#AcademicRunPlaylist - 5/25/25

We went for a nice bike ride today, and while enjoying the sites I also enjoyed listening to talks and books for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was an interesting talk by Cecilia Laschi on methods and technologies for soft robotics at MIT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGA6m-t9PLQ

Next was "The Whistleblowing Guide" by Kate Kenny, Wim Vandekerckhove, and Marianna Fotaki. This book makes a fantastic introduction to the speak up (i.e. whistleblowing) literature, surveying the state of the field while also bringing in compelling case studies. This area is only growing in importance, and this book is structured so that researchers, organizational practitioners, directors, and investors can all get up to speed and jump into follow up material. The example of the Iron Ring worn by Canadian engineers as a symbol/reminder of their ethical obligations was especially compelling. Highly recommend https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Whistleblowing+Guide%3A+Speak-up+Arrangements%2C+Challenges+and+Best+Practices-p-9781119360780

Next was "Talk" by Alison Wood Brooks. Combining a number of research streams around conversational content, style, and dynamics, Brooks presents an engaging and informative view of conversational science and clearly lays out how to apply these lessons. There were more space devoted to examples, particularly involving celebrities, than I found necessary, but I think most people will enjoy these sections. Overall, this is an excellent overview of the state of conversational science and its importance for a wide range of outcomes. Highly recommend https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/708473/talk-by-alison-wood-brooks/

Last was "Blind Spots" by Max Bazerman and Ann Tenbrunsel. Unlike many behavioral economics books, this one does venture a bit into some structural issues, in this case those that shape ethical decisions. Most is still focused on summarizing research on that topic, and it does a good job of that. However, since publication many of the papers that are referred to have failed to replicate/been discredited, so if you're unfamiliar with the field you probably should read something more recent. That being said, if you're up on the literature this is a quick, useful read. Highly recommend https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691156224/blind-spots