Dr. David Sloan Wilson: What Makes Human Cooperation Possible
Stories of Impact
Stories of Impact brings back some of our favorite conversations this season. Today we revisit an episode from our first season, aired during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. David Sloan Wilson is a biological sciences researcher at Binghamton University, and he explains what actually makes teamwork dream work, how cultures engender or discourage cooperation, and how to get people from different backgrounds to cooperate during times of crisis. Learn more about and the Mentioned in this episode: Michelle Gelfand’s Robert Putnuam’s Subscribe to Stories of...
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Dr. Emiliana Simon-Thomas: What Can Heal Widespread Loneliness
Stories of Impact
Stories of Impact brings back some of our favorite conversations this season. In our last episode, we heard about the positive effects of coming together and sharing a meal. But for millions of Americans, that rarely happens. In fact, some 20 million people in the US today say they don’t have any friends. So how do we solve this loneliness epidemic? Today, we revisit a conversation with Dr. Emiliana Simon-Thomas, who studies just that. is the Science Director at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, which tracks cutting edge research studies that focus on how important our...
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Dr. Adam Cohen, Aliza Kline and Dr. Arielle Levites: Gathering at the Table for Connection and Belonging
Stories of Impact
Today we’re back in conversation with Dr. Adam Cohen, social psychologist and psychologist of religion at Arizona State University, who shares another research project that explores the way religious ritual connects participants more deeply not only with faith, but with community — this time, not through the practice of abstaining from food, but from breaking bread together. Dr. Arielle Levites, Managing Director of the Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education and a Research Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George...
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Dr. Athena Aktipis: How Cooperation Emerges in Crisis
Stories of Impact
In today’s episode we speak to Athena Aktipis, co-director of the Human Generosity Project, about the current results of her study of cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Aktipis discusses the insights both past and current research offer about the extent and the limits of human generosity during catastrophic events. This is the third episode in a special, five-part Covid-19 conversation series. Learn more about and Mentioned in this episode: by Rebecca Solnit Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcasts. More about Read the , ,...
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Dr. Erez Yoeli: What Inspires Altruism in Uncertain Times?
Stories of Impact
In today’s episode, host Richard Sergay speaks with Erez Yoeli, director of the Applied Cooperation Team at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, about how to motivate people to cooperate and behave altruistically during a pandemic. Dr. Yoeli discusses how we can harness the power of reputation to encourage prosocial behavior, and suggests ways to make the message of altruism appeal to everyone in a time when people are receiving conflicting messages about what is right. This is the second episode in a special, five-part Covid-19 conversation series. Learn more about Mentioned in this...
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Dr. Joseph Bulbulia: How Spirituality & Belonging Shape Crisis Response
Stories of Impact
In this episode, we hear from Joseph Bulbulia, professor at the University of Auckland and the MacLaurin Goodfellow Chair in Theological and Religious Studies. Professor Bulbulia discusses how religious interaction, worship, and teaching come together in different ways to facilitate group cooperation, and what we can learn from that to support us during the pandemic. Learn more about . Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcasts. More about Read the , , , Comments, questions and suggestions Supported by the
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 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 approached Dr. de Waal to ask if he might take him on as a PhD candidate, Dr. de Waal extended an invitation — the chance of a lifetime. Dr. Plotnik started researching chimpanzee behavior — where a lot of psychology researchers land, he says.
But Dr. Plotnik's interests soon expanded to question how those similarities evolve across these different species, if it's not due to a common ancestor?
With that fascination driving his work, Dr. Plotnik soon asked Dr. de Waal for his support setting up a field site where he could immerse himself in researching the behavioral flexibility of one the largest animals he'd worked with yet: Elephants. And so, for the last two decades, Dr. Plotnik's research has focused on wild and captive elephants primarily located in Thailand. Now an associate professor of psychology and the director of the Comparative Cognition for Conservation Lab at Hunter College, City University of New York, he's currently wrapping up a years-long study about elephant intelligence.
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- Supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation