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Human CenteredAuthor: 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, wellhuman centered. Producer: Mike Gaetani Engineer & co-producer: Joe Monzel Learn more about CASBS website: casbs.stanford.edu X: @CASBSStanford LinkedIn: CASBS at Stanford Language: en Genres: Arts, Books, Science, Social Sciences Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Your Field Guide for Creating Social Change
Episode 85
Tuesday, 13 January, 2026
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 |
