Blog

Nov 7, 2025 1 min read Blog

Jesse Eisenberg Is Donating His Kidney to a Stranger

Giving a kidney to a stranger is called a non-directed donation. Donations like this often trigger an average of five additional kidney transplants because they complete a chain of potential matches. It’s probably one of the single most impactful things that the average, healthy adult can do.

“It's essentially risk-free and so needed," Eisenberg told TODAY.com in a separate interview. "I think people will realize that it's a no-brainer, if you have the time and the inclination."

Dr. Abigail Marsh and I discuss this a bit this episode of the podcast. If you’re inclined, here’s a good place to start.

Jesse Eisenberg Is Donating His Kidney to a Stranger

Nov 6, 2025 1 min read Blog

Teaching social and emotional also improves grades

A newly published meta-analysis found that when schools provide kids with Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs, their grades go up too. The effect size is modest but significant, roughly a five-percentile bump, or equivalent to a 0.1 GPA increase. Also, the effect size of programs longer than four months is double that of shorter programs.

Still, the idea that we can teach social and emotional skills in school—and not just academic topics—will hopefully become more common.

Researcher indicates that students’ social, emotional, and cognitive development is strongly connected and integral to students’ effective learning and positive academic outcomes…Although children and youth also develop social-emotional competencies (SECs) from their everyday life situations, they widely vary in their opportunities for exposure to such experiences that benefit their outcomes. If the goal of schooling is to support the academic achievement of all students to reach their fullest potential, then providing all students with the opportunities to access experiences that improve SECs is vital to this process.

Disentangling the Effects of Social and Emotional Learning Programs on Student Academic Achievement Across Grades 1–12: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

May 17, 2025 1 min read Blog

What Companies Value: Apple & Accessibility

Every company does at least some things that don’t make money, or at least aren’t closely tied to making money. What those things are tells you a lot about what the company values.

One thing Apple’s been consistent about for years is building best-in-class accessibility features for the users of their products. There’s really no other tech company that comes close. And yet, I’d be shocked if what Apple invests in accessibility is profitable for them. I think they just do it because it’s right.

Anyway, watch this video to get a clear picture (pun intended) of something that Apple values.

May 16, 2025 1 min read Blog

A Guide to Better Arguments

Great advice, top-to-bottom, in this article about how to make arguments productive. And there’s something for everyone. If you’re conflict-averse, there’s this from the Key Points:

The need for argument is unavoidable. Hostile or unproductive exchanges can make arguing seem hopeless. But it’s vital because it holds the potential to answer important questions and change beliefs.

If you’re often getting sucked into fights in the Facebook comments, there’s this:

Aim to argue justly. ‘Owning’ someone with unfair tactics or bad reasoning is hardly a victory, and ‘losing’ a fair argument has its benefits.

How to have better arguments | Psyche Guides

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