The Armen Show

How important is language to the modernization of a nation? What did the modernization of Chinese have to do with making the country more modern? Professor Jing Tsu of Yale explores this topic in her latest book Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern, and she joins on episode 337 of The Armen Show to cover language, history, China, and more. Jing Tsu, a 2016 Guggenheim fellow, specializes in modern Chinese literature & culture and Sinophone studies, from the 19th century to the present. Her research spans literature, linguistics, science and technology, typewriting and digitalization, diaspora studies, migration, nationalism, and theories of globalization. At Yale she offers graduate seminars on sympathy, world Sinophone literature, and approaches to East Asian intellectual and literary history. From mainland China to Southeast Asia, her area of expertise covers the Sinophone world at large. She offers a regular interdisciplinary course, “China in the World,” which features six contemporary topics in historical time. Tsu has been a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (Harvard), the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (Stanford), and the Institute for Advanced Studies (Princeton). After a meteoric rise, China today is one of the world’s most powerful nations. Just a century ago, it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, as the world underwent a massive technological transformation that threatened to leave them behind. In Kingdom of Characters, Jing Tsu argues that China’s most daunting challenge was a linguistic one: the century-long fight to make the formidable Chinese language accessible to the modern world of global trade and digital technology. Kingdom of Characters follows the bold innovators who reinvented the Chinese language, among them an exiled reformer who risked a death sentence to advocate for Mandarin as a national language, a Chinese-Muslim poet who laid the groundwork for Chairman Mao’s phonetic writing system, and a computer engineer who devised input codes for Chinese characters on the lid of a teacup from the floor of a jail cell. Without their advances, China might never have become the dominating force we know today. With larger-than-life characters and an unexpected perspective on the major events of China’s tumultuous twentieth century, Tsu reveals how language is both a technology to be perfected and a subtle, yet potent, power to be exercised and expanded. Links: Faculty Page | Twitter | Kingdom Of Characters

Can you rewire your soul and the parts of your mind that you want to work on? Fellow podcaster and content-creator Chris Boutte of The Rewired Soul Podcast joins us on episode 336 of the show to discuss the content he has made in recent years, along with his process. We have spoken with some of the same guests, and Chris has been prolific in his reading and guest episodes. Chris Boutté is a Las Vegas-based author and influencer. You may also know him as The Rewired Soul, his pseudonym on YouTube where has a growing community of 81K. He is the author of CANCELED: Inside YouTube Cancel Culture, multiple mental health books, and he often contributes to wellness publications such as Thrive Global and Tiny Buddha. Chris reads hundreds of non-fiction books each year and speaks with authors on a diverse range of subjects at The Rewired Soul Podcast. You can also find his expert quotes in publications such as VOX, INSIDER, and VICE. For the curious-minded, visit his Substack to read his whims and musings, and discover reading recommendations on mental health, psychology, philosophy, social issues, politics, and more. Links: The Rewired Soul Podcast | Twitter | Substack | Personal Site

What can we know about smartphones being in the hands of everyone, and always remaining on? Are there hopeful elements that relate with this, as well as elements to be worried about? After his 40 years as technology correspondent for the BBC, author Rory Cellan-Jones wrote about this topic in his latest book Always On: Hope and Fear in the Social Smartphone Era, and joins us on episode 335 of the show. Rory was the BBC’s expert on trends in new technology, and how the web is changing our lives. He became a Technology Correspondent after many years reporting on business for the BBC, and he sees it as his role to communicate the excitement and importance of the fast-changing digital world to a non-specialist audience. He is also the author of Dot Bomb, an account of the companies and characters behind Britain’s short-lived dot com bubble. In recent years he has investigated the role technology can play in improving the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, having been diagnosed with the condition in 2019. In 2021 he was made an Honorary Fellow of The National Museum of Computing in recognition of his services to technology education. Since leaving the BBC, he has become an independent technology consultant, writer and broadcaster. He has also started a newsletter about health tech, one of his major interests. Links: Twitter | Always On | Wikipedia Page | BBC Postings

How does uncertainty apply in our emotional and political lives? On episode 334, Professor Sheila Jasanoff of Harvard opens a forum on uncertainty and democracy in her volume titled Uncertainty. The debate that follows explores the ideas about uncertainty and experts in a democracy, as well its scientific, philosophic, and emotional aspects. Sheila Jasanoff is Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School. A pioneer in her field, she has authored more than 130 articles and chapters and is author or editor of more than 15 books, including The Fifth Branch, Science at the Bar, Designs on Nature, The Ethics of Invention, and Can Science Make Sense of Life? On an interesting note, her son is Professor Alan Jasanoff of episode 206, author of The Biological Mind. Her work explores the role of science and technology in the law, politics, and policy of modern democracies. She founded and directs the STS Program at Harvard; previously, she was founding chair of the STS Department at Cornell. She holds AB, JD, and PhD degrees from Harvard, and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Twente and Liège. Links: Faculty Page | Uncertainty | Personal Site

Here on 2/22/2022, episode 333 of the show makes its way with Professor Todd Kashdan of George Mason University, author of The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively. If one wants to make a case for themselves that counters a view of superiors or others they are involved with, they have to have the right mindset and technique going into the action. Awarded the 2013 Distinguished Early Career Researcher Award by the American Psychological Association, Todd Kashdan is among the world’s top experts on the psychology of well-being, psychological strengths, mental agility, and social relationships. His research has been featured in hundreds of media outlets, including multiple articles in the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, and Forbes. After receiving a Ph.D. in clinical psychology (2004), Todd founded the Well-Being Lab at George Mason University which has produced over 210 peer-reviewed journal articles on well-being and resilience, psychological flexibility, meaning and purpose in life, curiosity, and managing social anxiety. Todd is the author of five books, including Curious?, The Upside of Your Darkside, and Designing Positive Psychology. Links: The Art of Insubordination | Twitter | Homepage

We want to up the electricity, and keep the voltage of our activity on a high note. What does it mean to have momentum in scaling, and then losing it after a period of time? What does it take to get to that high level of voltage in the first place? On episode 332, I discuss this topic with University of Chicago Professor John A. List, author of The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale. Dr. John List is the Homer J. Livingston Professor and Chairman in the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago. He also holds a position as a National Bureau of Economic Research Associate. List is a University Fellow at the Resources for the Future, a Research Fellow at IZA (Institute for the Study of Labor), and an Extramural Fellow at the Department of Economics, Tilburg. List has previously served as a Senior Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors from 2002 to 2004. List has pioneered field experiments as a methodology for learning about behavioral principles that are shared across different domains. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed research publications, providing insights into charitable giving, public goods provision, and valuation of non-marketed goods and services. His previous book The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics Behind Everyday Life, co-authored with Uri Gneezy, has been praised by economists as a revolutionary take on behavioral economics because their findings rely on real evidence, not assumptions, about what truly works to change behavior. Links | The Voltage Effect | Twitter | University of Chicago Page

Welcome to episode 331 of the show, where we have journalist Florence Williams taking us through the personal and scientific story of a heartbreak in her book Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey. She showcases not only the personal element of the happening, but some of the scientific effects that come with the process. Florence Williams is a journalist, author, and podcaster. She is a contributing editor at Outside Magazine and a freelance writer for the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, The New York Review of Books, Slate, Mother Jones and numerous other publications. She is also the writer and host of two Gracie-Award-winning Audible Original series, Breasts Unbound and The Three-Day Effect, as well as Outside Magazine’s Double-X Factor podcast. Her public speaking includes keynotes at Google, the Smithsonian, the Seattle Zoo, the Aspen Ideas Festival and many other corporate, academic and nonprofit venues. Links: Twitter | Homepage | Heartbreak

How far can influence take you? How can you be influential, while being ethical in the process? Yale Professor of Marketing Zoe Chance shares information on this topic, and is author of the book Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen. Professor Chance studies and teaches influence, focusing on research-based strategies for helping people lead richer, healthier, happier lives. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Scientific American, and Psychology Today. Her research findings have been published in top academic journals like Proceedings of the National Academy of Science and in popular media like Harvard Business Review. Professor Chance has spoken in organizations and conferences around the world including TEDx, and her 4 Ps Framework for Behavior Change is the foundation for Google’s global food guidelines, helping 70,000 people make healthier choices every day. Mastering Influence and Persuasion, her MBA elective, is one of the most sought-after courses at Yale School of Management. Some career highlights prior to her engagement at Yale include managing a $200 million segment of Barbie, developing an executive education leadership program at Harvard, acting on stage and film, and starting a small business. Zoe received her doctorate from Harvard, MBA from the University of Southern California, and bachelor’s degree from Haverford College. Links: Twitter | Homepage | Yale Faculty Page | Influence Is Your Superpower

As we make our way to episode 329 of the show, we switch things up with the creators of California Surf Fishing, a duo who fishes on the coast of California. Both Gary and Kaspar Kazazian have joined on previous episodes, but never both together and on video, and they join on this one to discuss the book of their fishing knowledge titled California Surf Fishing: The Hunt for Big Fish. Since 2017, Gary and Kaspar of California Surf Fishing have spent countless hours fishing the Southern California surf in pursuit of game fish. They’re here to teach you everything they’ve learned. Trophy white seabass, halibut, sheephead, and calico bass are within reach. Their book is a how to guide.  What began as a casual hobby, with a few small perch, turned into a wonderful passion. They learned that there are indeed ways to target large game fish from shore. By focusing on the factors that affect fish behavior, they developed their two methods for consistently catching trophies. Those methods are now for the reader of their book. Link: California Surf Fishing Website | The Book | Instagram

How can the law make us better, and how does it connect with human behavior? In exploring the topic, authors Benjamin van Rooij and Adam Fine present many examples of how the law has been intended and applied. Professor van Rooij joins us on episode 328 to discuss this and more from his co-authored book The Behavioral Code: The Hidden Ways the Law Makes Us Better Or Worse. Professor van Rooij is Professor of Law and Society at The University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His areas of expertise include regulatory theory, law enforcement, compliance, lawmaking, law and development, environmental law, and Chinese law. He received his PhD in Law, Governance, and Development from Leiden University, along with his Doctorate in Chinese Language and Cultures. He researches on how legal rules shape individual and organizational behavior. Here he draws on the broader social and behavioral science to understand the processes of compliance, the effects of corporate culture, as well as the assumptions lawyers have about the behavioral effects of law. He uses innovative fieldwork data both to seek improvement to persistent implementation problems as well as to contribute to existing regulatory, criminological and socio-legal theories. Links: The Behavioral Code on Amazon | UCI Law | Google Scholar