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Tara Boyle

Stories

  • caption: Why are some warnings heard, while others are ignored?

    The Cassandra Curse: Why We Heed Some Warnings, And Ignore Others

    After a disaster happens, we want to know whether something could have been done to avoid it. Did anyone see this coming? Many times, the answer is yes. So why didn't the warnings lead to action? This week, we revisit a favorite 2018 episode about the psychology of warnings. We visit a smelly Alaskan tunnel, hear about a gory (and fictional) murder plot, and even listen to some ABBA.

  • Anthropologist Bill Maurer says the dollar bill remains one of the most ubiquitous forms of mass media in the United States.

    Emotional Currency: How Money Shapes Human Relationships

    What's the point of money? The answer might seem obvious: we need it to get paid for our work, and to buy the things we need. But there's also a deeper way to look at the role of money in our lives. This week we explore an anthropologist's take on the origin story of money. What if the cash and coins we carry are not just tools for transactions, but manifestations of human relationships?

  • CHICAGO, IL - JULY 06: A teenage boy grieves next to a makeshift memorial at the site where Ashley Hardmon was shot and killed on July 4, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

    On The Knife's Edge: Using Therapy To Address Violence Among Teens

    What would drive someone to take another person's life? When researchers at the University of Chicago asked that question, the answer was a laundry list of slights: a stolen jacket, or a carelessly lobbed insult. It made them wonder whether crime rates could be driven down by teaching young men to pause, take a deep breath, and think before they act. In this 2017 episode, we go inside a program that teaches Chicago teens to do just that. We also explore what research has found about whether this approach actually works.

  • A woman opens a box that's filled with other, increasingly smaller boxes. Inside the smallest box, there's a key.

    Spoiler Alert! The Psychology Of Surprise Endings

    Why do we fall for surprise endings? It turns out that our capacity to be easily fooled in books and movies is made possible by a handful of predictable mental shortcuts. In this 2018 conversation, we talked with Vera Tobin, one of the world's first cognitive scientists to study plot twists. She says storytellers have been exploiting narrative twists and turns for millennia — and that studying these sleights of hand can give us a better understanding of the contours of the mind.

  • Colourful abstract graphic illustration of brain

    Did That Really Happen? How Our Memories Betray Us

    Our memories are easily contaminated. We can be made to believe we rode in a hot air balloon or spilled punch on people at a wedding—even if those things never happened. So how do we know which of our memories are most accurate? This week, psychologist Ayanna Thomas explains how memory works, how it fails, and ways to make it better.

  • Two blocks of the same city; one is vibrant and colorful. The other is gray and decaying.

    Zipcode Destiny: The Persistent Power Of Place And Education

    There's a core belief embedded in the story of the United States — the American Dream. Today we look at the state of that dream as we revisit our 2018 conversation with economist Raj Chetty. We'll ask some questions that carry big implications: can you put an economic value on a great kindergarten teacher? How is it that two children living just a few blocks from each other can have radically different chances in life? And what gives Salt Lake City an edge over Cleveland when it comes to offering people better prospects than their parents?

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