Innovation Hub

American democracy. Where the people tell the politicians what to do… right? It turns out, politicians actually influence voters more than you think.

Then: We know more about the brain than ever before. Law professor Francis Shen talks about how what we’ve learned is playing out in our legal system.

Finally: That sugar-filled doughnut might bring you pleasure, but it probably doesn’t make you happy. Pediatrician Robert Lustig says, yes, there’s a difference between the two, and Americans are focusing too much on pleasure.

Francis Shen says that he often calls neurolaw a “new” and “emerging” field, but even he doesn’t completely believe that. Shen is an associate law professor at the University of Minnesota and executive director of education for the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law. He says we’ve been using neuroscience in law for decades, but there have been some major developments over the last few years. For example, brain science is increasingly informing how we view criminals — especially adolescents — and how we sentence people. We talk with Shen about the influence neurolaw has on society and how the field has developed over time.

In the last few decades, Americans have become fatter, sicker, more depressed, more addicted, and, often, unhappy. At least, that’s according to physician Robert Lustig, author of the book “The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains.” He says that we’re facing four big crises in our country: a health care crisis, a social security crisis, an opioid crisis, and a depression crisis. And he argues that while these crises might seem different, they’re really all about the confusion of “pleasure” and “happiness.”

You’re at the voting booth, ready to cast your vote for the candidate who will support the issues you care about. But how did you come to care about those issues to begin with? Did you and your fellow Americans set the political agenda, or do politicians dictate what’s important? Gabriel Lenz is the author of “Follow the Leader?: How Voters Respond to Politicians’ Policies and Performance.” We talk with him about political influence and how it shapes democracy.

Henry Ford didn’t just bring standardization to his plants. He also wanted to standardize his workers. Joshua Freeman walks us through the history of the factory.

Doesn’t everyone seem so self-involved nowadays? Well, maybe, but not necessarily for the reasons you might think.

Turns out, being a perfectionist might just make your work less perfect.

Look around you: at your computer, your phone, your water bottle, or the books on your desk. Chances are, all of these things were made in a factory. Factories fuel the modern world. And they’ve shaped our society - from politics, to work, to leisure. Joshua Freeman, author of Behemoth: A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World, walks us through the history of the factory, and how it still impacts our daily lives.

Twitter. Selfie-sticks. Reality TV. It can seem like our society is becoming more narcissistic and self-involved. (Just read a few of the boatload of articles and think-pieces on this topic) But are we really more self-centered? The answer involves Aristotle, Ayn Rand, and ‘80s-era California. At least, that’s according to Will Storr, author of the book, Selfie: How We Became Self-Obsessed and What It’s Doing to Us. He explains how our conception of self has changed throughout human history, and why we’re so self-involved today.

It’s 1:30 in the morning, and you’re obsessing over whether the conclusion you’ve written captures the essence of your research paper. But is putting in all this time and effort actually paying off? Eugenia Cheng, a scientist in residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, explains that by using the concept of diminishing returns, we’ll find that perfectionism isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

First, U.S. News releases its college rankings each year to much fanfare. But are they actually hurting higher ed? We ask journalist Scott Jaschik and U.S. News’ Robert Morse.

Then, there will be 10 billion people on the planet by 2050. That’s a lot of mouths to feed. Can we do it without destroying Earth’s resources? We talk with science writer Charles Mann about different approaches to tackling this problem.

Finally, you’ve heard the name Martin Shkreli, but there are many other executives responsible for hiking drug prices. We peek into the complex world of Big Pharma.

In 1983, U.S. News & World Report began ranking America’s colleges. More than 30 years later, they continue to release annual lists of the “best” schools in the country. We talk with Inside Higher Ed’s Scott Jaschik and U.S. News’ Robert Morse about how these rankings have shaped how students select colleges in America.