As a year marked by a pandemic, economic uncertainty, and a divisive election comes to a close, few Americans are feeling festive during the holiday season. Just 22% of Americans feel very or extremely festive this year, down from 49% one year ago. Although more Americans are experiencing positive emotions […] Read more »
Why so many people want to believe the election was stolen
A month after the presidential election, President Trump’s claim that the election was rigged to benefit Joe Biden has been debunked by numerous Republican state elections officials. Dozens of lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign and its proxies have been rejected by judges in both state and federal courts. There […] Read more »
Why Our Brains Struggle To Make Sense Of COVID-19 Risks
… Because COVID-19 is a largely invisible threat, our brains struggle to comprehend it as dangerous. Dr. Gaurav Suri, a neuroscientist at San Francisco State University, explains how habits can help make the risks of the virus less abstract. Emergency room doctor Leane Wen discusses why it’s tempting to make […] Read more »
Why millions don’t trust the election results, despite no evidence of widespread fraud
Since Election Day, numerous false allegations of fraud have been published on social media and repeated elsewhere, most of which have been easily debunked, yet a large swath of the population still appears to believe them. According to a recent poll roughly three-quarters (77%) of Trump backers say former Vice […] Read more »
Moral Combat
Most of us have a clear sense of right and wrong. But what happens when we view politics through a moral lens? This week, we talk with psychologist Linda Skitka about how moral certainty can produce moral blinders — and endanger democracy. Hidden Brain, NPR Read more »
The Strange Origin Story Of Data Science & Elections
Harvard historian and ‘New Yorker’ writer Jill Lepore tells the story of the Simulmatics Corporation. Founded in 1959, it used a so-called “people machine,” a computer program it claimed could predict the impact of political messages or advertising pitches. At the time, Simulmatics drew condemnation from scholars and political leaders […] Read more »