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
Mar 13, 2024 • 30min
Media Technology and Our Children
Parents often talk with family and friends about the roles of media in their children's lives, for better or worse. What can academic research tell us about what is ok for our kids? On this episode, we talk with Dr. Katie Davis of the University of Washington, author of a new book for MIT Press called Technology’s Child: Digital Media’s Role in the Ages and Stages of Growing Up.
Mar 6, 2024 • 30min
Depopulation and the Future of Cities
The idea that we have more and more people on this planet has been prominent in recent decades but some researchers now project a future of declining population in some parts of the world, including the United States, which has implications for our physical infrastructure. On this episode, we talk with engineering researchers Sybil Derrible and Lauryn Spearing of the University of Illinois Chicago about a depopulated future.
Feb 21, 2024 • 30min
How Fatal Use of Force Affects Communities
We sometimes hear about fatal use of force by police officers and yet we tend to not talk about the potential long-term effects of those tragedies on community members who were not directly involved. On this episode, we talk with Kevin Strom and Sean Wire of the Center of Justice at RTI International about new research which investigates community and police department response to fatal use of force incidents.
Jan 24, 2024 • 30min
Pandemic Resilience in Secondary Education
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged and complicated school administration across the U.S. and around the world, we also are starting to hear stories of resilience. On this episode, we talk with Beth Glennie and Zach Smith of RTI International about their study of school enrollment and online achievement patterns in Hawai'i in the face of the pandemic.
Jan 10, 2024 • 30min
The Experiences of Black and Hispanic Science Researchers
As recently as 2021, more than 30,000 U.S. citizens earned a PhD and yet the demographics of that group do not reflect the U.S. population overall, particularly in the case of science, engineering, technology, and mathematics. On this episode, we talk with Erin Velez and Ruth Heuer of RTI International and Lorelle Espinosa of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation about a new report documenting the experiences of Black and Hispanic science PhD candidates in the U.S.
Dec 20, 2023 • 30min
Encouraging Organizations to Go Above and Beyond
At the end of each calendar year in the United States, many people talk about charity and voluntary contributions, much of which involves non-profit organizations. In recent years, U.S. government agencies and funders have asked non-profits for more formal evaluation of their work than ever before. On this episode, Aaron Horvath of Stanford University discusses surprising non-profit behavior to not only meet evaluation obligations but to voluntarily do more to share their stories.
Nov 20, 2023 • 30min
The Future of Our Public Health Workforce
During the week of Thanksgiving in the US, many of us are busy with holiday meal planning and getting together with family. It is also a time when we can thank public health officials for Public Health Thank You Day. On this episode, we talk with Brian Castrucci of the de Beaumont Foundation and Jenny Luray of Research!America about public health in America.
Nov 15, 2023 • 30min
Women in Science
Women made crucial contributions to scientific inquiry for a long time and yet scientific professions has lacked equity in many ways. On this episode, we talk with Lisa M. P. Munoz, author of Women in Science Now: Stories and Strategies for Achieving Equity, about her journey in the sciences and about her efforts to spotlight stories of progress.
Nov 1, 2023 • 30min
Keeping Families Safe in the Current Media Landscape
You can find all sorts of content on social media platforms. Some organizations attempt to use social media to keep families safe but how successful has that work been? On this episode, we talk with Jennifer Manganello of the University at Albany and Lara McKenzie of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio about their work to encourage child safety.
Oct 18, 2023 • 30min
Ending the Use of Race in Clinical Algorithms
Algorithms are essentially sets of instructions for what steps to take in response to input. They are embedded into many aspects of our everyday life and doctors even use algorithms to generate advice for patients. What should we do if we discover certain algorithms are based on flawed data or misleading analysis? On this episode, we talk with Adriana Joseph of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene about a new coalition to improve how we use clinical algorithms.
