Author Harry Parker visits Google to discuss his book "Hybrid Humans: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Man and Machine". This book is a gripping, eye-opening firsthand account of how technology is altering our understanding of what it means to be human. Harry Parker's life changed overnight when he lost his legs to a bomb in Afghanistan. He now wears prosthetic legs from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to bed, reliant on them to move about the world. The tech he relies on is now so ...
Sep 13, 2022•58 min•Ep. 276
What is it about Star Trek that has proved so durable - not to say indestructible? Over half a century after its unpromising beginnings, how and why has Star Trek expanded and captured the imaginations and hearts of so many adherents, many of whom have gone onto distinguished careers in space exploration, working for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Nasa, SpaceX, and Blue Origin? In 1981, Nicholas Meyer was something less than a true believer when he was asked to direct the troubled second Star Tr...
Sep 09, 2022•49 min•Ep. 275
Most of us eat three meals a day, plus a smattering of snacks, because we think that's the normal, healthy way to eat. Mark Mattson's book, "The Intermittent Fasting Revolution," argues why that's not the case. The human body and brain evolved to function well in environments where food could be obtained only intermittently. When we look at the eating patterns of our distant ancestors, we can see that periods of fasting are normal—and eating three meals a day is not. In "The Intermittent Fasting...
Sep 06, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 274
Journalist Annie Jacobsen visits Google to discuss her book "The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency". Ms. Jacobsen has written the first history of the Defense Department's most secret, most powerful, and most controversial military science research & development agency. She draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents, and declassified memos to paint a picture of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, o...
Sep 02, 2022•49 min•Ep. 273
Fatima Al-Banawi visits Google to discuss her career and her project entitled The Other Story, a collection of real life stories and personal narratives from locals and visitors to her hometown of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. These collections enter the social arena through storytelling to highlight our shared humanity and to record the eclectic voices of a specific place and time in history. Fatima Al-Banawi is an internationally acclaimed actress, filmmaker, and writer with a masters degree from Harv...
Aug 30, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 272
In August 2006, the International Astronomical Union voted Pluto out of planethood. Far from the sun, tiny, and eccentric in orbit, it's a wonder Pluto has any fans. Yet during the mounting debate over Pluto's status, Americans rallied behind this extraterrestrial underdog. The year of Pluto's discovery, Disney created the iconic cartoon puppy by the same name, and, as one NASA scientist put it, Pluto was "discovered by an American for America." Pluto is entrenched in our cultural, patriotic vie...
Aug 26, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 271
Dr. Myron Rolle visits Google to discuss his book "The 2% Way: How a Philosophy of Small Improvements Took Me to Oxford, the NFL, and Neurosurgery". This book tells the story of his incredible journey, revealing how a strong work ethic, deep faith, and the family values instilled by his Bahamian immigrant parents set the stage for the transformative life philosophy that enabled him to overcome adversity, defy expectations, and create a life of meaning and purpose. Not long ago, Myron L. Rolle wa...
Aug 23, 2022•43 min•Ep. 270
After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In her book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset—those who believe that abilities are fixed—are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset—those who believe tha...
Aug 19, 2022•50 min•Ep. 269
Alan Murray visits Google to discuss his book "Tomorrow's Capitalist: My Search for the Soul of Business", a frontline report on the business revolution that is transforming much of the corporate world. "Tomorrow's Capitalist" reveals how corporate CEOs—the ultimate pragmatists—realized how critical it is that they confront the fundamental issues of our time: climate, diversity and inclusion, inequality, and workforce opportunity, in response to their employees and customers who are demanding co...
Aug 16, 2022•43 min•Ep. 268
Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman visits Google to discuss his book "Thinking, Fast and Slow." In this Talk, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think - System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on ...
Aug 12, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 267
Annie Murphy Paul visits Google to discuss her book "The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain". The book discusses how we can tap the intelligence that exists beyond our brains—in our bodies, our surroundings, and our relationships. "Use your head" - that's what we tell ourselves when facing a tricky problem or a difficult project. But a growing body of research indicates that we've got it exactly backwards. What we need to do, says Annie Murphy Paul, is think outside the brain...
Aug 09, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 266
When Mark Pollock lost his sight at the age of twenty-two, he thought his life was over. The story of how he overcame the odds to rebuild his life and exceed his own wildest expectations has inspired people the world over. In his story, you will find what can't be taught in school: the true education that is garnered from what Mark calls 'the university of life'. Unbroken by blindness, Mark became an adventure athlete competing in ultra-endurance races across deserts, mountains, and the polar ic...
Aug 05, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 265
Matt Damon & Gary White visit Google to discuss their recent book "The Worth of Water: Our Story of Chasing Solutions to the World's Greatest Challenge". This is the incredible true story of two unlikely allies on a mission to end the global water crisis.. With humor and humility, Matt & Gary illuminate the challenges of launching a brand-new model with extremely high stakes: better health and greater prosperity for people all over the world. "The Worth of Water" invites us to become a p...
Aug 02, 2022•43 min•Ep. 264
Nikola Tesla invented the radio, robots, and the remote control. His electric induction motors run our appliances and factories, and yet he has been often overlooked by history. In "Tesla: Inventor of the Modern", Richard Munson presents a comprehensive portrait of this farsighted and underappreciated mastermind. When Tesla's first breakthrough―alternating current, the basis of our electric grid―pitted him against Thomas Edison's direct-current empire, Tesla's superior technology prevailed. Unfo...
Jul 29, 2022•44 min•Ep. 263
Chef Tala Bashmi visits Google to discuss her successful culinary career and how she is bringing cuisine from the Gulf region to the forefront of the global food industry. Tala Bashmi started her culinary career by joining The Gulf Hotel Bahrain as a trainee and eventually working her way up the ranks. She studied at the Culinary Arts Academy in Lucerne, Switzerland, where she received her Masters of International Business in Culinary Management. Returning to the Middle East, she joined the cast...
Jul 26, 2022•57 min•Ep. 262
Professor Richard D. Wolff visits Google to discuss the economic dimensions of our modern lives, our jobs, our incomes, and our debts in his unique mixture of deep insight and dry humor. He presents insights into current events and draws connections to the past to highlight the machinations of our global economy. He tries to help us to understand political and corporate policy, the organization of labor, the distribution of goods and services, and challenges us to question some of the deepest fo...
Jul 22, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 261
North African fashion designer Nadine Bejou visits Google to discuss her journey as an Arab woman entrepreneur navigating the fashion industry, and how patience, persistence, and a willingness to self-teach has helped her to find her authentic voice. Nadine is a North African fashion designer and entrepreneur based in Seattle, who has built her businesses from the ground up despite the challenges she has faced being a first generation Libyan-American. She runs several successful fashion ventures...
Jul 19, 2022•44 min•Ep. 260
Author Kyle Johnson visits Google to discuss his book "Inception and Philosophy" which draws insight from important philosophical minds from Plato to Aristotle, Decartes to Hume, to shed new light on the movie's captivating themes, including the one that everyone talks about: did the top ever fall down (and does it even matter)? In the world of Christopher Nolan's four-time Academy Award-winning movie Inception, people can share one another's dreams and alter their beliefs and thoughts. Inceptio...
Jul 15, 2022•45 min•Ep. 259
Theoretical physicist Dr. Nicole Yunger Halpern visits Google to discuss her book "Quantum Steampunk: The Physics of Yesterday's Tomorrow." Victorian era steam engines and particle physics may seem worlds apart, yet a new branch of science, quantum thermodynamics, re-envisions the scientific underpinnings of the Industrial Revolution through the lens of today's quantum information revolution. Classical thermodynamics, understood as the study of engines, energy, and efficiency, needs reimagining ...
Jul 12, 2022•58 min•Ep. 258
Peter Kohler, founder of The Plastic Tide project, and Dr. Stefan Leutenegger, Lecturer in Robotics at the Imperial College London, visit Google to discuss how the ocean is under siege from an ever-increasing tide of waste, and how technology like machine learning and drones can help us fix the issue. Plastics are threatening not only a vital economic resource worth an estimated $5 trillion a year, but also humanity's very own life support. Oceanic plastic waste is growing by 8 million metric to...
Jul 08, 2022•57 min•Ep. 257
In celebration of Africa Week, Dipo Faloyin discusses his book "Africa Is Not A Country: Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa." This portrait of modern Africa pushes back against harmful stereotypes to tell a much more comprehensive story. In this funny and insightful book, Dipo offers a much-needed corrective to the simplistic stereotype of Africa as an arid landscape of famines and safaris, plagued by poverty and strife. He examines each country's colonial heritage, and explores a wide range ...
Jul 05, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 256
Physics professor Richard Wolfson discusses his book "Nuclear Choices for the 21st Century," which explains, clearly and accessibly, the basics of nuclear technology and describes the controversies surrounding its use. The book begins with scientific issues, covering the nature of the atom and its nucleus, nuclear radiation, and nuclear energy. It discusses nuclear power, the operation of nuclear power plants, nuclear accidents, nuclear waste, alternatives to nuclear energy, and considers nuclea...
Jul 01, 2022•59 min•Ep. 255
Professor Suzanne Simard visits Google to discuss her book "Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest." Simard writes about how trees, living side by side for hundreds of years, have evolved, perceive one another, learn and adapt their behaviors, recognize neighbors, and remember the past. She also illustrates how they have agency about the future, elicit warnings and mount defenses, compete and cooperate with one another with sophistication, and possess other characteristics...
Jun 28, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 254
Licensed marriage and family therapist Laura Heck visits Google to give a Talk on Dr. John Gottman's "Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work." This talk outlines the Seven Principles that every couple can adopt in order to have a harmonious and long lasting relationship. "The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work" has revolutionized the way we understand, repair, and strengthen marriages. This unprecedented study of many couples over a period of years has allowed for the observation of th...
Jun 24, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 253
Accelerator physicist Dr. Suzie Sheehy visits Google to discuss her book "The Matter of Everything: Twelve Experiments that Changed Our World." Her book tells a hopeful story of human ingenuity, creativity and unending curiosity, and introduces us to the people who, through a combination of genius, persistence and luck, staged ground-breaking experiments that shaped the world as we know it. From the physicists who soared in hot air balloons on the trail of new particles, to the serendipitous dis...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 252
Talks at Google welcomes Dani Melia, producer of the hit film "The Farewell," and Abigail Hing Wen, author of the bestselling novel "Loveboat, Taipei." Together they share their journeys of overcoming barriers to bring authentic, diverse stories to the traditional media & publishing industries. Dani Melia currently runs film operations for the New York-based indie powerhouse Big Beach. Most recently, Dani produced and developed Lulu Wang's Sundance hit "The Farewell" starring Awkwafina. Rele...
Jun 17, 2022•46 min•Ep. 251
John Callery & Shira Kogan visit Google to discuss The Trevor Project, and how they leverage artificial intelligence to help LGBTQ youth in crisis. The Trevor Project is the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning young people. The Trevor Project offers a suite of 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat, as well as the world's...
Jun 14, 2022•59 min•Ep. 250
Dan Savage is widely known for writing "Savage Love," a nationally syndicated sex advice column that tackles tough questions about modern sexuality, LGBTQ+ issues, infidelity and more. Esther Perel is perhaps best known for her bestselling book "Mating in Captivity" as well as her hit podcast, "Where Should We Begin?" which features conversations with real couples going thru their tribulations with marriage counseling. Together they speak with Google in what was the fifth of a series of Talks ab...
Jun 10, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 249
Elliot Page is an Academy Award-nominated actor known for both tentpole and art house films. His love for storytelling and passion for social justice has now taken him behind the camera as a producer and documentary filmmaker whose work answers the call to action of a generation. A tireless champion of the under-represented, Elliot uses his global platform to shed light on important social and LGBTQ+ issues, partnering with the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice to raise money for grassroots...
Jun 07, 2022•19 min•Ep. 248
Faculty from the Center for Innovation in Ministry at the San Francisco Theological Seminary visit Google to discuss the subject of spirituality and the LGBTQ community. Rev. Floyd Thompkins is the Director of the Center for Innovation in Ministry at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Floyd has also served as a dean and chaplain at two world-class institutions, Stanford and Princeton. Rev. Dr. Janie Spahr is a lesbian, feminist, Presbyterian minister committed to social justice issues for t...
Jun 03, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 247
