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The Story Collider

Someone Else's Shoes: Stories about understanding others perspectives

The Story Collider

Story Collider, Inc.

Arts, Science, Performing Arts, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4824 Ratings

🗓️ 15 August 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers are pushed out of their comfort zones—and challenged to see the world through someone else’s eyes.

Part 1: As someone who always likes to play it safe, psychologist Kenneth Carter sets out to understand what makes thrill-seekers tick.

Part 2: Philosophy professor Rob Reich is frustrated that so many new Stanford students are headed straight into computer science.

Dr. Kenneth Carter is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology at Oxford College of Emory University and the founding director of the Emory University Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement. He served as the interim dean of Oxford College from 2022-2023. A graduate of Oxford College and Emory University, Carter received an MA and PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan. He is the author of several textbooks including Psychopathology: Understanding Psychological Disorders (Cambridge University Press) and the forthcoming Living Psychology (SAGE Publications). He has published in both academic and lay publications, translating psychology research into engaging everyday language. His articles have been published in magazines such as Psychology Today and Women’s Health, and he has appeared on news programs such as CNN Tonight, NPR’s: ShortWave, All Things Considered, and NBC’s Today show. The psychology of thrill-seeking is the current focus of Dr. Carter’s research. He has delivered TEDx talk on thrill-seekers and is the host of Mind of a Motorhead an NBC Sports web series that examines the personalities of motorsport athletes. His most recent book is Buzz!: Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers, Daredevils, and Adrenaline Junkies (Cambridge University Press). When not teaching, speaking, or writing, Dr. Carter prefers reading and relaxing on the beach rather than wingsuit flying or BASE jumping.

Rob Reich, is the McGregor-Girand Professor of Social Ethics of Science and Technology, Associate Director of Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), Co-Director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS), and the former Director of Stanford's Center for Ethics in Society. His scholarship in political theory engages with the work of social scientists and engineers. His current work is on ethics, policy, and technology. As a 2024-25 Scholar in Service, he will serve as Senior Advisor to the U.S. AI Safety Institute (AISI).

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

A science story, huh?

0:04.0

Is NYU scientist the...

0:06.0

I felt...

0:07.0

I felt...

0:08.0

I was so...

0:09.0

And I just thought, well...

0:10.0

It was that golden moment...

0:13.0

Because science was on my side.

0:15.0

It was on my side. Hey everyone, welcome to The Story Clatter, where true personal stories about science help us explore just how weird and wonderful it is to exist in this world and be a human.

0:33.3

I'm your host, Misha Gayevsky, and today's episode is all about putting yourself in someone else's shoes.

0:38.8

Okay, our first story today comes from psychologist and author Ken Carter.

0:42.9

This story is recorded at Waller's Coffee Shop in Atlanta, Georgia last year.

0:46.6

Here's Ken.

0:51.0

So it's 2008, and I'm taking my very first trip to a foreign country that's not Canada, Europe, or Texas.

1:05.2

And so I decide to cobble together a lot of airline miles and hotel points for a 10-day trip to Hong Kong.

1:16.1

I love experiencing other cultures from the really, really safe vantage point of hop-on, hop-off buses.

1:25.2

I had everything prepared. I even went to the New York Times to find out the best restaurant to go to.

1:32.2

And then a couple of days before I left, I did what I always do when I go to a restaurant

1:38.7

that I've never been to before.

1:40.4

I go online to look at the menu.

1:44.1

I'm sort of one of those ready, aim, aim, aim, aim people.

1:52.1

So I kind of want to know what's going to be on the menu before I go,

...

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