Radical Thinkers

Extremist ideologies can offer simple answers to complex problems - making them dangerously seductive. But are some brains wired to be susceptible to extremism?🧠 Pioneering work by Gates Cambridge Scholar Dr @LeorZmigrod is revealing the cognitive traits that make the mind more vulnerable to ideological capture whether far-left or far-right. Watch our latest film which explores Leor's research, and the emerging neuroscience of extremist thinking. Dr Leor Zmigrod is a prize-winning scientist and pioneer in the field of political neuroscience and psychology #CambridgeUniversity #CambridgeResearch #Cambridge #UniversityOfCambridge Read more here:

A team of Cambridge social scientists have been conducting research on the world’s largest trial of a four-day working week. Last year, 61 organisations in the UK committed to a 20% reduction in working hours for all staff for six months. With no fall in wages. The findings suggest that a four-day week significantly reduces stress and illness in the workforce, and helps with worker retention. In a report of the results presented to UK lawmakers, some 92% of companies that took part in the UK pilot programme (56 out of 61) say they intend to continue with the four-day working week, with 18 companies confirming the change as permanent. Find out more here -

Sander van der Linden has a nickname: Cambridge’s professor of “defence against the dark arts”. His team works with governments and organisations such as Google to find ways to fight against misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories. Watch Sander explain his radical idea: that people can be “inoculated” against falling for fake news. Want to be involved in the research? Play the games here: Find out how Cambridge researchers are helping transform the world around us. #ittakesimagination

The last few decades of human prosperity have taken a devastating ecological toll. This is in part because nature is absent from the accounting systems that dictate national economies. In February 2021, the Cambridge economist Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta published a ground-breaking report on the economics of biodiversity. Watch Sir Partha outline the radical thinking required to reshape global economies in a sustainable way. Find out more: Discover the latest research taking place at Cambridge and sign up to stay up to date with our films, podcasts, news and features. Thumbnail credit: John Duncan