Here's some content you might have missed in April and questions to consider along with it.
Read
Are advertisers going to infiltrate our dreams?
Brands like Coors, Microsoft, and Burger King want to be the brands of our dreams. Literally. And researchers are concerned about it.
Take-Home Question: Is it ethical for brands to use practices such as Targeted Dream Incubation to sell us more stuff?
The Costs and Benefits of Tribalism
Really smart people who study this kind of thing for a living discuss the human tendency to form groups and how this helps produce great achievements but can also lead to some pretty messed up stuff.
Take-Home Question: If categorizing the world into “us” and “them” is so natural … is it possible to get humans out of this mentality?
A Gentler, Better Way to Change Minds
It turns out your mom was right: You may, in fact, get more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Take-Home Question: What’s the most effective way to persuade someone?
Educators Should Practice Principled Neutrality
TL;DR: The best way for teachers to turn students into independent thinkers who form their own opinions? By not giving theirs.
Take-Home Question: Can teachers really be totally “neutral” … or will students inevitably sense their biases and beliefs?
Watch
Everything Everywhere All At Once
We don't want to say too much about this movie because we don't want to spoil it for you, but we will say this: it's our favorite movie of the last decade. Seriously. Think: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets the multiverse. Go see it in the theater for the full experience.
Take-Home Question: If you are just a small speck in an infinite universe, does anything really matter?
Same old Hollywood story - lonely, dissatisfied hitman goes to L.A. to kill someone. Makes friends with theater kids and longs to trade in the gore for some laughter.
Take-Home Question: If you do enough bad things, does that make you a “bad person”?
Listen
This American Life: Off Course
Three people + one animal who know the path their lives will take … until, suddenly, they don’t.
Take-Home Question: How much control do we really have over our own lives?
When Texas Went After Transgender Care
The story of one Texas family trying to get gender-affirming care for their transgender child – at the exact time Texas lawmakers are trying to take that ability away.
Take-Home Question: When it comes to decisions that affect their kids, when do parents know best – and when do other (outside) people know best?
