Episode 21 - Translating the Book: The Inner Level: How More Equal Societies Reduce Stress, Restore Sanity, and Improve Wellbeing; with Mazdak Daneshvar

January 31 2025

In this episode of The Fly Bottle Podcast, Yeganeh Khazaei speaks with Mazdak Daneshvar, a physician, medical anthropologist, and researcher in the field of social history at Leiden University, Netherlands. The discussion focuses on the book The Inner Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, which examines the impact of economic inequality on mental health and social well-being. The authors demonstrate how societies with lower levels of inequality experience less stress, greater trust, and stronger social cohesion. The book emphasizes that reducing class disparities can improve the quality of life and restore psychological balance within society.

Mazdak Daneshvar translated this book from English to Persian and believes it fundamentally changes how we understand inequality in society, showing its profound effects on individuals across different levels.

After graduating from the Faculty of Medicine at Tehran University, Mazdak Daneshvar pursued medical anthropology at the University of Amsterdam and later completed a PhD in social history at Leiden University. His primary research focuses on the intersection of the body and pain, as well as the cultural representation of these phenomena. Additionally, he has written articles and essays on Iran’s healthcare system, the effects of neoliberal reforms on this system, and inequality within medical institutions and society at large.

Yeganeh Khazaei, a dentist and epidemiologist, graduated from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany. She recently began teaching at the Dental School of the University of Melbourne, Australia and is also a PhD candidate specializing in the analysis of oral microbiome data in relation to oral diseases.

Audio: Armin Faroukhpey

Music: Reza Nadri

Cover art: Pouya Fatoureh Chi

Produced by Yeganeh Khazaei in the Flybottle Podcast