Culture and Society

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Idea Stories Opensearch
June 25, 2026
Audio

The Secret to Human ‘Brilliance’ That AI Just Can’t Match

June 18, 2026
Audio

Demis Hassabis Thinks We’re in the ‘Foothills of the Singularity’

June 10, 2026
Audio

Our AI Future: From Abundance to Apocalypse

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Latest Stories in Culture & Society

Idea Stories Opensearch
February 03, 2020
Written

We’re Willing to Excuse Bad People But Not Bad Companies

People believe corporations are less ethical than people, even when the crimes are the same.
Culture & Society
Oscar Munoz, chief executive of United Airlines. Credit: Reuters/Victor Ruiz Garcia
December 03, 2019
Written

Rethink Competition in the Workforce

Good leaders recognize the negative consequences of pitting people and teams against each other.
Culture & Society
Illustration of business team running. Credit: iStock/Olga Kurbatova
November 04, 2019
Written

Narcissistic CEOs Weaken Collaboration and Integrity

Some may be bold leaders, but they create a dangerous corporate culture.
Culture & Society
An employee works on a computer terminal against the backdrop of a picture of late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs at the Startup Village in Kinfra Hi-Tech Park. Credit: Reuters/Sivaram V
July 18, 2019
Written

It Takes More Than Mass Protests to Drive Change

Social advocacy organizations have greater impact on federal legislation when their experts get to testify.
Culture & Society
A hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
May 29, 2019
Written

What Climbing Expeditions Tell Us about Teamwork

A new study mines decades of mountaineering data to measure how groupthink fares against top-down leadership.
Culture & Society
Climbers on the way to the top of Mount Everest. Credit: Reuters/Stringer
May 15, 2019
Written

The Cersei Effect: How Businesses Turn Colleagues into Backstabbers

New research shows that people with shared goals can get lured into “pseudo competitions” that hurt all involved.
Culture & Society
Illustration of a close up of a man’s shoes, which have been tied together. Credit: Alvaro Dominguez
May 09, 2019
Written

Why Putting Yourself in Their Shoes Might Backfire

When our values don’t align, we struggle to see others’ viewpoints.
Culture & Society
Counter-protester Sean Mullin speaks with protester Scott Bannister, of the Liberty For All group, as Bannister demonstrates against the United States’ acceptance of Syrian refugees at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia. Credit: Reuters/David Ryder
March 29, 2019
Written

Better If It’s Man-Made?

Gender bias can negatively affect what we think about products made by women, especially in male-oriented markets.
Culture & Society
Illustration of three women on a beer label. Credit: Amrita Marino
December 11, 2018
Written

Beyond Social Networks: How Cultural Beliefs Really Spread

From anti-vaxxing to gun control, the propagation of beliefs and behaviors is influenced as much by the meanings we ascribe to them as by our social circles.
Culture & Society
A diverse group of people connected through social networks and digital media. Credit: iStock/aurielaki
October 26, 2018
Video

What Our Emails Reveal

It’s hard to hide how you really feel in email.
Culture & Society
Amir Goldberg
October 05, 2018
Written

Heeding the Siren Song of Service

Chad Cooper left a fast-track banking career when the struggling Brooklyn Conservatory of Music called his name.
Culture & Society
Chad Cooper in front of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Credit: Cole Wilson
September 25, 2018
Written

How to Tap Skilled Managers in Villages Where Chiefs Still Rule

Identifying and promoting talented technocrats outside traditional hierarchies can catalyze local economic development.
Culture & Society
A woman walks by a sign at Devil Hole. Credit: Reuters/Baz Ratner
September 07, 2018
Written

What’s the Value of Labor When It’s a Labor of Love?

Artisans who find meaning in their masterpieces are more likely to charge less to connoisseurs.
Culture & Society
A group of women selling jewelry and handicrafts at the walls of the Jaisalmer fort in Rajasthan India. Credit: iStock/Aluxum
August 24, 2018
Written

Exploring the Origins of Foreign Cultural Values

As businesses go global, it pays to understand the beliefs underpinning behaviors that might seem strange.
Culture & Society
Portraits by contemporary artist JR are displayed on the worksite boarding placed around the dome on the Pantheon. Credit: Reuters/Christian Hartmann
August 17, 2018
Written

The Consequences of Viral Outrage

Even justified outcries can backfire when people pile on.
Culture & Society
A group of young men and women looking shocked at their cell phones. Credit: iStock/SIphotography
June 20, 2018
Written

The Secret Sauce in Workplace Training

First-time workers do better when trainers focus on “unwritten skills,” such as how to talk to strangers.
Culture & Society
Professor Aruna Ranganathan with factory workers| Courtesy of Aruna Ranganathan
May 07, 2018
Written

Do You Discriminate Along Party Lines?

A Stanford study hints at the broad consequences of political polarization.
Government & Politics
A worker at a factory in Kfar Saba near Tel Aviv cuts fabric printed with U.S. flags. | Reuters/Nir Elias
April 19, 2018
Written

How Do You Define “Culture”?

Stanford GSB professors recommend their favorite books and articles related to the concept.
Leadership & Management
An illustration of a crowd of multiracial people reading magazines with covers showing others in the crowd. | Illustration by Jorge Colombo
April 05, 2018
Written

What Makes a Community Resilient?

A Stanford study explores how communities recover — or fail to recover — from disasters.
Culture & Society
Residents of the El Salto neighbourhood share a meal during New Year's Eve after Hurricane Maria damaged the electrical grid in September, in Morovis, Puerto Rico December 31, 2017. | Reuters/Alvin Baez
March 27, 2018
Written

A New Kind of Peace Studies: The Stock Market

When Israelis invest in stocks, they are more likely to support peace negotiations, new Stanford research shows.
Markets & Trade
A man stands in front of an electronic board displaying market data at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, in Tel Aviv, Israel. | Reuters/Baz Ratner
March 15, 2018
Written

“The Workplace Is Killing People and Nobody Cares”

A new book examines the massive health care toll today’s work culture exacts on employees.
Culture & Society
An office building at night showing people working late | iStock/Kilhan
February 19, 2018
Written

The Power of a Free Popsicle

A new book shows the value of memorable defining moments on customer and employee experiences.
Culture & Society
January 22, 2018
Written

The Power of Doing Nothing

People love the default option. Why aren’t we using this instinct to better the world?
Culture & Society
A man lays on a bench. | Reuters/Thomas Peter
November 06, 2017
Written

Tex-Mex: Culinary Sham or Authentic Cuisine?

Why the emergence of a now-ubiquitous food category can’t be explained by existing marketing theories.
Culture & Society
Superstar Chef Bryan Caswell's Tex-Mex food haven El Real occupies a converted movie theatre and lights up Westheimer street in Houston| REUTERS/Richard Carson