680. Can Universities Win Back Our Trust?

It’s a hard time to run a university: public trust is low, political pressure is high, and finances are fragile. But Daniel Diermeier, who trained as a political scientist, has Vanderbilt humming. How? He says the key is choosing magnets over wedges. SOURCES: Daniel Diermeier, ch ...  Show more

Insurance forms that make no sense. Subscriptions that can’t be cancelled. A never-ending blizzard of automated notifications. In this update of a 2025 episode, Stephen Dubner discovers where all this sludge comes from — and how much it’s costing us. SOURCES: Benjamin Handel, pro ...  Show more

COVID-19 exposed the flaws in our society and the human species. Do we leave old ways behind and build our defenses for the pandemics to come and what will our economic fortunes look like? Does human behaviour really change in the long run? Hear from Dr Mei Ling Doery, Global Aff ...  Show more

Why do some companies become household names, while others flame out? How do certain memes go viral? And why do some social movements take off and spread, while others fizzle? Today on the show, we talk with sociologist <a href="https://www.asc.upenn.edu/people/faculty/damon-c ...

Why do some companies become household names, while others flame out? How do certain memes go viral? And why do some social movements take off and spread, while others fizzle? Today on the show, we revisit a favorite 2021 conversation with sociologist <a href="https://www.asc. ...

podmothers sephy & wing enter the chat: spiralling on privilege, class, nepo babies, and the myth of 'raw talent'. ✷see more ✷ youtube@sephyandwing ✷ instagram @sephyandwing ✷ tiktok @sephyandwingshop ✷ www.sephyandwing.co.uk