The Armen Show

How does uncertainty apply in our emotional and political lives? On episode 334, Professor Sheila Jasanoff of Harvard opens a forum on uncertainty and democracy in her volume titled Uncertainty. The debate that follows explores the ideas about uncertainty and experts in a democracy, as well its scientific, philosophic, and emotional aspects. Sheila Jasanoff is Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School. A pioneer in her field, she has authored more than 130 articles and chapters and is author or editor of more than 15 books, including The Fifth Branch, Science at the Bar, Designs on Nature, The Ethics of Invention, and Can Science Make Sense of Life? On an interesting note, her son is Professor Alan Jasanoff of episode 206, author of The Biological Mind. Her work explores the role of science and technology in the law, politics, and policy of modern democracies. She founded and directs the STS Program at Harvard; previously, she was founding chair of the STS Department at Cornell. She holds AB, JD, and PhD degrees from Harvard, and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Twente and Liège. Links: Faculty Page | Uncertainty | Personal Site

Here on 2/22/2022, episode 333 of the show makes its way with Professor Todd Kashdan of George Mason University, author of The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively. If one wants to make a case for themselves that counters a view of superiors or others they are involved with, they have to have the right mindset and technique going into the action. Awarded the 2013 Distinguished Early Career Researcher Award by the American Psychological Association, Todd Kashdan is among the world’s top experts on the psychology of well-being, psychological strengths, mental agility, and social relationships. His research has been featured in hundreds of media outlets, including multiple articles in the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, and Forbes. After receiving a Ph.D. in clinical psychology (2004), Todd founded the Well-Being Lab at George Mason University which has produced over 210 peer-reviewed journal articles on well-being and resilience, psychological flexibility, meaning and purpose in life, curiosity, and managing social anxiety. Todd is the author of five books, including Curious?, The Upside of Your Darkside, and Designing Positive Psychology. Links: The Art of Insubordination | Twitter | Homepage

We want to up the electricity, and keep the voltage of our activity on a high note. What does it mean to have momentum in scaling, and then losing it after a period of time? What does it take to get to that high level of voltage in the first place? On episode 332, I discuss this topic with University of Chicago Professor John A. List, author of The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale. Dr. John List is the Homer J. Livingston Professor and Chairman in the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago. He also holds a position as a National Bureau of Economic Research Associate. List is a University Fellow at the Resources for the Future, a Research Fellow at IZA (Institute for the Study of Labor), and an Extramural Fellow at the Department of Economics, Tilburg. List has previously served as a Senior Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors from 2002 to 2004. List has pioneered field experiments as a methodology for learning about behavioral principles that are shared across different domains. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed research publications, providing insights into charitable giving, public goods provision, and valuation of non-marketed goods and services. His previous book The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics Behind Everyday Life, co-authored with Uri Gneezy, has been praised by economists as a revolutionary take on behavioral economics because their findings rely on real evidence, not assumptions, about what truly works to change behavior. Links | The Voltage Effect | Twitter | University of Chicago Page

Welcome to episode 331 of the show, where we have journalist Florence Williams taking us through the personal and scientific story of a heartbreak in her book Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey. She showcases not only the personal element of the happening, but some of the scientific effects that come with the process. Florence Williams is a journalist, author, and podcaster. She is a contributing editor at Outside Magazine and a freelance writer for the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, The New York Review of Books, Slate, Mother Jones and numerous other publications. She is also the writer and host of two Gracie-Award-winning Audible Original series, Breasts Unbound and The Three-Day Effect, as well as Outside Magazine’s Double-X Factor podcast. Her public speaking includes keynotes at Google, the Smithsonian, the Seattle Zoo, the Aspen Ideas Festival and many other corporate, academic and nonprofit venues. Links: Twitter | Homepage | Heartbreak

How far can influence take you? How can you be influential, while being ethical in the process? Yale Professor of Marketing Zoe Chance shares information on this topic, and is author of the book Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen. Professor Chance studies and teaches influence, focusing on research-based strategies for helping people lead richer, healthier, happier lives. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Scientific American, and Psychology Today. Her research findings have been published in top academic journals like Proceedings of the National Academy of Science and in popular media like Harvard Business Review. Professor Chance has spoken in organizations and conferences around the world including TEDx, and her 4 Ps Framework for Behavior Change is the foundation for Google’s global food guidelines, helping 70,000 people make healthier choices every day. Mastering Influence and Persuasion, her MBA elective, is one of the most sought-after courses at Yale School of Management. Some career highlights prior to her engagement at Yale include managing a $200 million segment of Barbie, developing an executive education leadership program at Harvard, acting on stage and film, and starting a small business. Zoe received her doctorate from Harvard, MBA from the University of Southern California, and bachelor’s degree from Haverford College. Links: Twitter | Homepage | Yale Faculty Page | Influence Is Your Superpower

As we make our way to episode 329 of the show, we switch things up with the creators of California Surf Fishing, a duo who fishes on the coast of California. Both Gary and Kaspar Kazazian have joined on previous episodes, but never both together and on video, and they join on this one to discuss the book of their fishing knowledge titled California Surf Fishing: The Hunt for Big Fish. Since 2017, Gary and Kaspar of California Surf Fishing have spent countless hours fishing the Southern California surf in pursuit of game fish. They’re here to teach you everything they’ve learned. Trophy white seabass, halibut, sheephead, and calico bass are within reach. Their book is a how to guide.  What began as a casual hobby, with a few small perch, turned into a wonderful passion. They learned that there are indeed ways to target large game fish from shore. By focusing on the factors that affect fish behavior, they developed their two methods for consistently catching trophies. Those methods are now for the reader of their book. Link: California Surf Fishing Website | The Book | Instagram

How can the law make us better, and how does it connect with human behavior? In exploring the topic, authors Benjamin van Rooij and Adam Fine present many examples of how the law has been intended and applied. Professor van Rooij joins us on episode 328 to discuss this and more from his co-authored book The Behavioral Code: The Hidden Ways the Law Makes Us Better Or Worse. Professor van Rooij is Professor of Law and Society at The University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His areas of expertise include regulatory theory, law enforcement, compliance, lawmaking, law and development, environmental law, and Chinese law. He received his PhD in Law, Governance, and Development from Leiden University, along with his Doctorate in Chinese Language and Cultures. He researches on how legal rules shape individual and organizational behavior. Here he draws on the broader social and behavioral science to understand the processes of compliance, the effects of corporate culture, as well as the assumptions lawyers have about the behavioral effects of law. He uses innovative fieldwork data both to seek improvement to persistent implementation problems as well as to contribute to existing regulatory, criminological and socio-legal theories. Links: The Behavioral Code on Amazon | UCI Law | Google Scholar

“Entities should not be multiplied without necessity” is the message behind Occam’s Razor, and seeking the simplest explanation for a conundrum is a strong force in science. On episode 327, Professor Johnjoe McFadden of the University of Surrey takes us through history, science, and philosophy, as connected with Occam’s Razor, in his latest book Life Is Simple: How Occam’s Razor Set Science Free And Shapes The Universe. Professor McFadden obtained his PhD at Imperial College London and went on to work on human genetic diseases and then infectious diseases, at the University of Surrey in Guildford, UK. For more than a decade, Professor McFadden has specialized in examining the genetics of microbes such as the agents of tuberculosis and meningitis. He has published more than 100 articles in scientific journals on subjects as wide-ranging as bacterial genetics, tuberculosis, idiopathic diseases and computer modelling of evolution and has edited a book on the genetics of mycobacteria. He has lectured extensively in the UK, Europe, the USA and Japan and his work has been featured in radio, television and national newspaper articles. His present post is Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Surrey. Links: Homepage | Wikipedia | Twitter | Faculty Page | Life is Simple on Amazon

The case Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., 569 U.S. 576, was a case challenging the validity of gene patents in the United States, and few have explored the details of this case more thoroughly than attorney, professor, and author Jorge L. Contreras. His latest book The Genome Defense: Inside the Epic Legal Battle to Determine Who Owns Your DNA covers the case from its initial cause, each of the court stages up to the Supreme Court, and all the key players along the way. Jorge L. Contreras is a Presidential Scholar and Professor of Law at the University of Utah with an adjunct appointment in the Department of Human Genetics. His research focuses on intellectual property, technical standards and science policy, and he is one of the co-founders of the Open COVID Pledge, a framework for contributing intellectual property to the COVID-19 response. Professor Contreras is the editor of six books and the author of more than 100 scholarly articles and chapters appearing in scientific, legal and policy journals including Science, Nature, Georgetown Law Journal, NYU Law Review, Iowa Law Review, Harvard Journal of Law and Technology and Antitrust Law Journal. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School (JD) and Rice University (BSEE, BA). You can check out The Genome Defense on Amazon.

Hello and welcome to episode 325 of the show, with guest Dr. Uma Naidoo, author of This Is Your Brain on Food: An Indispensable Guide to the Surprising Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and More. This book covers the relation between food and response in many categories of mental difficulty. Michelin-starred chef David Bouley described Dr. Uma Naidoo as the world’s first “triple threat” in the food and medicine space: a Harvard trained psychiatrist, Professional Chef graduating with her culinary schools’ most coveted award, and a trained Nutrition Specialist. Her nexus of interests have found their niche in Nutritional Psychiatry. Dr. Naidoo founded and directs the first hospital-based Nutritional Psychiatry Service in the United States. She is the Director of Nutritional and Lifestyle Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) & Director of Nutritional Psychiatry at MGH Academy while serving on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. You can check out Dr. Naidoo’s website, as well as This Is Your Brain On Food on Amazon.