Today we're back in conversation with Dr. Adam Cohen, social psychologist and psychologist of religion at Arizona State University, who shares another research project that explores the way religious ritual connects participants more deeply not only with faith, but with community — this time, not through the practice of abstaining from food, but from breaking bread together.

Dr. Arielle Levites, Managing Director of the Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education and a Research Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University had the same idea — that observing Shabbat wasn't just a nice idea, it was a practice with measurable impact.

So the team designed a study, enlisting the participation of Aliza Kline, founding President and then-CEO of OneTable, an organization designed to help young Jews develop independence and confidence in observing the ritual of Shabbat dinner in their homes. The question they wanted to answer? Does Shabbat dinner as a spiritual practice increase social connectedness?

Read the transcript of this episode Learn more about the research Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcasts Find us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube Share your comments, questions and suggestions at [email protected] Supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation

In today's episode we speak to Athena Aktipis, co-director of the Human Generosity Project, about the current results of her study of cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Aktipis discusses the insights both past and current research offer about the extent and the limits of human generosity during catastrophic events.

This is the third episode in a special, five-part Covid-19 conversation series.

Learn more about Athena Aktipis and The Human Generosity Project

Mentioned in this episode:

A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit

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• Supported by the​ Templeton World Charity Foundation

In today's episode, host Richard Sergay speaks with Erez Yoeli, director of the Applied Cooperation Team at MIT's Sloan School of Management, about how to motivate people to cooperate and behave altruistically during a pandemic. Dr. Yoeli discusses how we can harness the power of reputation to encourage prosocial behavior, and suggests ways to make the message of altruism appeal to everyone in a time when people are receiving conflicting messages about what is right.

This is the second episode in a special, five-part Covid-19 conversation series.

Learn more about Erez Yoeli

Mentioned in this episode:

• Matthew Rabin
• Robert Boyd
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In this episode, we hear from Joseph Bulbulia, professor at the University of Auckland and the MacLaurin Goodfellow Chair in Theological and Religious Studies. Professor Bulbulia discusses how religious interaction, worship, and teaching come together in different ways to facilitate group cooperation, and what we can learn from that to support us during the pandemic.

Learn more about Joseph Bulbulia.

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The first episode of the Stories of Impact podcast special, five-part Covid-19 conversation series features Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Host Richard Sergay speaks with Dr. Fredrickson about why her work in positive psychology is more relevant than ever during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Fredrickson offers tips on how to nurture our positive emotions and resilience amid the stress and anxiety we are all experiencing, as well as how to foster strong social connections going forward post-Covid.

Learn more about​ ​Dr. Barbara Fredrickson​ and the​ PEP Lab

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Today's conversation is with David O'Brien, Assistant Research Director at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Prof. O'Brien talks to Richard about how we as citizens can bring our democratic values to bear on social media platforms; the role privacy plays online in allowing democracy and democratic citizenship to flourish; and more.

More about David O'Brien and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society

Mentioned in this episode:

• Citizenship in a Networked Age
• How to Watch TV News

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In today's episode, we consider what writers, researchers, and scholars say we can learn from the history of polarization in other countries and learn about some of their potential solutions for polarization.

Today's episode features researchers Jay J. Van Bavel and Dominic J. Packer, co-authors of The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony. We also hear from Dr. Hahrie Han, Professor of Political Science and the Director of the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University; Uriel Epshtein, Executive Director of the Renew Democracy Initiative; Joshua Fryday, Chief Service Officer for the State of California with California Volunteers; and Evan Mawarire, a Zimbabwean clergyman who founded #ThisFlag Citizen's Movement.

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This episode defines polarization and explores its causes and effects. Next, we consider what we can learn from the history of polarization in other countries and share the antidotes to polarization that research has uncovered. Finally, we explain why it's important to make a long-term investment in polarization research.

Today's episode features researchers Jay J. Van Bavel and Dominic J. Packer, co-authors of The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony. We also hear from Alison Taylor, Executive Director at Ethical Systems, a research collaborative affiliated with NYU; Dr. Hahrie Han, Professor of Political Science and the Director of the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University; Uriel Epshtein, Executive Director of the Renew Democracy Initiative; and Joshua Fryday, Chief Service Officer for the State of California with California Volunteers.

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Stories of Impact brings back some of our favorite conversations this season. Today, we continue our series about how citizens can understand and heal polarization, with a conversation with Dr. Sean Westwood. Dr. Westwood studies American politics and how partisan conflict manifests in the United States, its consequences and its origins.

Read the transcript of this episode Learn more about the research Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcasts Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube Share your comments, questions and suggestions at [email protected] Supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation

We're back this episode for our second timely interview focusing on political polarization, wrapping up in conversation with Dr. Kurt Gray, professor of moral psychology and neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill, and the director of the Deepest Beliefs Lab in the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. Moral psychology is the descriptive understanding of our moral judgments, or concern with not just how people should make moral decisions, but how they actually do. Why does this matter?

In Dr. Gray's words: "To understand our contentious and divided political moments where people are unwilling to discuss politics across the aisle or entertain even that the other side is a reasonable human being in the way that you feel about yourself and your own side.

We do disagree already when it comes to politics. But where does this political disagreement come from? …Once you get that, then you can understand where this political animosity comes from. But it's really a question of moral disagreement. And for that you need to understand our moral psychology."

Read the transcript of this episode Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcasts Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube Share your comments, questions and suggestions at [email protected] Supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation