Michio Kaku is a professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York and a co-founder of string field theory. He joins us to talk about a search to explain the very reasons we exist and why that’s a controversial idea.
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An Artist’s Quest To Replace The Irreplaceable
Michael Rakowitz joins us to talk about his work that uses historic moments as a launching board to workshop big ideas into moments of change.
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Darwin’s Guide To Alien Life
Arik Kershenbaum, a zoologist and fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge, joins us to talk about understanding evolution on Earth and how that might parallel alien life forms elsewhere.
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The World Needs More Toilets
Science journalist Chelsea Wald joins us to talk about what’s behind the plumbing and introduce the scientists and activists working to make sanitation healthy and accessible for all.
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Asian Americans And The Rise In Racism
Vishakha N. Desai, chair of Columbia University’s Committee on Global Thought and a past president of the Asia Society, joins us to talk about these troubling statics, how Asians regularly face racist ideas that question their place in American society and what needs to happen to fight back.
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NFTs And The Future Of Digital Art
Kyle Chayka is a contributor to The New Yorker, and he joins us to discuss the high stakes, high-price world of digital art and why galleries, museum curators, auction houses, even everyday people are jumping on this cutting-edge trend.
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Student Debt Is Crushing Parents, Too
Caitlin Zaloom, associate professor of social and cultural analysis at New York University, joins us to discuss how college-minded parents are taking on enormous debts to fund higher education and why the middle-class is especially crunched.
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Online Scams Are Out Of Control
Ankush Khardori, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor who specialized in financial fraud and white-collar crime, joins us to discuss internet crime, why it’s gotten worse during the pandemic, and the persistent problems facing the Justice Department.
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How The Quest For Flavor Drove Evolution
Rob Dunn, professor of applied ecology at North Carolina State University joins us to talk about why we prefer cooked food, the various ways we taste, and how our pursuit of a good meal might’ve led to starting the first fire.
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How Facebook A.I. Enables Misinformation
Karen Hao, senior artificial intelligence reporter with MIT Technology Review, joins us to talk about her profile of Joaquin Quiñonero Candela, who built Facebook’s wildly successful AI platform only to later struggle with the reality that he can’t tame the monster he created.
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The Limits Of Identity Politics
University of Manchester sociology professor Gary Younge joins us to talk about how societies operate based on assumptions and privileges granted to people based on their identities.
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A 50-Year Look At American Immigration
Sarah R. Coleman, assistant professor of history at Texas State University, joins us to work through near-term policy options and to talk about ideas for improving the conditions in the countries migrants are fleeing.
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