Why Experts Are Being Questioned
When America has a problem, we no longer turn to the experts. And that’s a problem, too. At least, according to Tom Nichols and Susan Jacoby.
Jun 09, 2017•28 min
Innovation Hub
Innovation Hub looks at how to reinvent our world – from medicine to education, relationships to time management. Great thinkers and great ideas, designed to make your life better.
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Episodes
The Link Between School Lunches And Test Scores
Healthy school lunches might not affect child obesity rates. But they do make a difference. Professor Justin Gallagher explains.
Jun 09, 2017•9 min
Full Show: Get Smart
The decline of experts, why interviews are awful, and how healthy lunches help kids. That's all this week, on Innovation Hub.
Jun 09, 2017•50 min
Job Interviews Are Ineffective, Or Worse, Harmful
Job interviews are stressful, time-consuming, and not even a good way to decide who to hire. So why do we use them? Yale professor Jason Dana explains.
Jun 09, 2017•13 min
The Birth of Talkies
Beyond “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Sunset Boulevard,” what was the transition to talkies really like for Hollywood?
Jun 02, 2017•22 min
Turning Sunlight Into Fuel
It’s a feat that seems like alchemy: turn sunlight into fuel. We talk with CalTech scientist Nathan Lewis about how we may be able to do it one day soon.
Jun 02, 2017•14 min
The Republic of California
California is on a collision course with the federal government. And we’re going to take a look at the crash.
Jun 02, 2017•13 min
Full Show: Going to California
California is a place where big ideas collide against bigger realities, where scientists are trying to turn sunlight into fuel, and where Hollywood became Hollywood. This week, we go there.
Jun 02, 2017•50 min
Full Show: Lending a Hand
Bioengineering mice to stop Lyme disease, a new approach to refugee aid, and rethinking one of the seven deadly sins. This week, stories about the best way to help people.
May 26, 2017•50 min
Full Show: Obsession
There’s a reason you constantly check your phone. Sharon Begley explains the science behind our compulsions. Plus, who was Steve Jobs’ Steve Jobs? Edwin Land. We explore the life and legacy of the founder of Polaroid. Finally, fandom is a multi-billion dollar industry. Zoe Fraade-Blanar tells us how companies use our obsessions to make money.
May 19, 2017•49 min
The Rise Of The Superfan
There are fans. And then there are superfans. Author Zoe Fraade-Blanar explains the difference between the two.
May 19, 2017•17 min
The History Of Polaroid And Its Overlooked Founder
Who was Steve Jobs’ Steve Jobs? Edwin Land. We explore the life and legacy of the founder of Polaroid.
May 19, 2017•16 min
Our Compulsions And Anxieties
Can’t stop checking your phone? Blame your distant ancestors.
May 19, 2017•16 min
The AARP For Kids?
Older Americans have the AARP. Gun owners have the NRA. But one of the biggest swaths of our population has very little political power.
May 12, 2017•14 min
Why the Rorschach Test Isn't A Rorschach Test
Whether you’ve encountered them in real life, or just in the video for Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” Rorschach tests are everywhere. Damion Searls tells us about their history and impact.
May 12, 2017•16 min
Full Show: What We Really Think
It can be difficult to know what people are thinking. So how can we unearth our real selves? Google, says Seth Stephens-Davidowitz. Older Americans have the AARP. Gun owners have the NRA. And now, kids have Common Sense Media. What can a couple of inkblots say about you? Apparently, a lot. We talk with Damion Searls about the rise of the Rorschach test.
May 12, 2017•49 min
How The Internet Reveals Our Innermost Desires
Racism doesn’t just exist in the South, men really care about penis size, and having mutual friends doesn’t mean your relationship will work out. Turns out, there’s a lot you can learn from online data.
May 12, 2017•20 min
Full Show: Strange Shifts
Science is great. Except when it gives us stuff like heroin and TNT. Paul Offit explains what we can all learn from science’s mistakes. A small, insular group controls the world’s financial system. No, they aren’t lizard-people. They’re superhubs. The way we sleep now was invented in the 18th century. Benjamin Reiss takes us on a tour of sleep’s history.
May 05, 2017•50 min
Sleep's Restless History
You may spend a third of your life asleep… but how much do you know about it, really? Benjamin Reiss walks us through the history of sleep.
May 05, 2017•16 min
The Dark Side Of Scientific Progress
Science gave us penicillin, space travel, and computers. But, it also gave us TNT, guns, and heroin. Paul Offit tells us about when science goes wrong.
May 05, 2017•17 min
How The World Revolves Around Superhubs
Who pulls the levers of the global financial system? Superhubs. Sandra Navidi explains who they are and what they’re doing.
May 05, 2017•15 min
The Science Of Freezing
Scientists experiment, test, hypothesize… and sometimes they discover something completely and utterly by accident.
May 05, 2017•4 min
When We Live to 100
Pretty soon, a lot more people are going to live to 100. We talk with Andrew Scott about how that’s going to reshape our society.
Apr 28, 2017•16 min
The Right To Free Time
It feels great to carve out a few leisure hours each week. But, Professor Julie Rose says that free time should be a right, not a privilege.
Apr 28, 2017•15 min
How Sun City Changed Retirement
These days, people retire to sun, sand, and shuffleboard. But, it wasn’t always that way. We learn the story of one man who changed the way many people spend their golden years.
Apr 28, 2017•4 min
Full Show: The Days Of Our Lives
What happens when people regularly start living past 100? Plus, if you haven’t made that big scientific discovery yet, don’t worry: there’s time. Finally, we work four more weeks a year now than we did in the 1970s. And that’s a problem.
Apr 28, 2017•49 min
Why Age Doesn't Matter In Science
Unlike in music, science has few one-hit wonders. We talk with professor Albert-Laszlo Barabasi about how age and skill figure into scientific discoveries.
Apr 28, 2017•15 min
Out Of The Echo Chamber
Our Facebook newsfeeds have become echo chambers. To break out, professor Cass Sunstein says we should embrace a diversity of information.
Apr 21, 2017•15 min
How Trump is Changing TV
The Trump phenomenon was built, in large part, by television. Michael Schneider tells us how the former star of The Apprentice is shaking up Hollywood - and creating some unexpected winners.
Apr 21, 2017•16 min
The Biggest Little Network In Town
No ratings, no stars, and no commercials. We talk with C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb about the secret to success, even when nobody's watching.
Apr 21, 2017•19 min
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