Breaking the Code – Details, episodes & analysis

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Breaking the Code

Havas Medical Anthropology

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/24d. Total Eps: 55

Behavioral science is a cornerstone of modern marketing practice, but much of what passes itself off as behavioral science is just bs. Good social science gives us the insights and roadmap we need to change behavior, but bad social science just muddies the water and tarnishes the social sciences. As behavior change is a core objective of marketing, getting behavioral science right is crucial. Join us as two behavioral scientists sound off on what is, and isn't, good social science, from a variety of disciplines covering new topics every podcast.

Your hosts: Sonika Garcia, MPH, and Gabriel Allen-Cummings- Medical Anthropology Strategists at Havas Health & You.

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The Gift Of Anonymity

Wednesday, May 20, 2026 • Duration 15:52

As new technologies emerge with the promise of personalization, safety, or constant connection, some are beginning to feel surveilled, watched in the moments where they don’t want to be seen. In this episode we discuss the growing value of anonymity, allowing people to engage at a distance at first and building trust over time.

This is a great listen for any brands looking to thoughtfully integrate themselves into their audience’s community or way of life.

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Where Culture Meets AI

Wednesday, April 15, 2026 • Duration 33:14

Click here to read the team's whitepaper: "Where Culture Meets AI: Scaling the Human-Centered Healthcare Experience"

As we continue growing our understanding of AI's role in our business, it's crucial to discuss why scale without cultural intelligence risks doing more harm than good. In this episode, we're joined by Eirasmin Lokpez-Cobo and Mark Makuch to discuss reactions to their recently published whitepaper and their efforts to infuse cultural intelligence into AI to have a more relevant and equitable impact.

This is a great listen for anyone trying to elevate their work with AI, while keeping humanity at the center.

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Equity in Action PART 1: Understanding the Hearts and Minds of Multicultural Patients ft. Eirásmin Lokpez-Cobo

Friday, December 6, 2024 • Duration 48:13

In this episode, we are joined by Eirásmin Lokpez-Cobo, EVP of Brand Strategy at República Havas Health, to dive into the insights from her team's recently published white paper, Equity in Action: Mapping the Multicultural Patient Journey for Inclusive Strategies (link below). This insightful paper sheds light on the systemic barriers and health-related behaviors that shape the experiences of diverse U.S. audiences throughout their patient journey.

This is part one of our two-part series focusing on the multicultural patient experience. We start by building a shared understanding of the barriers that prevent engagement with health systems. From there, we uncover overlooked elements of their journey, such as the unique health priorities of multicultural patients and the sources of trust they rely on. Disengagement isn’t solely rooted in mistrust, nor does the desire to achieve better health simply fade away. To truly "meet patients where they are," we must understand the where they are willing—and able—to go.

Here's the link to the team's whitepaper: 24_RHH_WHITEPAPER_2_EQUITY-IN-ACTION_MAPPING-THE-MULTICULTURAL-PATIENT-JOURNEY-FOR-INCLUSIVE-STRATEGIES_LONG.pdf

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Women, Sports, and Leadership: The Evolution of Female Success ft. Claire Knapp and Denise Melone

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 • Duration 44:32

Women's professional sports are "having a moment", but this did not happen in a vacuum nor did it happen overnight. In a highly anticipated episode (for us), we finally got a chance to sit down with Claire Knapp (CEO of Havas Lynx) and Denise Melone (Managing Director of Havas Life San Francisco) to discuss the implications of the growth of women's sports, both as a business and as an opportunity. Both of these female leaders are accomplished athletes, and we discuss the role of things like teamwork, coaching, and mental fortitude, learned on the judo mats and tennis courts, in their successes as corporate leaders at Havas.

The growing interest in the competitive aspects of women's sports has coincided with the appearance of women in a variety of hitherto-denied spaces, such as the boardroom, the judging panel, and even just full-court basketball (looking at you, Sue Atkins--my mom). While this shift is notable, both Claire and Denise express the sentiment that disparities in treatment, compensation and conversation are still as important as ever to address and overcome. What's important is how we talk about women, not as bodies but as humans, and, in the case for this episode, as fierce, aggressive, badass athletes.

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Do GLP-1s Change the Meaning of "Obesity"?

Tuesday, October 1, 2024 • Duration 43:34

With the advent of GLP-1 drugs, it was only a matter of time before Brad and Gabriel dove into a discussion about this controversial drug class and the equally contentious disease, obesity. In this episode, they explore a range of topics—from the history of obesity and its recognition as a disease to how GLP-1s like Ozempic are influencing the conversation around the legitimacy and stigma of obesity beyond just Body Mass Index (BMI).

One of the most compelling ideas from this thought-provoking episode centers on control—how we perceive our own health and judge others, assuming people have more control over their health outcomes than they really do. This theme cuts to the heart of the obesity debate: are we excusing unhealthy habits, or are we acknowledging that the issue is far more complex than we originally thought?

The inspiration for this episode: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/19/opinion/obesity-disease-ozempic-weight-loss.html

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Gifted, Neurodivergent, or Nerd: The Highs and Lows of Growing up Tagged as 'Gifted'

Tuesday, September 17, 2024 • Duration 49:57

Our fascination with neurodivergence continues as we are joined by PsyD, Dr. Matt Zakreski to breakdown the semantics of giftedness, and inclusive design for neurodivergent people in a variety of public spaces. The term "gifted" was of particular interest of us and our guest because at one point in each of our lives we had been called out of the classroom to take an exam that would ultimately label us as gifted. While it does make some complex topics clear, some seemingly simple topics are much harder to resolve for gifted children - the mistake lies in assuming that exceptional skills make them exceptional at everything.

One thread that connects this episode to our previous conversation with Kathryn Parsons, was this idea that neurodivergent people may consciously modify behavior to receive the expected response from the world. To varying degrees, they anticipate their settings, surroundings, and (most importantly) the people they come into contact with in order to socially adapt and make it through the day. This gives meaning to the phrase "meeting someone where they are" especially important as something to stive for, but it's also clearer why it can be hard to do: people habituate to their circumstances and can end up suffering in silence.

Purchase Dr. Matt's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Neurodiversity-Playbook-Neurodivergent-People-Neurotypical/dp/195336036X

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Unpacking the Rituals of Barbecues and Health: How we Give Structure and Meaning to an Unstructured World

Thursday, September 5, 2024 • Duration 22:47

In this episode, recorded right before the Labor Day weekend, Brad and Gabe have one thing on their minds... barbecuing! More specifically, they're thinking about barbecuing as a ritual, a set of behaviors with rules, inversions of norms, specific settings and a meaning that goes beyond its function.

In health, rituals are overlooked, but they're are a desired part of the human experience, even if patients and consumers don't articulate it. Think about where you'd be comfortable getting a shot from your HCP. In a parking lot? The elevator? The waiting area? The doctor's office? A successful health experiences hinges on an individual's comfort, familiarity and trust, so rituals play a crucial role in making procedures feel safe and making recipients feel dignified.

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Bridging Minds: Autism, Neurodivergence, and Inclusive Communication in Advertising

Monday, August 12, 2024 • Duration 35:35

The term "neurodiversity," introduced 25 years ago by autistic Australian sociologist Judy Singer, marked a milestone in our understanding of autism and the appreciation of "difference, not deficit" in how brains work. More than a buzzword, neurodiversity describes a growing population whose brains work differently from the "neurotypical," and whose historic separation from social engagement has been replaced with a social inclusion that allows them to share their unique talents and perspectives. These differences go beyond functional tasks like working in an office or completing an exam. Their unique interactions with the world inform their fascinating worldview and their day-to-day challenges. For us in advertising, knowing how your audience interacts with the world is crucial to creating communication that speaks to them.

In this episode, Brad and Gabe are joined by Havas' own, Kathryn Parsons, a digital marketing expert and an advocate for neurodiversity. Kathryn has autism, and she shares multiple anecdotes describing how she's adapted to a neurotypical world. The three of them also discuss what brands can be doing better to reach their neurodiverse audience - which is 1 in every 5 of us.

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Defeating Cancer’s Hero Trope: Cancer Doesn’t Make Humans Super - It Makes Them More of Who They Already Are

Wednesday, July 31, 2024 • Duration 25:54

A cancer diagnosis is a "moment of truth" that brings an undeniable shift to someone's identity. Faced with one's own mortality, a concerted effort may be required to overcome the dissonance between "who I was" and "who I am now". When communicating to patients diagnosed with cancer, we often attempt to address this new-found perspective by creating "hero" tropes or by relying on aspirational calls to action, invoking tropes that fail to clarify the practical struggle people with cancer face ("am I a hero? I don't feel like one...")

Brad and Gabe received a special request to discuss the dynamics of communication for patients with poor prognosis or late-stage cancers. They discuss the shame that may be present for lung cancer patients who were former smokers, the lack of attention paid to ovarian cancer as a women's health issue and the unnecessary pressure brought on by labeling someone with cancer as a "fighter".

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Making Sense Of "Trigger Warnings": Stigma, Taboo, and Trauma

Monday, July 22, 2024 • Duration 32:35

Correction: In this episode, we mention that Anna Calix had a miscarriage. Anna actually had a 40 week stillbirth. Miscarriage (spontaneous abortion) is a fetal demise in utero at less than 20 weeks of pregnancy, and stillbirth (fetal death) is a spontaneous fetal demise in utero at 20 weeks or more of pregnancy. The two have very different experiences medically, legally, logistically, and socially.

The relationship between content and audience is always complex, and the power of words to inspire or harm is widely debated. In this episode, we discuss the controversial yet ubiquitous "trigger warning," a specific form of content advisory suggesting that some content is so offensive or traumatic it may "trigger" you. Trigger warnings are relatively new and are seen both as a means of respecting and including your audience by allowing them to disengage from harmful content and as evidence of a decline in the ability to handle difficult content.

While content warnings and advisories have long been part of the landscape, the concept of "trigger" is contentious. It has moved from a clinical environment into a moral one, where "offensive" content is labeled as potentially triggering--even in cases where no underlying trauma exists to be triggered. One under-examined aspect of trigger warnings is the potential re-stigmatization of storytellers whose work is labeled and the reinforcement of cultural taboos. Should scenes of interracial dating or stories of single motherhood come with trigger warnings if the audience finds such content distasteful?

Join us as we explore the emerging literature and experimental data on trigger warnings, their utility, function, and impact.

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Breaking the Code – Details, episodes & analysis

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Breaking the Code – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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