The Measure of Everyday Life
Arts & Culture Podcasts
Interested in human behavior and how people think? The Measure of Everyday Life explores ideas about how we live and why people act as they do. Independent Weekly has called the show "unexpected" and "diverse" and says the show "brings big questions to radio." Join host Dr. Brian Southwell (@BrianSouthwell) as he explores the human condition. Episodes air each Sunday night at 6:30 PM in the Raleigh-Durham broadcast market and a podcast of each show is available online the Wednesday following. The show is made possible by RTI International.
Location:
CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina
Description:
Interested in human behavior and how people think? The Measure of Everyday Life explores ideas about how we live and why people act as they do. Independent Weekly has called the show "unexpected" and "diverse" and says the show "brings big questions to radio." Join host Dr. Brian Southwell (@BrianSouthwell) as he explores the human condition. Episodes air each Sunday night at 6:30 PM in the Raleigh-Durham broadcast market and a podcast of each show is available online the Wednesday following. The show is made possible by RTI International.
Twitter:
@MeasureRadio
Language:
English
Contact:
9195418037
Episodes
How to Think about Fear
12/3/2025
Emotion, including fear, is an important part of us. What we fear and how we react can be shaped and influenced, though. On this episode, we talk with Ruth DeFoster of the University of Minnesota, co-author, with Natashia Swalve, of The Fear Knot: How Science, History, and Culture Shape Our Fears and How to Get Unstuck.
Duration:00:29:44
Improving Access to Medicines in Sub-Saharan Africa
10/29/2025
Billions of people do not have access to medicines that could save their lives. The Med Aditis Foundation is a non-profit organization that builds partnerships to improve access to high-quality medicines. On this episode, we talk with Bob Blouin, President and CEO of the Med Aditis Foundation.
Duration:00:29:44
Protecting Our Schools with Emergency Drills
10/22/2025
In schools across the United States, active shooter drills have been common for years and yet we don’t know all that we could about the effect of such drills on students and educators. On this episode, we talk with two members of a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Consensus Study focused on this phenomenon: Melissa Brymer of the UCLA–Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress and Sonali Rajan of Columbia University.
Duration:00:29:42
Using Artificial Intelligence and Social Stigma
10/15/2025
Have you ever felt any sort of shame in admitting you have used an artificial intelligence tool? On this episode, we talk with Jessica Reif of Duke University, lead author of a new paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that explores how people feel about co-workers using AI and what they do about it.
Duration:00:29:40
Mindfulness in Medicine
10/1/2025
Healthcare professionals do heroic work and so finding ways to support them can help all of us. Evidence now suggests that mindfulness techniques might help. On this episode, we talk with Misty Rae, an emergency physician with the North Mississippi Health System, about mindfulness and the future of medicine.
Duration:00:29:59
Proteins and the Miracle of Everyday Life
9/17/2025
When many people think about the science of life, they think of concepts such as DNA or genes. Proteins also play a vital role in our everyday existence that might surprise you. On this episode, we talk with Shahir Rizk and Maggie Fink, authors of The Color of North: The Molecular Language of Proteins and the Future of Life.
Duration:00:29:52
Healthcare and Humanism
9/3/2025
Our healthcare system comprises people -- including patients who need help and healthcare professionals who help them -- and yet our discussions about healthcare in the U.S. often focus on abstract concepts such as financial cost or new technologies. On this episode, we talk with the leader of an organization aiming to change that conversation: Dr. Kathleen Reeves, President and CEO of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, a nonprofit organization that champions humanism in healthcare.
Duration:00:29:58
Emotion as Public Opinion
8/6/2025
We have been making progress in incorporating emotional responses into measures of public perceptions to predict behavior. On this episode, we talk with Tomas Gonsorcik, Global Chief Strategy Officer at DDB Worldwide, about innovations in considering how what we feel says something about what we tend to think and do.
Duration:00:29:36
Personal Data and Society
7/30/2025
Whenever we use the Internet, we potentially share personal data in exchange for information that can, in turn, shape future information presented to us. What are the implications of that arrangement for society? On this episode, we talk with Jose Marichal, professor at California Lutheran University and author of the new book, You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem: Renegotiating the Socio-Technical Contract.
Duration:00:29:39
Communication for Suicide Prevention
7/2/2025
How we talk about suicide matters. How we talk about prevention and support also matters. On this episode, we talk with Aurora Occa of the University of Kentucky about her work to help college students by considering how we frame opportunities for support.
Duration:00:29:58
Kindness in Healthcare
6/18/2025
We hear often hear about stress and burnout in healthcare. We don’t hear as often about kindness. What roles could kindness play in the future of our healthcare system? On this episode, we talk with Nora Jones of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation and the Pincus Foundation about evidence that kindness matters in serving patients and promoting wellbeing.
Duration:00:29:28
Parenting amidst Algorithms
5/14/2025
How to be a good parent has been a topic of conversation for decades but raising children now includes online influences as well. How is the Internet shaping how we think about parenting? On this episode, we talk with Ranjana Das of the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom. She is author of Parents Talking Algorithms: Navigating Datafication and Family Life in Digital Societies.
Duration:00:29:26
Improving Trust in Online Interactions
4/16/2025
Even as people use online technologies in their everyday lives, they sometimes worry about potential pitfalls, including concerns about trusting other people. On this episode, we talk with two innovators who are seeking to improve public health by improving transparency in sexual relationships through a new platform called PlumCheck: Celine Gounder of the Kaiser Family Foundation and CBS News, and Josh Karetny, CEO of the new platform.
Duration:00:30:00
Neuroscience and Mysticism
4/9/2025
As we seek to know ourselves, who should help us with that exploration? Many different perspectives on empirical research, philosophy, and contemplation can be helpful as we try to understand our minds and ourselves. On this episode, we talk with Vladimir Miskovic, co-author of DREAMING REALITY: How Neuroscience and Mysticism Can Unlock the Secrets of Consciousness with Steven Jay Lynn.
Duration:00:29:58
Improving Local Public Health through New Technologies
4/2/2025
Local public health workers help communities all over the country. Who helps them do their work? On this episode, we talk with two people who have spent time supporting public health in Western North Carolina with compelling new innovations to improve communication about local health: Adrienne Ammerman, founder of Arclet, and Brandon Romstadt of the WNC Health Network.
Duration:00:29:34
Challenging Mental Health Stigma
3/26/2025
How should we support people facing mental health challenges? The Ad Council -- the same organization which introduced us to Smokey Bear over 80 years ago -- has some answers with their latest evidence-based campaign: Love, Your Mind. On this episode, we talk with Catherine Chao, Vice President of Strategy and Evaluation at the Ad Council.
Duration:00:29:46
Student Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools
3/12/2025
Artificial intelligence tools have been in the headlines and yet we are still learning who opts to use such tools and why. On this episode, we talk with David Playfoot of Swansea University in the United Kingdom about his work on student use of AI tools.
Duration:00:29:36
Teen Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence and Online Content
3/5/2025
As online content evolves, you might assume teenagers are flourishing on the Internet while older Americans shake their head in confusion, but the reality might surprise you. On this episode, we talk with Amanda Lenhart of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop about adolescents and how they think about our lives online.
Duration:00:29:34
Online Classes and Social Presence
2/5/2025
The growth of online courses has been an important part of the story of education in the United States in the past decade, but we need more evidence of the ways our shift online may affect our sense of connection with others. On this episode, we talk with Daniela Castellanos-Reyes of North Carolina State University about her work to understand student connections online.
Duration:00:29:40
Adults Who Reported Past Life Memories as Children
1/22/2025
On this episode, Dr. Marieta Pehlivanova of the University of Virginia returns to the show to discuss her neurological perception research, including the adult experiences of people who as children reported memories of what some people refer to as a past life.
Duration:00:29:31