Blue State to Red State (20:00)

Leah Singer is a freelance writer based in Terre Haute, Indiana. A Midwest transplant from Southern California, she writes stories about life in Indiana to help people understand individuals living in Middle America and outside of the coastal bubbles.  Most of the time, you choose to live around people who have the same ideals as you. But what happens when your job situation takes you somewhere else? That is what happened to a freelance writer and her family, she went from Blue California to the middle of Red America.  Leah Singer shares with us why this experience changed her life for the better.  

 

Awkward: The Science of Why We're Socially Awkward and Why That's Awesome (1:06:22)

Ty Tashiro is a psychologist and the author. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Minnesota and has been an award-winning professor at the University of Maryland and University of Colorado. He lives in New York City. As humans, we all need to belong. While modern social life can make even the best of us feel gawky, for some of us navigating its challenges is consistently overwhelming. We may recognize we have awkward dispositions, we rarely understand why that is and that can make it hard for us to know how to adjust. In his new book, AWKWARD: The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why That’s Awesome, psychologist and interpersonal relationship expert Ty Tashiro helps us better understand this widely shared trait and its origins. He considers how awkward people view our complex world and explains how they can more comfortably navigate it, and these same characteristics that make people socially clumsy can be harnessed to produce remarkable achievements.

 

Makena Bauss - Confidence (1:29:19)

For some women, building confidence can be a challenge. A lack of confidence can lead to a woman being less likely to seek promotion, speak up in meetings, and rise into leadership positions. A neuroscientist in the UK has researched the impact her work can play in boosting confidence.

Producer Makena Bauss shares a study about the role neuroscience can play in boosting confidence

 

Exercise with a Sense of Purpose (1:57:45)

Stephanie Hooker is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Primary Care Behavioral Health at the University of Minnesota. At the time of this interview, she was a Ph.D. candidate in Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Colorado Denver, in Denver, CO. She completed her clinical residency in Health Psychology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. She completed her dissertation examining the relationship between life meaning and purpose and physical activity adoption in previously sedentary adults. Stephanie Hooker shares her findings.