Social Trends

Guy under stress

According to one estimate there may be as many as 50 million workers in the on demand economy, and they're not all Uber drivers or freelancers. Economist Guy Standing has a word for this new and very insecure economic class: "the precariat."

reading a story

It used to be easy to get lost in a good book, but now lots of people say reading is boring. Scientists say all that skimming and surfing on electronic screens is actually rewiring our brains. So we examine the new science of reading.

Man alone in a tunnel

David Morris spent three years reporting in Iraq before an improvised explosive device forced him to return home. The attack haunted him, and kicked off a bout with PTSD that would take years to recover from. 

In the shadows, reflecting on violence.

In 2011, Mac McClelland was reporting on reconstruction in Haiti when she witnessed another woman's traumatic flashback. Just seeing the horror in that woman's face was enough to traumatize Mac.

reflecting on a bus

Journalist Jim Rendon tells producer Rehman Tungekar that resilence in the face of trauma is actually quite common.

Touching glass in a rainstorm

Psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk is studying the healing power of helping people with post traumatic stress disorder focus less on telling their stories, and more on how their stories feel — how they sound, look, or smell.

A healing hand

As terrible as it sounds, most of us will go through something traumatic at some point in our lives. The experience can be deeply isolating and crushing, but it doesn't have to be. 

Price is right

You score a royal flush in poker!  Do you credit your skill? Or luck?  We talk with a poker champion, a game designer, an investment banker and a choreographer about how to untangle skill from luck.

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