The Beat Goes On

Some people talk about being a slave to the beat. A new study out of Stanford suggests that synchronized activities like marching in time, and chanting in church, can actually improve how societies function. We explore the role of rhythm in society with the study's co-author, Scott Wiltermuth, a PhD Candidate at Stanford, and Daniel Levitin, author of "The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature."

We also speak with Henkjan Honing, Associate Professor at the Cognitive Science Center in Amsterdam, about a new study exploring how newborn babies respond to musical beats.

Souncheck blog: John Schaefer on rhythm and humans