State of the Pod

Have you ever walked into a room, and experienced this unsettling feeling that you’ve been in it before? Is this proof of reincarnation, or even a parallel universe? In this episode, State of the Pod explores this collective sensation that is known as deja vu—specifically what causes it, the parts of the brain that are affected, as well as the various beliefs and theories associated with it.

Produced & Edited by David Kim, Sadeen Musa, Gargi Rao

Executive Produced by Adele Williams

Music: Doing Just Fine – Lakey Inspired, Tenfold – Kevin Lavitt, City of Angels – Lakey Inspired

Special thanks to the Milstein Program and the Investigative Biology Lab at Cornell for supporting our podcast!

The post 404: Deja Vu: False or True? first appeared on State of the Pod.

What’s your sign? What about your MBTI type? In this episode, we explore astrology and the trending personality test, the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator (MBTI). Our discussion considers what about these two makes them so appealing to so many people as well as the history of them. We then have a conversation sharing our own opinions, debating the validity and legitimacy of each. 

Hosts: David Kim, Jen Yi, Macy Smith, Yubin Cho

Lead Producer: Jen Yi

Music: Tape Star by Shane Ivers – https://www.silvermansound.com

Special thanks to Mark Sarvary and the Investigative Biology Labs at Cornell for supporting our podcast!

The post 403: MBTI vs Astrology: Is the Fault in Our Stars or Ourselves? first appeared on State of the Pod.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has come a long way in terms of communication, being able to converse with us on a daily basis through Alexa, Siri, and even Cortana. But is AI capable of understanding human emotion? Can they break down the intricacies of comedy and make us laugh? In this episode, State of the Pod producers explore how AI process language and humor, addressing differences between AI learning and human learning.

Hosts: Kelly Ryoo, Jeffrey Li, Michael Sun

Lead Producer: Michael Sun

Head Writer: Kelly Ryoo

Special thanks to Mark Sarvary and the Investigative Biology Labs at Cornell for supporting our podcast!

Graphic elements from: “The Secret Life of Pets 2, Kevin Hart” by Eva Rinaldi Celebrity Photographer is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The post 402: What’s Funny & What’s Bot? first appeared on State of the Pod.

The aftermarket resale of limited-edition streetwear and sneakers has become a booming industry worldwide. In this episode, we will dive into the history of the hype, how these resellers operate, and the challenges within the industry. Through interviews, we will explore sneakers reselling websites, the increasing use of bots, and the constant battle of the resale market.

Guests: Cornell University student Duncan Cady and alumnus David Gelikman.

Hosts: Hamida Mazumder, Kristen Moon, Adele Williams.

Lead Producer & Head Writer: Adele Williams

Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Special Clips from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h52tQzOXIrQ&ab_channel=ABCNews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNHmVjHPOUU&ab_channel=CNBCTelevision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Glq9oD8KnY&ab_channel=Caylin%27sCorner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrevzioLYwE&ab_channel=SethFowler 

References: https://www.wired.com/2017/05/using-bots-to-buy-supreme-limited-edition-streetwear/ https://www.complex.com/sneakers/2019/01/how-bots-ruined-buying-sneakers

Special thanks to the Milstein Lab for our recording equipment and software.

The post 401: Untying the Sneaker Industry first appeared on State of the Pod.

Diving into the lived experiences of speakers with accents, we explore how they navigate their personal and professional life as linguistic outsiders, how and why they code switch between accents and languages, and what language means to them. 

Guests:

Laura Staum Casasanto, Lecturer, Cornell University, Department of Psychology. 

Jason Liu, Niccoló Bargellini, Fath’Ma Shibani, Jessie Whittaker-Mayall, students at Cornell University.

Dan Burdgof, graduate student, Cornell University, Linguistics. 

Professor Chiara Formichi, Associate Professor of Asian Studies at Cornell University.

Hosts: Adele Williams, Lynn Hong, and Macy Smith.

Lead Producer: Yunyun Wang.

Head Writer: Lynn Hong.

Songs:

1st- by Jason Revelo

2nd- Intro song

3rd- https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/11512

4th- “Sincerely” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

5th- “Realizer” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

6th- ​​”Aquarium” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References 

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.549083/full

https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2008/01/kroll

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319642#Competing-languages

https://www.languagemagazine.com/why-bilinguals-code-switch/

The post 304: Can You Repeat That? first appeared on State of the Pod.

The way we speak has always been a powerful marker of identity. Listening to someone’s accent, we often jump to conclusions about who they are. How much of our cognitive and emotional responses to different accents and dialects can be explained by science, and what else might shape our behaviour? 

Guests:

Laura Staum Casasanto, Lecturer, Cornell University, Department of Psychology. 

Jason Liu, Niccoló Bargellini, Fath’Ma Shibani, Jessie Whittaker-Mayall, students at Cornell University.

Dan Burdgof, graduate student, Cornell University, Linguistics. 

Professor Chiara Formichi, Associate Professor of Asian Studies at Cornell University.

Hosts: Adele Williams, Lynn Hong, and Macy Smith.

Lead Producer: Yunyun Wang.

Head Writer: Lynn Hong.

Music Credits:

Original music composed by Jacob Revelo, Stardust by Kjartan Abel, and additional synthetic remixes from freesound.com

The post 303: Your English is Very Good first appeared on State of the Pod.

We all know the many nefarious detriments that COVID-19 has caused those afflicted with the disease, but do we know the startling effects it has on our eyes behind the scenes? This episode delves into the causes and consequences of heightened eyestrain during the pandemic. With interviewee Dr. Laura Dake Roche, State of the Pod producers address the problems with increased screen usage, the differences in eye health between generations, and the recommended remedies for eyestrain.

Hosts: Matthew Chen, Michael Sun, Dain Yi, Jen Yi, & Tina Yu

Lead Producer: Jen Yi

Thank you to Milstein Program for Humanities & Tech for supporting our team and podcast production!

The post 302: An Insight into the COVID-19 Eye first appeared on State of the Pod.

Co-produced by Jen Yi and Nick Xu

In this episode, we examine the infamous case of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). We discuss the storyline of the DAPL controversy, the backlash and protests that spread like wildfire, and what it all means in the context of environmental justice. Finally, we discuss how to become better allies to the movement and help combat social injustice. Special thank you to the Milstein Program in Technology & Humanity for supporting our team and podcast!

The post 301: So Sioux Me first appeared on State of the Pod.

Co-produced by John Yoon and Yunyun Wang.

How much do you value a picture? What if it was a picture of you? Is it a snapshot in time capturing a fond memory, or rather a photo used for identification purposes? In this episode of State of the Pod, we examine 21st century technologies used by law enforcement agencies and delve into how major technological innovations have disrupted the meaning of privacy and privacy law.

Special thanks to our guests Ithaca Police Chief Dennis Nayor, who walks us through current technologies adopted by his department, which does not use the facial recognition system discussed in this episode. We also would like to thank Ishaan Jhaveri of Columbia University Tow Center of Digital Journalism for revisiting his honors thesis with us as we try to make sense of privacy in the new digital age.

Detailed citations can be found at www.stateofthepod.com

Episode art by Nicole Fung

The post 203: Do Not Disturb first appeared on State of the Pod.

Produced by Macy Smith.

Do you ever wish there were more natural and accessible forms of medicine that will save you the grief and expense of dealing with pharmacies?

This episode, featuring an interview with professor Dr. Giulia Friso, looks into how humans use plants, particularly for medicinal purposes. We explore the history and breadth of ethnobotany, the current research being done, and what we can expect for the future.

The post 202: Nature’s Prescription first appeared on State of the Pod.