Circle of Willis

In this special episode of Circle of Willis I talk with five developmental scientists about what may be happening to the children who are currently being separated from their parents as part of a policy to deter immigration and asylum seekers at the southern border to the United States. We discuss what happens to the private emotional lives of these children, but also what happens to their brains and to their bodies. Specifically, I spoke with Jude Cassidy, Professor of Psychology and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher at the University of Maryland. Megan Gunnar, Regents Professor and McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota Dylan Gee, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Yale University Charles Nelson, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital Nim Tottenham, Associate Professor of Psychology at Columbia University Thanks also to VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia To Siva Vaidhyanathan, professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia and Executive Producer of Circle of Willis. To Nathan Moore, General Manager of WTJU FM, here in Charlottesville, VA and director of the TEEJ.FM network. To Tom Stauffer for original musical contributions to this episode, and for the music he made with Gene Ruley as part of their band the New Drakes. Finally, a special thanks to Lulu Miller, co-founder of the podcast Invisibilia and reporter for NPR News. ** Note: Mirian G's story, related in the show, can be found here.

Welcome to Episode 12, where JAY VAN BAVEL and I discuss the effect of moralizing language on political debates, how scientists--how we all--use social media to settle disputes, and how a kid from Fox Creek, Alberta manages to become a renowned social scientist at New York University. Jay is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University and an affiliate scholar at the Stern School of Business, in their Managment and Organizations program. Jay's work on group identity, social motivation, moral values, and political beliefs have rocketed him to the national spotlight as one of social science's most influential young scholars. Jay's work and perspective has increasingly seen him working with, and for, such popular outlets as Scientific American and the New York Times. Interested in learning more about Jay Van Bavel’s work? Check out some of these links: Jay Van Bavel on TwitterThe Flexibility of Racial Bias (with Mina Cikara)Twitter’s Passion Politics * * * As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network. AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page.

Hi Everyone!The JAY VAN BAVEL episode--Episode 12--is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready for release yet. In the meantime, here's a short clip from our conversation about what Jay discovered when he used data from Twitter to analyze the effect of what he calls "moralizing language." More soon!Jim

Welcome to Episode 11, where NICOLE PRAUSE and I discuss, among other things, the scientific study of orgasm, the pernicious effects of social discomfort about sex on those trying to study it, and her journey from sleepy little Beaumont, Texas to sparkly, cutting-edge Los Angeles. Life hasn’t always been easy for Nikky, but that’s just made her scrappy—a determined problem solver. Nikky Prause is an expert psychophysiologist and neuroscientist. She trained among other places at the KINSEY INSTITUTE for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, at Indiana University in Bloomington. She’s an associate research scientist at UCLA and a licensed clinical psychologist. Recently, she founded LIBEROS, LLC, which is her very own private research institute and biotech company. I don’t have a Nicole Prause book to link to here, but I do have things for you to check out if you’re interested in learning more (see links below). And I do want to say this: Nicole Prause is doing vitally important work—work that for all kinds of bad reasons has been made unreasonably difficult for her to do. She has been subject to threats, lies, attempts to derail her career…it goes on and on. So she has fashioned an unorthodox approach that seeks to overcome the various and relentless impediments she’s had to face. This makes me think at least two things: 1) She really is going to win these battles. Don’t let her good humor and warmth deceive you—she’s a real fighter. 2) We owe Nikky a tremendous debt of gratitude. She’s fighting to do her work, yes, but when the ultimate accounting is done—when we realize the fruits of her labor—we’ll realize that WE are the real beneficiaries. So thanks Nikky. Keep up the fight. We’re standing with you. And here are those links I promised! Check them out: Nicole Prause in the Secret Life of Scientists and EngineersStudying Sexual Rewards: It May Not Be Orgasm: TEDx Boulder * * * As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network. AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page.

Hi Everyone!The NICOLE PRAUSE episode--Episode 11--is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready for release yet. In the meantime, here's a short clip from our conversation about how Nicole actually, literally, stimulates research participants to orgasm in her laboratory. A warning:this preview contains a lot of genital talk. And apologies for my nervous giggling. I'm only human!More soon!Jim

John Cacioppo has died. I went through some of the material that got cut from our original conversation, and found this gem, which I wanted to share with everyone. Among other things, it includes this:"You want to be able to contribute a brick to the temple of science...but recognize that, whether you know it or not, by your death, or shortly after your death, that will be an anonymous brick...and, if you accept that you’re going to do it anonymously…the value isn’t the reward of fame, it’s that you never had to go to work in your whole life."Rest in peace, friend.

Hey Everyone! This is not a full episode of my podcast Circle of Willis!Instead, this is bonus material related to Episode 10, where I talked with DAVID SLOAN WILSON. I say "related to" because really this bonus material is not stuff I cut from the original interview with David, as all the other bonus episodes have been. Instead, for this bonus episode, David Sloan Wilson is interviewing me! I'm thrilled to say he had so much fun chatting that he proposed this follow-up interview to learn more about my own journey to the field of Behavioral Ecology as a psychologist and neuroscientist. I was happy to tell him all about how the book An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology sort of changed my intellectual and scientific life, causing me to think very differently about my own work, but also about things like the evolution of the human brain, and about psychological science in general. I'm also grateful that this conversation gave me an opportunity to sing the praises of my friend and colleague Dennis Proffitt, whose work informs and inspires me all the time, and who was, for me, the "gateway drug" to ecological thinking. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did!Jim

Welcome to Episode 10, where I talk to DAVID SLOAN WILSON, Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University, about, well, a lot of stuff, from Skinnerian behaviorism to multilevel selection theory, to the behaviors that impede and facilitate scientific progress and even to what Wilson calls “the science to narrative chain,” which is the process by which scientists might most effectively engage with the general public. Wilson is the author of numerous classic papers in the field of evolutionary biology and several books, including Darwin's Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society, Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives, The Neighborhood Project: Using Evolution to Improve My City, One Block at a Time, Does Altruism Exist?: Culture, Genes, and the Welfare of Others, and others. And as if that weren’t enough, Wilson also founded Binghamton University’s Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) program, as well as the Evolution Institute, which sets as its goal the application of evolutionary science to the solving of pressing social issues, and, ultimately, to improve quality of life around the globe. The Evolution Institute in turn publishes a fascinating online magazine called This View of Life, “an online general interest magazine in which all of the content is from an evolutionary perspective.” I was a little starstruck during our conversation, but David was an amazing sport about it, generously engaging with each topic and happily spending time with me. I’m extremely grateful for this. My advice for listening is to keep a notepad handy. David Sloan Wilson is almost perpetually quotable! Enjoy! * * * As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network. AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page.

Hi Everyone!The DAVID SLOAN WILSON episode is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready for release yet. In the meantime, here's a short clip from our conversation about what David calls the "Science to Narrative Chain." More soon!Jim

Hey Everyone! This is not a full episode of my podcast Circle of Willis!What this is…this is BONUS MATERIAL from Episode 9, where I talked with HAL MOVIUS.This is just Hal telling the story of his graduate school experience. I think it's super interesting, and hope you will, too!Jim