Language shapes our world. But when we speak, there is actually a secret conversation happening beyond our words. It’s happening not with our mouths—but with our hands. Prof. Susan Goldin-Meadow is a distinguished scholar of psychology at the University of Chicago. Her research into deaf children who were never taught sign language led her to studying why the gestures we do all day may contain more information about our minds than we realize. Now she’s included all her insights in a new book, “T...
Jan 25, 2024•26 min•Ep 133•Transcript available on Metacast The United States is facing a real mental health crisis. In the last few years, one possible treatment has gotten a lot of press: psychedelic drugs. But what is actually happening in a person’s brain when they take a psychedelic? Could understanding the biology and the chemistry allow us to make better and safer versions of these drugs—and maybe even create psychedelics without the hallucinations? In this episode, we speak with Assoc. Prof. David E. Olson, founding director of the UC Davis Insti...
Jan 11, 2024•32 min•Ep 132•Transcript available on Metacast The Big Brains team is taking some time off during the holidays but for all those travelers out there heading home, we wanted to make sure you still had your favorite podcast in your feed. So, we’re resharing one of our most popular episodes ever. It’s about the science of happiness. What is the key to living a happy and fulfilling life? The answer is actually quite simple, according to the two scholars behind the longest scientific study of happiness every conducted. Beginning in 1938, the Harv...
Dec 28, 2023•30 min•Ep 131•Transcript available on Metacast Here’s the question you’re going to be asking for the next 30 minutes: Did I freely choose to listen to this podcast, or did I actually have no choice at all? Most of us probably believe we have free will. We feel like we make decisions, and that each of us is responsible for the consequences of our actions. But what if that’s all just an illusion? Robert Sapolsky is a renowned professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, but he’s also the author of best-selling scientific books su...
Dec 14, 2023•35 min•Ep 130•Transcript available on Metacast 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 can feel hopeless. There is one possible controversial solution to climate change many in the mainstream haven’t discussed. It’s so controversial, in ...
Nov 30, 2023•34 min•Ep 129•Transcript available on Metacast 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 kidney cancer, liver cancer, obesity, decreased fertility and more. American toxicologist Linda Birnbaum has been sounding the alarms about how PFAS are ha...
Nov 16, 2023•29 min•Ep 128•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Mastroianni most of his life. He set out to find an answer—a search that recently culminated in a paper published in the journal Nature titled, “The Il...
Nov 02, 2023•32 min•Ep 127•Transcript available on Metacast 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 podcast. On this special episode, we sat down with Levitt during the inaugural UCPN Podcast Festival, to talk about the legacy of Freakonomics. Almos...
Oct 19, 2023•40 min•Ep 126•Transcript available on Metacast 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 launched the Dangers to Democracy tracker, an ongoing series of surveys to track Americans' thoughts and attitudes about political violence. In one recent s...
Oct 05, 2023•29 min•Ep 125•Transcript available on Metacast 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 University of Chicago has had a unique and long history of defending free expression, and this year is building upon that commitment by launching The Ch...
Sep 22, 2023•33 min•Ep 124•Transcript available on Metacast 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 receive tenure in psychology at Harvard, and her work has earned her the moniker: “The Mother of Mindfulness”. Her 40-year research career into the mi...
Sep 07, 2023•33 min•Ep 123•Transcript available on Metacast 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 science led to various debates, from America's Reading Wars to today's anti-elite and anti-science movement. In a new book, The Science of Reading: Inf...
Aug 24, 2023•35 min•Ep 122•Transcript available on Metacast 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 University of Chicago Data Science Institute. She is at the forefront of thinking through how AI will change science, and in this episode, she examines ...
Aug 10, 2023•32 min•Ep 121•Transcript available on Metacast 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 personal for every individual based on how they live their lives. It’s a radical idea, but one we may need to start confronting sooner rather than later. In ...
Jul 27, 2023•28 min•Ep 120•Transcript available on Metacast 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 few months AI has become the number one topic on everyone’s mind. This is the first episode of a three part series on the ways today's researchers thi...
Jul 20, 2023•29 min•Ep 119•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone is talking about the upcoming summer blockbuster, Oppenheimer. We are always incredibly captivated by behind the curtain looks at some of the most momentous events in our history. Uncovering the secret details and hidden motivations of the people that have shaped our past. And all the buzz got me thinking about a fascinating prior episode of our show that did just that. You may think you know the history of space travel, from Sputnik to NASA to our recent shift toward privatized space t...
Jul 13, 2023•29 min•Ep 118•Transcript available on Metacast Many cities in the US have been experiencing smoky and hazy skies lately. Some of you have probably been affected by poor air quality due to the ongoing wildfires in Canada that are causing pollution to travel as far as Chicago and New York. On a former episode of our podcast, we spoke with some of the leading experts on air pollution about how this problem has been getting worse and the cost we’re all paying for it. We’re taking a summer break while we work on some special episodes and will be ...
Jul 06, 2023•29 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast Music plays an important role in all of our lives. But listening to music or playing an instrument is more than just a creative outlet or hobby — it’s also scientifically good for us. Research shows that music can stimulate new connections in our brains; keeping our cognitive abilities sharp and our memories alive. In a new book entitled Every Brain Needs Music: The Neuroscience of Making and Listening to Music, Prof. Larry Sherman explores why we all need music for our mental wellbeing — and ho...
Jun 29, 2023•30 min•Ep 116•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone wishes they had a superpower. Well, it turns out you’ve had a secret power since you were a child, you just don’t know how to use it yet. That’s the power of language. In a fascinating new book, “Magic Words: What To Say To Get Your Way ," Prof. Jonah Berger of the Wharton School uses massive data sets and machine learning to tease out the “magic words” that can transform our lives. Could changing just a single word in your mind help you stick to that diet? Could mastering when to say “...
Jun 15, 2023•31 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast If there is something both sides of the political aisle can agree on, it’s that there is something deeply wrong with health insurance in the United States. What they can’t agree on is how to fix it. The right blames everything on the Affordable Care Act, while those on the left say we need Healthcare For All. But what if there was another option? In a recent paper published in JAMA , leading health economist and University of Chicago Provost Katherine Baicker lays out an innovative blueprint for...
Jun 01, 2023•31 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast Why do we fight? It’s a seemingly simple question, but it turns out the answers are surprising, deep and crucial to understanding our world. Considering how costly any conflict is in lives and money, why do wars happen at all? This is one of those episodes that will change how you view some of our most important issues, from the war in Ukraine, to understanding gang fights, and even a possible conflict with China. We’re taking the week off to work on some truly special episodes coming out in the...
May 25, 2023•29 min•Ep 113•Transcript available on Metacast We often think our debates around sexuality and gender are a modern phenomenon. Some people argue that identities like trans and non-binary have only existed recently. But could the evidence for queer and gender-nonconforming lives actually stretch back centuries? In a recent book entitled Byzantine Intersectionality , Prof. Roland Betancourt of the University of California-Irvine uncovers an overlooked history from the Byzantine era. His work shows how surprisingly modern medieval conversations...
May 11, 2023•30 min•Ep 112•Transcript available on Metacast In the near future, birth defects, traumatic injuries, limb loss and perhaps even cancer could be cured through bioelectricity—electrical signals that communicate to our cells how to rebuild themselves. This innovative idea has been tested on flatworms and frogs by biologist Michael Levin, whose research investigates how bioelectricity provides the blueprint for how our bodies are built—and how it could be the future of regenerative medicine. Levin is professor of biology at Tufts University and...
Apr 27, 2023•29 min•Ep 111•Transcript available on Metacast Over his distinguished career, Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman has dedicated his research to understanding and solving the problem of inequality. He has closely studied how investing in early childhood development is linked to better outcomes—from higher earnings, to violence reduction, and even breaking the cycle of poverty. His groundbreaking research has been applied across the globe—from Jamaica to Denmark and China, and it has given policymakers important insights into education...
Apr 13, 2023•32 min•Ep 110•Transcript available on Metacast In today's grocery stores, you can find more sugary snacks, artificial ingredients, and ultra-processed packaged foods. At the same time, the United States has seen an increase in obesity, which is costing our healthcare system, too. Nutritionist Marion Nestle says the problem today isn't that Americans don't know how to eat healthy, rather the food environment that we live in has made it much harder to do so. In this episode, she discusses what policy changes are needed—from the way food studie...
Mar 30, 2023•32 min•Ep 109•Transcript available on Metacast Link to the advertised Chicago Booth Review podcast: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/podcast?source=cbr-sn-cap-camp:podcast23-20230320
Mar 16, 2023•35 min•Ep 108•Transcript available on Metacast Mourning is an inevitable part of our human existence. But what exactly does it mean to mourn, and why is it an essential part of our well-being and survival? These questions have long fascinated Prof. Jonathan Lear, a philosopher at the University of Chicago. In his new book, Imagining the End: Mourning and Ethical Life, Lear unpacks why mourning contributes to a life well lived. He dissects the many ways we mourn in our everyday lives; when attachments are taken away from us, and even when we ...
Mar 02, 2023•26 min•Ep 107•Transcript available on Metacast Feb 16, 2023•32 min•Ep 106•Transcript available on Metacast What is the key to living a happy and fulfilling life? The answer is actually quite simple, according to the two scholars behind the longest scientific study of happiness every conducted. Beginning in 1938, the Harvard Study of Adult Development tracked three generations of families to uncover what contributed to their happiness. In their new book, The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness , Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz tell the stories behind their partic...
Feb 02, 2023•29 min•Ep 105•Transcript available on Metacast Almost a century ago, the origins of sleep science research began at the University of Chicago with the opening of the world's first sleep laboratory. Since then, sleep science has evolved into a multi-disciplinary field — with scientists focusing on diagnosing the causes of sleep disorders, to how sleep affects our metabolic health, and improving methods for good sleep hygiene. But at the core of sleep science, one fundamental question remains: Why do we sleep? In our special series, The Day To...
Jan 19, 2023•35 min•Ep 104•Transcript available on Metacast 
