Exploring the inner workings of the ‘Hidden Brain’ with Shankar Vedantam
From rats navigating mazes to how people participate in surveys, NPR’s new podcast examines what makes humans tick.
Stephen talks with NPR Science correspondent Shankar Vedantam about NPR’s new podcast, Hidden Brain.
- Mission Statement: Vedantam wants to connect people back with themselves. “It’s to try and connect the issues that people are dealing with, and connect that with social science research to help people live more interesting lives,” he says.
- Voting: Vedantam gives an example of the ground his podcast covers with an anecdote about voting. “If you look at the evidence, you’ll see that people’s demographic background is an extremely powerful predictor of where they stand on political issues,” he says.
- Race Relations: Vedantam says that the same subjects that he explores in the podcast can also help explain racial issues, Vedantam says. “People generally agree that we have come a long way, and people generally agree that we have a long way to go,” he says.
***Correction: Mr. Vedantam’s surname was misspelled in the original post. WDET regrets the error.
To hear more of their conversation, click the link above.
