Joel Finkelstein - A little bit of light repels so much darkness

This month, Oren Segal spoke to Joel Finkelstein at the Network Contagion Research Institute. “I hate my job. I don’t want to do this” says Joel. A neuroscientist by training, Joel found himself obligated to the work of dismantling hate and polarization knowing that brain science could drive solutions. In his work at NCRI, Joel tracks how hate and virtual deception spreads between social media communities and into the real world.

Joel warns that we must stay connected to our purpose in this work. “If it becomes an addiction, we become defined by the things we hate.” In today’s episode, we discover the lie that humans are obsolete and the truth that we are needed now more than ever. How and why will be driven by our compassion and, of course, science.

More on Joel’s work here: https://networkcontagion.us/about/

First collaboration between ADL and NCRI:https://www.adl.org/blog/when-twitter-bans-extremists-gab-puts-out-the-welcome-mat

Stay engaged and follow along for more on Twitter at @OrenSegal @ADL and @PERIL_AU

extremely is a podcast from the ADL Center on Extremism. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.

extremely's Senior Producer is Russell Gragg.