The Measure of Everyday Life
WNCU public radio
Interested in human behavior and how people think? The Measure of Everyday Life explores ideas about how we live and why people act as they do. Independent Weekly has called the show "unexpected" and "diverse" and says the show "brings big questions to radio." Join host Dr. Brian Southwell (@BrianSouthwell) as he explores the human condition.
Episodes air each Sunday night at 6:30 PM in the Raleigh-Durham broadcast market and a podcast of each show is available online the Wednesday following. The show is made possible by RTI International.
Episodes air each Sunday night at 6:30 PM in the Raleigh-Durham broadcast market and a podcast of each show is available online the Wednesday following. The show is made possible by RTI International.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 28, 2026 • 30min
How Employees Think about New Technology Adoption
Many organizations face opportunities to consider artificial intelligence and the future of work. To what extent may human psychology play an important role in halting or facilitating technology adoption decisions? On this episode, we talk with Gleb Tsipursky, CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts and author of a new book called The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work.
Oct 14, 2026 • 30min
The Future of Animal-Assisted Services
Dogs and horses and other animals sometimes help people on their journey toward better health. Some researchers have called for more effort to consider those experiences from non-human animals' perspectives. On this episode, we talk with one such researcher, Philip Tedeschi of the University of Denver and founder of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection.
Sep 9, 2026 • 30min
How We Overcame Tuberculosis in the United States
Public health workers and medical workers help to make it possible for us to live the lives we do, although we do not always emphasize that in talking about our history. On this episode, we talk with Maria Smilios, faculty member at the Columbia University School of Public Health and author of The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses who Helped Cure Tuberculosis.
Aug 5, 2026 • 30min
How Journalists Report on Our Environment
What we know about the environment reflects in part what we learn through news coverage. How do journalists cover stories about the environment? Has that changed? What will the future look like? On this episode, we talk with Suzannah Evans Comfort of Indiana University, author of The Environmental Beat: Inside the Struggle to Legitimize the Environment as News (published by the University of Missouri Press).
Jun 24, 2026 • 30min
Are Teenagers Getting Less Sleep?
You might know how difficult it can be to wake a sleeping teenager. It turns out that teenagers in the U.S. may not be getting enough sleep, though. On this episode, we talk with public health researcher Rachel Widome of the University of Minnesota about her work.
Jun 3, 2026 • 29min
Depression and Future Heart Health
Depression affects many people around the world with implications for daily interactions between people. What do we know about long-term consequences of depression for our health? On this episode, we talk with Jody Greaney of the University of Delaware about her work to assess how depression might be connected to our future heart health.
May 27, 2026 • 30min
Saving Rivers, Improving Economies
We have been building dams for hundreds of years, many of which you can find today across the U.S., and yet we often haven't investigated how to use these technologies to balance societal concerns and benefits. On this episode, we talk with Smit Vasquez Caballero, an economist at RTI International who recently evaluated an innovative collaboration between The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve our use of dams.
May 20, 2026 • 29min
Who Gets Caregiving?
Many people need help as they age and many families count on a combination of their own caregiving and professional assistance. What about people who don't have access to help? On this episode, we talk with Dr. Kristen Giombi of RTI International about work she and her colleagues have done to find out who uses caregiving services and who does not.
May 13, 2026 • 30min
Air Pollution and Brain Health
It is easy to take the air we breathe for granted, as it is with us every moment of our lives, and yet that air is vital not just for our daily activities but also for the long-term health of our brains. On this episode, we talk with Dr. Haneen Khreis of the University of Cambridge and Texas A&M University about her investigation into potential links between air quality and dementia.
Apr 1, 2026 • 30min
When Communities Need to Relocate
Changes in our climate are forcing many communities to grapple with the possibility of uprooting and relocating. How exactly are communities able to manage governance issues such moves entail? On this episode, we talk with Christopher Galik of North Carolina State University about his work with co-author Brad Johnson to answer that question.
