New paper published in European Societies. "Results showed dramatic levels of ethnic discrimination: a Roma person would need to contact nine landlords to secure a viewing whereas a non-Roma person only two.”with @lindatropp.bsky.social @lioramorhayim.bsky.social direct.mit.edu/euso/article...

😊 news.miami.edu/as/stories/2...

"Receiving a thoughtful message from a student in midterm season may signal that they are prioritizing the burgeoning friendship over other commitments. A message from an always available, infinitely energetic chatbot may not carry such emotional weight" www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I spent months studying how authoritarians like Trump lose. The answer is shockingly simple. www.vox.com/politics/479...

Michael Pollan’s new book, “A World Appears,” explores the mysteries of consciousness. It also strengthens the case that AI will never truly replicate humans, Charles Finch writes:

Most cash-transfer programs have failed to produce health gains in the U.S.—except for SNAP, Aaron Richterman and Harsha Thirumurthy argue. They examine the conditions that make SNAP work, and how it may provide a road map for other programs:

“The experience of consciousness and life is so sublime that it is hard to imagine it all arising from mere atoms and molecules,” the scientist Alan Lightman writes. He explores the “profound disconnect” humans face when understanding the mind and the body:

spsp.org/news/charact...

Fascinating! www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...

Changes in social media and private messaging have made real relationships start to look a little bit parasocial. Julie Beck on what happens when friendships feel like content to consume:

RFK Jr. has launched a war on groupthink, based on the idea that "the nation’s most seasoned public-health experts have been rendered senseless" by conformity, David Merritt Johns writes. But experts aren’t even sure groupthink is a real phenomenon:

The Joy of Belonging: What Marathon Fans Teach Us About Human Nature www.powerofusnewsletter.com/p/why-we-roo...

Movies now relentlessly signpost their meaning and intent. “Artists and audiences sometimes defend this legibility as democratic, a way to reach everyone,” Namwali Serpell writes. “It is, in fact, condescending.”

The nativist right keeps talking about “heritage Americans.” It's a buzzword engineered to move the goalposts on immigration even further, argues @alibreland.bsky.social.

Empathy is in a weird place right now. Most of us probably think the ability to place ourselves in someone else’s shoes is a good thing. That’s what compassion is all about right? But a recent trend in conservative Christian circles is calling empathy into question. Some even believe it’s a sin. 👇

cool research time.com/7320905/goss...

@ebakerwhite.bsky.social's reporting exposed how ByteDance employees accessed American users’ data & how TikTok’s internal systems gave the company enormous influence over what we see. She discussed the latest in the potential TikTok deal, why the app has become a cultural superpower, & more.

In a new interview with David Remnick, the writer and podcaster Ezra Klein discusses his recent essay about Charlie Kirk and what people misunderstand about his own role in politics and media.

The dangers and virtues of free speech have gained new relevance after the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. While praised in death by those on the right and beyond as an exemplar of free speech, he has also been held up as its enemy by his critics. Here's why. 👇

Politics can't be understood without emotion, Peter Wehner writes. "Right now the dark side is winning, and our higher aspirations need to be reawakened":

“When the state is using violence against its own people, the possibility of violence against the state becomes more likely,” Lilliana Mason, a professor of political science, tells @ichotiner.bsky.social.

Last week, Zohran Mamdani revealed that, if he wins the mayorship, he will end New York City’s “gifted and talented” program for kindergartners. This triggered a minor firestorm, but these criticisms are overheated. Here's why:

Excited to share this essay on racial violence, civic apology, and the elusive dream of racial reconciliation. www.newyorker.com/news/the-wee...

“Is Donald Trump a staunch capitalist, a secret socialist, a blend of the two, or none of the above?” @dkthomp.bsky.social investigates what Trumponomics really is: https://theatln.tc/Bw0m8RLf

Psychologists have long studied how children develop theory of mind—an intuitive understanding of what other people know, think, and feel. What role does humor play?

Despite stereotypes painting single women as desperate for romantic partnership, a study showed they're overall more satisfied with their lives than single men.

In this week’s column, @chaykak.bsky.social writes about ghosting—a slight that technology has made all but inevitable.

What makes “The Great British Bake Off” so beloved is that it’s one of the most successful unscripted shows of the century and still feels like an underdog. Ruby Tandoh, a former contestant, shares stories from inside the tent.

It’s not a coincidence that Instagram — the epicenter of cutesy fall tableaus — happened to blow up in the early 2010s, which is the same time it became cool to claim you despised pumpkin spice. But maybe that’s not the whole story. www.vox.com/culture/2018...

"psychological biases to overestimate the influence of self-interest on others’ behaviors and to attribute malicious intentions to those who harm us may create inherent challenges for punishment to effectively promote cooperation"

Modern loneliness, according to one historian, is the child of capitalism and secularism. The rise of privacy, itself a product of market capitalism, is a driver of loneliness. So is individualism, which you also have to pay for.

The computer scientist Gary Marcus tells Garry Kasparov that with AI, the U.S. is already moving toward “techno-fascism”—but there’s still a choice. Listen to the latest episode of “Autocracy in America”:

Men are just as good at recognizing messes as women. They just don't feel the same pressure to clean them up, Joe Pinsker wrote in 2021. https://theatln.tc/rPmCMtmn

Trust in elections rises after ‘inoculations’ meant to preempt false fraud claims | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

This is very bad. Although entirely predictable. Once more the humanities are being cut back to prop up STEM and, increasingly, AI investment (including at the expense of bench science). In the past, cuts to humanities were promoted on two separate logic streams that do not hold true: /1

Now out in JPSP! Behavioral economic experiments w/ Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Jews in the U.S., Israel and Fiji show that belief in God can facilitate cooperation, even across religious divides! More about our work (co-led with @jeremyginges.bsky.social) below! psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?d...

🚨 BREAKING: Trump admin refuses to release Mahmoud Khalil, despite judge's order

great read 🤩

Fascinating by @jonathanbchait.bsky.social on why the seemingly commonsensical "abundance agenda" has so divided and polarized Democrats and the liberal-left www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Red is often deemed the first color, the strongest color, the color that stands for color itself. So why does it keep slipping out of our grasp?

🚨 “We just need to recognize that we’re all citizens of this country.” –– Politicians + citizens often stress a shared national identity when trying to bridge racial, partisan, or other group divides. @stysyropoulos.bsky.social & I show why such “shared” identities are doomed to fail. 🧵1/9

The National Science Foundation is awarding new grants at the slowest pace in at least 35 years. The funding decreases touch virtually every area of science — extending far beyond the diversity programs that the Trump administration says it wants to cut.