Stories of Impact

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

July 1, 2025 24 mins

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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. 

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Today we wrap up an enlightening series of conversations on religious ritual as a pathway to human flourishing Read more

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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...

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In today's episode, we continue the discussion about fasting, as we hear from two scholars about research focusing on what is con...

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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 ...

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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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Today, we hear from Dr. Hafsat Abiola, native of Nigeria, President of the Women in Africa Initiative, Harvard-educated economist, expert in sustainable development, and civil rights and Democracy advocate. Dr. Abiola’s father, M.K.O. Abiola, was imprisoned after decisively winning the presidency in an election determined to be fair and free by Nigerian and international observers. Meanwhile her mother, Alhaja...

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In today’s episode, we welcome Dr. David Addiss, an expert in public health and preventive medicine. Dr. Addiss has spent his career thinking not only about science, but about service. In his early career, he cared for the health of migrants in the San Joaquin Valley of California, then later worked for nearly two decades the Centers for Disease Control in the Division of Parasitic Diseases, where he focused on controlling and elim...

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Today’s episode features the collaborative exploration of Dr. Fred Sharpe, an expert in humpback whales and the Principal Investigator with the Alaska Whale Foundation, and Dr. Laurance Doyle, astrophysicist and Principal Investigator of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute. Drs. Sharpe and Doyle are investigating  humpback whales’ complex, long-distance communication with the aim of learning about how alie...

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Over our last couple of episodes, we’ve told the inspiring story of decades of positive transformation the nation of Rwanda has sustained since the catastrophic 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. We learned that Rwanda’s peacemakers have for decades nurtured a culture of reconciliation and resilience, cultivating communities where citizens flourish. 

Deep healing and renewal like that can co...

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