The Most Important Question

If you had all of the data in the world at your hands, what question would you ask first?That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Emma Pierson. Emma is an assistant professor of computer science at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech, and a computer science field member at Cornell University with a secondary joint appointment as an assistant professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medical College. Sure. Why not? Emma has published a number of game-changing papers, and we talk about those today and how they all tie together. She's written for the New York Times, 538, The Atlantic, Washington Post, Wired, all my favorites, and has been named to the MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators under 35 list, and the Forbes 30 under 30 in Science list.Her team's work has helped unlock answers and solutions to some of our biggest, most lingering and also sometimes most urgent questions. Emma and her team work diligently to develop data science and machine learning methods to study two vital, huge interlocking areas: inequality and healthcare.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at importantnotimportant.com/podcast.-----------INI Book Club:The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values by Brian ChristianFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Follow Emma on TwitterKeep up with Emma's work on her websiteFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comFind our more about our guests here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/guest-statsAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsorsMentioned in this episode:Become An Important Member

What if we just gave people money? That's today's big question and my guests are Caroline Teti and Michael Faye from GiveDirectly. This conversation from 2021, one of my all-time favorites is one of those conversations that can help you truly think outside the box and reconsider how to most effectively take a simple action that can have cascading effects.Caroline Teti or just Teti as she likes to be called, I swear, works on the ground in Kenya, Nairobi, where she is the Director of Recipients Advocacy for GiveDirectly's global operations, and the Director of Governmental and External Relations. Michael Faye is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of GiveDirectly.I think we can all understand that different people need different things on different days. We're talking about life essentials: clean air, clean and accessible water, healthy food, shelter, medicine. The needs can vary enormously among people and on a day-to-day basis.But one thing that unites us all in need is a need for agency over our own life. From everything I've understood in this conversation and talking to so many folks over the past few years, nothing takes away agency like poverty. And it turns out that giving people cash can create that power.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at importantnotimportant.com/podcast.-----------INI Book Club:“The Biggest Bluff” by Maria Konnikova“The Art of Reading Minds” by Henrik FexeusFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:givedirectly.orglinkedin.com/in/caroline-teti-26418627linkedin.com/in/michael-faye-6518893Follow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comFind our more about our guests here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/guest-statsAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsorsMentioned in this episode:Become An Important Member

We're going to keeping re-running this 2020 episode until America stops sacrificing children.---Here we are, yet again. We first ran this episode with Fred Guttenberg, father of Parkland victim, Jaime Guttenberg in 2020 - and what has changed? More gun violence and more senseless deaths. It doesn't have to be this way.In Episode 98, Quinn & Brian discuss: common sense solutions to prevent gun deaths and destroy the gun lobby.Our guest is: Fred Guttenberg, a gun safety activist and political troublemaker.14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg was killed in her high school on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, FL. We usually like to make some jokes at this point, but not today. This is a loss that no person should have to experience — and it’s all the more painful for how utterly avoidable it is. Which side you choose to be on this issue should be as simple as answering this question: do you want to wake up and discover that one of your friends or loved ones has been shot? If the answer is no, then pay attention.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at importantnotimportant.com/podcast.-----------INI Book Club:Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:VOTE: votesaveamerica.com“Find the Helpers: What 9/11 and Parkland Taught Me About Recovery, Purpose, and Hope (Grief Recovery)” by Fred GuttenbergSupport Orange Ribbons for Jamiefredguttenberg.comInstagram: @orangeribbonsdadFacebook: facebook.com/orangeribbonsdadTwitter: @fred_guttenbergFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comFind our more about our guests here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/guest-statsAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsorsMentioned in this episode:Become An Important Member

Where the hell did all of the electricians go? That's today's big question, and my guest is leading journalist Emily Pontecorvo. Until recently, Emily was an energy, environment, and climate reporter at Grist, one of our favorite publications. She's now moved on to the new climate newsroom Heatmap. Emily has covered the whole enchilada from green hydrogen subsidies to coal ash, scope three emissions, Fashion Week, airports, locusts, frequent flyers, college divestment movements, carbon removal, you name it. And so when Emily did a deep dive on the worker's subsidies and training schools behind America's electricians or lack thereof, I knew she was the perfect person to help me, and therefore you, understand where we go from here because we need a lot of electricians to electrify everything.It's complicated, it's systemic, and it's holding us back. We need to understand what the bottlenecks are when you can't find an electrician, how we can market to future electricians, then educate them, train them, and support them as a new generation of truly essential workers.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at importantnotimportant.com/podcast.-----------INI Book Club:Ending Fossil Fuels: Why Net Zero Is Not Enough by Holly Jean BuckFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Read Emily's electrician shortage piece in GristSubscribe to Heatmap Follow Emily on TwitterUpgrade your home or building with BlocPowerUpgrade your home with SealedSupport an equitable transition to a world powered by renewable energy with GRID AlternativesCheck out ChargerHelpHelp decarbonize California with resources from TECH Clean CaliforniaFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comFind our more about our guests here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/guest-statsAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsorsMentioned in this episode:Become An Important Member

This week: Fighting over ESG is stupid, risky, and bad business. Let’s move on.Plus: RSV vaccines, the E-BIKE Act, Skittles (?), deepfakes, allergies, and a new season of DRILLEDWhat We Can Do:⚡️ Submit your comment to keep Virginia in the very-successful — and very lucrative — RGGI ⚡️ Some folks need shelter. Some need water. Or food. The data says giving them agency — and straight cash — works better. Do that by donating to GiveDirectly. ⚡️ Health care is a universal human right. Setup a new monthly donation to the legendary Partners in Health to provide care first to those who need it most. ⚡️ You know what’s cool? A BILLION oysters. Plant them with the Billion Oyster Project and help clean up New York’s waters. ⚡️ There’s 1000 words about ESG investing below, so now’s a good time to find a bank that supports climate action AND your community with Bank for Good.News RoundupHealth & MedicineThe FDA recommends 2 RSV vaccines for older adults — a huge public health win We can learn a lot about how to eradicate homelessness from Houston and HelsinkiThe 988 suicide hotline is expanding LGBTQ services with 24/7 chat and text - huzzah! We really should celebrate the enormous — ENORMOUS — impact the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has had (and the thousands of people who fought for it) The best and worst American cities for allergy-sufferers ClimateThe E-BIKE Act was reintroduced in Congress and I AM SO EXCITED The new season of Amy Westervelt’s incredible “Drilled” podcast is out, and this year it’s a cross-over with Damages, as they explore Guyana’s oil reserves, and how ExxonMobil is exploiting them I LOVE the “Third Act” protesters who came after after the big banks who fund fossil fuels The final rules on EV tax credits are coming — and everyone is both excited and annoyedFood & WaterCan we make and popularize toilets that don’t use running water? California might ban Skittles (if this isn’t our most clicked on link, I don’t know what the point is) We desperately need a new economics of waterBeep Boop It’s just all moving so, so fast. The first ChatGPT plugins are here. Meanwhile, vocal deepfakes are already out of control COVIDA new Medicare designation may save the most vulnerable rural hospitals that are failing after COVID From Atul Gawande: The aftermath of a pandemic requires as much focus as the start Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpSubscribe to our YouTube channelGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve itAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsorsMentioned in this episode:Become An Important Member

What if you got the chance to dive to the bottom of the ocean? Would you go? And what would you find there? That's today's big question and my returning guest, one of my all-time favorites, is Dr. Dawn Wright, better known the world over as Deep Sea Dawn. Dawn recently became the 27th person ever in history and the first Black person ever to dive into the Challenger Deep, the deepest part of Earth's ocean.Dawn is an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering and the Chief Scientist at Esri, where she works with other scientists to map the ocean floor in 3D. As our oceans heat up and rise, as we try to reduce overfishing, and as our governments and companies race to mine minerals for our all-electric future, there has never been a more monumental and historic, and vitally important project than trying to understand our oceans.A lot has happened, since Dawn and I last spoke. It shouldn't be surprising then, that this conversation not only talked about the wonder of the deep seas and the Earth's crust but also went to some wonderful and unexpectedly emotional places. I'm so thankful to have shared another conversation with Deep Sea Dawn.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at importantnotimportant.com/podcast.-----------INI Book Club:Surrender by BonoFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:5 Ways Scientists, NGOs, and Governments Can Support Indigenous-led Conservation The “story maps” that Esri made for Victor Vescovo and Caladan Oceanic after Kathy Sullivan’s dive to Challenger The “story map” of Dawn's dive The MPA Guide – great resource for all things designating and managing Marine Protected Areas Dawn's mom’s story Follow Deep Sea Dawn on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedInFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comFind our more about our guests here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/guest-statsAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsorsMentioned in this episode:Become An Important Member

This week: What we know — and more importantly, what we don’t — about what AI is capable of, and how much change we’re capable of absorbing.Plus: the Willow Project, H-1B visas, blueberries, honeybee vaccines, climate disclosure rules, next-gen bed nets, and health insurance in North CarolinaHere's What You Can Do:⚡️ Just a few bucks buys some life-saving bed nets with Against Malaria, maybe the most effective NGO on the planet ⚡️ The only thing dumber than cancer is rare cancers. Good news: you can help fund research against them (and work up a sweat at the same time) with our friends at Cycle for Survival⚡️ This is the best electric vehicle you can buy ⚡️ Get educated and follow the Black Maternal Health Caucus on Twitter ⚡️ Understand your home’s exposure to flooding, fires, heat and wind with Risk FactorNews RoundupHealth & MedicineWhat’s second-hand stress?Next-gen bed nets are coming and could save so many lives Medicaid expansion might finally be coming to North CarolinaClimateJoe Biden approved the Willow Project in Alaska and it sucks, but on the other hand, the US is on track for a major clean energy milestone The world’s first honeybee vaccine is like “magic” Use this tool to see how early spring came to your neighborhood In the future, it might still cost $1 trillion per ppm of CO2 removed, we should pay for it The SEC’s climate disclosure rules are coming. 85% of business execs said they’re not ready. Why did insurers slash Hurricane Ian payouts? Food & WaterThe EPA proposed their strongest ever standards for keeping coal plant pollution out of your water (right after they went after forever chemicals) Blueberries are packed with pesticides? A Supreme Court case could reshape Indigenous water rights in the (parched) southwest Beep BoopSome additional AI reading: Azeem Azhar on “Everything, everywhere, all at once”; Are LLM’s the new CPU’s?Amid mass tech layoffs, workers on H-1B visas have 60 days to find a job, or leave the country, and we’re really just doing this all wrong COVIDCOVID made maternal health outcomes much worse (and especially among Black people) There doesn’t seem to be an association between Paxlovid and a COVID rebound, which is great Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpSubscribe to our YouTube channelGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve itAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsorsMentioned in this episode:Become An Important Member

What if I told you there was less oxygen in the ocean than there used to be? That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Dawn Wright, or as many in the ocean community know her "Deep Sea Dawn." Dawn Wright is an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. She's the Chief Scientist at ESRI, where she works with other scientists to map the ocean floor in 3D. In 2018, when I was just a baby podcaster, when Brian was my co-host, I saw a headline about the ocean that made me question a lot. I knew the oceans were heating up. I was beginning to understand, I think we were all beginning to understand, just how much global heating the oceans had absorbed over the years.But I didn't know what that meant for the billions of creatures that call the ocean home. I didn't know what it meant for us. So I called Dawn. In celebration of Dawn's return to the show next week, I wanted to replay this incredible conversation we had with her to better understand how far we've come.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at importantnotimportant.com/podcast.-----------Follow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comFind our more about our guests here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/guest-statsAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsorsMentioned in this episode:Become An Important Member

This week: In response to our ongoing and delightful home electrification series with our friends at Rewiring America, we have received a hell of a lot of questions that are beyond our ability to answer.So we brought in the experts: previous pod guest John Semmelhack, home electrification wiz and co-owner of The Comfort Squad, and Joel Rosenberg, member of the Special Projects team at Rewiring America.Your regularly scheduled newsletter will return next week!Here's What You Can Do:Find a reputable contractor in Colorado with Renu, Xcel Energy, Elephant Energy, or HelioFind a reputable contractor in California with The Switch Is On from TECH Clean CaliforniaFind a reputable contractor in Maine with Efficiency MaineNot from any of those states? Check with your State Energy OfficeCheck out Redwood Energy's retrofit guideLearn more about smart heat pump water heatersBuy a low-level carbon monoxide sensor/alarmGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpSubscribe to our YouTube channel and watch this episodeGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve itAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsorsMentioned in this episode:Become An Important Member

This week: Can little-old-you really make a difference? Hell yes you can.Plus: cheaper insulin, cleaner camping gear, a new (lidless) coffee cup, good news on BetterHelp, and maybe even some paid leave. Here's What You Can Do:⚡️ Help your local farmers sell online — not just at farmer’s markets — with GrownBy. ⚡️ Help people worldwide get clean, safe, accessible drinking water with charity: water. ⚡️ Support Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s Urban Ocean Lab as they write the future of ocean policy.⚡️ Stay ahead of water news with the award-winning Circle of Blue non-profit newsroom ⚡️ Queer student journalists: Apply to be a member of the 2023 Nat’l LGBTQ Journalists’ Conference Student PROGRAM, a week-long all-expenses-paid reporting intensive News RoundupHealth & MedicineREI has committed to stop selling products with forever chemicals Eli Lilly will cut insulin prices to $35, should still be regulated There’s a new bipartisan push for paid family and medical leave Endovascular thrombectomy will (eventually) save millions of lives ClimateThe Interior Department released guidance on how states can claim $500 million to clean up oil wells The world swore they’d eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. Funny story! They doubled them (it’s complicated) Food & WaterThis new coffee cup is entirely compostable (and cool as hell) The Mediterranean diet is, one, delicious, and two, may improve a person’s response to immunotherapy Beep BoopThe FTC will ban BetterHelp from sharing mental health data for ad targeting, which, I don’t know, sounds pretty damn obvious Instead of legislative bodies, judges are making consequential tech policy, and, look, nobody’s prepared for this stuff COVIDThis is the first at-home COVID and flu test Why forest clearing doesn’t just release emissions — it helps viruses jump to humans Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpSubscribe to our YouTube channelGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve itAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsorsMentioned in this episode:Become An Important Member