BBC science reporter Angela Saini joins us to talk about why some scientists cling to the idea that race is a biological characteristic instead of a social construct.
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Can We Trust Generic Drugs?
Katherine Eban joins us to talk about how companies frequently ignore safe manufacturing practices in order to maximize the profits of generic drugs.
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Siri and Alexa are Spying On You
Washington Post technology columnist Geoffrey Fowler joins us to explain how our phones, when charging, send our data to marketing companies and research firms – and about how the makers of our phones are doing very little to protect our privacy.
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FaceTime Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
Joe Pinkser joins us to talk about how technology enables people to feel close while physically apart – and to talk about how our thinking about long-distance relationships has evolved.
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Is PTSD Preventable?
Dr. Shaili Jain joins us to talk about how PTSD affects many aspects of sufferers’ lives – and about cutting-edge research that’s providing hope.
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Do These Meerkats Have Deep Emotions? Yeah, Probably.
Emory University psychologist Frans de Waal joins us to talk about the natural evolution of animal intelligence research, which looks into how animals feel. His new book is called “Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves.”
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The Reality Of Ransomware
ProPublica technology reporter Renee Dudley explains how these attacks work, how firms can sometimes recover the stolen data, and how sometimes the solution is just to pay up.
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Big Tech Needs Big Government
MIT professor Simon Johnson – a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund – joins us to make the case that public investment is needed to pump life into our economy.
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Computer Scientists Are Obsessed With Termites
Lisa Margonelli joins us to talk about how the collective power of termites may one day be harnessed for good.
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Expanding Our Moral Circle
Sigal Samuel joins us to talk through which other beings we should be thinking about with greater compassion and add to the evolving “moral circle.”
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Cities, Not Sprawl: The Future Of Urban Development
Architect and urban planner Peter Calthorpe joins us to talk about how urban planners are thinking through how to handle large populations living in close quarters.
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How We Put A Man On The Moon
Rice University history professor Douglas Brinkley joins us to chart how Neil Armstrong made JFK’s dream of landing on the moon a reality.
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