You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

I just moved.

So I spent a lot of time evaluating my living situation,

thinking about whether to be in a house, an apartment, and how it could be different.

Like, it'd be nice to have a bathtub.

How can my living space be different? Now that my wife and I are empty nesters, we could make our lower level, maybe put a little office there, maybe a listening space.

I would love to have a bigger living room to like do art nights in and host people.

My roommate could have heat in her room. That's a big one.

What do you you noticing here? Any patterns? I asked two social psychologists this question.

Ethan Ledwin-Pyrry at Hampshire College.

Oh man, I mean the bathroom in my apartment could be bigger.

It's a great apartment, but my bathroom is a closet.

And Adam Mastrioni at Columbia Business School.

What about Adam, how can your living space be different?

Well, I mean, given that I'm speaking to you on a laptop that's precariously perched on two boxes,

there's a pillow behind this mic to like dampen the sound.

I'm like sort of in half darkness because there's

no overhead lights in this room. So those are just a few things that come to mind.

So there's definite room for improvement in this room.

Ethan and Adam have been thinking about how things could be different.

Actually a lot.

Not just their living spaces, everything even YouTube or iPhones or Congress.

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