SOCKS Co-PI Juniper Lovato, PhD made an appearance on WCAX TV's "You Can Quote Me" on August 31, 2025. Appearing with collaborator and lead author, Dr. Laurent Hébert-Dufresne, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Vermont, Dr. Lovato detailed the findings in the new study she and Dr. Hébert-Dufresne coauthored with SOCKS Postdoctoral Associate, Dr. Guilio Burgio and colleagues from the Sante Fe Institute in Physical Review Letters.

"Stories shape our entire world," explained Dr. Lovato, and "they shape systems, how they're built, how we govern them, and also who they serve." The study introduces a mathematical model for "self-reinforcing cascades," which examines how a belief, joke, or other meme changes and spreads.

To view the full program, click here. To read the study in Physical Review Letters, click here.