Converging Dialogues

Latest Episodes:

#201 - The Invention of Tomorrow: A Dialogue with Adam Bulley Feb 02, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Adam Bulley about foresight and its evolutionary history. They define what foresight is and how it is different from prospective memory. They discuss how much executive functioning is involved, episodic foresight, abstraction, and theory of mind. They talk about the evolutionary history of foresight, cultural evolution, human development, and predictive models and perception. They also talk about brain systems involved with foresight, new technology, social dynamics, clock time, and many more topics.

Adam Bulley is a postdoctoral fellow at the Brain and Mind Centre and School of Psychology, The University of Sydney and the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. His primary research areas are in the evolution, mechanism, and psychology of imagination, foresight, and decision-making. He is the co-author (with Thomas Suddendorf & Jon Redshaw) of the book, The Invention of Tomorrow: A Natural History of Foresight. You can find his research here. Twitter: @adamdbulley

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#200 - Marketing in the 21st Century: A Dialogue with Pinar Yildirim Jan 30, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Pinar Yildirim about marketing in our current society. They begin by defining marketing, how marketing influences consumers, and the importance of design and branding in marketing. They also discuss consumer loyalty within marketing and global marketing. They talk about content moderation within social media, public vs. private organizations, Tik Tok and data privacy, and many other topics.

Pinar Yildirim is Associate Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, Associate Professor by courtesy at the Penn Department of Economics, NBER Faculty Fellow, Senior Fellow at the Center for Technology and Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a PhD degree in Marketing and Business Economics and a PhD in Engineering, both from the University of Pittsburgh.

Pinar’s research areas are technology, media and information economics. She focuses on applied theory and applied-economics of online platforms, advertising, networks, media, and politics. Her research appeared in leading management, marketing journals including Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, and Journal of Marketing. She has received numerous grants and honors including, Marketing Science Institute Scholar, and earlier the Young Scholar, Awards, Seenu Srinivasan Young Scholar Award in Quantitative Methodology and the Erin Anderson Award for Emerging Mentor and Scholar. Her research has been covered by numerous media outlets such as CNN, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Forbes, Politico, Vox, San Francisco Chronicle, among others. She is on the Editorial Board of Marketing Science and Journal of Marketing Research, two leading academic journals of marketing.

Website: www.pinaryildirim.com

Twitter: @prof_yildirim

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#199 - Breaking Barriers in Biology: A Dialogue with Joseph Graves Jr. Jan 26, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Joseph Graves Jr. about his life experiences and research in evolutionary biology. They talk about why he wrote his most recent book as half memoir/half popular science book, his early beginnings in the Jim Crow South, and how he became interested in the biological sciences. They talk about his work on Drosophila and broader research areas in evolutionary biology, his work on race and IQ, and many other topics.

Joseph Graves Jr. is an evolutionary biologist and Professor of Nanoengineering at North Carolina A&T State University. He has his BA in Biology from Oberlin College and his PhD from Wayne State University. He has studied the evolutionary theory of aging and race and IQ. He is the author of the most recent book, Voice In The Wilderness. You can find his work here. Twitter: @gravesjl55

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#198 - Racial Equity and Selfhood: A Dialogue with Brian Lowery Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Brian Lowery about racial equality and equity, privilege, and selfhood. They discuss the major data points and reasons for continued racial inequities, systemic racism, and different types of privilege. They also talk about the differences between equity, equality, and equality of opportunity. They also discuss the efficacy of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) departments in academia and in the workforce. They also discuss the self and how one defines the self, why a social context is important, the uniqueness of individuals, and many more topics.

Brian Lowery is the Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University. He is a social psychologist and is the director of many leadership groups. His research focuses on racial attitudes, perception of inequality, and the social context. He is also the host of Know What You See podcast. You can find his work here. Twitter: @brianloweryphd

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#197 - Freely Determined: A Dialogue with Ken Sheldon Jan 19, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Ken Sheldon about free will, determinism, the self, and positive psychology. They talk about why studying free will is important, the three horsemen of determinism, grand hierarchy of human interaction, and the illusion of free will. They also talk about the self, self-determination theory, the symbolic self, and many more topics.

Ken Sheldon is the Curator’s Distinguished Professor at the University of Missouri. He is well-established in the Positive Psychology field and is well-published in the scientific literature. His main interests are in motivation, well-being, personality, and values. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including the most recent book, Freely Determined. You can find his work here.

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#196 - Wagnerism: A Dialogue with Alex Ross Jan 16, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Alex Ross about Richard Wagner and his legacy. They discuss why he wrote a book on Wagner and what is Wagnerism, Wagner’s relationship with Nietzsche, and the many interpretations of Wagner. They talk about Wagner’s antisemitism, alternative Wagnerisms, Wagner’s impact on literature, Nazi Germany, and cinema.

Alex Ross is a writer and music critic who has been writing for The New Yorker for over 25 years. He writes on classical music from opera to avant-garde and has published pieces on literature, history, and film. He is the author of the Pulitzer prize winning, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. He is also the author of the latest book, Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music. You can find his work here and here. Twitter: @alexrossmusic

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#195 - Healthcare and Public Health: A Dialogue with Michael Stein Jan 12, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Michael Stein about healthcare vs. public health. They talk about the narratives around healthcare and public health, biopsychosocial model, and progress of health in the USA. They talk about how to get people to care about the health of their fellow citizens, global health vs. USA public health. They talk about preventative vs. reactionary care, pandemic issues, public health as process and practice, and many more topics.

Michael Stein is a physician and health policy researcher in public health. He is the current Chair and Professor of Health, Law, Policy, and Management at Boston University School of Public Health. He has done research for over three decades on sleep, pain addiction, HIV/AIDS, and health care access. He is the author of eleven books including the more recent, Me Vs. Us. You can find his work here.

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#194 - Stories & Culture: A Dialogue with Kat Rosenfield Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kat Rosenfield about stories and culture. They discuss her process for writing novels and essays, writing a gothic mystery novel, and how she writes strong female protagonists. They also talk about the stories we tell in our society, outrage culture, and many more topics.

Kat Rosenfield is a freelance pop culture writer. She is a former reporter for MTV News and has written articles for Entertainment Weekly, Unherd, Vulture, Wired, and many other places. She is the author of many books including Alliances: A Trick of Light with Stan Lee. Her newest novel is You Must Remember This and can be purchased here. You can find her at her website. Twitter: @katrosenfield

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#193 - Digital Sovereignty's Elusiveness: A Dialogue with Aynne Kokas Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Aynne Kokas about digital sovereignty and our data in the digital world. They discuss the US-China relationship with the tech industry. They define digital sovereignty and data trafficking, discuss ownership and management of personal data, and what are the three risks of data trafficking and three limitations of the US system for data. They also talk about China’s cyber sovereignty and China’s use of military for data surveillance. They discuss digital sovereignty and social media, the dangers of Tik Tok, and many more topics.

Aynne Kokas is the C.K. Yen Professor at the Miller Center and associate professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. She is also a non-resident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute of Public Policy, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a fellow in the National Committee on United States-China Relations’ Public Intellectuals Program. Her work mostly focuses on US media and technology relations. She is the author of Hollywood Made in China and her latest release, Trafficking Data: How China is Winning the Battle for Digital Sovereignty. Website: https://www.aynnekokas.com/ Twitter: @aynnekokas

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#192 - Transfer of Power: A Dialogue with David Marchick Jan 02, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Marchick about the presidential transfer of power. They discuss the podcast he hosted on the transfer of power and how the book was developed. They talk about presidential transitions, the importance of the Office of Presidential Personnel, and importance of the General Services Administration. They discuss four key features of leading in crisis and discuss the presidential transitions of Presidents Carter, Reagan, and other presidents. They talk about the importance of Chris Liddell, presidential transitions for the future, and many more topics.

David Marchick is the Dean of the Kogard School of Business at American University. He has served as the Chief Operating Officer of the United States Development Finance Cooperation for the Biden Administration. He also held several positions in the Clinton Administration. He was also Director of the Center for Presidential Transition. He is the co-author of the book, The Peaceful Transition of Power: An Oral History of Presidential Transitions based on conversations he had on the podcast, Transition Lab. You can find his work here.

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