Science And Technology

Can someone else own your DNA?

October 28, 2021 History, Race/Identity, Science and Technology, Think, Upcoming

Law professor Jorge L. Contreras joins us to discuss a landmark case brought when the U.S. government issued patents to biotech companies to use human genes, and the field of human genetics law it created.

The scientists who couldn’t help their own daughter

October 27, 2021 Health, Science and Technology, Think, Upcoming

Daniel Engber, senior editor at The Atlantic, joins us to discuss the parents – one a bioengineer in regenerative medicine and another a specialist in rehabilitation robotics – who found they had to rethink their life’s work to help their young daughter after an accident.

An illustration of a dark-haired woman dreaming of space

The science of your dreams

October 25, 2021 History, Mental Health, Science and Technology, Think

Neuroscientist Sidarta Ribeiro joins us to discuss how dreams are connected to how we learn and even how we understand our existence.

What your vaccine decision says about your thinking

October 12, 2021 Culture, Health, Science and Technology, Think

Wake Forest philosophy professor Adrian Bardon joins us to discuss why distrust of science is part of cultural identity, and why that’s a problem for furthering the goals of public health.

How to lie with maps

October 6, 2021 Culture, Education, Environment, Science and Technology, Think

New York Times editorial board member Greg Bensinger joins us to discuss the gaps between what maps represent and real-life knowledge.

The heart is a bloody amazing organ

October 5, 2021 Health, Science and Technology, Think

Bill Schutt of the American Museum of Natural History joins us for a fascinating look at what scientists are learning about how the hearts of creatures big and small function very differently than the human heart.

An illustration of people from various backgrounds wearing masks

A Head Start On The Next Pandemic

September 30, 2021 Current Events, Global Issues, Health, Science and Technology, Think

Dr. Scott Gottlieb joins us to discuss what he calls a system-wide failure of government to control Covid-19, and what needs to happen to prepare for the next global health emergency.

A healthcare worker wearing PPE prepares to give an injection.

We Can’t Have Medical Progress Without Risk

September 29, 2021 Health, Science and Technology, Think

Dr. Paul A. Offit joins us to talk about the risks medical researchers must take to develop the lifesaving therapies we rely on.

Photo of a group of African safari animals composited together in a scene of the grasslands of Kenya.

Animals Sometimes Don’t Follow The Rules

September 24, 2021 Environment, Science and Technology

Mary Roach joins us talk about when humans and wildlife are in conflict – from errant elephants to rule-breaking moose and life-threatening trees.

What Deep Space Can Teach Us About Earth

September 23, 2021 Environment, Science and Technology

Michael Greshko of National Geographic joins us to talk about asteroids, comets, dwarf planets and other space objects that researchers are studying to better understand how life as we know it started. His article is headlined “Mysteries of the Solar System.”

Photo illustration of the immune systems fighting.

When Our Bodies Attack Us

September 21, 2021 Health, Science and Technology

Scientific American senior editor Josh Fischman joins us to talk about rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases and the progress being made to fight them.

Meet The Creatures Living Above And Below Us

September 17, 2021 Culture, Education, Environment, Science and Technology

Two pioneering female scientists speak with us: one who describes life in the tops of trees as an eighth continent, and an oceanographer who studies bioluminescent marine animals that light up the ocean floor.