Batja Mesquita on Culture and Emotion

A key insight social anthropologist Mukulika Banerjee had while observing electoral behavior in a Bengali village was that -- at least in the India of that moment -- elections were sacred. This was not a religious epiphany but a cultural one; at the center was not a figure, relig ...  Show more

In 2016 psychologist Paul Bloom wrote a book titled Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion (a naming decision he still wrestles with). In the book, as in his career and in this Social Science Bites podcast, Bloom deconstructs what is popularly meant by empathy. "Everyb ...  Show more

For centuries, philosophers and theologians have warned about the dangers of pride and hubris. It’s an emotion that can make us arrogant, egotistical, and reckless. But psychologist Jessica Tracy suggests this ca ...

This week, we investigate something that’s long been accepted as a fact about emotions without being put to a scientific test: the stereotype that women are more emotional than men. We meet Psychologist Dr. Adriene Beltz, who’s trying to close that research gap, hear an enraging ...  Show more

What are emotions? Why do we feel anything at all? And more importantly — can we actually get better at feeling? In this episode, Drew and I dive headfirst into what might be the hardest question in all of psychology: what the actual f**k are emotions? We break down the biology, ...  Show more

Philosopher and acclaimed author, Julian Baggini, leading molecular biologist, Güneş Taylor, and critical race theorist, Tommy Curry, debate the relationship between reason and emotion.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: <a href="https://linktr.ee/philosop ...