Best Semiotics Podcasts (2024)

1
Skip the Chocolates, Bring out the Blindfold: ParkinSex & Putting Intimacy At the Forefront 34:06

2d ago34:06

34:06

In honor of Parkinson's awareness month, we're joined by Howard Lenn, EVP, Executive Creative Director at Havas Health Plus, to discuss his team's approach to the work on the "The Kama Sutra of Parkinson's", ParkinSex. Couples that include someone with Parkinson's are more likely to separate than couples that don't. Howard talks about the massive s…

1
The Pain We Feel: Culture in Storytelling and The Learned Expression of Emotions 33:45

16d ago33:45

33:45

Something that has fascinated us recently is the role culture plays in the emotional aspects of storytelling. The emotional response, its justification and the words used to describe it all are heavily influenced by an individual's identity and how they've learned to express themselves. In this episode, we discuss some of the culture differences wh…

1
Nurses are HCPs too: Honoring the Beating Heart of the Healthcare System 36:34

1M ago36:34

36:34

Too often in our industry, when we say "healthcare professional" what we really mean is ONE healthcare profession, the prescribing Medical Doctor. However, nursing is and always has been a part of the healthcare professional team, and today more than ever the roles nurses play in providing care are exactly those we cannot do without. Nursing is imp…

1
A Chance to Stand Out: Does The SAT Do More Good Than Harm? 37:55

2M ago37:55

37:55

Recently, a number of prestigious U.S. universities have talked about reinstating The Scholastic Aptitude Test, more infamously known as The SAT, for applicants to their undergraduate programs. The SAT was once mandatory for college applications, but has become optional and then not used at all in progressive stages over the past two decades. Howev…

1
Do Superbowl Ads Do the Job?: Singing Busts, Resilient Athletes, & Family Photos with the Visually Impaired 54:25

2M ago54:25

54:25

Do you know anyone who just watches the Superbowl for the love of the game anymore? As TV viewers decline across the board, the Big Game on the second Sunday of February remains a must watch event in sports, entertainment, and advertising, hooking the attention from everyone from die-hard sports fans to Swifties. In this special episode, the full t…

1
Let's Think Zebras: Understanding Rare Disease Through the Lives of Those it Effects 38:48

3M ago38:48

38:48

A rare disease diagnosis is the beginning of a journey of unknowns. From an HCPs ability to treat, to a caregivers' emotional burden, to a patient's sense of identity, there are a variety of factors that remain uncertain or unclear which makeup the unique challenge of having a rare disease. Despite the challenge, people living with rare disease per…

1
Uncomfortable Conversations Save Lives: Gardasil, "The Sex Vaccine" 30:56

3M ago30:56

30:56

With January being Cervical Health Awareness month, we felt that this was a great time to breakdown the discussion around Gardasil, an HPV vaccine that can play a major role in curbing the incidence rates of cervical and a variety of other cancers. With that fact alone, Gardasil seems like a no-brainer, but as we explained in a previous episode, it…

1
Leolektrik 57:57

3M ago57:57

57:57

(Audio is a little rough on this one, sorry! Transcript coming soon!) I hope you like bells, because we sure do!!! Genres include: edm, progressive house, trance Here’s where to find them! facebook twitter | goodlionboi soundcloud apple music spotify instagram Tracks played: The Quiet Corner - apple music - soundcloud - spotify Back to Square One L…

1
Medicine at a Crossroads: Doctor Distress, Medical Culture, And "Healing The Healers" 29:33

3M ago29:33

29:33

Doctors are in distress, and pandemic is not the only cause. For decades, the role of the healer has been evolving (or devolving, depending on whom you ask), both in our imaginations and in the literal conditions of labor for doctors. For the first episode of the new year, Sonika and I sit down with Vernon Bainton MD, Chief Medical Officer of Havas…

1
"I Think I'm Turning into my Parents": A Celebration of Life Stage Similarities and Generational Differences 46:43

5M ago46:43

46:43

Use this link to view the video form of this episode: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/havashealthandyou_onehavas-meaningfuldifference-breakingthecode-activity-7140365496129875968-ZpsM?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Have you ever thought about how we describe young people as "finding their way" and older people as "stuck in their ways"? G…

1
Uncomfortable Conversations Save Lives: Shame, Stigma, and Taboos 36:24

5M ago36:24

36:24

There isn't an official list of everything that's considered taboo, but somehow we all have an instinctual sense of words and topics that are off limits. We even try not to invoke the word of some taboos, like death, so we say things like "passing away", "biting the dust", "pushing up daisies", and more). However, healthcare environments are one of…

1
"Your Hair Makes Me Look Like a Bad Mom": A Brief Review of the Semiotics of Hair 35:09

6M ago35:09

35:09

Hair is defined as the "threadlike strands growing from the skin of humans and other mammals", but that does not begin to describe the social significance of your hair. Color, cut, and style are all part of a shared but often tacit set of rules and expectations, and the social evaluation of your hair (or your children's hair) is perceived as speaki…

1
Episode 8: Developing education via storytelling/listening, speculative fiction and narrative futures 35:15

6M ago35:15

35:15

In this episode, Norah Amer delves into the world of education futures with Prof Sarah Dillon, Professor of Literature and the Public Humanities at the University of Cambridge. The conversation explores insights drawn from Professor Dillon's extensive research and experiences, focusing on the power of storytelling and storylistening, speculative fi…

1
Task Overload in Healthcare: When the Provider is Overwhelmed, The Patient Can't Be In Focus 33:54

6M ago33:54

33:54

"Task overload", or the related concepts of "information overload" and "task saturation", is a term developed to describe what happens when there is simply too much for our brains to do--a common occurrence in airline emergencies, spacecraft emergencies, and, unfortunately, everyday work loads in our modern medical systems. The consequences of task…

1
How Can We Sell the Idea of "Less" When We Are Wired to Want "More"? 27:12

7M ago27:12

27:12

Wanting "more" of anything we like seems to be a default human setting, even to the point of problematic excess. A packed closet means we have clothes to wear, an overstuffed fridge means we can eat, and a full wallet means we can buy even more of whatever we please. When Mae West famously said "too much of a good thing is wonderful", she probably …

1
Episode 7: Decoding Semiotics: Crafting the Future of Education 35:15

8M ago35:15

35:15

In this episode, Norah Amer delves into the captivating realm of semiotics alongside esteemed scholar Professor Massimo Leone. Hailing from the University of Turin, Italy, where he holds a Tenured Full Professorship in Philosophy of Communication, Cultural Semiotics, and Visual Semiotics, Professor Leone's expansive journey spans continents and div…

1
Speaking Around Death: Communicating About The End of Life 26:19

8M ago26:19

26:19

Death is an inevitable part of the human experience--OUR experience. But speaking about death, specifically how we want to spend our last months and days on earth when illness makes the end both visible and inevitable, is challenging. We find ourselves struggling to overcome taboos and other cultural and personal barriers to communication, and that…

1
Between Doctors and Patients:The Cultural Dynamics of the Medical Interview 32:26

8M ago32:26

32:26

When designing interventions to improve the doctor-patient visit, we often forget that, in some sense, all doctor-patient conversations are cross-cultural. Doctors literally embody the clinic itself, as both its representatives and agents, whereas the patients simply represent themselves and their needs. When designing communication strategies for …

1
The Truth, The Half Truth, and Flat-out Lies: Dishonesty is About Intention, Not Being Factual 17:27

9M ago17:27

17:27

Trust in relationships, business, personal or otherwise, is built in large part on perceptions of honesty, which we gauge based on the perceived intent of the person in that relationship. It's more difficult for some to be seen as honest because of their perception as liars, someone who makes untrue claims, or worse, a palterer, someone who uses th…

1
Uncomfortable Conversations Save Lives: The Future of Inclusive Design 39:46

9M ago39:46

39:46

Including your audience into the development process, with intentionality, is key in designing effective initiatives, campaigns, and products that do justice for them. Bringing the right people to the table is only the start - the hard part is incorporating their truths into an end result that properly represents them. The term inclusive design is …

1
Episode 6: Desiring Otherwise: Discussing the Near Future Teaching project for transforming Higher Education. 23:22

9M ago23:22

23:22

In this episode, Felipe Sánchez talks with Prof Siân Bayne, director of the Centre for Research in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh. They discuss about the "Near Future Teaching" project, which aimed to develop a vision for the future of digital education at the university. The project took a values-based approach, focusing on diver…

1
Gaslighting: Do We Really Think Doctors Are Trying To Make Patients Crazy? 23:40

10M ago23:40

23:40

A doctor's dismissal of symptoms can be devastating for a patient. We know it's a problem, but what do we call it? There's a variety issues that's could be at the root of this dismissal. The answer may be Medical gaslighting - or it may not. Listen as we discuss the rapidly increasing prevalence of the term "Medical gaslighting", and how use of the…

1
Incoherent Behavior Makes Us Human 20:11

10M ago20:11

20:11

We've all been in situations where our actions don't perfectly align with who we purport to be - to ourselves or others. These inconsistencies are much easier to spot in other people, like a nurse who treats with one philosophy and teaches at-home treatment with another or a patient in pain who doesn't fill the prescription given to them for that p…

1
Episode 5: Navigating the Shift: Education and the Digital Age. 39:35

10M ago39:35

39:35

In this episode, Felipe Sánchez speaks with Prof Kristian Bankov about the future of education, building on his book, "The Digital Mind", reflecting on the impact of digital culture on education and what that means for our thinking and communication. Kristian highlights the general shift from a text-based culture to a culture of navigation driven b…

1
Let's Be Real About What Doctors Feel Ft. Andrew Gardner 24:29

11M ago24:29

24:29

Everyone in advertising is aware that our job is to "create emotional connections" with our audiences. While emotion is unarguably a strong driver of behavior change, emotion based interventions only work when we are able to correctly identify true emotions --this is something that our industry struggles with when it comes to doctors. Doctor's emot…

1
Just Because You Built a Website Doesn't Mean It's Actually A "Community" 26:29

11M ago26:29

26:29

You are not part of a community just because someone tells you so, but when understood correctly, insight into communities is a great way to connect with people. To accurately group people into communities, we need to understand, from them, where they see a connection between themselves and others. Community influence and one's sense of belonging i…

1
Social Prescribing As A Reaction To Social Disruption 29:35

12M ago29:35

29:35

While the US surgeon general’s recent Advisory on the US “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” came, for many, out of the blue, the exact phrase “epidemic of loneliness” has been in use for a while now to describe the growing alienation felt by many during this period of technology-driven disruption. Modern industrial life is centered on a mobile …

1
Oh, I LOOOOOVE That: Why Conversational Transcripts Can Be Misleading, And Worse 21:34

12M ago21:34

21:34

It is common practice at marketing agencies to use transcripts as a means of understanding research that has taken place. However, if you want to really understand what happened in an interview, don't rely on transcripts. They are excellent at giving you a sense of vocabulary, and not much else. Join us as we discuss how we should, and shouldn't, b…

1
Episode 4: Co-creating future education with youth, community and creative arts 26:54

12M ago26:54

26:54

In this episode, Felipe Sánchez and Natalie Morrell, Artistic Director of The Knotted Project, talk about the future of youth education through greater engagement in creative arts and especially theatre. Disrupting formal modes of schooling, Natalie offers some insights from The Knotted Project for how education could be reshaped by introducing art…

1
Music as a Vector for Behavior Change Ft. Damien Escobar 28:40

1y ago28:40

28:40

In this episode we sit down with Damien Escobar, Emmy Award winning violist and Director of Music and Culture at Havas, to talk about the role of music in healthcare communications, his role in transforming the music we choose for our work, and the unique ways music can connect with people about difficult topics. If you have any questions, feedback…

1
Drug Resistance Training That Ends Up Increasing Drug Experimentation, And Other Behavior Change Fails: Consequences of Bad Social Science 18:49

1y ago18:49

18:49

Not every behavior change intervention goes to plan, and in this podcast we talk about what happens when poorly thought out social-science or behavior change interventions are launched into the wild. It's one thing to have no measurable effect, but it's entirely another to have the opposite of your intended effect on behavior at large. Join us as w…

1
How to Nudge Without Being a Nag 19:39

1y ago19:39

19:39

When behavior change is on the table, the concept of "nudges" has become a go-to discussion point for every planning session. What IS a nudge, and how is it different from other forms of behavioral change support? And... is it just plain old nagging? If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.…

1
Doctors Treat Disease, Patients Suffer Illness: The Disconnect In How We View What Ails Us 31:24

1y ago31:24

31:24

Modern medical practice has focused on the identification and treatment of biological processes, to great success but at the cost of human engagement. We focus on "disease" as a biological process, but often fail to address the human suffering from that disease. In social sciences, we call this the difference between "disease", the biological proce…

1
Episode 3: Education futures in teaching and research towards a vision of sustainability 26:57

1y ago26:57

26:57

In this episode, Elizabeth J. Cook and Prof Keri Facer Professor of the University of Bristol discuss the relationship between education and futures thinking, including how futures shape education, how we might consider and anticipate futures, while also effecting change in the education system. Prof Facer highlights the importance of dealing with …

1
Your Segmentation Makes Us Sad 17:06

1y ago17:06

17:06

Segmentation studies, those famously dense reports that outline the differences between 'target audiences', are part and parcel of daily life in advertising. In theory, they help us understand what drives our audiences and connect with them on a meaningful level. In practice, many of these studies create a picture of an alternate universe people by…

1
Why Not Fear 19:54

1y ago19:54

19:54

When put in charge of 'making someone do something', it is always tempting to resort to fear tactics--scaring people is a direct way of motivating them, the effects are clear and immediate, and we all know the kinds of things that scare people. This is why 'let's scare them' tactics and strategies are so popular, and why we are often asked as marke…

1
Episode 2: Artificial Intelligence and Internationalisation: A Global South angle 31:25:00

1y ago31:25:00

31:25:00

In this podcast episode, Elizabeth J. Cook talks with Prof Jinghan Zeng of Lancaster University about how artificial intelligence (AI) and internationalisation are shaping education from a Global South angle, and a Chinese context in particular. Among other useful insights, Prof Zeng points at the growing competition for international students and …

1
Why Are There So Many Parks in Pharma Ads? 20:02

1+ y ago20:02

20:02

Pharmaceutical advertising is nothing if not, well, repetitive. If you see a commercial that starts with someone walking on a beach, with a dog, dressed in best “coastal grandma” fashion, odds are you’ll assume (correctly) someone is going to talk about a healthcare brand or condition. Diabetes, lung cancer, depression, birth control—you name it, s…

1
Heuristics Are Useful But Not If You Think They Apply To Absolutely Everything Under The Sun 12:07

1+ y ago12:07

12:07

If you work in communications, you probably have noticed that the word "heuristics" has been popping up a lot lately, mostly in discussions of "drivers of behavior". While the concept of heuristics is very helpful in understanding human decision making (or habitual non-decision making, like ordering the same coffee every day), it isn't the only way…

1
Episode 1: Education through Afrofuturism, Community and Comics 29:26

1+ y ago29:26

29:26

In our first podcast episode, Elizabeth J. Cook talks with Professor Julian C. Chambliss of Michigan State University about approaching education through lenses of community needs/connecting with communities, and creative works relating to Afrofuturism and comics. Prof Chambliss defines Afrofuturism as "the intersection between speculation and libe…

1
Your Discussion Guide Stinks 21:46

1+ y ago21:46

21:46

Discussion guides, those documents packed with detailed questions and sub-questions that can go on forever, are at the heart of many research crimes. As marketers we rely on research-derived insights to build our strategic and creative outputs, but our ideas are only as good as the research behind them. Bad discussion guides, the bad processes that…

1
Taking the BS out of Behavioral Science 13:28

1+ y ago13:28

13:28

Behavioral science is a cornerstone of modern marketing practice, but much of what passes itself off as behavioral science is just bs. Good social science gives us the insights and roadmap we need to change behavior, but bad social science just muddies the water and tarnishes the social sciences. As behavior change is a core objective of marketing,…

1
The METAfesto: A Plea for Digital Dialecticism 33:52

1+ y ago33:52

33:52

During my foray into grad school, one of my favorite professors asked me to write my own manifesto as an assignment. His only instructions were to include a call to action and to "be bombastic." This is a reading of said assignment. My goal here was to put forward the idea that virtual worlds like the Metaverse are not only unnecessary but actively…

1
Justin Peyton, Wunderman Thompson & BRAND N3XT 56:33

1+ y ago56:33

56:33

Objects: things we covet, collect, display, share and utilise. But what do they mean as ‘stuff’ increasingly integrates with our digital lives, or even morphs into virtual worlds? Who better to ask than Justin Peyton from Wunderman Thompson, whose BRAND N3XT platform explores the people and ideas that are working to make Web3 and Metaverse a positi…

1
Chris Arning, Creative Semiotics 38:46

2y ago38:46

38:46

This time, it's Chris Arning who's come to stir the pot with Drago and Scott. Chris runs boutique consultancy Creative Semiotics, teaches an online course titled How to Do Semiotics in Seven Weeks and is the co-founder of Semiofest, and more... What did we get up to stirring up: - We start off with that perennial question of what is Semiotics. - Ch…

1
Myka Donati 44:09

2y ago44:09

44:09

Spooky atmospheres, horror vibes, and narrative music? Sign us up! Genres include: breakcore, cinematic, narrative Despite whatever we say in the episode, the EP that "Trouble at Dock 3" is on is, in fact, out! It's called Journey and you can find it on Apple Music and Spotify. Here’s where to find them! spotify apple music songtradr soundcloud (as…

1
Leave-taking 36:05

2y ago36:05

36:05

We explore Kristina's experience taking leave as a parent of a newborn, and, true to MRXplorer form, expand it to how leave should be for everyone everywhere. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mrxplorer/message

1
Do I still belong here? 29:47

2y ago29:47

29:47

Z gets pretty vulnerable as she shares her struggle with whether or not she can still be considered a market researcher now that she's in a research operations role. If you've ever experienced impostor syndrome, you'll likely relate quite heavily to her concerns about the way her career has evolved. From career paths to how one's focus changes duri…

1
Pei Ying Loh, Kontinentalist 55:31

2y ago55:31

55:31

Potluck returns for our 3rd season, and the first episode of 2022. Pei Ying Loh is Head & Co-Founder of Kontinentalist, an organisation dedicated to telling data-driven stories about Asia. As a collective of writers, designers, developers and data-visualisers, they tackle topics connected to Culture, Politics, People and History through various cre…

1
We're Back! with Kristina and Z 26:22

2y ago26:22

26:22

Kristina and Z are back! They chat through some of the "where have we been," and then, "what are we gonna talk about the next few months," and generally just catch up podcast-like. Also, Wordle and Nerdle get a mention! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mrxplorer/message…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Semiotics Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

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