Many of us have an idea of the stereotypical business executive. Calculating and analytical, they leave their feelings at the door. In order to make good decisions, we expect business leaders to be emotionally neutral, basing their judgments solely on the numbers. But in reality, to ignore emotions is a recipe for failure. Understanding a company’s strengths and weaknesses, customer’s buying decisions, and threats from the competition all rely heavily on emotions to guide us. Acknowledgement of feelings, addressing them and processing them can reveal a path to success in business. Our guest this time, from Aalto University in Finland, is an expert on harvesting the constructive energy of our emotions to bring about transformative change in the companies he studies.

Patients with treatment resistant depression sometimes spend years trying numerous psychiatric medications with little or no effect on their symptoms. Alternative therapies are being investigated to treat these cases with options like neurostimulation using magnetic fields. With the latest advances in this therapy, doctors are using MRI to target specific areas and effectively rewire parts of the brain causing depression. We are joined today by a psychiatrist at UAMS Health in Arkansas where she is seeing the results of these new techniques finally giving patients relief.

People experiencing homelessness in the U.S. face a wide range of challenges related to their housing situation, including mental health issues and addiction. Policy debates over homelessness are often fraught with stigma, prejudice, politics, and ultimately it seems that little progress is made. When we look past our assumptions, what does the data say about how to solve the housing crisis? It’s hard to measure, and there are many variables at play. But one researcher at New York University is studying ways to prove the effectiveness of solutions like housing vouchers and assistance programs.

What is quantum photonics? What is quantum entanglement? Today, our guest will discuss these two topics, and they will become more clear. He will give us all a look into this fascinating quantum world that seems so complicated. But hopefully, this short discussion will provide some clarity that can spark your imagination and allow you to have a deeper knowledge of topics that will affect our lives. Our guest this week is taking quantum photonics to new levels, using an array of entangled particles to dream up new experiments.

So much of the information we consume is from social media sources. Often, it is helpful. Other times, it is misleading, and sometimes, it is harmful. We all know this. Who is protecting us from being duped by mis/disinformation? Researchers at the University of Arkansas Little Rock have created Cosmos - the Collaboratorium for Social Media and Online Behavior Studies. Their data analytics are very sophisticated, and they are constantly finding new ways to monitor all types of behavior online to examine anti-West propaganda campaigns, COVID-19 mis/disinformation campaigns, elections, conflicts/wars, terrorism, and violent extremism.

When studying wildlife in remote parts of the world, getting there to do the work is an enormous challenge. Traveling to Antarctica to study emperor penguins, for example, is very expensive and time consuming. And you can only go at certain times of year. Imagine if wildlife biologists could do their job remotely? Our guest this time takes remote work to an entirely new level, using satellite imagery to study animals from space. It’s giving unprecedented access to these hard-to-reach places, along with crucial insights into the effects of climate change on the sensitive antarctic ecosystem.

Are you paying attention? There is a series of complex events that influence your brain’s ability to focus, based largely on how curious you are about the problem. From animal behavior to probability analysis, the emotional component to brain activity is clear. The more uncertainty, the stronger the drive to work it out.

The run-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election has seen unprecedented levels of misinformation, division, and hate speech on social media. Even as election day comes and goes and the votes are being counted, the temperature of online discourse is only likely to rise. Online conversations about race, immigration, and other hot-button topics continue to attract extremist views that threaten to drown out anything resembling civil discourse. How do communities of hate operate? And how do they create their networks of users to infiltrate both the major platforms as well as the darker corners of the web? To understand complex systems such as this, one researcher at George Washington University is using his background in particle physics to map and analyze how hate speech flows on social media. We spoke before election day and before any of the votes were counted. So, without knowing the outcome, he gives a sobering warning that the biggest spike in online hate is likely to come after voters go to the polls

Power grids are not ready for the coming green energy revolution. As more and more people turn to renewable sources like wind and solar, smart management of peak demand will become vital to store and distribute electricity where it’s needed, when it’s needed. But who can look beyond the current system’s limitations to anticipate, and plan for the energy infrastructure of the future?

Despite growing awareness of the potential harms of excessive alcohol consumption, college students in America remain prone to binge drinking. What can administrators do to encourage kids to stay within safer limits? It’s a fine line between education, intervention, and outright prohibition. While some campuses promote dry events and alcohol-free dorms, reputations of so-called party schools remain an attractive aspect of college life for some students. Research at the George Washington University hopes to unpack the motivations behind problem drinking, and identify ways to prevent the worst risks of students’ alcohol use