May 5, 2026
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...
Apr 21, 2026
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...
Apr 7, 2026
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...
Mar 20, 2026
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...
Mar 3, 2026
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...