By one estimate we spend a fifth of our lives watching movies or TV. In fact, we consume entertainment almost as habitually as we eat or sleep, activities that receive scientific scrutiny and study. So why not consider the effects that watching movies and TV have on our minds and bodies too? When we do, we find that they are not mere escapism. A data scientist reveals why we are what we watch, and how scientists and filmmakers work, often with competing agendas, to create sci-fi entertainment.

Guest:

Walt Hickey - journalist, data scientist, and author of “You Are What You Watch: How

Movies and TV Affect Everything”

Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun Miyake

Originally aired January 8, 2024

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