evolution

CM 174: Michael McCullough on the Kindness of Strangers

How did humans, a species of self-centered apes, come to care deeply about complete strangers? From an evolutionary standpoint, we shouldn’t be kind to strangers. Yet, history shows, time and again, we are. Scientists see it as a puzzle to solve. Michael McCullough, Professor of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego, believes it’s…

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CM 085: Philip Auerswald on the Human Side of Code

Could our code be making us more human? When most of us hear the word code, we think of computer code — the digital instructions that drive our devices. But when Philip Auerswald hears the word code, he sees the instructions that drive the human race. Phil is the author of the book, The Code…

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CM 080: Oliver Luckett and Michael Casey Rethink Social Media

Why is social media so pervasive? Many have searched for just the right metaphor to capture its explosive growth, yet few have found ones that fit. Instead of turning to concepts like networks or connections, maybe we should be looking to biology. And that is exactly what Oliver Luckett and Michael Casey have done in…

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CM 058: Jessica Tracy on the Benefits of Pride

Is pride a deadly sin or a key to our survival? Will it lead us down a destructive path or can it actually help us resist temptation? In this conversation, Jessica Tracy answers these questions and more. Jessica is a Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and author of the book, Take…

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