2025 Year in Review: Our most popular and controversial columns
We summarize our top six posts from the past year
When we created this newsletter a little under five years ago to coincide with the publication of our book, we didn’t anticipate that we would still be producing new content this far out. We now have nearly 10,000 subscribers, 16,000 followers and had roughly 300,000 readers this year. So thanks to everyone for tuning in — and a special thanks to people who recommended our newsletter to others or became paid subscribers this year!
Here is a summary of our most popular posts from the past year: 3 summarizing new scientific papers from the Center for Conflict & Cooperation and 3 riffing on cultural trends and ideas. Check them out below:
Top 3 articles from the Center for Conflict and Cooperation’s Research Bulletin:
How social media distorts our perceptions
The experience of interacting with others on social media is becoming more and more distant from reality. Jay recently wrote an article for the Guardian exploring this disconnect. He explains how social media creates a deeply distorted picture of society, amplifying outrage and division far beyond what most people experience in their daily lives.
Social media doesn’t just reflect public opinion, it distorts it like a funhouse mirror, amplifying extreme opinions and hate. Jay explored this phenomena in this newsletter and in an article he wrote for the Guardian, explaining how seeing these distortions can lead us to develop more extreme beliefs and animosity towards other groups. Research from our lab also finds that we can reduce those harmful effects by changing our online habits, such as unfollowing the most polarizing accounts.
You can also check out our short video summary on this topic.
Healthy vs Harmful National Identities
For many Americans, July 4th is a day of fireworks, barbecue, and flags rippling in the wind—a day of shared national pride. But as that pride has waned in recent years, it’s also a time to ask: What does it mean to be proud of one's country? Today’s newsletter unpacks healthy and harmful forms of national identification and how they shape the world in profoundly different ways.
Having pride in your nation is generally a positive trait and linked to supporting fellow group members. However, ‘national narcissism’ — an image-obsessed, defensive, superficial form of national identity — comes with a host of problems. This newsletter by Anni Sternisko reveals how national narcissism has seeped into political life across many countries, posing a serious threat to democracy, public health, environmental protection, trust in science, and more.
How Identity Shapes Our Health: The Social Psychology Behind Polarized Behavior
In 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic took the lives of 76% more Republicans than Democrats. Why does politics so strongly impact their health and well-being?
Identifying with a social group—whether that be a political party, your local community, or even a run club—can impact what actions you take to stay healthy. In our most read newsletter of 2025, Raunak Pillai lays out how social identities shape public health by affecting both the beliefs we hold about any given health behavior, and how important those different beliefs are to us. This framework helps explain why health outcomes can diverge so starkly across party lines, as seen in 2020 and 2021 when COVID-19 took the lives of 76% more Republicans than Democrats.
Top 3 articles from The Power of Us:
How the rise of Cluely (a tool for cheating) exploited the science of online virality
Chungin “Roy” Lee keeps showing up on my LinkedIn and TikTok feed, and you may know him too — for his infamous ousting from Columbia University which went viral on social media earlier this year. On his professional profile, he said he was kicked out of Columbia for
Yvonne wrote this Cluely case study after seeing Roy Lee’s outrageous content on her social media feeds. She connected with this story in a special way (as a Gen Z Asian who grew up in Silicon Valley) because learning about the Cluely team/culture felt like getting to know the tech bros down the street. Cluely’s tactics revealed that you don’t need a spectacular product to get clout — just an understanding of what social cognitive factors nudge people to click and engage.
A few years ago, we ran a column based on a Netflix show called “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones”. In the show, Dan Buettner travels to areas around the world where people live significantly longer than average, including many who live past 100. Two years later, it turns out that Blue Zones may be a myth! Saul Newman, a postdoctoral researcher in Australia discovered that these Blue Zones do not exist and appear to be a result of shoddy record keeping of vital statistics about births and deaths. However, we do point out that the importance of social support definitely still matters.
Why dance classes are good for your mental health
Note: I would like to thank everyone who has examined the ideas and information I shared with a critical lens. Several individuals have pointed out that the meta-analysis cited below about the effect of exercise on depression has recieved solid criticism and there are doubts about the data quality and methods. Read
Our most popular (controversial) article of the year was about Yvonne’s Zumba class! We had a feeling it would get some traction, but not in the way we expected. Jay, Dom and Yvonne exchanged a bunch of emails the day after this newsletter went live because we received feedback on social media for sharing a meta-analysis about the efficacy of different treatments for major depression. Yvonne subsequently added a note at the top and acknowledged concerns with the study’s data and methods. Despite the questionable study, the overall message about setting healthy norms, demonstrating inclusive identity leadership, and promoting psychological safety is still important for creating healthy groups.
News and Updates
Check out our new Ask Me Anything sessions for the new year! Paid Subscribers can join us for our monthly live Q&A with Jay or Dom where you can ask us anything from workshopping research questions, career advice to opinions and recommendations on pop culture happenings—for paid subscribers only. Upgrade your subscription using the button below. We will send out email RSVP forms soon!
January 21st @ 2:00 EST with Jay
March 4th @ 2:00 EST with Jay
May 6th @ 2:00 EST with Jay
Happy Holidays from the Center for Conflict and Cooperation!
Catch up on the last one…
Need concrete, actionable tips on how to achieve your new year’s resolutions? Our newsletter from last week explains why shared goals, social norms, and smart environments are the real engines of lasting behavior change.
