Stories of Impact
In every episode, we travel the world and dive deep into the intersection of spirituality and science on Stories of Impact, The American Writing Awards Science Podcast of the Year. Every first and third Tuesday of the month, writer, performer, producer Tavia Gilbert and journalist Richard Sergay bring you a new conversation that offers uplifting explorations about the art and science of human flourishing. This project was made possible through the generous support of a grant from Templeton World Charity Foundation.
Episodes
“If you ask most people what's the most morally profound, significant, meaningful thing in your life, they'll say something about the way that they have been taking care of children or parents or friends, or people who are ill, or spouses. There's something very distinctive about it. It's just intrinsic to the human condition is...
The world today is grappling with enormous challenges: how will we allow artificial intelligence to impact society? How hot will we let the planet get? How do we stop the conflicts making life for so many so painful? We are not powerless. These are decisions that humans are capable of making...
When Coschool founder and CEO Henry May began his career as a teacher, he learned that his job was not just about enriching the mind, but the soul and spirit of a student as well. He saw that part of excellence in education was helping school communities thrive despite painful circumstances. Nicole Bruskewitz, Coschool’s Director of Education, was also a problem solver who’d questioned inequality and education access since childhoo...
In the societies in which most of us live, our capitalist economic systems run on transactions—on individual sales of goods and services. But are you aware that there are other infrastructures of support and help that meet our need for information, connection, even love? We live with gift economies that already e...
Today’s episode is full of beauty, hope, healing, community, and connection. In fact, it might be one of the most feel-good, good news stories we’ve ever gotten to tell. Meet Dr. Richard Lerner and Dr. Elizabeth Dowling, Director and Deputy Director of the Institute for Applied Research and Youth Development at Tufts University. Like many great teachers, they can tell you to look for people who care about kids like that in school —...
Over the last five years, we’ve explored stories with countless scientists whose thoughtful research reveals the way they’re answering big questions and solving big problems. We’ve shared conversations about studies done in labs and out in the field. Well, today’s field is Brazil. The labs are crowded city streets and verdant jungles. And the big que...
Today, we’re excited to bring you a hopeful and constructive perspective on modern technology — a story about gamified tech that’s positively transformative.
Dr. Eugene Ohu is a native Nigerian who grew up in this complex nation observing painful divisions, stereotyping between the ethnic groups, and deep discrimination. He wondered, is it possible to have a united Nigeria?
Dr. Ohu wanted to do something radical to help his country...
Last week we introduced you to Dr. Berry Billingsley, in a conversation about her work studying Big Questions in Religious and Science Education, and her efforts to support multidisciplinary classrooms.
This week we're back with the second part of that episode, exploring another Big Questions in the Classroom initiative, in conversation with seven educators who are advancing Dr. Billingsley's work through a collaborative research p...
Is science fundamentally in opposition to religion, or do they just have little to do with each other? Is the way you engage with science and religion in your life informed by your core beliefs, or are your core beliefs informed by them? Do you think it's scientists or religious experts, or both, or neither, that are best equipped to help humans e...
Did you know that you are part of one of the most significant revolutions in the last 85 years? If you’re one of the 180-million Americans in the labor force, and at some point since the 2020 pandemic, you joined the ranks of work-from-home, you are historically revolutionary.
Today, we sit down with Dr. Nicholas Bloom, economist and professor of economics at Stanford University. He's studied work-from-hom...
We’re back this episode for our second timely interview focusing on political polarization, wrapping up in conversation with Dr. Kurt Gray, professor of moral psychology and neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill, and the director of the Deepest Beliefs Lab in the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. Moral psychology is the descriptive understanding of our moral judgments, or concern with not just how people should make moral de...
When we spoke recently with Dr. Sean Westwood, associate professor of government at Dartmouth College and the director of the Polarization Research Lab, we knew we wanted to share the conversation with you as quickly as possible, because it speaks so directly to the current moment. Dr. studies American politics and how partisan conflict manifests in the United States, its consequences and its origins.
Today we wrap up an enlightening series of conversations on religious ritual as a pathway to human flourishing Read more
Today we’re back in conversation with Dr. Adam Cohen, social psychologist and psychologist of religion at Arizona State University, who shares another research project that explores the way religious ritual connects participants more deeply not only with faith, but with community — this time, not through the practice of abstaining from food, but from breaking brea...
In today's episode, we continue the discussion about fasting, as we hear from two scholars about research focusing on what is con...
Meet Dr. Mostafa Salari Rad, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology at the New School in New York City. Born in Iran in a Shia Muslim practicing family, he always had an interest in philosophy, psychology, social science. He wondered why people behaved the way they did, why countries developed the way they did, and later, as a high school student in Japan, when he was the only person observing Ramadan, he started asking deeper questio...
Meet Dr. Santiago Tobón.
Born and raised in Medellin, Colombia, Dr. Tobón grew up in the 80's and 90's while the country surged with gang violence. As a kid, young Santiago was lucky to have enough privilege to keep himself safe and to give him a promising future of education and employment.
But there was no denying the impact that gang violence was having on kids — kids his own age. When he graduated from college with a degree in ...
This season on Stories of Impact, we look through a new lens at old traditions, see new generations explore new solutions, and search for new ways to help kids make sense of modern life.
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