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How Do Our Social Networks Affect Our Health?

Part 4 of the TED Radio Hour episode How Things Spread

About Nicholas Christakis' TED Talk

Physician and social scientist Nicholas Christakis explains how face-to-face social networks and their structures influence behaviors and phenomena in human society and the natural living world.

About Nicholas Christakis

Nicholas Christakis is a social scientist and physician who investigates how our social networks affect our health and behavior. He began his career in 1995 at the University of Chicago where he was Professor in both Sociology and Medicine. In 2001, he continued to teach at Harvard University. In 2009, he co-authored, Connected: The Amazing Power Of Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives. In 2013, he became a Professor at Yale University. He currently serves as the Director of the Human Lab at Yale University, a role he took on when he was appointed as the Sol Goldman Family Professor of Social and Natural Science.

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NPR/TED Staff
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