The Measure of Everyday Life

We know that social norms can influence many types of behavior.  Can social norms predict corruption? On this episode, we talk with Lisa McGregor of RTI International, Richard Nash of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, and Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church of Besa Global about their work to understand patterns of corruption around the world.

We are fortunate to be able to breathe air and drink water. Everyone doesn't enjoy the same air and water quality, though. How can we know whether what we consume is safe? What do people think about the air and water in their area? On this episode, we talk with Dr. Courtney Woods of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about her work to elevate resident voices. 

The last few years have been challenging for many families. How should we be raising children amidst a changing world? What can we learn from various contexts around the world? On this episode, we talk with Katherine King, director of early childhood development programs at RTI International. 

Any single social media post does not necessarily reflect public opinion, and yet researchers also have found creative ways to use social media tools to assist their work. On this episode, we talk with  Stephanie McInnis and Jessica Sobolewski of RTI International about how they are using social media to answer key questions about public health. 

Recently, news headlines have highlighted challenges that homeowners are facing as the Atlantic Ocean rises and changes the shape of our coastline. On this episode, we talk with Kiera O'Donnell of Duke University about the preferences that residents of coastal communities have expressed about future development.   

Over the course of a century, baseball has entertained fans throughout the United States and in various parts of the world. The experience today is not quite the same as it used to be, though. In this episode, we talk with Christopher Callahan of Dartmouth College, lead author of a new paper which looks at how climate change may already have affected the game of baseball. 

In recent years, our news headlines have spotlighted challenges in the relationships between local police departments and the communities they serve. On this episode, we talk with Neil Gross and Leon Nixon about their new audiobook, Walk the Walk: How Three Police Chiefs Defied the Odds and Changed Cop Culture . 

Authors sometimes can illuminate aspects of our everyday lives which we sometimes take for granted. Angela Saini does that with her new book, The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule. On this episode, she joins to discuss her historical analysis and assessment of our present condition. 

We often hear about snakes as a symbol of ill intention in popular culture and yet that characterization is at odds with what conservation scientists understand to be the nature of the animals. On this episode, we talk with Nicolette Cagle of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. She is author of a new book called "Saving Snakes."

Public health workers have faced serious challenges recently, including not only emergent infectious diseases but also human behavior and harassment and complaints. On this episode, we talk with Timothy McCall and Aaron Alford of the National Association of County and City Health Officials about their recent national survey of public health professionals. 

Many animals live on this same Earth as human beings and often can tell us about environmental changes or dangers if we only know how to listen and observe. On this episode, we talk with filmmaker and researcher Chris Johns of RTI International about why we should care about land snails in Hawaii. 

War has been in our headlines again recently. What do we know about the effects of war on subsequent violence between family members and neighbors? On this episode, we talk with Jocelyn Kelly, Director of the Program on Gender, Rights, and Resilience at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.

On this episode, we hear from students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who worked with Professor Carmen Gutierrez to produce stories exploring current health policy issues. Content has been edited for time. Opinions expressed do not represent the views of WNCU or underwriters. 

The arrival of a new year can be a stressful time both in terms of opportunities and challenges. What is stress and how do social scientists measure it? On this episode, we talk with anthropologist Achsah Dorsey of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, about stress and everyday life. 

JAMA Psychiatry recently reported that in the United States we have seen an increase in deaths of despair, instances in which people die from suicide or alcoholism or substance use. Boys and men are particularly likely to suffer in that way. On this episode, we talk with Richard Reeves of the Brookings Institution about his new book, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matte...

Every day government officials and researchers and journalists attempt to explain new developments in science or to share insights based on science. Even though that work often involves empirical facts, we sometimes overlook the roles of human emotion. On this episode, we talk with Faith Kearns, environmental science expert and author of Getting to the Heart of Science Communication: A Guide to En...

A force that animates all of our lives in some way is the concept of death. What if we had more certainty about what happens when we die? What if a preview of death could inform our life? On this episode, we talk with Marieta Pehlivanova of the University of Virginia about her research on near-death experiences.

Headlines about traffic accidents are common, but those stories might not tell the whole story. On this episode, we talk with Seth LaJeunesse of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center about how we do -- and should -- talk about traffic injuries and transportation safety.

Can you tell how well children in a neighborhood are doing just by looking at the neighborhood? On this episode, we talk with Terri Sabol of Northwestern University about the health of school neighborhoods and how geography, education, and student success are related. 

We take a break from our usual interviews on this episode to share speeches from a celebration of The Measure of Everyday Life and a new book based on the show, Measuring Everyday Life , held at North Carolina Central University in September 2022.  

More than ever, we need to connect scientists and various audiences to promote understanding of science and to get input from people about what science should be done. On this episode, we talk with John Besley of Michigan State University and Anthony Dudo of the University of Texas at Austin, authors of a book called Strategic Science Communication: A Guide to Setting the Right Objectives for More...

We sometimes look to the arts as an outlet for enjoyment but the arts also can affect our social interactions, our future imagination, and perhaps even how we learn. On this episode, we talk with Susan Magsamen, Executive Director of the International Arts + Minds Lab at Johns Hopkins University.

In 1965, the United States Congress officially recognized Historically Black Colleges or Universities as schools of higher learning, but the history of HBCUs extends all the way back to the 1830s. On this episode, we talk with Dr. Jelani Favors of North Carolina A&T State University, author of the award-winning Shelter in a Time of Storm: How Black Colleges Fostered Generations of Leadership and A...

Every fall in the U.S., students across the country head off to college. What you might not know is that some of them aren't sure if they are going to have enough to eat when they are there. On this episode, we talk with two people trying to address that: Katharine Broton of the University of Iowa and Kathleen O'Neill of Bunker Hill Community College in Boston.

Can you remember a teacher who affected your life? As many students return to school in the U.S., we know teachers can have important effects. How exactly does good teaching make a difference? On this episode, we talk with Julie Schmidt Hasson of Appalachian State University, author of Safe, Seen, and Stretched in the Classroom: The Remarkable Ways Teachers Shape Students' Lives.