Best Lightman Podcasts (2024)

1
Alan Lightman, "Einstein's Dreams" (Vintage, 1992) 55:06

6d ago55:06

55:06

Einstein’s Dreams (Vintage, 1992) by Alan Lightman, set in Albert Einstein’s “miracle year” of 1905, is a novel about the cultural interconnection of time, relativity and life. As the young genius creates his theory of relativity, in a series of dreams, he imagines other worlds, each with a different conceptualization of time. In one, time is circu…

1
Super Soul Special: Paul Williams and Tracey Jackson: A Better You Through Trust and Gratitude 31:23

1d ago31:23

31:23

Original Air Date: January 8, 2018 Paul Williams is the songwriting legend behind hits such as Barbra Streisand's Oscar-winning song, "Evergreen," Kermit the Frog's beloved "Rainbow Connection" and the Carpenters classic "We've Only Just Begun." Paul says that, at the height of his fame, an addiction to alcohol and drugs nearly destroyed him. After…

1
“Revealing Intimacy”: Michael Patrick Gillespie on James Joyce’s “Profound Sense of the Human Condition” 24:33

1h ago24:33

24:33

The author of such literary classics as Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, James Joyce (1882 – 1941) was one of Ireland's most celebrated novelists known for his avant-garde and often experimental style of writing.Michael Patrick Gillespie is Professor of English at Florida International University and the Director of the Center for the Humanities in an U…

1
Resonant Grains 44:09

35m ago44:09

44:09

In the 1950s, a schoolteacher named Carleen Hutchins attempted a revolution in how concert violins are made. In this episode, Craig Eley of the Field Noise podcast tells us how this amateur outsider used 18th century science to disrupt the all-male guild tradition of violin luthiers. Would the myth of the never-equaled Stradivarius violin prove to …

1
John Heiss Sounds Out Igor Stravinsky’s Birds, Puppets and Other Musical Tales 31:48

2h ago31:48

31:48

The Russian composer Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) was one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century. His career spanned from the early twentieth century, when he composed ballets inspired by Russian myth and the era's revived interest in distinctly Russian culture, to the experimentation in compositional styles that followed the Sec…

1
Kirsten Moore-Sheeley, "Nothing But Nets: A Biography of Global Health Science and Its Objects" (Johns Hopkins UP, 2023) 1:02:29

11m ago1:02:29

1:02:29

Distributed to millions of people annually across Africa and the global south, insecticide-treated bed nets have become a cornerstone of malaria control and twenty-first-century global health initiatives. Despite their seemingly obvious public health utility, however, these chemically infused nets and their rise to prominence were anything but inev…

1
Super Soul Special: Shonda Rhimes: Change Your Life By Saying “Yes” (And "No" Too) 35:05

9d ago35:05

35:05

Original Air Date: November 15, 2017 Prolific TV show creator, writer and executive producer Shonda Rhimes reflects on her memoir “Year of Yes.” The force behind the hit shows "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal" and "How to Get Away with Murder," Shonda explains how saying “yes” for one year allowed her to live a more awakened life. She also shares the one…

1
Anton Howes, "Arts and Minds: How the Royal Society of Arts Changed a Nation" (Princeton UP, 2020) 1:10:57

37m ago1:10:57

1:10:57

Over the past 300 years, The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce has tried to improve British life in every way imaginable. It has sought to influence education, commerce, music, art, architecture, communications, food, and every other corner of society. Arts and Minds: How the Royal Society of Arts Changed a Nati…

1
David Badre, "On Task: How Our Brain Gets Things Done" (Princeton UP, 2020) 42:29

1h ago42:29

42:29

On Task: How Our Brain Gets Things Done (Princeton UP, 2020) is a look at the extraordinary ways the brain turns thoughts into actions—and how this shapes our everyday lives. Why is it hard to text and drive at the same time? How do you resist eating that extra piece of cake? Why does staring at a tax form feel mentally exhausting? Why can your chi…

1
Super Soul Special: Oprah Winfrey: The Seeds 20:45

13d ago20:45

20:45

Original Air Date: February 24, 2021 When you pay attention to what feeds your energy, you move in the direction of the life for which you were intended. Trust that the Universe has bigger, wider, deeper dreams for you than you could ever imagine for yourself. Think about the parable of the mustard seed: if you have faith, even if it’s as tiny as a…

1
118: Attention is All You Need: The World After Capital 1:09:47

1d ago1:09:47

1:09:47

“The amount of human attention in the world is finite. We have 24 hours in the day, some of which we need to spend paying attention to eating, sleeping and meeting our other needs. The attention during the remaining hours of most people in the world is taken up by having to earn an income and by consuming goods and services, leaving relatively litt…

1
The Mathematical Artistry of Paul Dirac: Michael Atiyah on the Life and Work of Quantum Genius 22:12

1d ago22:12

22:12

Paul Dirac (1902–1984) was an English theoretical physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. In 1933, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger.Sir Michael Atiyah is one of the world's greatest living mathematicians and is well known…

1
The Inventing Machine: Paul Israel on the Life and Work of Thomas Edison 1:25:04

1d ago1:25:04

1:25:04

One of the most influential American inventors of all time, Thomas Edison (1847–1931) is responsible for the creation of several devices that shaped the face of modern technology. Most famous for his invention of the first practical light bulb, Edison was also a shrewd businessman who bridged the gap between invention and large-scale manufacturing.…

1
Sasha Warren, "Storming Bedlam: Madness, Mental Health, and Revolt" (Common Notions, 2024) 1:26:42

3d ago1:26:42

1:26:42

Mental health care and its radical possibilities reimagined in the context of its global development under capitalism. The contemporary world is oversaturated with psychiatric programs, methods, and reforms promising to address any number of "crises" in mental health care. When these fail, alternatives to the alternatives simply pile up and seem to…

1
Monika Krause, "Model Cases: On Canonical Research Objects and Sites" (U Chicago Press, 2021) 34:07

3d ago34:07

34:07

In Model Cases: On Canonical Research Objects and Sites (University of Chicago Press, 2021), Dr. Monika Krause asks about the concrete material research objects behind shared conversations about classes of objects, periods, and regions in the social sciences and humanities. It is well known that biologists focus on particular organisms, such as mic…

1
Super Soul Special: Amandla Stenberg: My Authenticity is my Activism 19:43

3d ago19:43

19:43

Original Air Date: May 29, 2019 In a live appearance at UCLA’s Royce Hall, actress, social media disrupter and feminist Amandla Stenberg talks about the importance of vulnerability and finding strength in your identity. She shares her journey of becoming comfortable with her authentic self and loving who she was born to be. Amandla, who portrayed R…

1
Standing on Aristotle’s Shoulders: David Roochnik on the Life and Work of Aristotle 52:04

13d ago52:04

52:04

The third and final member of a chain of Athenian philosophers who would shape the foundation of Western philosophy, Aristotle (384 B.C.E.–322 B.C.E.) was a student of Plato, who would eventually go on to mentor Alexander the Great. Nicknamed “The Reader” by Plato, Aristotle’s writings on science, ethics, and politics dominated Western society for …

1
David J. Hand, "Dark Data: Why What You Don't Know Matters" (Princeton UP, 2020) 1:18:03

5d ago1:18:03

1:18:03

There is no shortage of books on the growing impact of data collection and analysis on our societies, our cultures, and our everyday lives. David Hand's new book Dark Data: Why What You Don't Know Matters (Princeton University Press, 2020) is unique in this genre for its focus on those data that aren't collected or don't get analyzed. More than an …

1
Donna Drucker, "Contraception: A Concise History" (The MIT Press, 2020) 23:53

23d ago23:53

23:53

The beginning of the modern contraceptive era began in 1882, when Dr. Aletta Jacobs opened the first birth control clinic in Amsterdam. The founding of this facility, and the clinical provision of contraception that it enabled, marked the moment when physicians started to take the prevention of pregnancy seriously as a medical concern. In Contracep…

1
Alan Lightman, "Einstein's Dreams" (Vintage, 1992) 55:06

11d ago55:06

55:06

Einstein’s Dreams (Vintage, 1992) by Alan Lightman, set in Albert Einstein’s “miracle year” of 1905, is a novel about the cultural interconnection of time, relativity and life. As the young genius creates his theory of relativity, in a series of dreams, he imagines other worlds, each with a different conceptualization of time. In one, time is circu…

1
The (ir)Rational Rainbow (the DSM & the Fight to Depathologize Homosexuality) 1:14:39

27d ago1:14:39

1:14:39

The psychological establishment has long pathologized diverse forms of sexual identity and gender expression. In the mid-century, a brave movement of gays and lesbians fought back and claimed: no, actually, we’re healthy. But in the process, did they define other identities unhealthy? This is episode two of Cited Podcast's returning season, the Rat…

1
117: Winning and Losing Millions in Crypto Confidential 1:10:45

8d ago1:10:45

1:10:45

“I could hardly form the words. My mouth wasn’t working. My heart hammered in my ears and pins and needles burned my hands and feet. I squeezed my fists as hard as I could to get them to stop hurting as I stumbled into my office and fumbled through my laptop password, pulling up the message that had thrown me out of bed: “Nat, someone found a way t…

1
Pierre Sokolsky, "Clock in the Sun: How We Came to Understand Our Nearest Star" (Columbia UP, 2024) 29:03

8d ago29:03

29:03

On the surface of the Sun, spots appear and fade in a predictable cycle, like a great clock in the sky. In medieval Russia, China, and Korea, monks and court astronomers recorded the appearance of these dark shapes, interpreting them as omens of things to come. In Western Europe, by contrast, where a cosmology originating with Aristotle prevailed, …

1
Pierre Sokolsky, "Clock in the Sun: How We Came to Understand Our Nearest Star" (Columbia UP, 2024) 29:03

28d ago29:03

29:03

On the surface of the Sun, spots appear and fade in a predictable cycle, like a great clock in the sky. In medieval Russia, China, and Korea, monks and court astronomers recorded the appearance of these dark shapes, interpreting them as omens of things to come. In Western Europe, by contrast, where a cosmology originating with Aristotle prevailed, …

1
Super Soul Special: David Brooks: The Road to Character 33:52

10d ago33:52

33:52

Original Air Date: November 20, 2017 New York Times columnist, political pundit and bestselling author David Brooks reveals how we can discover and build a stronger, more meaningful moral character and deeper inner life. David shares his personal and well-researched path on the road to “save his own soul.” He takes listeners on a journey through hi…

1
Pandemics Perspectives 15: The Dynamic Nature of Science 1:16:31

11d ago1:16:31

1:16:31

In this Pandemic Perspectives Podcast, Ideas Roadshow founder and host Howard Burton talks to Michael Gordin, Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Princeton University, about the differences between science and pseudoscience and how the COVID-19 Pandemic showed that most people don't realize that science is highly dynamic. Go…

1
Pandemics Perspectives 15: The Dynamic Nature of Science 1:16:31

11d ago1:16:31

1:16:31

In this Pandemic Perspectives Podcast, Ideas Roadshow founder and host Howard Burton talks to Michael Gordin, Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Princeton University, about the differences between science and pseudoscience and how the COVID-19 Pandemic showed that most people don't realize that science is highly dynamic. Go…

1
‘Round Miles: Quincy Troupe on the Life and Music of Miles Davis 1:00:04

12d ago1:00:04

1:00:04

Widely considered as one of the top musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis (1926–1991) was a major force in jazz. He was not only a gifted trumpeter and composer, but also an innovator who created a nine-member band called the “nonet,” in which unconventional (in jazz) instruments like French horn and tuba were used. He also invented a style kn…

1
Peter Murray Jones, "The Medicine of the Friars in Medieval England" (Boydell & Brewer, 2024) 53:22

13d ago53:22

53:22

Friars are often overlooked in the picture of health care in late mediaeval England. Physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, barbers, midwives - these are the people we think of immediately as agents of healing; whilst we identify university teachers as authorities on medical writings. Yet from their first appearance in England in the 1220s to the disp…

1
116: What Was It All For? WWI by Martin Gilbert 1:40:58

17d ago1:40:58

1:40:58

“If the war was to be over by Christmas, as many believed, or at the latest by Easter 1915, tens of thousands of soldiers might be killed or wounded before the guns fell silent. Every army believed that it could crush its opponents within a few months.” Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! Join us as we dive into The First World War b…

1
Super Soul Special: Michael Pollan: Conscious Eating 34:16

18d ago34:16

34:16

Original Air Date: July 9, 2018 New York Times best-selling author and food expert Michael Pollan discusses our evolving relationship with food, what it means to eat with a fuller consciousness and how having a heightened awareness of the food that goes into our bodies can improve our physical and spiritual well-being. Michael says that food is an …

1
Ann Johnson and Johannes Lenhard, "Cultures of Prediction: How Engineering and Science Evolve with Mathematical Tools" (MIT Press, 2024) 1:01:58

1M ago1:01:58

1:01:58

A probing examination of the dynamic history of predictive methods and values in science and engineering that helps us better understand today's cultures of prediction. The ability to make reliable predictions based on robust and replicable methods is a defining feature of the scientific endeavor, allowing engineers to determine whether a building …

1
Anna Abraham, "The Creative Brain: Myths and Truths" (MIT Press, 2024) 1:09:54

19d ago1:09:54

1:09:54

A nuanced, science-based understanding of the creative mind that dispels the pervasive myths we hold about the human brain—but also uncovers the truth at their cores. What is the relationship between creativity and madness? Creativity and intelligence? Do psychedelics truly enhance creativity? How should we understand the left and right hemispheres…

1
Ann Johnson and Johannes Lenhard, "Cultures of Prediction: How Engineering and Science Evolve with Mathematical Tools" (MIT Press, 2024) 1:01:58

1M ago1:01:58

1:01:58

A probing examination of the dynamic history of predictive methods and values in science and engineering that helps us better understand today's cultures of prediction. The ability to make reliable predictions based on robust and replicable methods is a defining feature of the scientific endeavor, allowing engineers to determine whether a building …

1
Paula S. De Vos, "Compound Remedies: Galenic Pharmacy from the Ancient Mediterranean to New Spain" (U Pittsburgh Press, 2020) 1:10:55

1M ago1:10:55

1:10:55

Compound Remedies: Galenic Pharmacy from the Ancient Mediterranean to New Spain (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020) by Dr. Paula S. De Vos examines the equipment, books, and remedies of colonial Mexico City’s Herrera pharmacy—natural substances with known healing powers that formed part of the basis for modern-day healing traditions and home rem…

1
Juneteenth: Celebrating Freedom and Legacy 23:34

1M ago23:34

23:34

This bonus episode of Super Soul features highlights from the CNN special Juneteenth: Celebrating Freedom and Legacy. This star-studded tribute honors freedom, advancement and the trailblazers who led the way. CNN correspondent and anchor Victor Blackwell hosts conversations with celebrated artists including John Legend, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robin…

1
Churchill’s Rock: Sonia Purnell on The Life and Times of Clementine Churchill 26:24

24d ago26:24

26:24

Best known as the wife of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Clementine Ogilvy Spencer-Churchill served as one of her husband's closest confidantes, aiding him during his brightest moments as well as his darkest hours. During World War II, she led the Young Women's Christian Association's wartime efforts and also assisted in the Red Cross's …

1
Paulina Rowinska, "Mapmatics: How We Navigate the World Through Numbers" (Pan Macmillan, 2024) 56:44

1M ago56:44

56:44

How does a delivery driver distribute hundreds of packages in a single working day? Why does remote Alaska have such a large airport? Where should we look for elusive serial killers? The answers lie in the crucial connection between maps and maths. In Mapmatics: How We Navigate the World Through Numbers (Pan Macmillan, 2024), Dr Paulina Rowinska em…

1
At Home with Neil Patrick Harris, His Fiancé David Burtka & Their Twins 32:39

25d ago32:39

32:39

Original Air Date: June 3, 2012 Oprah visits Emmy-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris, his fiancé David Burtka and their 18-month old twins, Harper and Gideon, at their home in the quiet suburbs of Los Angeles. In a television exclusive, this modern American family opens their home and private family life to Oprah and her cameras for the first time. …

1
Test Subjects 41:03

2M ago41:03

41:03

Season Two erupts in our ears with a film-noir soundscape—an eerie voice utters strange and disjointed phrases and echoing footsteps lead to sirens and gunshots. What on Earth are we listening to? We unravel the mystery with NYU media professor Mara Mills who studies the historical relationship between disability and media technologies. In Episode …

1
Lisa M. P. Munoz, "Women in Science Now: Stories and Strategies for Achieving Equity" (Columbia UP, 2023) 36:44

27d ago36:44

36:44

Women working in the sciences face obstacles at virtually every step along their career paths. From subtle slights to blatant biases, deep systemic problems block women from advancing or push them out of science and technology entirely. Women in Science Now: Stories and Strategies for Achieving Equity (Columbia UP, 2023) examines solutions to this …

1
Madman in the White House? 1:03:48

2M ago1:03:48

1:03:48

Did Woodrow Wilson's daddy issues cause World War II? And what might this teach us about our contemporary political plight? Jordan Osserman talks with psychoanalyst Jamieson Webster and historian Patrick Weil about The Madman in the White House: Sigmund Freud, Ambassador Bullitt, and the Lost Psychobiography of Woodrow Wilson (Harvard UP, 2023). Wh…

1
Benjamin Breen, "Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science" (Grand Central, 2024) 58:23

2M ago58:23

58:23

Today I talked to Benjamin Breen about his book Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science (Grand Central, 2024). The generation that survived the second World War emerged with a profoundly ambitious sense of social experimentation. In the '40s and '50s, transformative drugs rapidly entered mainst…

1
Tessa Hill and Eric Simons, "At Every Depth: Our Growing Knowledge of the Changing Oceans" (Columbia UP, 2024) 53:01

2M ago53:01

53:01

At Every Depth: Our Growing Knowledge of the Changing Oceans (Columbia UP, 2024) takes readers on a journey from California tidepools to Antarctic poles, showcasing myriad efforts to research and protect marine environments. Through insightful interviews, oceanographer Tessa Hill and science journalist Eric Simons offer a compelling exploration of …

1
Carl Elliott, "The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No" (Norton, 2024) 50:30

2M ago50:30

50:30

The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No (Norton, 2024) is an intellectual inquiry into the moral struggle that whistleblowers face, and why it is not the kind of struggle that most people imagine. Carl Elliott is a bioethicist at the University of Minnesota who was trained in medicine as well as philosophy…

1
Super Soul Special: Janet Mock: Redefining Realness 36:44

1M ago36:44

36:44

Original Air Date: February 7, 2018 Janet Mock, the transgender advocate, television host and New York Times best-selling author, discusses her powerful journey, the importance of speaking your truth, and becoming the person you know you were always meant to be. Janet offers insight into not only her transgender experience but also the importance o…

1
Duana Fullwiley, "Tabula Raza: Mapping Race and Human Diversity in American Genome Science" (U California Press, 2024) 1:16:20

1M ago1:16:20

1:16:20

In Tabula Raza: Mapping Race and Human Diversity in American Genome Science (University of California Press, 2024), Duana Fullwiley has penned an intimate chronicle of laboratory life in the genomic age. She presents many of the influential scientists at the forefront of genetics who have redefined how we practice medicine and law and understand an…

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