Author: Social Science Bites

Welcome to the blog for the Social Science Bites podcast: a series of interviews with leading social scientists. Each episode explores an aspect of our social world. You can access all audio and the transcripts from each interview here. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @socialscibites.

Martha Newson on Identity Fusion
Social Science Bites
June 7, 2021

Martha Newson on Identity Fusion

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Olivier Sibony on Decision-Making
Social Science Bites
May 17, 2021

Olivier Sibony on Decision-Making

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Whose Work Most Influenced You? Part 4: A Social Science Bites Retrospective
Social Science Bites
May 10, 2021

Whose Work Most Influenced You? Part 4: A Social Science Bites Retrospective

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Jim Scott on Resistance
Social Science Bites
April 1, 2021

Jim Scott on Resistance

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Michèle Lamont on Stigma

Michèle Lamont on Stigma

The study of stigma, is, says Michèle Lamont, a “booming field.” That assessment can be both sad and hopeful, and in this Social Science Bites podcast the Harvard sociologist explains stigma’s manifestations and ways to combat it, as well as what it takes a for a researcher to actually study stigma.

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Diego Gambetta on Signaling Theory

Diego Gambetta on Signaling Theory

In this Social Science Bites podcast, Diego Gambetta, a professor of social theory at the European University Institute in Florence, discussing his research around signaling theory and the applications of his work, whether addressing courtship, organized crime of hailing a cab.

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Mike Tomasello on Becoming Human

Mike Tomasello on Becoming Human

Psychologist Mike Tomasello details how, while higher primates may be quite like humans in many respects, the ability to work together on projects is not one of them.

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Belinda Winder on Pedophilia

Belinda Winder on Pedophilia

Forensic psychologist Belinda Winder wants society to understand one key aspect things about pedophilia. “Many people understand pedophilia to be both a sexual attraction to children but also the act of committing abuse against children,” she explains. “And that’s wrong.”

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Salma Mousa on Contact Theory (and Football)

Salma Mousa on Contact Theory (and Football)

If differing groups could be brought together cooperatively – not competitively – in a manner endorsed by both groups and where each side met on an equal footing, perhaps we could, as Salma Mousa puts it in this Social Science Bites podcast, “unlock tolerance on both sides and reduce prejudice.”

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Alondra Nelson on Genetic Testing

Alondra Nelson on Genetic Testing

In this Social Science Bites podcast, sociologist Alondra Nelson describes her particular interest in those root seekers whose antecedents were “stolen from African” in the slave trade who make up so much of the African diaspora.

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Heidi Larson on Vaccine Skepticism

Heidi Larson on Vaccine Skepticism

As the toll from the COVID-19 pandemic increased, polling suggests counter-intuitively that resistance to a future vaccine has also risen. Anthropologist Heidi J. Larson identified several likely drivers of this, including scientists themselves.

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Sherman James on John Henryism

Sherman James on John Henryism

Epidemiologist Sherman James outlines the hypothesis behind John Henryism – the idea that high-effort coping with expectations of achievement amid poverty or segregation can result in serious damage to the striver’s health.

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