Big Brains

Peggy O'Donnell Heffington, a University of Chicago scholar and author of "Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother," dives into the historical context of women opting out of motherhood. She reveals that this isn't a modern trend but a long-standing choice influenced by societal pressures. Explore how economic factors, lack of workplace support, and shifting perceptions shape women's decisions today. Heffington discusses the potential for American millennials to become the largest childless group in history, challenging traditional motherhood stereotypes.

Adrienne Brown, an expert in the intersection of race and housing, delves into the historical and ongoing impact of homeownership on racial disparities in America. She discusses how discriminatory practices like redlining have shaped wealth accumulation and community dynamics. Brown highlights the cultural narratives that link homeownership to identity, while exploring the troubling legacy of real estate boards in perpetuating racial bias. The conversation reflects on modern implications, emphasizing the need for a broader understanding of success beyond traditional homeownership.

If you’ve spent any time playing with modern AI image generators, it can seem like an almost magical experience; but the truth is these programs are more like a magic trick than magic. Without the human-generated art of hundreds of thousands of people, these programs wouldn’t work. But those artists are not getting compensated, in fact many of them are being put out of business by the very programs their work helped create.Now, two computer scientists from the University of Chicago, Ben Zhao and Heather Zheng, are fighting back. They’ve developed two programs, called Glaze and Nightshade, which create a type of “poison pill” to help protect against generative AI tools like Midjourney and DALL-E, helping artists protect their copyrighted, original work. Their work may also revolutionize all of our relationships to these systems.

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.