Clear In Vivid is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's program in public understanding,

which aims to enrich people's lives through a keener appreciation of our increasingly

scientific and technological world, and to portray the complex humanity of scientists,

engineers, and mathematicians.

I'm Alan Olga, and this is Clear In Vivid, conversations about connecting and communicating.

When I give my seminar talks, I like giving this example.

When we go to seminars in academic spaces, there's sometimes like free pizza.

Imagine you're reaching for the last light of pizza at the same time as the chair of the

department is reaching for the last light of pizza.

It's probably going to take you less than a second to retract your hand.

And that automatic reaction is because your brain can understand that where you're in,

that person has more power than you.

That's Nancy Badea Coriano, a young researcher at an exciting moment in her career, setting

up her own lab in a new city.

Her research is exciting too. It uses the latest tools that allow her to track how individual

neurons in the brain control behavior, including how we instantly recognize and respond to

whether someone has more or less power than we do.

But I was fascinated by something else about her career too, that it reflects the theme

of this podcast, connecting and communicating.

This is going to be very interesting for me to talk with you because our show is to a

great extent about communication and we're lading.

And your story is touched with communication all the way through, I think.

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