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Big Brains
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Big Brains

University of Chicago Podcast Network

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Translating groundbreaking research into digestible brain food. Big Brains, little bites. Produced by the University of Chicago Podcast Network & Winner of CASE "Grand Gold" award in 2022, Gold award in 2021, and named Adweek's "Best Branded Podcast" in 2020.
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Freakonomics co-author Steve Levitt tracks down other high achievers for surprising, revealing conversations about their lives and obsessions. Join Levitt as he goes through the most interesting midlife crisis you’ve ever heard — and learn how a renegade sheriff is transforming Chicago's jail, how a biologist is finding the secrets of evolution in the Arctic tundra, and how a trivia champion memorized 160,000 flashcards. Join the Freakonomics Radio Plus membership program for weekly member-o ...
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Smart People Podcast is a biweekly, interview-based podcast that features today's most well respected thought leaders engaging in authentic, insightful conversation for the benefit of the listener. The host, Chris Stemp, and his co-host/producer Jon Rojas, utilize their insatiable curiosity and relatable charm to provoke their guests into giving the interview of a lifetime. Every single guest has achieved a high level of recognition within their arena and in doing so has collected a wealth o ...
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The rule-breaking authors of Freakonomics are back with their latest book, Think Like a Freak. Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner share how they challenge conventional wisdom and answer questions about thinking differently. Whether you're interested in the best way to improve your odds in penalty kicks, or in major global reforms, here's a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems. Hosted at the Apple Store, Regent Street in London.
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Can we learn to make smarter choices? Listen in as host Katy Milkman--behavioral scientist, Wharton professor, and author of How to Change--shares stories of high-stakes decisions and what research reveals they can teach us. Choiceology, an original podcast from Charles Schwab, explores the lessons of behavioral economics to help you improve your judgment and change for good. Season 1 of Choiceology was hosted by Dan Heath, bestselling author of Made to Stick and Switch. Podcasts are for inf ...
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Climate change can feel like an impossible crisis these days. Every week there is some new report about the irreversible damage we’re doing to our planet and the havoc it will bring to people’s lives. We all know cutting emissions is the solution, yet governments and companies seem no closer to meeting the goals that scientists say we must hit. It …
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Economist Michael D. Smith says universities are scrambling to protect a status quo that deserves to die. He tells Steve why the current system is unsustainable, and what’s at stake if nothing changes. RESOURCES: The Abundant University: Remaking Higher Education for a Digital World, by Michael D. Smith (2023). "Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The …
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Why and how did America, in a catastrophically enormous failure, become the world leader in COVID deaths? In this Episode, veteran journalist Joe Nocera offers fresh and provocative answers. We discuss what really happened when governments ran out of PPE due to snarled supply chains and the shock to the financial system when the world's biggest eco…
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By now, you've probably heard about the dangers of PFAS “forever chemicals.” These chemicals are all around us—they're in waterproof hiking boots, electronics, nonstick pans and even our drinking water—but there's no way for them to break down in our environment. Epidemiological studies have linked to these chemicals to numerous diseases—from kidne…
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Computer scientist Fei-Fei Li had a wild idea: download one billion images from the internet and teach a computer to recognize them. She ended up advancing the state of artificial intelligence — and she hopes that will turn out to be a good thing for humanity. RESOURCES: The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of A.I., b…
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You may feel as if you don't control your emotional energy, that it's an inevitable consequence of the world around you and the forces bearing down on you. But that's not the case. To reach your full potential, you can learn to recognize and harness the energy in your brain. Dr. Julia DiGangi is an expert in the connection between our brains, our e…
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How many times have you heard this phrase: “Back in the day, people were nicer” or “People aren’t as kind as they used to be?” Most of us have experienced the feeling that people are becoming meaner over time, year after year. But is it true? Are people really less kind than they used to be? That’s the question that has bothered psychologist Adam M…
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Data scientist Nate Silver gained attention for his election predictions. But even the best prognosticators get it wrong sometimes. He talks to Steve about making good decisions with data, why he’d rather write a newsletter than an academic paper, and how online poker led him to the world of politics. RESOURCES "Not Everyone Who Disagrees With You …
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Kieran Setiya teaches philosophy at MIT, working mainly in ethics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. He is an author and also has a podcast called Five Questions. Kieran's book, Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way, is available now. To learn more about Kieran, go to ksetiya.net. You can also find more of his writings on hi…
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Filling out an overly complicated form or waiting on hold for hours to speak with a customer service rep is a frustrating experience. And sometimes it seems like the process itself is designed to be difficult. In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we look at how friction––time, distance, complexity, or anything that gets in the way of y…
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Of the academic books that have become household names, “Freakonomics” must be at the top of the list. The 2005 book by University of Chicago scholar Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner created not only a whole new way of thinking about discovering answers to complex problems, but launched a media empire—from book sequel to a movie to a hit…
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Abraham Verghese is a physician and a best-selling author — in that order, he says. He explains the difference between curing and healing, and tells Steve why doctors should spend more time with patients and less with electronic health records. RESOURCES: The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese (2023). "Abraham Verghese’s Sweeping New Fable of F…
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Prof. Alexander Batthyány, PhD, holds the Chair of the Research Institute for Theoretical Psychology and Personalist Studies at Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest, Hungary. Since 2012, Batthyány is Visiting Professor for Existential Psychotherapy at the Moscow University Institute of Psychoanalysis, Russia. He is Director of the Viktor F…
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A train was speeding along the tracks in 19th-century England when a passenger suddenly started smashing windows and waving a pistol in the air. People believed his actions were caused by what was, at the time, a new and unfamiliar form of transportation. Doctors posited the rattling motion and noise of trains could cause passengers to act erratica…
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Since the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, University of Chicago Prof. Robert Pape has been closely observing the threats to our democracy. Now, the renowned terrorism expert says that violent ideas coming from a dedicated minority are moving from fringe to mainstream. In 2021, Pape's team along with NORC at the University of Chicago launch…
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For 37 years, Rick Doblin has been pushing the F.D.A. to approve treating post-traumatic stress disorder with MDMA, better known as Ecstasy. He tells Steve why he persisted for so long, why he doesn’t like calling drug use “recreational,” and what he learned from his pet wolf. RESOURCES: "MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Moderate to Severe PTSD: A Randomi…
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Marcelo Gleiser is a theoretical physicist and public intellectual at Dartmouth College working on basic research ranging from cosmology and applications of information theory to complex phenomena to history and philosophy of science and how science and culture interact. He is devoted to the public understanding of science and is a popular speaker …
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It’s halftime at a basketball game. A kid nervously steps onto center court. If he can score a basket from center court, he’ll take home the prize money. He tells the announcer that he plays on his elementary school team and that he has been practicing for this moment. The crowd holds their breath as the ball sails through the air, hits the backboa…
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Free speech is probably one of the most polarizing public topics of debate. And those arguments only become more intense when it comes to free expression on college and university campuses. Should professors be allowed to say whatever they want? What about speakers being invited to campus? Who gets to say what is acceptable and unacceptable? The Un…
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Thomas Curran is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics. He is a world leading expert on perfectionism. He has written for the Harvard Business Review, was featured in the New Scientist, and his work has been covered by publications including the Guardian, Telegraph, and t…
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Why do ocean waves move the way they do? How does a toaster work? How might ink flow through a ballpoint pen without the help of gravity? You may know the answer to these questions, but explaining them in detail could reveal an unexpected truth. In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we look at why people think they understand things bet…
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Can you heal faster just by tricking your brain? Could you lose weight with only a change of mindset? Could you think yourself into being younger? If you think the answer to all these questions is no, you haven’t read the research from renowned Harvard University psychologist Ellen Langer. Langer is a bit of a legend. She’s the first woman to ever …
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Avi Loeb, the longest serving Chair of Harvard’s Astronomy Department, presented a theory that shook the scientific community: our solar system, Loeb claimed, had likely been visited by a piece of advanced alien technology from a distant star. This provocative and persuasive argument opened millions of minds internationally to the vast possibilitie…
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What is the difference between buying groceries for the whole week versus grabbing something to eat on the way home each day? Grouping choices together so that you make a bunch of selections all at once can seem daunting, but it can actually help you reach your goals faster. In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we look at how taking a …
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Reading is one of the most significant practices in the modern age of information, but it has a complicated history. Scientists began studying reading over a century ago; they built eye movement devices to study how fast and efficiently we read, and even proposed methods on the best ways to teach kids how to read. But all of this well-intentioned s…
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Dr. Luana Marques is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School and Director of Community Psychiatry PRIDE at Massachusetts General Hospital and serves as past-president of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) Dr. Luana's book, Bold Move: A 3-Step Plan to Transform Anxiety into Power is available now. Find ou…
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Scientifically sound, randomized experiments can be expensive and difficult to run. But there’s an alternative: It turns out that certain real-life situations can also generate useful scientific data. The trick is finding them. In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we look at how events outside of our control can create opportunities fo…
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One of the first areas to be affected by AI has been science. Researchers have already started to integrate these new technologies into their work, but what does it mean to let these systems into our labs? Can they be trusted? And, if they so, how radically can they push science forward? Prof. Rebecca Willett is the faculty director of AI at the Un…
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Paying attention is a crucial human skill, yet many of us have forgotten how to listen carefully and observe intentionally. In this episode, we talk about how we can recapture our ability to pay attention that helps all of us to see with more empathy, accuracy, and connection to others. Christian Madsbjerg founded (and sold) ReD Associates - a stra…
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AI promises to change every part of our society, but one area that has already started to be affected is law. And AI may do more than just upend the profession of lawyers. One professor here at the University of Chicago believes that, with its ability to handle massive data sets, AI could be used to entirely change the law itself, making it persona…
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Science is facing a perplexing problem. Although there are far more scientists today than ever before, publishing research at a faster and faster pace, new and novel advancements have slowed not increased. But one expert at the University of Chicago thinks he may have found a way out of this progress standstill…artificial intelligence. In the last …
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First we had IQ to predict success. Then Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Now, Experiential Intelligence (XQ) expands our understanding of what's needed to thrive in today's disruptive world. Experiential Intelligence reveals how our past experiences impact our present success and future opportunities in ways we often don't recognize. While you can't c…
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