What can paper wasps teach us about animal communication? A lot more than you might think.

Wasps of all varieties are a fixture of summer life across the United States, but the paper wasp stands out for its unique communication skills. Dr. Elizabeth Tibbetts of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts explained more about this interesting insect at the Institute for Social Research in January 2024.

Read more from Dr. Tibbetts on her faculty page and on Google Scholar.

View the presentation on which this episode of The Abstract was based here.

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The United States government relies on the strength of its political institutions to govern effectively. But what if Americans lose faith in those institutions?

Many political commentators have argued that the 2020 election gave us the chance to see that question play out, given the actions of Donald Trump and his supporters. But Dr. James Gibson isn't so sure. In the 2024 edition of the Miller-Converse Lecture series, he argues that Americans actually haven't lost much faith in their political institutions, if any.

Read more about Dr. Gibson here.

Watch Dr. Gibson's full presentation here.

Learn more about Dr. Gibson's book here.

For more from the Institute for Social Research, visit our website or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or LinkedIn.

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Every story has a beginning, and every story that lasts has something that sets it apart from others like it.

According to Phil Converse, who joined the Institute for Social Research in its early days and went on to become its director, ISR's differentiating factors were evident very early on.

In this archival audio, the fourth director of ISR shares how he came to ISR, what he learned while he was here, and how ISR sets itself apart int he world of social research.

For more from the Institute for Social Research, visit our website or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or LinkedIn.

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