Biologist Michael Levin explores bioelectricity for regenerative medicine, envisioning a future where electric signals can cure birth defects and trauma, tested on flatworms and frogs. Bioelectricity could teach our bodies to heal and regenerate on their own, potentially reducing the need for organ transplants and prosthetics. Levin's research delves into cells' intelligence through electrical signaling, suggesting that bioelectricity is the architect of the body, holding memories and goals like the brain. The podcast discusses planaria's regenerative abilities and bioelectric signals' potential in regenerating limbs, organs, and brain tissue, repairing birth defects, and preventing tumors. It also touches on using bioelectricity for glioblastoma treatment and the concept of morphological freedom in enhancing human capabilities.

Renowned Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer discusses mindfulness and its impact on health, exploring mind-body connection, reversing aging effects, and improving physical well-being through mindset. The power of mindfulness and psychology in health, mindset on physical health outcomes, impact of sleep, and mindfulness on health are also explored, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness in healthcare.

New York University's Adam Alter shares tips on achieving breakthroughs, exploring why people feel stuck and ways to overcome it. Discusses knowing when to quit, embracing failure, and enhancing creativity through recombination of ideas.

University of Chicago psychologist Wilma Bainbridge discusses what makes things memorable, including the Mandela Effect. Her team created an AI tool, ResMem, to predict memorability in faces and artwork. They explore the impact of memorability on time perception and memories, with potential applications in education and healthcare.

If aliens landed on Earth tomorrow, how would we talk with them? Well, we already have a kind of creature on this planet we could attempt to talk to first, and in the last few years a team of renowned scientists have been exploring the ocean studying sperm whales to get that conversation going.David Gruber is a professor of biology and environmental science at CUNY and the founder of Project CETI, an interdisciplinary scientific initiative that is using the latest developments in AI to understand, and possibly communicate with, sperm whales. The day when we break the cross-species communication barrier may be here sooner than you think. Just this year CETI managed to decode what could be called a sperm whale “alphabet”.

Michael Wehner from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discusses the need to add a Category 6 to measure extreme hurricanes due to climate change. He explores end-to-end attribution modeling to quantify the increasing damages caused by disastrous weather events.

Neuroscientist James Doty discusses manifestation and neuroscience in his book 'Mind Magic', emphasizing selflessness and caring for others to achieve happiness. Topics include childhood challenges, cognitive brain networks, selective attention, dopamine hits, forming deep connections, sympathetic vs. parasympathetic nervous systems, self-analysis, and altruism as methods for enhancing life.

Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan discusses aging, immortality, and the $30 billion longevity industry. Topics include DNA damage, telomeres, caloric restriction, stem cell reprogramming, and ethical considerations in anti-aging advancements.

Prof. Daniel Promislow discusses the Dog Aging Project, revealing how biology and environment impact dogs' health and lifespan. The study offers insights into human aging. Topics include the genetic basis of size, insulin growth factor one gene, cognitive dysfunction, and longevity enhancement with Rapa Mice.

For more than a century, scientists have been studying Alzheimer’s disease and developing theories about its underlying cause. The leading theory for decades has been that abnormal amyloid plaques in the brains of those who suffer from the disease are the central cause. But, according one renowned Alzheimer’s researcher, this myopic focus is not only flawed, but may be holding back our search for a cure. Neurobiologist Karl Herrup argues that we need to go back to the drawing board, redefine the disease and understand the many factors that could cause it before we can race for a cure. A professor of neurobiology and an investigator in the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Herrup is the author of How Not to Study a Disease: The Story of Alzheimer’s.Big Brains is sponsored by the Graham School for Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies.