44 | Exploring the Realities of Racism Through Virtual Reality (VR)

Today's discussion features Courtney D. Cogburn and Jeremy Bailenson. Courtney is an Associate Professor of Social Work at Columbia University, Courtney is on the faculty of the Columbia Population Research Center and a faculty affiliate of the Center on African American Politics and Society and the Data Institute. Courtney's work focuses on the ways that society characterizes and measures racism, the effects of cultural racism in media, as well as the effects of racism on cultural inequalities in health. Jeremy Bailenson is a Thomas More Storke Professor in the Department of Communication at Stanford University, and is also the Founding Director of Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab. Jeremy studies the psychology of Virtual and Augmented Reality, specifically how virtual experiences lead to changes in perceptions of self and others. Jeremy's work predominantly focuses on important social and behavioral issues including climate change, homelessness, and now, racism.

Courtney and Jeremy join the broadcast to talk about their collaboration on "1000 Cut Journey" an immersive virtual reality experience, that allows participants of the experience, to become Michael Sterling, a fictional black male character, as he encounters racism as a young child, an adolescent, and a young adult. The world premier of the experience was featured at the Tribeca Film Festival Virtual Arcade in 2018, as well as at the New Orleans Film Festival Cinema Reset in 2018.