Synapse Radio - Synapse

Aaron, Joe, and Sydney return to discuss the roles of implicit and explicit bias in the American landscape. We begin by discussing the IAT, an online measure of implicit assumption that may not be as reliable or valid as it initially seemed to be. Then, Joe and Sydney discuss their experience at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Aaron and Joe are back to discuss The New York Times' recent article, When the Revolution Came for Amy Cuddy. The conversation explores statistical "p-hacking," the peer review system, and the face that all of your favorite science may be a lie (except for growth mindset, we need something to hold onto).When the Revolution Came for Amy CuddyPower PosesOur P-Hacking EpisodeData Colada: Thinking about EvidenceGrowth MindsetGoogle’s Moonshot LabThe Atlantic’s Inside X: Google’s Moonshot FactoryMusic credits: The Mountain Goats.

You can't throw a stone without hitting a motivational speaker or a life coach touting simple ways to improve your life. One of these life coaches has quite a few views on her TED talk about a method she calls the 5-Second Rule. Check out the video and our conversation about it. Sydney brought this one to us, and joins us for the conversation.

We welcome Lazaro Silva on this episode, who has direct experience on both the law and direct service side of immigration, to talk about the recent political atmosphere around DACA.

Aaron and Joe have a brief discussion about the various transitions they have been going through. Aaron is settling in Seattle and his new job, while Joe is gearing up to move in with his SO and start a new job.

The Education Corner team spends some time reminiscing on our first day of school from the students perspective versus the professional perspective. We weave SEL into our conversation, and also spend some time thinking about our professional goals for the year.

Elise Springuel joins us for this episode where we discuss the surreal nature of the "Free Speech" rallies and counter-protests held in both Charlottesville and Boston (which Elise attended).

In this episode we explore the theory of Ego Depletion, and how this culturally entrenched idea has come under suspicion lately of not being as reliable as we once thought. Sydney joins us for this episode.

Aaron recently went to a conference on Social Emotional learning (SEL) in Seattle. He shares some of the insights he gathered from the conference, and we discuss how to bring SEL effectively in the classroom.

Joe and Aaron discuss Dubrowski's theory of Positive Disintegration and how it relates to trauma, crises, relationships, and privilege.

Synapse Radio is back after a long hiatus, and with a new direction. In the Education Corner we welcome Brian Lepre as a regular, and will be exploring education from different perspectives as our hosts move into their careers.

Brian Lepre returns to give us an insiders view into what it's like being a full-time teacher.

Our friend Elise returns to help us explore the pros, cons, benefits, and challenges of a unique business model. Elise also share her experiences at The Daily Table, a nont-for-profit grocery store in Dorchester, MA.More information on social enterprise.Want to hear more from Elise? Check out her first episode on food security and community empowerment.You can learn more about The Daily Table here.Music credits: Ben Kweller.

Reed, a person who identifies as non-binary, joins us in this episode to talk about their experience at the Women's Rally in Providence. They also talk to us about how using Tarot Cards helps ground them in times of anger and stress. Sydney hops on for this episode for Joe to interview with Aaron. Music Credit: Black Moth Super Rainbow

Jess Lahens returns to share her experiences at the Women's March in Washington, DC. We discuss the importance of marches, political action, and all of the great signs.Don't forget to check out her bookworm-y and amazing show Unbound with Trish and Jess, where they recently reviewed one of Aaron's favorite reads of 2016. Music credits: Adele.

The past several months have been marked by a growing concern over fake news. Where did this trend come from? How are so-called "journalists" getting away with it? How can you, as a consumer of information, identify and steer clear from the alternative facts that are blurring our sense of the truth?The New York Times on the creation and dissemination of fake news.Ten ways to detect fake news.Vanessa Otero's fantastic breakdown of all things real and fake.Daniel Levitin's Field Guide to Lies.And for those of you who haven't read it yet (or at least listened to that musical that everyone's talking about), Ron Chernow's biography on Alexander "I'll Write Under a Pseudonym" Hamilton.Music credits: Beck.

We discuss what makes or breaks a New Years Resolution, and what you can do to better succeed at your goals.For more reading on the topic, check out Dr. John Norcross' book Changeology.Music Credits: Gramatik.

Season 2 begins this month!

We interview Joe's brother Daniel, who shares a recent story from the inpatient unit.Music credits: The National.

What is Question #2 on the Massachusetts ballot? Synapse Radio provides some answers.

For today's episode, we're joined by Sydney Holewa, Joe's partner in crime and future marathon runner. We explore self-talk, or the messages we tell ourselves to increase our motivation and power through the next mile.To help Sydney reach her fundraising goal, you can send money to @Sydney-Holewa on Venmo.Music credits: Nas.

Aaron and Joe enter the Bone Zone to examine Ken Bone, his internet fame, and his transition from human being to human meme.The Daily Beast on Ken Bone's Reddit history.Salon's Rise and Fall of Ken Bone.Ken Bone's twitter account, @kenbone18.Ken Bone's online store.Music credits: Weezer. 

This is your brain on positive emotion.

Nick Anderson, a former employee of the UN, a current employee of SMRT Education, and a new student at Columbia's Teacher's college studying applied statistics, talks to us about the history of data science, and how corporations are using it to influence your behavior.

With the closing ceremonies behind us, we're ready to broaden our scope and examine how the Olympics operates on city and national levels.Medals per capita.New York Times' Does Hosting the Olympics Pay Off?The Council on Foreign Relations' Economics of Hosting the Olympic GamesTime onMusic credits: John Williams.

For the second episode in our Olympics series, we look at life after the games.BelievePlatform's Life After Sport.Suzanne Cosh on athletes and distress.The Atlantic on post-olympic depression.Several studies we mentioned: Taylor & Ogilvy (1994), Allison & Meyer (1988), Stambulova (1997), Queensland Study (2011), Lavallee & Grove (1997), Schwenk et al. (2007).Music credits: John Williams.

We begin our series on the Olympics by discussing winning, losing, and the life of an Olympic athlete. Spoiler: It isn't as glamorous as you might think.Hidden Brain, a great podcast by Shankar Vedantam and the folks at NPR. Their recent episodes focus on psychology and the Olympics.The New York Times on the life, identity, and legacy of Michael Phelps.Business Insider on Wilhelm Belocian's disqualification from the 110m hurdles.Music credits: John Williams.

Part two of our special series on Pokemon GO. In this installment, we examine the social dynamics created by the game, as well as how businesses are capitalizing off of the opportunities of augmented reality.The music in this episode isn't ours; it comes from the original Pokemon games.

Part one of our special series on Pokemon GO, an augmented reality smartphone game that enables users to "catch" Pokemon in the world around them. In this installment, we examine the game's players and their experiences with the app.The music in this episode isn't ours; it comes from the original Pokemon games.

What happened last week in the City of Brotherly Love can't be summarized in a single hashtag. Jess Lahens returns as we try to make sense of the Democratic National Convention.The Guardian on Beyonce's Lemonade.Slate on Hillary Clinton quoting Hamilton (not in the show, but relevant nonetheless). Music credits: The Arcade Fire.

Do yourself a huge favor and listen to Jess' show here. Their latest episode is on Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, and it rocks. Literature and podcast geeks will love their discussion and analysis.

Joe and Aaron discuss #RNCinCLE in relation to psychology, public perception, and Lord Voldemort.Apollo Robbins' TED Talk on attention and misdirection.Melania Trump on motherhood.Music credits: The Decemberists.

Joe interviews Aaron on an original social and emotional intervention designed to promote friendship and social support on the Cheyenne River Reservation.Music credits: James Taylor.

We talk to Nick Fish about passion, lived experience, and his path through life.Music credits: Pavement.

Our friend Jenna joins us for a discussion about body image and society.Becker et al.'s Fiji StudyBarbie's new body. National Eating Disorder Association's statistics.Eating disorders among LGBT populations.Institute for the Psychology of Eating's nutrition page.

Aaron and Joe interview Brian Lepre, a substitute turned full-time in The Bronx, New York City.Music credits: Fleetwood Mac.

Aaron and Joe discuss ableism and how our environment shapes what we can (and can't) achieve.About curb cuts.The Guardian's report on hostile architecture.Music credits: The Thermals.

We discuss early experiences with and the future of virtual reality.Google's Expeditions Pioneer Program.Ernest Cline's Ready Player One.Music credits: Daft Punk.

Elise Springuel joins us to discuss food swamps, community, and her experience working in Americorp's anti-hunger projects in Virginia and Indiana.Music credits: Fun.

Aaron and Joe discuss free will, determinism, and several other -isms that explain our daily ability to choose.The Atlantic's There's No Such Thing as Free Will.Sylvia Plath and Free Will.Soon and colleagues' (2008) Unconscious determinants of free decisions in the human brain.Music credits: The Black Keys.

Aaron and Joe talk to Matt Blakely, a fellow graduate student at Boston College and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.Dan Ariely's Veil of Ignorance.Ferriss' Religion and Quality of Life study.Music credits: Ben Kweller.

Aaron, Joe, and Jess return to discuss their experiences at MCI Framingham.Remember to listen to Jess' amazing literature (and wine!) podcast, Podcast Unbound.Music credits: Spoon.

Jess joins us for a discussion on the prison system in the United States. Next week, we tour MCI Framingham and come back for part two.New York Times' report on prison costs.Ta-Nehisi Coates on mass incarceration.The Atlantic on mass incarceration.Trailer for Vice's Fixing the System documentary.The Stanford Prison Experiment.Experimenter, a movie about the Milgram experiment.Rebecca Brodie for sheriff!Special thanks to Jess Lahens for joining us! You can listen to her podcast, Podcast Unbound, on iTunes.Music credits: Dr. Dog.

Joe and Aaron talk about what stress is and how it affects our bodies. Adaptive stress and "making stress your friend" are also discussed. We almost lost our recordings on Garage Band... it was pretty stressful.Simply Psychology's Stress Response.Kelly McGonigal's How to Make Stress Your Friend.Music credits: The Arcade Fire.

Aaron, Joe, and Alexa talk about mindfulness.An overview of UCLA's research on mindfulness.Daniel Goleman on what mindfulness is... and isn't.Calmer Choice.Mindfulness: A Proposed Operational Definition.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience: Mindfulness.Special thanks to Alexa Barach for joining us.Music credits: The Black Keys.

Joe and Aaron talk about activism, the internet, and modern social movements.Malcolm Gladwell's Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted.A response to Gladwell from the Economist. Information: Can you social network your way to revolution?Peter Moskowoitz' Washington Post article Why you should stop waving the rainbow flag on Facebook.Kirk Kristofferson's research on slacktivism and helping behavior.Music credits: Public Enemy.

We talk with Ben Lupatkin about working as an attorney in Brockton and righteous indignation over toothpaste.Special thanks to Benjamin Lupatkin for joining us.Music credits: Chance the Rapper.

We discuss social and emotional learning, the theory of multiple intelligences, and why high school video projects are so awesome.Music credits: Ben Folds.

We talk about the current crisis in psychological research.What Psychology's Crisis Means for the Future of Science.Music credits: Cake.

We discuss ghosting, a new phenomenon in our social environment.Music credits: Beck.

We discuss apologies. Why we say them, how we say them, and when we say them.Music credits: Common.