At the beginning of the pandemic, it felt like everyone was an immunologist as personal views arose in response to the spread of the virus. Some people assumed a new vaccine would swoop in and save us from the threat of COVID-19, while others questioned the efficacy of mask-wearing and the health effects of a new type of vaccine. How can we separate truth from fake news? What impact does misinformation have on our decision-making processes? Is it possible for our brains to form false memories in our own minds?

GUESTS

Stephen Murphy is an Assistant Professor in Marketing. His teaching is in consumer behaviour, brand management, and marketing theory. His research extends socio-cultural approaches to examine various aspects of consumer culture. Current research interests include conspiracy theories, creativity, and online gambling.

His research is interested in thinking about how capitalism shapes and organises daily life, particularly in terms of embodiment, identity, and experience. He has published research on these themes in Marketing Theory, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Management, Association of Consumer Research, and Industrial Marketing Management. Stephen’s research has also featured in outlets such as The Irish Times, The BBC, The Sunday Business Post, The Conversation, and Snopes.

Stephen is a member of the Consumer Culture Theory Consortium, Academy of Marketing, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority. His research has received numerous awards at leading international conferences.

Ciara Greene is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, UCD where she also heads up the Attention and Memory Laboratory. She graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2005 with a BA (Hons.) in Psychology and then completed a Ph.D. in Neuroscience in Trinity College Dublin in 2008. She gained postdoctoral experience at the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, and at Imperial College London before taking up a lecturing post at University College Cork in 2012. She moved to UCD in 2014.

Her research interests include the cognitive processes of attention and working memory, and the manner in which they interact. I am particularly interested in the practical applications of these processes to real-world problems. Ongoing research in the A&M lab focuses on topics such as false memory and susceptibility to 'fake news', the influence of the emotional state on memory, and cognitive training programs.

Tara Stewart is a DJ, Podcast Host, Slow Fashion lover, and Radio Presenter of the New Music Show on RTE 2FM. When she’s not gracing the national airwaves, Tara can be found DJ-ing at high profile gigs including top festivals like Electric Picnic, Longitude, Forbidden Fruit or supporting Cher in the 3 Arena, Dublin in 2019. 2020 saw her become the September cover star of Women’s magazine, Stellar Mag for a sustainable fashion special.

Never one to shy away from speaking her mind, Tara also hosts a slow fashion and sustainable theme podcast called Dirty Laundry, with Season 1 featuring guests like French Designer Roland Mouret and Irish Chef and Author Rozanna Purcell. Having just released Season 2 with guests like Irish designer Richard Malone and Former Digital Editor at Vogue Anne-Marie Tomchak, the podcast has garnered a loyal following of people wanting to make changes to their lifestyle for the better.