Harvard Thinking

Owning a home feels increasingly unattainable for many middle-class Americans. Last year, home prices surged to nearly five times the median income. Yet the pace of building new housing, which could create more affordability, remains slow. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with urban economist Ed Glaeser, former CEA chair Jason Furman, and innovative housing expert Amy Tomasso about how those hoping to buy can make sense of the current housing crisis.

Different forms of adversity – like abuse, violence, and neglect – not only damage our physical and mental health but also change our cells. Scientific advances in the biology of adversity are showing us that in some cases, the harms of negative experiences run dangerously deep in our bodies and minds. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with children’s psychologist Kate McLaughlin, psychiatric epidemiologist Karestan Koenen, and cellular biologist Jason Buenrostro about what the future holds for protecting people from their worst experiences.

Marriage has evolved a lot through the years – and so have the problems and rewards that come with it. Research suggests it benefits our physical and mental health, but it might not seem like it when conflict arises and couples struggle to co-manage a household. With greater social acceptance of a variety of lifestyle choices, many people – especially young women – are thinking twice before tying the knot. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with business professor Debora Spar, psychiatrist and family counselor Richard Schwartz, and bestselling author Eve Rodsky about the role of marriage in modern society.

Generative AI tools are here to stay. There’s a debate around whether or not they should be embraced in spaces of learning. Recent reports suggest that the risks of using these tools might outweigh the benefits, threatening cognitive development by doing the thinking for their users. This is forcing educators into a dilemma: how do they make the most of AI’s potential, while also protecting students’ ability to think for themselves? In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with cognitive scientist Tina Grotzer, applied mathematics professor Michael Brenner, and educator Ying Xu about how to use AI tools to enhance learning, rather than replace it.

Many people hold themselves to extremely high standards, but when the scales tip to the pursuit of perfection, it can result in anxiety, depression, and other serious mental health issues. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with journalist Jennifer Breheny Wallace, psychologist Ellen Hendriksen, and public health expert Michaela Kerrissey about when we’ve gone too far in trying to achieve our best.

We rely on our memories for so much. Memory is the foundation of our sense of self, ability to learn new information, and stay safe. But our memories are also highly suggestible, and we often misremember events or fabricate memories entirely. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with science researcher Dan Schacter, Alzheimer’s expert Margaret O’Connor, and neuroscientist Venki Murthy about the science of memory – and how we can remember better.

Many diets claim to be good for you. But the Mediterranean diet rises to the top with its research-proven benefits: it’s been shown to increase life expectancy; decrease risk for dementia; improve mental health and cognitive function; and lower the risk of heart disease for nearly every demographic. What is it that makes the diet so great? In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas discuss the Mediterranean diet with nutritional psychiatrist Uma Naidoo and Mediterranean diet expert Miguel Ángel Martínez-González about how people can make nutritional changes that work for them day to day.

Sleep deprivation is a form of torture, yet we are depriving ourselves of quality sleep more than ever. Six out of 10 adults in the U.S. aren’t getting enough sleep, which leads to negative mood, low energy, poor cognitive function, and can even take years off your life. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with sleep scientist Rebecca Robbins, psychiatrist Tony Cunningham, and epidemiologist Matthew Weaver about why we should – and how to – get better sleep.

Episode Summary: Storytelling is a huge part of the human experience. But how do you tell a good story? There are elements of craft to consider for sure, but for many authors, creativity comes from a place deep within themselves and looks different from writer to writer. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with literary critic James Wood, award-winning novelist Lauren Groff, short story writer Nick White, and playwright Sam Marks about their writing process.

People under 50 are experiencing higher risk of some cancers. While overall cancer rates are declining, the incidence of 14 cancer types have increased in younger people. Why? It could be related to lifestyle choices, environmental factors, or an individual’s genetics. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas speaks with global cancer trend expert Tim Rebbeck, oncologist Kimmie Ng, and epidemiologist Tomotaka Ugai about how people under 50 can best mitigate their cancer risk.

Literacy rates in the U.S. have been in decline for a while now. Experts are combing the data for answers. Researchers are examining the role of curricula, teacher training, and classroom best practices to figure out: How do we help our kids read better? In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas speaks with policy expert Martin West, teacher educator Pamela Mason, and reading researcher Phil Capin about how to best support our students.

Is it true that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Absolutely not; Research shows that people can and do make dramatic shifts at nearly every life stage. Sometimes that change is intentional and other times it happens without our awareness. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas speaks with psychiatrist Bob Waldinger, educator Rick Weissbourd, and experimental psychologist Mahzarin Banaji about how embracing change can lead to a better life.

It’s a new era in the fight against cancer. The disease still kills nearly 10 million people worldwide every year, but advances in genomic sequencing and artificial intelligence have ushered in a new era of research. Treatments can now be personalized to patients and someday we might even have vaccines that can prevent the disease altogether. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas, cancer researcher Levi Garraway, radiologist Connie Lehman, and cell therapy expert Cathy Wu talk about how close we are to turning a corner on cancer.

Things aren’t what they used to be: they’re actually better. Yet even though many measures show how much progress we’ve made, many people feel like things are worse than ever. How do we change this perspective? In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas speaks with positive psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar, global governance expert Jane Nelson, and evidence-based optimist Steven Pinker about choosing optimism.

Our planet is filled with plastic. On average, we produce 430 million tons every year, most of which is used only for a short period of time and then discarded. But plastic isn’t just in the environment: it’s now in our bodies. Microplastics have been found in our bloodstreams, lungs, and other organs, and we’re only recently beginning to understand how this affects our health. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas, cell biologist Don Ingber, environmental health scientist Mary Johnson, and nanomaterial researcher Philip Demokritou discuss our destructive relationship with plastic.

College is expensive. Even with ramped-up financial aid efforts from universities, people are still trying to decide if tuition will lead to a smart return on their investment. Is a liberal arts education worth the price tag? In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with economist David Deming, educator Nancy Hill, and philosophy Professor Susanna Siegel about how to make a liberal arts education attractive again.

Schools are banning cellphones. And some states and cities are passing legislation that restricts student phone use in the classroom. Both parents and students have pushed back, yet schools say the removal of phones eliminates distractions and fosters face-to-face interactions that students themselves have come to appreciate. In this episode, host Samantha Laine Perfas talks with psychologist Laurie Santos, private school administrator Joy McGrath, and psychiatrist Susan Linn about what it would look like to take phones out of classrooms.