Shankar Vedantam

Boys get the message quickly: a man is supposed to be strong and independent. That message, researchers say, has widespread consequences for men's social lives and physical health.

Americans tend to have more children in a strong economy. Research suggests that conceptions might be a leading economic indicator — meaning declines in conceptions can predict the next downturn.

Flight delays and late arrivals have gone down since 1990. At the same time, airlines have increased scheduled flight times because flights are taking longer, and more time is spent taxiing.

Why did the #MeToo movement take off recently and not decades ago? The story of a playwright who was publicly accused of sexual misconduct in the 1990s and again in 2017 offers some clues.

A new study finds that counties with teams in the Super Bowl experienced significantly higher influenza deaths for people 65 and older compared to counties that didn't have a team that participated.

Can we improve concentration when our attention is constantly being diverted? Researchers found running electrical current through someone's head helps — but it isn't the most practical solution.

Recessions are painful for a variety of reasons. A new study shows that during the Great Recession, mortality rates declined faster in areas where the unemployment rate grew faster.

Decades ago, Randy Gardner stayed awake for 11 days. He broke a record in the process, but the teenage stunt has come back to haunt him. At 71, he offers wisdom about staying up past your bedtime.

Social science research explores how our minds push away information that gets in the way of our feelings and desires.

What is it that makes you...you? NPR's Shankar Vedantam explores new research that suggests the labels we use to categorize people affect not just who they are now, but who they'll be in the future.

A drive to better understand ourselves and the people around us has led to the creation of a thriving industry built around personality testing.

A new study indicates that smoking bans, which were designed to affect adults' behavior, in fact improve children's health.

New social science research explores the relationship between who becomes a CEO and family birth order. First-born sons are far more likely to be represented among the ranks of CEOs.

A new study says people who ask more questions, particularly follow-up questions, are liked better by their conversation partners.

A study looks at the effect of housing vouchers on criminal activity. People who receive Section 8 vouchers are more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, but this effect only shows up for men.

A new study finds that people who looked at positive images of things like puppies next to a pictures of their spouses went on to have more positive feelings toward their spouses.

A new study shows that CEOs who invest in corporate social responsibility initiatives put themselves at significant risk of losing their jobs.

Being able to recognize faces is a crucial part of life. Some of us are very good or bad at it, but in general we aren't as good as we think we are.

Researchers say that trash-talking can motivate people to outperform their opponents. This happens for tasks that involve effort, but not creativity.

Married men and women who use pornography are more likely to get divorced than men and women who do not, researchers say. Porn is a driver in making relationships worse, increasing the divorce risk.