Harmony Labs

10/30/2025

“Your identity is who you are—as the hero of your life story.” Harmony Labs' principal scientist Riki Conrey joined our friends at RALLY on their podcast What If We? to unpack what audience identity really means—and how shared values and lived experiences can make persuasion more human and more powerful. Check it out at the links below or wherever you get your podcasts. 🎙️

Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/43DS4uV
Spotify: http://bit.ly/3Ldst5O

What if We? · Episode

10/07/2025

“The unit of meaning for a human being is really a story. Stories are what make media go. Stories are the stuff that flows through the pipes of media.

And so in everything we do, understanding stories is really primary. Rather than ask people survey questions primarily, we look at the choices they’re making for themselves about the stories they want to engage with. And then we make inferences from those stories about what they think and what’s important to them.”

🎙️Our Executive Director Brian Waniewski joined Eric Schurenberg on the In Reality podcast to discuss how Harmony Labs uses a narrative-driven approach to understand how audiences connect across media platforms, from streaming services to traditional news.

Listen now:

Eric Schurenberg is joined by Brian Brian Waniewski, Executive Director of Harmony Labs to discuss trust in media.

09/19/2025

12,000+ creators. Billions of views. $40M raised in weeks.

The campaign, led by MrBeast and Mark Rober, showed us what's possible when creators mobilize together. But the story doesn’t end there.

We’re teaming up with Matt Fitzgerald, social impact leader and Co-Founder, to dig deeper into what one of the largest creator-led fundraisers means for the future of organizing, funding, and storytelling.

Watch this space. 🌎

Understanding how mobilized the largest creator-led fundraising collab in history

09/17/2025

What do Lincoln, MLK Jr., Jesus, and Katniss Everdeen have in common? We asked thousands of people in the U.S. who their “democracy heroes” are, and the answers reveal a powerful throughline: across divides, people share a vision for an ideal government that’s representative, responsive, and protective of everyone’s rights.

Our new Deep Story Dispatch uncovers this surprising alignment, even as audiences take different routes to reach the same goal, from restoring core principles to transforming systemic rules.

Explore the latest findings and discover which heroes resonate with you:

Most people in the U.S. want the same thing—representative, responsive government that protects everyone’s rights equally—they just imagine different paths to get there

09/04/2025

The fight for a just energy transition is happening as much in our stories as in our boardrooms and courtrooms. And the stories we tell about energy transition materials today will shape public opinion and influence policy, investment, and community consent for decades.

Our new research maps how lithium, copper, nickel, and other energy transition materials are framed across news, policy, and industry communications, from 2022 to 2025 in nine countries.

It shows a stark narrative shift:

🏭 30% rise in “Real World Remake” stories focused on urgency, scarcity, and military threat.

🌎 20% decline in environmental and climate-focused narratives.

⭐️ Indigenous voices appear in only 2% of stories, despite being central to 54% of ETM projects worldwide.

When "move fast, break things" becomes the dominant narrative, rights-based approaches risk being sidelined—a shift that has important implications for advocates working toward a just energy transition.

Check out the findings summary, now available in English, French, Indonesian, Portuguese, and Spanish: https://harmonylabs.org/project/etm-narrative-landscape-exec-summary

Full report here: https://harmonylabs.org/project/etm-narrative-landscape

And the literature review: https://harmonylabs.org/project/etm-narratives-lit-review

08/08/2025

Narrative change requires patience, collaboration, and ongoing learning.

That’s why we launched the Narrative R&D Lab for Economic Mobility and Opportunity: a first-of-its-kind, three-year initiative using rigorous research to reshape how America understands poverty and human flourishing.

Our growing community of practice works together to develop actionable insights and tools, helping the Economic Mobility and Opportunity field tell stories that move us all closer to a poverty-free future where everyone can flourish.

Learn more about the Narrative R&D Lab, and how you get involved:

How the Narrative R&D Lab aims to transform America’s approach to poverty and flourishing

08/04/2025

What does it take for everyone, across values and perspectives, to see themselves as protagonists in building a more equitable world?

Our research with over 3,600 people in the U.S. shows that every audience brings a “superpower” that they can contribute to systemic change, whether as visionaries, rule-breakers, independent champions, or community stewards.

For storytelling and advocacy to truly move people to action on racial justice and health equity, we need to reflect these diverse strengths and characters:

🙏 People Power: outspoken advocates whose clarity of vision inspires others to action.

🦸 If You Say So: unconventional anti-heroes and outcasts who “take out the old guard” through creativity and disruption.

💥 Don’t Tread On Me: fiercely independent leaders who take matters into their own hands.

💪 Tough Cookies: everyday heroes—teachers, elders, helpers—who protect and uplift families and communities.

Dive into the fourth and final part of our Deep Story Dispatch on Equality to explore how these insights can help you activate diverse audiences in the journey toward systemic equality:

Advancing systemic equality means recognizing and activating the distinct strengths of each audience

07/31/2025

How people define a “fair” society and decide who deserves support shapes everything from public opinion to policy.

Some prioritize rewarding hard work, while others focus on uplifting those with the greatest need.

Changemakers face a challenge: How do we craft stories that acknowledge these values, yet build common ground for systemic equality?

Read Part III of our latest Deep Story Dispatch for insights on what drives beliefs about fairness, and how values-based storytelling can impact beliefs about a future where everyone can flourish: https://harmonylabs.org/news/deep-story-dispatch-equality-part-3

07/17/2025

Beliefs about individual agency can shape support for systemic change, and understanding that complexity is key to advancing systemic equality.

Our latest research shows that very few people buy into the idea that merit alone explains why some groups get ahead—that success is just about working harder or being more capable. Yet, when it comes to real-life systems like healthcare, most still hold individuals responsible for their own health, even while recognizing systemic barriers.

This creates a meaningful challenge:

💪 For individualistic audiences who value autonomy or authority, stories need to show how systems limit personal agency and freedom unevenly, helping them see that not everyone starts on equal footing.

🚨 For those who view the system as overwhelmingly powerful, there’s an opportunity to highlight how individuals can and do succeed despite systemic obstacles, especially where personal action combines with systemic reform.

Understanding these nuanced beliefs about agency is critical for anyone working toward systemic equality, health equity, or racial justice.

Explore more findings in Part II of our latest Deep Story Dispatch:

Part II of our ongoing survey dispatch capturing audiences’ evolving deep stories on equality

07/11/2025

Did you know 95% of people practice the humanities in their daily lives, often without even realizing it? From book clubs and video essays to history podcasts and your favorite TV shows, the humanities are everywhere, helping us make sense of art, technology, and culture.

At their core, the humanities are about meaning-making. Our new study, Humanities Unbound, reveals how all kinds of people—avid analysts, culture enthusiasts, and even skeptics—engage in humanistic activities every day. Read the full report and learn more:

The practice of humanities is alive and well—just not in the spaces you’d necessarily expect

07/03/2025

🇺🇸 🎭 American pop culture is full of stories about individuals changing broken systems. These stories reflect a deeper reality: individualism shapes our national identity, policies, and sense of equity in ways we rarely question.

In , essays from six organizations, including Harmony Labs, explore how individualism impacts health and racial equity in the U.S.

If you work public health, policy, or narrative change—or if you're simply curious about how American values like freedom and individualism evolve—these essays offer research, strategies, and questions for reflection.

Read the collection and let us know which insights resonate with you: https://medium.com/narrative-strategies-to-address-individualism-for

07/01/2025

In our contribution to the Different & The Same series, we explore how individualist audiences can become powerful allies in advancing systemic change.

The most effective narrative change works within the stories audiences are already steeped in. Our research shows individualist audiences most readily engage with protagonists exercising choice and control—often in difficult circumstances, facing dangerous enemies.

From Brooklyn Nine-Nine to The Equalizer, we analyze how different storytelling approaches can make room for every kind of hero working toward systemic equality.

Read our full essay: https://medium.com/narrative-strategies-to-address-individualism-for/changemakers-of-all-stripes-6df1c5ee70ea

Different & The Same is a collaborative effort that brings together six organizations—Berkeley Media Studies Group, FrameWorks Institute, Harmony Labs, Narrative Initiative, Race Forward, and Radical Communicators Network—exploring how individualism shapes behaviors and systems.

Effective narratives on systemic equality can make room for every kind of hero