Often we hear that beauty comes from within, but it turns out the way you look can affect how other people react to you, for better and for worse. Daniel Hamermesh, author of Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful, dissects how attractive people fare better economically. Then, Fordham professors Laura Gonzalez and Yuliya Komarova talk about their research with online social lending and why being more attractive could hurt when it comes to securing a loan. 

Sexist? Formulaic? Harmless guilty pleasure? What are your assumptions about romance novels? On this week's show we're digging into the stereotypes and critiques of the romance genre. Author Eloisa James weighs in and talks about how the tides are changing for writers and readers in the genre. 

This week’s show is all about food and how it’s more than just a source of energy. Food can shape our bodies, identity, and culture. Jonathon Appels teaches a class at Fordham called ‘You Are What You Eat: The Anthropology of Food.’ He talks about the lack of discourse around food culture, and his own experience with food. Also, Emma Boast (program director at the Museum of Food and Drink) talks about a project aimed at opening a museum dedicated to food in New York City.

This week on Fordham Conversations we look at Ecology in the Concrete Jungle. Fordham Ecology graduate student William Haffey talks about  testing the effectiveness of bird friendly glass.  Urban Ecologist and Fordham PhD Candidate Jason Aloisio discusses why City's are usually warmer than other areas and how to decrease your carbon footprint.