NYU McSilver Podcasts

“Power Play: Soft Power Unpacked” explores the subtle yet powerful ways nations, organizations, and individuals shape opinions, drive change, and wield influence—without coercion. McSilver Fellow-in-Residence Penny Abeywardena dives into the strategies that define soft power both locally and globally, from cultural diplomacy and media narratives to corporate branding and grassroots activism. Diane von Furstenberg, fashion icon, feminist, and philanthropist, is the first guest to unpack how she has wielded soft power across a storied career.

Polyvagal theory emphasizes the role the autonomic nervous system — especially the vagus nerve — plays in regulating health and behavior. Created and developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, the theory describes the physiological and psychological states underlying mental health challenges and everyday behavior. With his son, director and producer Seth Porges, Dr. Porges co-wrote Our Polyvagal World: How Safety and Trauma Change Us, the latest book in an expansive bibliography exploring polyvagal theory. They sat down with two of McSilver's visionary researchers, Dr. Kara Dean-Assael and Dr. Anthony Salerno, to discuss potential impacts of polyvagal theory for health practitioners, systems of care, and society in general.

Dr. Anthony Salerno, NYU McSilver’s Innovation and Implementation Officer, speaks with Dr. Stephanie Irby Coard of UNC–Greensboro about the important and often under-appreciated role of resilience in addressing mental health issues — especially in communities of color and among young people.

Dr. Damali Wilson in Conversation with Dr. Erin Sadler by McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research

Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. It is the characteristic or trait that allows people to thrive despite inconceivable hardship and experiences of trauma. This podcast discusses how we are all resilience and the importance of support throughout your journey.

Incarceration has many impacts during and after sentencing. This podcast highlights the challenges that Black men often face with regards to reentry and removing the stigma of incarceration.

Black fathers are often stigmatized within the U.S. for a myriad of reasons including negative stereotypes and inaccurate media portrayal. And for these reasons, they are often not engaged in child and family behavioral health settings. However, there is a host of data that describes the importance of black fathers in the lives of their children and families. In fact, there are currently more fathers living with their children than without and data suggests that black fathers are more involved in the daily lives of their children in comparison to their white and latino counterparts. This episode underscores the importance of engaging black fathers in behavioral health services.

The School to Prison Pipeline is the link between educational practices and the increase in Black boys entering the juvenile justice system. This podcast will describe this phenomenon and provide best practices that school administrators and policy advocates can take to intervene.

While families come in many forms, we often downplay the role that mothers have in the lives of young Black boys. This podcast focuses on the mothers of Black boys, the unsung heroes are who are more than deserving of our praise.

This episode highlights the trends regarding the social determinants of health of Black boys and men and steps that we can take to decrease disparities and work towards better health outcomes.

Data suggests that deaths due to violent injury have been decreasing throughout the United States. However, Black men are disproportionately overrepresented among victims of violent injury and are at higher risk of violent trauma recidivism than all other populations. In this episode, Dr. Richardson will focus on the impact of violence and trauma among young Black men and models of prevention.

Black boys and men are the subject of negative racial and gender-based stereotypes that significantly impact their health and social standing within the U.S. This episode provides an overview of the series and the need for us all to collectively change the narrative.