Inquiring Minds
Indre Viskontas
Each week we bring you a new, in-depth exploration of the space where science and society collide. We’re committed to the idea that making an effort to understand the world around you though science and critical thinking can benefit everyone—and lead to better decisions. We want to find out what’s true, what’s left to discover, and why it all matters.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 10, 2015 • 60min
81 Sanjoy Mahajan - Street-Fighting Mathematics
On the show this week we talk to Sanjoy Mahajan, Associate Professor of Applied Science and Engineering at Olin College of Engineering, Visiting Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, and author of Street-Fighting Mathematics: The Art of Educated Guessing and Opportunistic Problem Solving.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Apr 3, 2015 • 58min
80 Norman Doidge - How Plastic Is Your Brain?
Norman Doidge, M.D., is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher, author, essayist and poet. He is on faculty at the University of Toronto’s Department of Psychiatry, and Research Faculty at Columbia University’s Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, in New York.On the show this week we talk to Doidge about neuroplasticity—once you reach adulthood, is your brain in a kind of fixed state, or does it keep changing? And can you do things to make it change?Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Mar 27, 2015 • 1h 5min
79 Ken Caldeira - Can Geoengineering Save the Planet?
On the show this week we talk to Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist working for the Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University. He investigates issues related to climate, carbon, and energy systems.In the interview, we focus on geoengineering—the process of making big changes to the Earth’s climatic system in an attempt to solve issues related to climate change.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Mar 20, 2015 • 1h 7min
78 Bill Gifford - Can Science Keep You Young Forever?
On the show this week we talk to Bill Gifford, author of the new book Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (or Die Trying).Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Mar 13, 2015 • 1h 4min
77 Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo - Sugar Science
On the show this week, we talk to Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Professor of Medicine and Director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations at San Francisco General Hospital.She’s part of a new project called Sugar Science, which focuses on evidence-based information on added sugar to your diet. The team reviewed 8,000 articles and underscored the scientific consensus: there is a causal link between increased consumption of added sugar and increased risk of chronic disease like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and liver disease. Kirsten specifically focuses on communities at most risk—often times teens and poor and minority communities. And she believes we’re in a public health emergency.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Mar 6, 2015 • 1h 4min
76 Jonathan Eisen - The Tiny World of Microbes Inside You
On the show this week we talk to evolutionary biologist Jonathan Eisen, who studies the evolution and ecology of microbes and genomes. We delve into the tiny world of the microbiome—the thousands of microorganisms that live inside all of us.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Feb 27, 2015 • 1h
75 Kevin Kelly - What Technology Wants
On the show this week we talk to Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of Wired magazine and former editor of the incredibly influential Whole Earth Catalog. We talk about the agenda and biases of technology, why the internet really wants to track you, and why he thinks, in the end, technology is a force for good.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Feb 20, 2015 • 60min
74 Kathleen Hall Jamieson - Fact Checking Science
On the show this week we talk to Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC runs FactCheck.org, which now includes SciCheck, a program that “focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy.”Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Feb 13, 2015 • 58min
73 David J. Morris - The History and Science of PTSD
On the show this week we talk to David J Morris, former Marine infantry officer, war correspondent, and author of The Evil Hours: A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We explore the history of PTSD and the science that surrounds it.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Feb 6, 2015 • 1h 5min
72 Andy Weir - The Science of The Martian
On the show this week we talk to author Andy Weir about The Martian, his hit science fiction novel about a man stranded on Mars—which is now being made into a film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. The Martian is not only packed full of science, it's packed full of science that makes sense.iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inquiring-minds/id711675943RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/inquiring-mindsStitcher: stitcher.com/podcast/inquiring-mindsSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
