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23 Jul 2019

Collective Memories – Ida Momennejad & Ajua Duker

Can communication across networks of people be optimized to share information, while at the same time lessening the likelihood of information bubbles and echo chambers? In Episode 54, we're joined by Ida Momennejad and Ajua Duker from Columbia University and Yale University, respectively, to discu......
Listen to the episode..Collective Memories – Ida Momennejad & Ajua Duker
9 Jul 2019

Behind the Curtain of Algorithms – Been Kim

Might we be better able to understand what's going on inside the "black box" of machine learning algorithms? In episode 53, Been Kim from Google Brain talks with us about her research into creating algorithms that can explain why they make the recommendations they do via concepts that are relatabl......
Listen to the episode..Behind the Curtain of Algorithms – Been Kim
11 Jun 2019

Double Trouble – Elisabeth Bik

Just how rampant is scientific misconduct? In episode 51, Elisabeth Bik talks with us about her research suggesting that as many as 35,000 papers in biomedicine journals may be candidates for retraction due to inappropriate image duplication. Her open-access article, “Analysis and Correction of In...
Listen to the episode..Double Trouble – Elisabeth Bik
14 May 2019

Men Without Work – Carol Graham

Why are less-than-college-educated White men in the US so much less happy and more desperate than their international counterparts? In episode 49, Carol Graham from the Brookings Institution and the University of Maryland talks with us about her research into why younger out-of-work men in the Uni......
Listen to the episode..Men Without Work – Carol Graham
16 Apr 2019

Forking Paths of Kids’ Screen Time – Amy Orben

Are adolescents' technology use really related to depression, suicide and ADHD, or might it be no worse for kids than eating potatoes? In episode 47, Amy Orben from the University of Oxford discusses her explorations into how researchers' biases can influence their analysis of large datasets. Her ......
Listen to the episode..Forking Paths of Kids’ Screen Time – Amy Orben
2 Apr 2019

Trusting Our Machines – Neera Jain

Might enabling computational aids to "self-correct" when they’re out of sync with people be a path toward their exhibition of recognizably intelligent behavior? In episode 46, Neera Jain from Purdue University discusses in her experiments into monitoring our trust in AI's abilities so as to drive ...
Listen to the episode..Trusting Our Machines – Neera Jain
19 Mar 2019

The Wonder of STEVE – Liz MacDonald

In episode 45, Liz MacDonald from the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, discusses in her research into STEVE, a previously unrecorded atmospheric phenomenon discovered by citizen scientists in late 2016 that appears as a ribbon of flickering purple and green light in the night sky. Her open-acce......
Listen to the episode..The Wonder of STEVE – Liz MacDonald
5 Mar 2019

Becoming Deaf – Laura Mauldin

To what extent could "coming out" be a useful analogy for the process of coming to identify as Deaf? In episode 44, Laura Mauldin from the University of Connecticut discusses her research into this question as detailed in her open-access article "'Coming out' rhetoric in disability studies: Explor......
Listen to the episode..Becoming Deaf – Laura Mauldin
5 Feb 2019

Voyeuristic Birds – Masayo Soma

Could birds' courting behaviors change when they're being watched? In episode 42, Masayo Soma from Hokkaido University discusses her research into monogamous songbirds which intensify their singing and dancing during courtship rituals – but only while in the presence of an audience of other birds....
Listen to the episode..Voyeuristic Birds – Masayo Soma
9 Jan 2019

Cognitive Biases on the Supreme Court – Jonathan Feingold & Evelyn Carter

Can cognitive biases and heuristics regarding race influence U.S. Supreme Court decisions? In episode 40, Jonathan Feingold and Evelyn Carter from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) discuss the sometimes selective use of social science research by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Wil...
Listen to the episode..Cognitive Biases on the Supreme Court – Jonathan Feingold & Evelyn Carter