As of July 1st, Maryland instituted the Online Electioneering and Transparency Act, which requires companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and others with at least 100,000 unique monthly users to keep record of online political ads. On this episode, we dive beyond the ethics of online political ads, and discuss the ethics of regulating political ads altogether.

According to a Gallup poll, 8 in 10 Americans report they “frequently” or “sometimes” experience stress in their daily lives, compared to about 21 percent who say they “rarely” or “never” do. It’s no question that stress, has always been prevalent here in America, and that many Americans don’t seek therapy or counseling, be it for personal reasons, because they’re just too busy, or because of social stigma associated with therapy. On today’s episode, we’re joined by virtual counselor, Aida Vazin, licensed therapist who provides therapy online and helps people overcome the stressors of everyday life!

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reports that nearly 45,000 Americans commit suicide each year. The average rate of suicide in 2015 was 13.26 per 100,000 in the population. In the same year, the states of Montana, Wyoming and Alaska were the top 3 states for suicide attempts, way above the national average, and the state of New Jersey was the state with the least amount of suicides per 100,000 residents. On today's episode, in light of the recent suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, we wanted to have a conversation about trends, motivations and facts around this public health and social issue, as well as share some ideas on how to prevent or reduce suicide in the population.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, $1.03 trillion in traveler spending generated $2.4 trillion in economic output and supported 15.6 million American jobs. Not only is travel a leisure thing we do after having accumulated sufficient vacation time at work to take a break from reality, but it’s also great in supporting the economy, and we always come back home learning a few life lessons as we transition back to the grind. On this episode, we’ll have a casual conversation about recent and planned vacations, and what we have experienced on our travels!

According to Pew Research Center, about 25% of parents are unmarried, which is vastly different from 1968, where only about 4% of parents were unmarried. Research finds that after one year, about three-in-ten young adults get married, 9% break up the relationship and 62% continue cohabiting. Moreover, among adults aged 25 and older, 23% of males and 17% of females have reported being never married. On this episode, we discuss the overall topic of marriage in society and we try to answer the question - why are more couples cohabiting in lieu of getting married? And, is this a good thing? Or not...

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), about 1 of every 5 adults in the U.S. experience mental illness during any given year. In 1949, Mental Health America started a yearly observation which elevates the importance of addressing mental health, along with media campaigns, events and screenings. On this episode, the team at Ology Research Group wanted to acknowledge the national observance and talk about this relevant topic and its applicability in today’s time.

Historically, the United States has been a beacon of hope, and the symbol of opportunity and the chance for a new life to immigrants. From Pilgrims seeking religious freedom in the 1600s, to those seeking opportunity during the early 19th century, and most recently, those seeking asylum from war and violence-stricken countries. Over the last several months, we have seen acts at our executive level of government, which have been interpreted as anti-immigrant. On this episode, we discuss some of the social implications of the current administration’s actions, including cancellation of Temporary Protective Status, construction of the wall on the southern border and banning visitors from certain countries and religions.

In 2016, a researcher from Columbia University’s Teachers College published a study which discovered that high-school students’ science grades improved after they learned about the struggles of renowned scientists, such as Einstein and Marie Curie, while students who only knew about scientists’ successes, experienced declines in their grades. On this episode, we explore the concepts of goal setting and failures, setbacks and achievements, and how struggling has helped us in our professional and personal endeavors.

With over 1.86 billion monthly active users, Facebook is increasingly expected take on the social responsibilities of managing cyber bullying, censoring hate speech while at the same time ensuring that free speech is protected. As an example, 87% of cyber bullying among teenagers occurs on Facebook, while over 87 million people may have had their data harvested by Cambridge Analytica, which some experts say may have impacted the 2016 Presidential Election. There is also growing distrust among conservatives that Facebook censors their conservative voice on the social platform. Today, we discuss the nature of free speech, corporate responsibility, and the ethical concerns for placing our trust in a corporation to safeguard our constitutional rights.

According to an article found on Cheatsheet.com, there are many reasons why these days, job hunting can be an extremely difficult task. These reasons include extremely long applications, getting a job that doesn’t fit what you’re looking for, personality tests, jobs that don’t really exist, and not hearing back from hiring managers. On this episode, we share some tips on how to make your job search and interviews successful, maximize your chance of being called, and how to save something more precious than money… your time!