This is a narration of an article I wrote about the ideology of materialism for The Skeptic- but you can find it online at https://medium.com/@danielaaronlevy05/the-myth-of-materialism-745c2f95f37e ! I reference some sources throughout the article, which I've copy-pasted for the original article over here:

References

1. Oh GE. Social class, social self-esteem, and conspicuous consumption. Heliyon. February 2021;7.

2. de Botton A. Status Anxiety. London: Penguin Books; 2004.

3. Dittmar H, Bond R, Hurst M, Kasser T. The relationship between materialism and personal well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. November 2014;107(5).

4. Dittmar H, Isham A. Materialistic value orientation and wellbeing. Current Opinion in Psychology. March 2022;46.

5. Bandura A, Walters RH. Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice hall; 1977.

6. DiMaggio P. Culture and Cognition. Annual Review of Sociology. 1997;23:263–287.

7. Lewis HM, Vinicius L, Strods J, Mace R. High mobility explains demand sharing and enforced cooperation in egalitarian hunter-gatherers. Nature Communications. December 2014;5(1).

8. Woodburn J. Egalitarian Societies. Man. September 1982;17(3):431–451.

9. Egilmez E, Naylor-Tincknell J. Altruism and Popularity. International Journal of Educational Methodology. 2017;3(2):65–74.

10. Kafashan S, Sparks A, Griskevicius V, Barclay P. Prosocial Behavior and Social Status. The Psychology of Social Status: Springer; 2014.

11. Wentzel KR. Prosocial Behavior and Peer Relations in Adolescence. Prosocial Development: A Multidimensional Approach: Oxford Academic; 2014.

12. Haidt J. The happiness hypothesis. London: Arrow Books; 2006.

13. Wong PT. Self-Transcendence: A paradoxical way to become your best. International Journal of Existential Psychology & Psychotherapy. 2016;6(1).

14. Wong PT. Meaning-seeking, self-transcendence, and well-being. Logotherapy and Existential Analysis: Proceedings of the Viktor Frankl Institute Vienna. 2016;1:311–321.

15. Becker JC, Hartwich L, Haslam SA. Neoliberalism can reduce well-being by promoting a sense of social disconnection, competition, and loneliness. British Journal of Social Psychology. 2021;60(3):947–965.

16. Avena NM, Rada P, Hoebel BG. Evidence for sugar addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake. Neuroscience & Biochemical Reviews. 2008;32(1):20–39.

17. Love T, Laier C, Brand M, Hatch L, Hajela R. Neuroscience of Internet Pornography Addiction: A Review and Update. Behavioral Sciences. September 2015;5(3):388–433.

18. Hui BPH, Ng JCK, Berzaghi E, Cunningham-Amos LA, Kogan A. Rewards of kindness? A meta-analysis of the link between prosociality and well-being. Psychological Bulletin. December 2020;146(12):1084–1116.

This is a narration of an article I wrote for the University of Bristol, currently available online here https://medium.com/@danielaaronlevy05/how-to-get-yourself-to-exercise-69655d0d4ca9 ! You'll notice I've been mentioning numbers throughout this voice clip, which pertain to both sources and footnotes. They're all available on the Medium page, but I've also included them here:

1. Pedersen BK, Saltin B. Exercise as medicine — evidence for prescribing exercise as therapy in 26 different chronic diseases. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. November 2015;25(S3):1–72.

2. Zero to Finals. Zero to Finals. 2025. Available at: https://zerotofinals.com/. Accessed November 5, 2025.

3. Fox KR. The influence of physical activity on mental well-being. Public Health Nutrition. January 2007;2(3a):411–418.

4. Hausenblas HA, Fallon EA. Exercise and body image: A meta-analysis. Psychology & Health. February 2007;21(1):33–47.

5. Sani SHZ, Fathirezaie Z, Brand S, et al. Physical activity and self-esteem: Testing direct and indirect relationships associated with psychological and physical mechanisms. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. October 2016;2016(12):2617–2625.

6. Basso JC, Suzuki WA. The Effects of Acute Exercise on Mood, Cognition, Neurophysiology, and Neurochemical Pathways: A Review. Brain Plasticity. December 2016;2(2):127–152.

7. Hackney AC, Constantini NW. Endocrinology of Physical Activity and Sport. 3rd ed. Cham: Springer Nature; 2020.

8. Wilckens KA, Stillman CM, Waiwood AM, et al. Exercise interventions preserve hippocampal volume: A meta-analysis. Hippocampus. December 2020;31(3):335–347.

9. You may have seen this book around. It’s all about ‘Dual Systems Theory’, which divides the human mind into two different systems of thought- perfectly mirroring the centuries-older Buddhist conception. These systems are ‘System 1’, which plays the same role as the Buddhist ‘elephant’; and ‘System 2’, matching the Buddhist ‘rider’. This theory, and the mountains of evidence behind it, has completely revolutionised how scientists/economists view human nature, and Kahneman won a Nobel Prize (partly) for it. Kahneman D. Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York City: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 2011.

10. There’s a common myth that to Get Fit, you’ve gotta go from couch potato to a full-fledged gym routine. But how many people actually retain this New Years’ Resolution? It’s not really how people work.

11. Or go for a big stroll- there’s a great free app called AllTrails which will show you all the nice walks available to you wherever you are, and then show you maps of them with GPS.

12. Scientists used to think that endorphins caused a runner’s high. By the way, endorphins are a kind of opioid that your body produces. Stuff like laughter, music, and sunlight literally makes you feel high, so go and touch grass. Siebers M, Biedermann SV, Bindila L, Lutz B, Fuss J. ‘Exercise-induced euphoria and anxiolysis do not depend on endogenous opioids in humans’. Psychoneuroendocrinology. April 2021;126:105–173.

When states break down and societies fall in anarchy, or see military coups, or endure civil wars: people suffer. But why does this happen? And why does the region of Sub-Saharan Africa seem to see more of this than most? Attributing this to individuals or single-factor explanations is an inadequate and weak explanation: attributing it to simple racism is an odious one. But then what's going on?

We critically examine below the surface of society to analyse its structures, and how these affect the strength/stability of a state. We will also explore the root causes of state strength, and compare the geographic and socioeconomic European/Sub-Saharan African state forming experiences.

This episode draws on various scholars, but the outstanding credit has to go to Jeffrey Herbst's groundbreaking study 'States and Power in Africa', which seeks to remedy the unfortunate situation of international relations/institutional economics studies being inefficiently focused on the specifically European experience of how states form and consolidate themselves. Enjoy!

NB: This video was recorded about 9 months before uploading

Traditional masculinity! One of the most discussed and divisive topics around right now. But I want to talk to you about this topic not with an agenda to push, or based off my own opinions. I want to give you some real social science, giving you a thorough breakdown on the topic based on academic scholarship. Enjoy!Brief note: This video was recorded around 9 months before uploading

How does electricity running through meat give rise to consciousness? Science excels at explaining the physical phenomena of our universe, but it seems to run into a philosophical boundary when it tries to explain how physical, neurological processes give rise to subjective phenomena.

In this episode, we explore the different scientific and philosophical positions on just how consciousness works. This is an extremely exciting field at the forefront of human knowledge, pulling both science and philosophy together and attracting some of the sharpest intellects around. It's very fun getting to talk about it! Enjoy :)

NB: This video was recorded about 9 months before upload

Eeeeeevery rando online has a take on this, and currently we're being bombarded by manosphere influencers all dressing up their opinions as fact. But what does the actual evidence say? There's a huge amount of evidence on what really gets us ahead in life. If you want to base your worldview on actual psychology, sociology, and anthropology, this video is made for you!

NB: This video was recorded about 9 months before upload

Welcome back! This episodes focuses on State Formation Theory, a political-sociological theory developed by Charles Tilly and expanded by Jeffrey Herbst; these are the two main experts whose work I draw on for this video. Through the lens of this theory, we set out to answer the titular question via a structural analysis of what makes a state work. Enjoy!

Neoliberalism is a word which you may not have heard of- but its power probably affects every part of your life. Neoliberalism = liberal democracy (generally seen as good) + free market economics; but what does that really mean? What are the consequences of neoliberalism? How does it affect economies, societies, politics, and people?

This is one of the single most important questions out there right now, because for voters to make a better world for themselves they need to know what ideologies they're voting for. Educating yourself on what neoliberalism is and what parties support it can make the difference between you living in a better world or a worse one.

But of course, this is all very politically hot territory. Every person, paper, and influencer has an opinion on the economy, but without any evidence behind it it's just a random person's opinion. At Polymath, we do things a little differently. This video is a summary of the academic literature about neoliberalism- I'm presenting you with the facts, so you can make your own decisions. Enjoy!