The Measure of Everyday Life

“The Measure of Everyday Life” is a weekly public radio program featuring researchers, practitioners, and professionals discussing their work to improve the human condition. Independent Weekly has called the show ‘unexpected’ and ‘diverse’ and notes that the show ‘brings big questions to radio.'

Episodes air Sunday nights at 6:30 PM EST in the Raleigh-Durham, NC, media market (and also are streamed internationally through WNCU) and are available online the Wednesday following the original airing. WNCU produces the show with major underwriting from the nonprofit RTI International.

Have thoughts on what we are doing? Let your voice be heard by rating us and joining the conversation on Twitter by following @MeasureRadio or find us on Facebook and Instagram. For more information, see measureradio.net.

[Photo: J. Bowman]

How We Overcame Tuberculosis in the United States

Sep 9, 2026

Public health workers and medical workers help to make it possible for us to live the lives we do, although we do not always emphasize that in talking about our history. On this episode, we talk with Maria Smilios, faculty member at the Columbia University School of Public Health and author of The Black Angels: The...

How Journalists Report on Our Environment

Aug 5, 2026

What we know about the environment reflects in part what we learn through news coverage. How do journalists cover stories about the environment? Has that changed? What will the future look like? On this episode, we talk with Suzannah Evans Comfort of Indiana University, author of The Environmental Beat: Inside the...

Are Teenagers Getting Less Sleep?

Jun 24, 2026

You might know how difficult it can be to wake a sleeping teenager. It turns out that teenagers in the U.S. may not be getting enough sleep, though. On this episode, we talk with public health researcher Rachel Widome of the University of Minnesota about her...

Depression and Future Heart Health

Jun 3, 2026

Depression affects many people around the world with implications for daily interactions between people. What do we know about long-term consequences of depression for our health? On this episode, we talk with Jody Greaney of the University of Delaware about her work to assess how depression might be connected to our...

Saving Rivers, Improving Economies

May 27, 2026

We have been building dams for hundreds of years, many of which you can find today across the U.S., and yet we often haven’t investigated how to use these technologies to balance societal concerns and benefits. On this episode, we talk with Smit Vasquez Caballero, an economist at RTI International who recently...