founded #ThisFlag Citizen’s Movement. Read...
info_outline
Dr. Packer, Dr. Van Bavel, Dr. Han, Alison Taylor, Uriel Epshein, & Joshua Fryday: What Fuels Political Division Part 1
Stories of Impact
This episode defines polarization and explores its causes and effects. Next, we consider what we can learn from the history of polarization in other countries and share the antidotes to polarization that research has uncovered. Finally, we explain why it’s important to make a long-term investment in polarization research. Today’s episode features researchers and , co-authors of . We also hear from , Executive Director at , a research collaborative affiliated with NYU; , Professor of Political Science and the Director of the at Johns Hopkins University; , Executive Director of the ;...
info_outline
Dr. Sean Westwood: What Polarization Reveals About Democracy and the Human Spirit
Stories of Impact
Stories of Impact brings back some of our favorite conversations this season. Today, we continue our series about how citizens can understand and heal polarization, with a conversation with Dr. Sean Westwood. Dr. Westwood studies American politics and how partisan conflict manifests in the United States, its consequences and its origins. Read the of this episode Learn more about Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcasts Find us on , , , and Share your comments, questions and suggestions...
info_outline
What Polarization Teaches us About Harm and Human Understanding
Stories of Impact
We’re back this episode for our second timely interview focusing on political polarization, wrapping up in conversation with Dr. Kurt Gray, professor of moral psychology and neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill, and the director of the Deepest Beliefs Lab in the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. Moral psychology is the descriptive understanding of our moral judgments, or concern with not just how people should make moral decisions, but how they actually do. Why does this matter? In Dr. Gray’s words: "To understand our contentious and divided political moments where people...
info_outline
The Global Flourishing Study: What the Data Reveals About Well-Being Across the World
Stories of Impact
Our intention on the Stories of Impact Podcast, whether flora, fauna, homo sapiens, or otherwise, the variety of subjects we’ve featured across 120+ episodes has underscored our commitment to people’s progress and well-being. (It’s certainly enriched our wellbeing to tell each story!) But is well-being the same as flourishing, or does one lead to the other? How do we know what flourishing is? What do people actually need to flourish? Times are tough; IS anyone actually flourishing? To answer those questions, we’re turning today to two international researchers who are leading a...
info_outline
Dr. Joshua Plotnik: Inside The Elephant Mind
Stories of Impact
When Joshua Plotnik was a kid, he wanted to become a veterinarian and day dreamed of a future caring for animals large and small. By the time he got to college, he eagerly worked with every type of vet he could think of, from small animal vets to large animal horse veterinarians. On a summer break from his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, he interned as a zookeeper at the Central Park Zoo, and a mentor there encouraged him to reach out to the internationally-acclaimed primatologist Dr. Franz de Waal, known for his research on cooperation in primates. When the young student...
info_outline
Dr. Colin Allen, Dr. Erica Cartmill, and Dr. Heidi Lyn: Animal Joy and the Science of Connection
Stories of Impact
Are animals capable of feeling joy? How do we know? What is joy? Dr. Erica Cartmill wants to find out. She’s the Indiana University professor of cognitive science, animal behavior, and anthropology that long-time listeners to Stories of Impact will recognize from conversations we’ve had in the past about her studies of diverse intelligences and humor in apes. Today, we’ll learn about one of her latest collaborative projects — a first of its kind multidisciplinary study: Joyful by Nature, on the evolution and the function of joy in animals. She’s joined in conversation by Dr. Colin...
info_outline
Remembering Dr. Jane Goodall: The Wild Fight for Our Planet
Stories of Impact
In remembrance of Jane Goodall (4/3/34 - 10/1/25), we're bringing back our conversation featuring her life and legacy. Luminary Dr. Jane Goodall for decades made significant contributions to not only the scientific world, but arguably, to the entire planet. When 26-year-old British-born Jane Goodall began field studies of primates in Tanzania in July 1960, she was the first researcher to observe chimpanzees in the wild, and she remains the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees. Her rigorous and creative approach quickly gained the attention of the National Geographic...
info_outlineIs science fundamentally in opposition to religion, or do they just have little to do with each other? Is the way you engage with science and religion in your life informed by your core beliefs, or are your core beliefs informed by them? Do you think it's scientists or religious experts, or both, or neither, that are best equipped to help humans explore the meaning of life?
People might find these questions to be provocative or controversial. But our guest in today's episode, science educator and researcher Dr. Berry Billingsley, was raised in a family culture of curiosity, so she's been asking these sorts of really big questions all her life.
Now a professor in Education at the University of Swansea and the former Director of the Learning about Science and Religion Centre at Canterbury Christ Church University, Dr. Billingsley, as devoted as she has been to young people's science education throughout her career as a researcher, has built a body of work critiquing the way science is traditionally taught and breaking down the siloes between religious education and science education classes.
Read the transcript of this episode
Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcasts
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube
Share your comments, questions and suggestions at info@storiesofimpact.org
Supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation