BornCurious

In the continuation of a conversation about language and thought, the cognitive psychologist Asifa Majid talks about why most studies on the topic have focused on English speakers, where in the brain language is processed, why some languages have trouble describing sensory input while others do not, and where language studies should go next.This episode was recorded on June 2, 2023.Published on November 8, 2023.Episode TranscriptGuestAsifa Majid is a professor of cognitive science at the University of Oxford who studies the relationship among language, culture, and mind. At Radcliffe, she worked on a book that will synthesize her wide-ranging empirical work to elucidate which aspects of cognition are fundamentally shared and which are language- or culture-specific.Related ContentAsifa Majid: Fellowship BiographyAsifa Majid: Radcliffe Fellow’s PresentationCreditsIvelisse Estrada is your cohost and the editorial lead at Harvard Radcliffe Institute (HRI), where she edits Radcliffe Magazine.Alan Catello Grazioso is the executive producer of BornCurious and the senior multimedia manager at HRI.Jeff Hayash is a freelance sound engineer and recordist.Marcus Knoke is a multimedia intern at HRI, a Harvard College student, and the general manager of Harvard Radio Broadcasting.Heather Min is your cohost and the senior manager of digital strategy at HRI.Anna Soong is the production assistant at HRI.

Asifa Majid, a cognitive science professor at Oxford, explores the fascinating relationship between language, culture, and cognition. She discusses the urgent need to preserve linguistic diversity, emphasizing that losing a language can be as severe as losing a species. The conversation dives into how language shapes our thoughts and perceptions, particularly regarding color categorization in infants. Majid also touches on how multilingualism enhances cultural identities while monolingualism poses threats to communication practices. It's a thought-provoking dialogue on the essence of language in shaping our minds.

In a wide-ranging conversation, the cultural critic and essayist Tressie McMillan Cottom and the legal scholar and Radcliffe Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin explore such topics as what it means to exist as a Black woman in the world, why Cottom keeps her grandmother in mind when writing her essays, and pop culture’s relationship to the aesthetics of power. The conversation was part of the Kim and Judy Davis Dean’s Lecture Series at Harvard Radcliffe Institute.This episode was recorded on March 30, 2023.Published on November 3, 2023.Episode TranscriptGuestTressie McMillan Cottom is a New York Times columnist, a 2020 MacArthur Fellow, a sociologist, a public thinker, and a professor with the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Guest HostTomiko Brown-Nagin is dean of Harvard Radcliffe Institute, the Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School, and a professor of history in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences.Related ContentTressie McMillan Cottom: Personal WebsiteTressie McMillan Cottom on TikTokTomiko Brown-Nagin: Leadership BiographyCreditsIvelisse Estrada is your cohost and the editorial lead at Harvard Radcliffe Institute (HRI), where she edits Radcliffe Magazine.Alan Catello Grazioso is the executive producer of BornCurious and the senior multimedia manager at HRI.Marcus Knoke is a multimedia intern at HRI, a Harvard College student, and the general manager of Harvard Radio Broadcasting.Heather Min is your cohost and the senior manager of digital strategy at HRI.Anna Soong is the production assistant at HRI.Special thanks to Kevin Grady and Max Doyle from Radcliffe's event streaming team for their invaluable contributions to recording this podcast episode.

What do bodily injuries tell us about borders, violence, and our society? In this episode, Omar Dewachi and Ieva Jusionyte talk about the role of ethnography in answering that question. Both are anthropologists who conduct site-specific work in areas of conflict.This episode was recorded on April 20, 2023.Released on October 26, 2023.Episode TranscriptGuestsOmar Dewachi examines the effects of war on medicine and public health in the Middle East. He is a medical doctor, holds a master’s in public health, and earned a doctoral degree in anthropology. Dewachi is an associate professor of medical anthropology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.Ieva Jusionyte has focused her work on political issues at national borders, most recently that of the United States and Mexico. Her research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of legal and medical anthropology, and she has trained as a paramedic and EMT. She is the Watson Family University Associate Professor of International Security and Anthropology at Brown University.Related ContentOmar Dewachi: Fellowship BiographyOmar Dewachi: Radcliffe Fellow’s PresentationIeva Jusionyte: Fellowship BiographyRadcliffe Magazine: Following the Guns SouthIeva Jusionyte: Radcliffe Fellow’s PresentationExit Wounds: How America’s Guns Fuel Violence across the BorderCreditsIvelisse Estrada is your cohost and the editorial lead at Harvard Radcliffe Institute (HRI), where she edits Radcliffe Magazine.Alan Catello Grazioso is the executive producer of BornCurious and the senior multimedia manager at HRI.Jeff Hayash is a freelance sound engineer and recordist.Marcus Knoke is a multimedia intern at HRI, a Harvard College student, and the general manager of Harvard Radio Broadcasting.Heather Min is your cohost and the senior manager of digital strategy at HRI.Anna Soong is the production assistant at HRI.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdose deaths have risen fivefold in the past two decades. What’s driving this crisis, and what can be done to alleviate it? Our hosts discuss the issue with Liz Chiarello, a sociologist who is finishing a book about how the dual US crises of pain and overdoses have transformed law enforcement and healthcare.This episode was recorded on June 30, 2023.Released on September 21, 2023.Episode TranscriptGuestLiz Chiarello, an associate professor of sociology at Saint Louis University, is a medical sociologist and sociolegal scholar whose research lies at the intersection of healthcare and law. During her fellowship year, Chiarello worked on a book about the US overdose and pain crises, using the overdose crisis as a case study in how medical providers make decisions about opioid provision—and in how these decisions affect patient care.Related ContentLiz Chiarello: Full BiographyLiz Chiarello: Radcliffe Fellow’s PresentationRadcliffe Magazine: This Is Your Country on DrugsRadcliffe Story: Eclipsed by Virus, Addiction Still Shadows the LandCreditsIvelisse Estrada is your cohost and the editorial lead at Harvard Radcliffe Institute (HRI), where she edits Radcliffe Magazine.Alan Catello Grazioso is the executive producer of BornCurious and the senior multimedia manager at HRI.Jeff Hayash is a freelance sound engineer and recordist.Marcus Knoke is a multimedia intern at HRI, a Harvard College student, and the general manager of Harvard Radio Broadcasting.Heather Min is your cohost and the senior manager of digital strategy at HRI.Anna Soong is the production assistant at HRI.Special thanks to Cabin 3 Media for their invaluable contributions to the editing of this podcast episode.

In this engaging conversation, Ebony Flowers, a cartoonist and ethnographer with a PhD in curriculum and instruction, shares her journey through the world of visual storytelling. She highlights how cartoons have evolved, bridging art and emotion. Ebony discusses her upcoming book on Baltimore's urban decline and the complex narratives of three women, as well as her innovative work on tactile comics designed for blind readers, showcasing the power of accessibility in art. Her insights on identity and representation, particularly around Black women’s hair, add depth to the discussion.

For 25 years, Lisa I. Iezzoni’s research has focused on improving the lived experiences, healthcare quality, and health equity of adults with disability, particularly mobility disability. It’s only recently, though, that research she conducted revealed the depths of medical inequity for people with disabilities. In this conversation, our hosts ask Iezzoni about her life’s work—and the difficulties in making healthcare more accessible.This episode was recorded on November 16, 2022.Released on September 21, 2023.Episode TranscriptGuestLisa I. Iezzoni is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, based at the Health Policy Research Center and the Mongan Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital.Related ContentLisa I. Iezzoni: Fellowship BiographyLisa I. Iezzoni: Radcliffe Fellow’s PresentationThese Doctors Admit They Don’t Want Patients with Disabilities, (New York Times, 10/19/22)CreditsIvelisse Estrada is your cohost and the editorial lead at Harvard Radcliffe Institute (HRI), where she edits Radcliffe Magazine.Alan Catello Grazioso is the executive producer of BornCurious and the senior multimedia manager at HRI.Jeff Hayash is a freelance sound engineer and recordist.Marcus Knoke is a multimedia intern at HRI, a Harvard College student, and the general manager of Harvard Radio Broadcasting.Heather Min is your cohost and the senior manager of digital strategy at HRI.Anna Soong is the production assistant at HRI.