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Human Centered: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
Conversations about projects and research undertaken by scholars & affiliates of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University; interviews with renowned fellows from CASBS history; and audio versions of occasional CASBS live events. CASBS is a scholarly community like no other for collaborative, cross-disciplinary, generative research. It brings together deep thinkers to address wicked problems and significant societal challenges. It empowers them to challenge boundaries and assumptions in order to advance our understanding of the full range of human beliefs, behaviors, interactions, and institutions. As a leading incubator of human-centered knowledge, CASBS is a place that is, well…human centered. Producer: Mike Gaetani | Engineer & co-producer: Joe Monzel
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- Sep 25, 202658 min
The Cultural Dynamics of Political Order and Disorder
Renowned comparative political scientist and former CASBS fellow (1999-2000) David Laitin has influenced generations of scholars through his investigations of the intricate interplay of cultural phenomena – such as language, religion, and ethnicity – with politics and political life across societies. The complex dynamics he reveals get to the roots of conflict, cooperation, identity formation as well as nation- and state-building. Laitin takes us on a sweeping tour of some of his career’s principal works, findings, and collaborations in conversation with 2025-26 CASBS fellow Olukunle Owolabi.DAVID LAITIN: Stanford faculty page | Google Scholar page | National Academy of Sciences bio | Wikipedia page | Johan Skytte Foundation article |OLUKUNLE OWOLABI: Villanova faculty page | CASBS bio | Villanova article on six awards won by Kunle's 2023 book |David Laitin books:D. Laitin. Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1977).D. Laitin. Hegemony and Culture: The Politics of Religious Change among the Yoruba (Univ. Chicago Press, 1986).D. Laitin and S. Samatar, Somalia: Nation in Search of a State (Westview Press, 1987).D. Laitin. Language Repertoires and State Construction in Africa (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1992).D. Laitin. Identity in Formation: The Russian-speaking Populations in the Near Abroad (Cornell Univ. Press, 1998).D. Laitin. Nations, States and Violence (Oxford Univ. Press, 2007).D. Laitin, C. Adida and M. Valfort. Why Mulsim Integration Fails in Christian-heritage Societies (Harvard Univ. Press, 2016).D. Laitin and D. Christensen. African Politics since Independence: Order, Development and Democracy (Yale Univ. Press, 2019).David Laitin articles referenced in this episode:D. Laitin and R. Ramachandran, "The Historical Sources of Language Policy," Journal of Politics (2014).D. Laitin and R. Ramachandran, "Language Policy and Socioeconomic Outcomes," Palgrave Handbook of Economics and Language (2026).D. Laitin and R. Ramachandran, "Linguistic Diversity, Official Language Choice and Human Capital," Journal of Development Economics (2022).D. Laitin, R. Ramachandran and S. Walter," The Legacy of Colonial Language Policies and their Impact on Student Learning: Evidence from an Experimental Program in Cameroon," Economic Development and Cultural Change (2019).D. Laitin and R. Ramachandran, "Language Policy and Human Development," American Political Science Review (2016).D. Laitin, J. Hainmueller, et al., "Breaking Down Barriers to Naturalization for Low-income Immigrants: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Design," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018).D. Laitin, T. Gurr, et al., "Socially Relevant Ethnic Groups, Ethnic Structure and AMAR," Journal of Peace Research (2015).D. Laitin and J. Fearon, "Civil War Non-onsets: The Case of Japan," Journal of Civilization Studies (2014)D. Laitin, C. Adida and M. Valfort, "Identifying Barriers to Muslim Integration in France," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2010).D. Laitin and J. Fearon, "Sons-of-the-soil, Migrants, and Civil War," World Development (2011).D. Laitin and A. Krueger, "Kto-Kogo? A Cross-country Study of the Origins and Targets of Terrorism," in Terrorism, Economic Development, and Political Openness (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2008).D. Laitin and E. Berman, "Religion, Terrorism and Public Goods: Testing the Club Model," Journal of Public Economics (2008).D. Laitin and A. Krueger, "'Misunderestimating' Terrorism: The State Department's Big Mistake, Foreign Affairs (2004).D. Laitin and J. Fearon, "Neotrusteeship and the Problem of Weak States," International Security (2004).D. Laitin and J. Fearon, "Ethnicity, Insurgenc
- Jul 29, 202654 min
Confronting Climate Migration Crises
Political conflicts related to immigration are thorny enough on their own. The issues and challenges intensify once we add to the mix our warming planet and its relationship to migration, immigration, and human displacement. Two 2024-25 CASBS fellows – Maureen Eger, a sociologist of immigration, and Alice Farmer, a refugee lawyer specializing in climate change and displacement – discuss scholarly and policy dimensions of the climate migration landscape in conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Markoff (CASBS fellow, 2017-18). Maureen Eger: USC faculty page | personal website | Google Scholar page | Alice Farmer: LinkedIn page | Read John Markoff's latest book, Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand (Penguin Random House, 2022). John's next book, expected in 2027, will be published by MIT Press. Referenced in the episode or related works L. Yang, M. Eger, and Link, eds. Migration Stigma: Understanding Prejudice, Discrimination, and Exclusion (MIT Press, 2024) M. Eger and S Valdez, "From Radical Right to Neo-nationalist," European Political Scientist (2019) M. Eger, M. Hjerm, and P. Velasquez, "What is the Liberalizing Potential of Higher Education? An Analysis of Academic Fields and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Across 32 Countries," The British Journal of Sociology (2025) M. O'Brien and M. Eger, "Suppression, Spikes, and Stigma: How COVID-19 Will Shape International Migration and Hostilities toward It," International Migration Review (2020) L. Yang, M. Eger, and B. Link, "The Human Cost of Politicizing Immigration: Migration Stigma, US Politics, and Health," JAMA (2024) A. Farmer and K. Linos, "Tools to Finance Climate Mobility: An Introduction to the Symposium," American Journal of International Law (2025) A. Farmer, "Disasters in Slow Motion: Why Climate Displacement Tests International Legal Frameworks, and What to Do about it," University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law (2026) J. Bittle, The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration (Simon & Schuster, 2024) G. Vince, Nomad Century: How Climate Migration will Reshape our World (Macmillan, 2022) A. Lustgarten, On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America (Macmillan, 2024) T. Hale, Long Problems: Climate Change and the Challenge of Governing Across Time (Princeton Univ. Press, 2024) Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford UniversityExplore CASBS: website | Bluesky | X | YouTube |LinkedIn | <a href="https://casbs.stanford.edu/podcast"
- Jun 23, 20261h 3m
Immigrant Cities and Democracy's Future
Urban settings are the grounds upon which immigration stress-tests the strength of democratic values, institutions, and practices. In this audio version of a live event hosted by CASBS on May 6, 2026, CASBS board member and Stanford sociologist Tomás Jiménez, Oxford economist and 2025-26 CASBS fellow Ian Goldin, and Welcoming America executive director Rachel Perić discuss what we can learn from the experience of immigrant cities, especially those that intentionally decide to enable newcomers and long-time residents to flourish together. Hosted in partnership with Stanford's Institute for Advancing Just Societies. Watch the event video and read an article about the event: https://casbs.stanford.edu/news/immigrant-cities-and-democracys-future View a photo gallery from the event: https://casbs.stanford.edu/photo-gallery-what-can-immigrant-cities-teach-us-about-democracy View the promotional flyer for this event: https://mailchi.mp/df7b0f4c4589/casbs-event-immigrant-cities-democracy?e=c2d0812d02Learn more about: event moderator Tomás Jiménez: https://sociology.stanford.edu/people/tomas-r-jimenez panelist Ian Goldin: https://iangoldin.org/ panelist Rachel Perić: https://welcomingamerica.org/bio/rachel-peric/ The Institute for Advancing Just Societies: https://justsocieties.stanford.edu/ the Robert A. Scott Lecture: https://casbs.stanford.edu/news/new-lectureship-fund-honors-bob-scott Bob Scott was featured on the Human Centered podcast in December 2022 (ep. 57), "Bob Scott is Trending": https://human-centered.simplecast.com/episodes/robertscott Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford UniversityExplore CASBS: website | Bluesky | X | YouTube |LinkedIn | podcast |latest newsletter | signup | outreachHuman CenteredProducer: Mike Gaetani | Audio engineer & co-producer: Joe Monzel |
- May 22, 202657 min
Network Science's Chief Economist
Matthew O. Jackson is perhaps the world’s most renowned scholar of the economics of networks; as a 2005-06 CASBS fellow, he wrote most of his still-influential book Social and Economic Networks. In this wide-ranging conversation with 2025-26 CASBS fellow Rajiv Sethi, Jackson discusses his foundational work on strategic modeling of networks, empirical applications on the role of economic connectedness in influencing people’s life trajectories in the U.S., related multi-disciplinary and cross-national work he is undertaking at the Sant Fe Institute, and recent cutting-edge work using large language models to gain insights into human motivations and behaviors. Matthew O. Jackson: Stanford faculty page | Personal website | CASBS page | Wikipedia page | Google Scholar page | National Academy of Sciences bio | Stanford profile | SFI page | NBER working papers | Jackson CV | Rajiv Sethi: Barnard faculty page | Columbia page | CASBS page | Google Scholar page | SFI page | Rajiv's Substack newsletter, Imperfect Information | Matt Jackson works referenced in this episode: Matthew Jackson and Asher Wolinsky, "A Strategic Model of Social and Economic Networks," Journal of Economic Theory (1996) Matthew Jackson and Alison Watts, "The Evolution of Social and Economic Networks," Journal of Economic Theory (2002) Raj Chetty, Matthew Jackson, et al., "Social Capital I: Measurement and Associations with Economic Mobiliity," Nature (2022) Raj Chetty, Matthew Jackson, et al., "Social Capital II: Determinants of Economic Connectedness," Nature (2022) Chetty, Jackson, et al., Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas (website)Dynamics of Wealth Inequality project (Santa Fe Institute) Matthew Jackson, Social and Economic Networks, Princeton University Press (2008) Matthew Jackson, The Human Network, Penguin Random House (2020) Mei, Yuan, and Jackson, "A Turing Test of Whether AI Chatbots are Behaviorally Similar to Humans," PNAS (2024) Xie, Mei, Yuan, and Jackson, "Using Large Language Models to Categorize Strategic Situations and Decipher Motivations Behind Human Behaviors," PNAS (2025) --- Rajiv Set
- Apr 30, 202645 min
The Micro-mechanisms Influencing Social Interactions
Human interactions occur in a variety of contexts. When interactions are marked by conflict, misunderstanding, bias, or aggression, 2024-25 CASBS fellow Katy DeCelles illuminates the micro-sociological and social-psychological dynamics that contribute to the sub-optimal interaction outcomes, enabling the formulation of corrective solutions and better organizational design. DeCelles discusses a sampling of her innovative work in conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Markoff (CASBS fellow, 2017-18). Katherine (Katy) DeCelles: Univ. of Toronto faculty page | Google Scholar page | Poets & Quants profile | DeCelles work discussed & relevant resources: "Scale Dichotomization Reduces Customer Racial Discrimination and Income Inequality," Nature 639, 19 February 2025 "Racial Bias Eliminated When Ratings Switch from Five Stars to Thumbs Up or Down," Nature, 19 February 2025"How Gig Platforms Can Mitigate Racial Bias in Ratings," Harvard Business Review, 14 March 2025"Different or Impartial? Actor-Observer Asymmetries in Expressing and Evaluating Sociopolitical Neutrality," Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 154(11), 2025"Understanding the Dynamics of Workplace Violence Can Improve Employee Health and Safety," Rotman School of Management, Univ. of Toronto, 2022 John Markoff: website | John's latest book is Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand (Penguin Random House, 2022). His next book (forthcoming, 2027), will be published by MIT Press. Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford UniversityExplore CASBS: website | Bluesky | X | YouTube |LinkedIn | podcast |latest newsletter | signup | outreachHuman CenteredProducer: Mike Gaetani | Audio engineer & co-producer: Joe Monzel |
- Feb 26, 202656 min
David Card: Behind the Nobel
In his first visit since to CASBS since his 1996-97 fellowship, UC Berkeley economist David Card lifts the veil behind the innovative empirical work on the labor market effects of immigration, minimum wages, and education that earned him the Nobel Prize in 2021. In conversation with 2024-25 CASBS fellow Dylan Connor, Card also explores issues and questions involving the relationships among geography, social and labor mobility, and wealth inequalities. DAVID CARD: UC Berkeley page | Berkeley economics page | Wikipedia page | Nobel Prize page | Google Scholar page | Berkeley Nobel Prize article | DYLAN CONNOR: ASU page | Google Scholar page | Work emerging from David Card's CASBS year "Immigrant Inflows, Native Outflows, and the Local Labor Market Impacts of Higher Immigration," Journal of Labor Economics (2001)"Would Financial Incentives for Leaving Welfare Lead Some People to Stay on Welfare Longer?" NBER Working Paper (1997)"Adapting to Circumstances: The Evolution of Work, School, and Living Arrangements among North American Youth," in Youth Employment and Joblessness in Advanced Countries (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000)"School Finance Reform, the Distribution of School Spending, and the Distribution of Student Test Scores," Journal of Public Economics (2002)<a href="https://www.nber.org/books-and-chapters/issues-economics-immigration/more-things-change-immigrants-and-children-immigrants-1940s-1970s-and-1990s" rel=
- Jan 13, 20261h 6m
Your Field Guide for Creating Social Change
Philosophers Michael Brownstein (CASBS fellow 2019-20) and Dan Kelly (2018-19), two of the coauthors of "Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Create Social Change," discuss their book's framing and key concepts with Damon Centola (2014-15), an expert in social network dynamics. The book offers a pragmatic guide for connecting individuals to their role as change agents, illuminating the social feedback processes through which structures, individuals, and social movements interact, unlocking the potential for systemic change.The book is Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change (MIT Press, 2025)Explore the book's website, containing related research, media, more about the authors, and an appendix that provides "A Deeper Dive into Individuals, Structures, and Other Key Concepts"Michael Brownstein: CUNY Graduate Center webpage | personal webpage | Google Scholar page | CASBS page |Dan Kelly: Purdue Univ. webpage | personal webpage | Google Scholar page | CASBS page |Damon Centola: Penn webpage | Network Dynamics Group webpage | Wikipedia page | Google Scholar page | CASBS page |Other works referenced in this episode:Alex Madva, Daniel Kelly, Michael Brownstein, "Change the People or Change the Policy? On the Moral Education of Antiracists," Ethical Theory and Moral Practice (2023)Michael Brownstein, Daniel Kelly, Alex Madva, "Individualism, Structuralism, and Climate Change," Environmental Communication (2021)C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite (1956) (Wikipedia)James S. Coleman, Equality of Educational Opportunity (1966), known as The Coleman Report (Wikipedia)Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (1979 [1984]) (Wikipedia)Other 2018-19 CASBS fellows who Dan Kelly mentions in this episode: Christopher Bryan, Jennifer Freyd, Ying-hi Hong, Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Ruth Milkman Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford UniversityExplore CASBS: website | Bluesky | X | YouTube |LinkedIn | podcast |latest newsletter | signup | outreachHuman CenteredProducer: Mike Gaetani | Audio engineer & co-producer: Joe Monzel |
- Dec 9, 202547 min
Paul Milgrom: Beyond the Nobel
Economist Paul Milgrom is celebrated for his Nobel Prize-winning work on auction theory and design. But he has published a wide range of other innovative, influential research throughout his career – including a book and articles emerging from his 1991-92 CASBS fellowship. Gani Aldashev (CASBS fellow, 2024-25) engages Milgrom on highlights of this often-collaborative or cross-disciplinary work on organizational behavior, the institutional roots of trust and cooperation, social choice for environmental policy, and more.PAUL MILGROM: Stanford faculty page | Personal website | Nobel Prize page | Nobel bio | Wikipedia page| CASBS page |Gani Aldashev: Georgetown faculty page | CASBS page | Google Scholar page |PAUL MILGROM WORKS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:Economics, Organization, and Management (Prentice Hall, 1992), coauthored with John Roberts (CASBS fellow, 1991-92)"Multitask Principal-Agent Analyses: Incentive Contracts, Asset Ownership, and Job Design," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization (1991), coauthored with Bengt Holmstrom"Complementarities and Fit Strategy, Structure, and Organizational Change in Manufacturing," Journal of Accounting and Economics (1995), coauthored with John Roberts"Complementarities, Momentum, and the Evolution of Modern Manufacturing," The American Economic Review (1991), coauthored with Yingyi Qian, John Roberts"Complementarities and Systems: Understanding Japanese Economic Organization," Estudios Economicos (1994), coauthored with John Roberts"The Role of Institutions in the Revival of Trade: The Law Merchant, Private Judges, and the Champagne Fairs," Economics & Politics (1990), coauthored with Douglass North (CASBS fellow, 1987-88) and Barry Weingast (CASBS fellow, 1993-94)Learn about the Champagne Fairs on Wikipedia"Coordination, Commitment and Enforcement: The Case of the Merchant Guild," Journal of Political Economy (1994), coauthored with Avner Greif (CASBS fellow, 1993-94), Barry Weingast"Is Sympathy an Economic Value? Philosophy, Economics, and the Contingent Valuation Method," in Contingent Valuation: A Critical Assessment, J.A. Hausman, ed. (Elsevier, 1993)"Kenneth Arrow's Last Theorem," Journal of Mechanism and Institution Design (2024)Other works referenced in this episode:Oliver Williamson, The Economic Institutions of Capitalism: Firms, Markets, Relational Contracting (Mcmillan, 1985). Much of this book was written at CASBS during Williamson's 1977-78 CASBS fellowship.Works emerging from Milgrom's CASBS fellowshipsMilgrom's collaborations with, intellectual interactions with, or responses to other Nobel Prize winners in this episode:Oliver Williamson (CASBS fellow 1977-78, Nobel Prize 2009)Bengt Holmstrom (Nobel Prize 2016)Robert Wilson (CASBS fellow 1977-78, Nobel Prize 2020)Ronald Coase (CASBS fellow 1958-59, Nobel Prize 1991)Douglass North (CASBS fellow 1987-88, Nobel Prize 1993)Kenneth Arrow (CASBS fellow 1956-57, Nobel Prize 1972) Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford UniversityExplo
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About Human Centered
Conversations about projects and research undertaken by scholars & affiliates of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University; interviews with renowned fellows from CASBS history; and audio versions of occasional CASBS live events. CASBS is a scholarly community like no other for collaborative, cross-disciplinary, generative research. It brings together deep thinkers to address wicked problems and significant societal challenges. It empowers them to challenge boundaries and assumptions in order to advance our understanding of the full range of human beliefs, behaviors, interactions, and institutions. As a leading incubator of human-centered knowledge, CASBS is a place that is, well…human centered. Producer: Mike Gaetani | Engineer & co-producer: Joe Monzel
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