In this episode, the three co-hosts describe their very different concepts of utopia. Episode notes: Mormon Utopia Is modern society the past’s utopia? What is consciousness? Do any two people imagine the same utopia? Ray’s utopia: all people become one unified energy outside of time Matryoshka Brain Static vs. dynamic world Luis’s utopia of work and leisure as choices Is a utopia a perfect world, and if so, can imperfect people live in it? Are we capable of imagining a true utopia? Will we over...
Nov 14, 2017•47 min
Episode notes: What are pets? Being a “pet parent” What’s in an animal’s mind? Humans raised by animals Do animals feel emotions similar to humans’? Commercial: Petcestry Genomics Why do we have pets? Homeless pets People who poison other people’s pets Ray’s chameleon Luis’s dog Steph’s dog Worm charming Are people like their pets? Caring for pets vs. children Street cats Seeing-eye dogs Vanity pets and breeding
Nov 02, 2017•50 min
Most destructive diseases in history Contagion Social contagion The spread of ideas Should you vaccinate your child? Travel and disease The Anthrax story Disease in war Suicide contagion Commercial: Minority animal diseases World of Warcraft and the CDC Studying the spread of disease Google Flu Trends Dancing Plague of 1518 Fictitious monsters on the Internet Leprosy colonies Zombies Network theory
Oct 23, 2017•57 min
Episode notes: MIT’s Moral Machine test Who would you save? Fate and interference, guilt Kant’s autonomous morality Utilitarianism Patience with people vs. machines MBTA and Amtrak stories Consumer comfort with driverless cars Blame in autonomous vehicle accidents The future of machine autonomy Applying moral frameworks in the context of changing technology
Oct 03, 2017•48 min
This is a Listeners’ Choice episode! The topic ("the importance of celebration”) was submitted by Akshay. We also talked about birthdays, which was submitted by Jan Marie! Episode notes: Is “celebrating the everyday” really a celebration? Celebrations as checkpoints Celebration vs. recurring holidays Luis’ story about his mother’s gifts Ray on Turkish weddings and communal lamb Is celebration a group activity? History/etymology of celebration Two types of celebration (surprise vs. expected) Step...
Sep 26, 2017•46 min
Episode notes: What we did before we started the MBA program The role of diversity and different types of diversity Choosing extracurriculars What is a case competition? “Teaming” A clear vision vs. experimentation Commercial: Bartholomew's School for Shady Business How to network effectively Skills for learning in the classroom
Sep 13, 2017•33 min
What is a “golden age”? How do we know if we are in a golden age? The golden ages of media: television, information, radio, video games… The golden age of hip hop Are we able to identify a golden age while we’re in it? Commercial: Customized Element Ages The golden age of television The metrics for identifying a golden age Is ubiquity or acceleration a sign of a technology’s golden age? Are golden ages in “the chasm”?
Sep 05, 2017•34 min
What defines sleep? What’s your common sleep position? Why do we sleep? Sleep deprivation The relationship of anxiety and sleep Sleep apnea and night terrors Naps and siestas Commercial: Hypernation Pills Sleep paralysis and kanashibari Cultural views of sleep Debunking bunker: Does turkey make you sleepy? Food and sleep: Rip Van Winkle, pizza dreams How to fall asleep or sleep well Relationships and sleep (fairytales vs. reality) Vulnerability Sleeping in public and social norms “Sleep ecologie...
Aug 29, 2017•46 min
Baby Bowling Thomas Gotchi “Nothing” Barry Berries The Screaming Room Ray’s Fireworks Barn Snow Box
Aug 06, 2017•14 min
*Special episode* We visited the Popnology Exhibit at Boston’s Museum of Science! In this episode we discuss some topics that come up in the exhibit, such as: Lots of robotic arms (e.g., Baxter!) Space Elevator What the smartphone has replaced The love for retro Digital vs. 35mm photography 3-D printed cars A world with flying cars The wall of tech prophecies (did they really envision the future?) Pop culture influenced by research …and research influenced by pop culture Sustainability and escap...
Jul 31, 2017•35 min
What is a MOOC? Are MOOCs more interesting than normal college courses? Are MOOCs the future? Are online courses effective? The role of online learning in the workplace Who learns online? Can one put online learning on a resume? Commercial: Pifflorations You can learn just about anything online Online misinformation: how do you know what’s true? The modularization of content Reading the news The importance of context and source Can online learning replace the traditional college experience?
Jul 24, 2017•45 min
Ep. 32: Venture Capital (with Carlo Santelli of Stonehenge Capital) Carlo Santelli explains growth capital The role of venture capital in community development Trends in the private equity and venture capital worlds Are the unicorns in a bubble? Networking in the VC world Does size matter? The management team The college majors that will prepare you for working in the industry How has technology changed the world of venture capital? How to identify the right investors What is the geography of ve...
Jul 17, 2017•37 min
When are you most bored? Are children more prone to boredom than adults? Inactivity vs. boredom Is boredom related to imagination, motivation, energy? Boredom as a lack of freedom Boredom from entertainment overload Boredom as a source of innovation and creativity Commercial: Bartholomew’s School for Active Children Are we more bored as a society than we used to be? Choice paralysis / overload / FOMO Boredom and dissatisfaction Are people with depression more prone to boredom? Being bored during...
Jul 09, 2017•40 min
Independence as control Cosmic lack of control Controlling the weather Do humans ultimately desire to conquer and control? Civilization as control over environment Do we ever desire to lose control? The spiritual side: acknowledging a lack of control The power of the brain Drugs and loss of control Modern life: too much control? Who has more control? Uncertainty and letting go Commercial: The Vacuum Cleaner for your soul Self-control Controlling our dreams (shout out to Episode 14) Control and a...
Jul 02, 2017•42 min
A conscious decision or just instinct? Process discipline vs. collaboration Cooperation vs. collaboration Organization and discipline in crime rings Do crime rings thrive because of ideology or market demand? The electronic silk road Cybercrime groups: collaborating against vs. for something Commercial: The PFL Threadless Store How to incentivize collaboration Do you prefer a collaborative culture or people with collaborative traits? Collaboration within diverse groups Collaboration vs. chaos Fi...
Jun 25, 2017•33 min
What is a board game? The best strategy for Monopoly German-style board games Jumanji Collaborative games Group games Kickstarter games Commercial: The Positive Feedback Loop Game Ancient games AI/machine learning 3D games Solveable vs. unsolveable games Tactile games Dominoes across cultures Games we played in high school Strategy vs. luck One-player games Why do we play games? Is there a difference between work and play?
Jun 18, 2017•37 min
Do we take more risks in the summer than in other seasons? Summer vacation Jobs that make it difficult to take a vacation Dangerous sports Attempts to avoid a shark bite Ways to treat a jellyfish sting Our favorite seasons The story of the grateful woman When seasons change Traveling during summer Two types of holidays Virtual reality and tourism Commercial: Invisibility Sunscreen Will there be such a thing as a virtual reality summer? Summer: away to the ocean, Europe, etc. Virtual reality prov...
Jun 11, 2017•47 min
Episode notes: Society’s fear of aging Agism Seniors and their independence Tom Leer’s song Aging for women vs. men Aging in Japanese culture The Giver Experience over mere ability The perks of being old Traveling and age Commercial: Time Paradox Box Why are younger people afraid of getting old? Expectations: seniors vs. teenagers Retirement Why seniors should podcast PFL in 40 years Senior singles Friendships help us age well Aging vs. growth The biology of aging (cellular senescence) The immor...
Jun 05, 2017•42 min
Does the magic of friendship last? What is a friend? Are Facebook friends… friends? The definition of friendship: has it evolved? Friend audit Friendship in terms of database management Can friendship be one-sided? Friends you see daily and friends far away Ralph Waldo Emerson’s definition of friendship Childhood vs. adulthood friendships Friendship: serendipitous or hard work? Commercial: The Friendship Battery 100 years ago: communicating with friends Dunbar’s number Long-distance friendships ...
May 28, 2017•34 min
Do grades correctly reflect achievement? How are grades constructed? Grades as inaccurate predictors of success Different sources of power Professors and power The status of honor societies Competition, aspiration Commercial: Time paradox box (again!) The power dynamics of grades Do grades account for soft skills? Grades are just a simplified tool What is the future of grades? A better understanding of who people are and what they can do Is grading itself a primitive practice? Grade non-disclosu...
May 21, 2017•36 min
The synonym of genius: Einstein The IQ test Can you be a genius without realizing you are a genius? The troubled genius Artists and other creative geniuses Does genius come at a cost? Incidental genius Are you born with it? Genius as divine inspiration The role of curiosity Gifted children Can genius be taught? Beyond intellectual and creative genius Isn’t genius relative? Galileo Galilei: the risks of genius Unsuccessful genius Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison Commercial: Genius Garden The unnoti...
May 14, 2017•43 min
Hermione’s time turner Time zones: Stephanie lived the same day twice Boston: the city out of time The Lake House, First Edition, Primer, Back to the Future If you could time travel, what would you do? Paradox: a changed past = a changed future Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure Could you actually survive in the past? What would you wear? Commercial: Time Paradox Box Creating an alternate universe Evil baby orphanage If you traveled in time, who would you bring with you? Traveling back to when t...
May 07, 2017•29 min
Ep. 21: This Episode is Sweet Our favorite desserts Cheesecake is not a cake Stephanie’s birthday tradition Luis’ childhood experiences with cake International desserts Childhood candies that are hard to find Ray’s history with the Crunch bar Holidays, candy, and consumerism Sugar and childhood development Sugar as anesthetic Sugar is a drug Sugar in beverages The ethics of sugar: products marketed as “healthy” How orange juice is made (you’ll be horrified) The ice cream flavor all three co-host...
May 01, 2017•47 min
It’s finals period! Are you stressed? Smiling Yoga Amy Cuddy The benefits of stress Impacts of stress: self-destruction or motivation? Inside-out Is stress perception? Natural response vs. self-control Fight or flight Stress vs. worry Commercial: InAudible The ups and downs vs. chronic stress History and perspective Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: Midwife’s Tale and “well-behaved women seldom make history" Recording history in an era of digital innovation History written by artificial intelligence Exper...
Apr 23, 2017•31 min
About Geoffrey Parker What is a platform? Demand, supply, and matching Network effects, two-sided markets, multi-sided markets The sharing economy Regulation Fun question: a historical debater Commercial: Platform Revolution, the book! International regulations Data for machine learning Driverless vehicles Crowdsourcing trust: AI, blockchain, bitcoin Security and tradeoffs in innovation
Apr 16, 2017•31 min
With guest Ian Mashiter, Professor and Director of Entrepreneurship Activities at BU Questrom School of Business Why entrepreneurship is critical for the economy The relevance of entrepreneurship to large corporations “It’s really about a transformation of minds. It’s really about getting people to have an entrepreneurial way of thinking.” Entrepreneurship at Boston University Is entrepreneurship innate or can it be learned? Experiential learning as a model for entrepreneurship education The inv...
Apr 09, 2017•40 min
What is a Bucket List? How many countries has Jen been to? A lot. What was on your bucket list when you were 5-8 years old? We add things to each other’s bucket lists What is on your “Non-bucket List”? Commercial: The Guilterizer What is a guilty pleasure? We create the storyline to a Lifetime Holiday Special Ray plays the photographer who is also Santa’s son BTW, who is Santa? Can you share a guilty pleasure with others? Are guilty pleasures inherently negative? Is “guilty pleasure” a misnomer?...
Apr 02, 2017•38 min
Graduate education on the high seas What’s it’s like overseeing all aspects of graduate education at a business school Introverted and extroverted leadership Giving and receiving feedback How to respond to angry tweets Commercial break: #questromlife The future of education BU Questrom’s Micromasters The relational aspect of digital learning MOOC certificate programs Employers and competency-based digital learning The role of industry in the future of education The spectrum of hybrid learning: w...
Mar 26, 2017•36 min
Laughter: humorous or social? Did you pick your laugh? Uncontrollable laughter When have you laughed the hardest? The giggle loop Should we do the “ha-ha” game at a PFL retreat? Trash in the Himalayas Is that funny, punk? Memes The irony of laughing at something that’s not funny Watching bad movies—on purpose The Room, Tommy Wiseau Stephanie’s high school summer of bad sci fi Blockbuster: the virtue of escaping recommendation engines Best of the Worst and Neil Breen Trying to beat Netflix’s reco...
Mar 19, 2017•53 min
The biology of dreams Theories for why we dream The spiritual side of dreaming Eat late at night, get more dreams Lucid dreaming Can we really ever control our dreams? Can you dream about something you’ve never experienced? Dream genealogy Break: Dream Sequence Emotions in reality vs. in dreams Dreamtime (Aboriginal Australia) Is there a parallel reality for every dream? The physics of dreams Is innovation new or an iterative recombination? Are our dreams genetically carried through generations?...
Mar 12, 2017•39 min
