Humor is serious business. And that's a fact backed by cold, hard research. Humor builds bonds, defuses tension, boosts innovation, and bolsters resilience through hard times. That's why Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach a class called "Humor: Serious Business", at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, a course that has helped some of the world's most hard-driving, blazer-wearing business minds have more joy in their work and lives. In their book Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret W...
Oct 19, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 186
As climate change, wildfires, and decades-long megadroughts continue to ravage once-vibrant parts of our planet, humanity is experiencing an overdue reckoning about our most precious resource: water. Enter director Jessica Yu and her film Last Call at the Oasis, a documentary that firmly establishes the urgency of the global water crisis as the central issue facing our world in the 21st century. The film illustrates the paramount role that water plays in our lives, exposes the defects in how we ...
Oct 15, 2021•16 min•Ep. 185
Psychology professor Dr. Paul Slovic discusses the way people tend to perceive mass tragedies and losses at scale. He and his colleagues worldwide have developed methods to describe risk perceptions and measure their impacts on individuals, industry, and society. His most recent work examines "psychic numbing" and the failure to respond to global threats from genocide and nuclear war. We as a global society value individual lives greatly and respond strongly to protect a single person in need - ...
Oct 12, 2021•52 min•Ep. 184
Eckhart Tolle is widely recognized as one of the most inspiring and visionary spiritual teachers in the world today. His bestselling books The Power of Now and A New Earth aim to help readers find freedom by living their lives in the present moment, instead of dwelling on the past or fretting about the future. The New York Times has described him as "the most popular spiritual author in the United States", and in 2011, Watkins Review named him "the most spiritually influential person in the worl...
Oct 08, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 183
This week, mathematician and emeritus Oxford University Professor John Lennox discusses his book, " 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity" You don't have to be a computer scientist to get involved in the discussion about where artificial intelligence and technology are going. What will the year 2084 hold for you--for your friends, for your family, and for our society? Are we doomed to the grim dystopia imagined in George Orwell's 1984? In "2084", scientist and philosopher John...
Oct 05, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 182
Satyajit Bhatkal, acclaimed director of the superhit television series "Satyamev Jayate," and CEO of the Paani Foundation, talks about the foundation's work to address the water crisis in the Indian state of Maharashtra through decentralized watershed planning. The Paani Foundation was founded by Satyajit's close friend and beloved movie superstar Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao. The Paani Foundation team were the minds behind the "Satyamev Jayate Water Cup Challenge," which awards annual priz...
Oct 01, 2021•53 min•Ep. 181
Having been named by Sports Illustrated as the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century, Jackie Joyner-Kersee's athletic credentials are unquestionably amongst the best ever in all of sporting history. A six-time Olympic medalist, including three Olympic gold medals, Joyner-Kersee dominated the Olympic heptathlon and long-jump events throughout her career which spanned four Olympic Games. Astonishingly, despite the advancements in technology and training used by athletes around the world over...
Sep 28, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 180
Originally published in October of 2016, Sadhguru was chosen as one of India's 50 most influential people. He is a world-renowned yogi, mystic, and visionary humanitarian who teaches the concept of inclusive consciousness. Inclusive consciousness is a framework for developing the human mind and fostering global harmony through individual transformation. Also the subject of his book, what he refers to as "Inner Engineering" is a method that can bring balance to the mind, body, emotions, and energ...
Sep 24, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 179
Bevy Smith discusses her book "Bevelations: Lessons from a Mutha, Auntie, Bestie." A quintessential Harlem girl, Gracie Award winner and life-long New Yorker, Bevy Smith is the host of Sirius XM's "Bevelations" on Radio Andy. Once a wildly successful luxury fashion publishing exec, Bevy shifted her professional goals to pursue a life in front of the camera. As a pop culture aficionado and fashion expert, Bevy served as moderator of Bravo TV's revolutionary "Fashion Queens," and was a former co-h...
Sep 21, 2021•Ep. 178
Leymah Gbowee was only 17 when the Second Liberian Civil War erupted. Years of fighting destroyed her country—and her hopes and dreams. As a young mother trapped in a nightmare of domestic abuse, she found the courage to turn her bitterness into action, realizing that it is women who suffer most during conflicts—and that the power of women working together can create an unstoppable force. Working as a social worker and trauma counselor during the war, she organized the Women of Liberian Mass Act...
Sep 17, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 177
Jim Salzman and Michael Heller discuss their book "Mine!: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives. " When is it okay to recline your airplane seat? Do we actually own our smartphones, or are we just leasing them? What do you really own when you click the "buy now" button? And how is South Dakota making you less wealthy? In the spirited style of Freakonomics and Tipping Point , Jim Salzman and Michael Heller explore fun, surprising, and often infuriating real-life stories that reveal ...
Sep 14, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 176
Farmer, author, and activist Joel Salatin discusses his book, "Folks, This Ain't Normal," as well as sustainable farming, food policy, and solutions to America's food woes. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.
Sep 11, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 175
Nigel Ng discusses how he has overcome adversity and all odds against him to be successful, and gain a tremendous fanbase over years of hard work. Nigel Ng is a Malaysian stand up comedian and content creator. He started his career in the Chicago comedy clubs and is now based in London. In 2020, he went viral from his portrayal of Uncle Roger, a middle-aged Asian man reviewing an egg fried rice video. In 10 months, he has amassed 170 million views on his YouTube channel and a combined following ...
Sep 07, 2021•58 min•Ep. 174
The uncut interview of Stephen Colbert's visit to Google's New York office. You can find Stephen's book on Google Play here: http://goo.gl/Jyujo . America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't is more of a coffee-table book, with large color pictures, and chapter photos that require the use of included 3-D glasses. It falls somewhere between I Am America and the Daily Show faux-textbooks America (The Book) and Earth (The Book), which used that organizing principle to their advantage....
Sep 03, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Simu Liu discusses his career, Asian empowerment and community. Actor, author and advocate Simu Liu will make his debut as the title character in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring alongside Awkwafina, Tony Leung, and Michelle Yeoh, Liu makes history as the star of the first Asian-fronted movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He also starred in the CBC/Netflix comedy series Kim's Convenience for five seasons, which was the first Canadian t...
Aug 31, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 172
A former Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Walker is currently a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and the founder & director of the Center for Human Sleep Science. Dr. Walker's research examines the impact of sleep on human health and disease. In addition, Dr. Walker helped create the recent National Geographic documentary, Sleepless in America, and the PBS NOVA special, Memory Hackers. Most recently, he contributed to th...
Aug 17, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 171
Tom Vanderbilt is an author who writes about design, technology, science, and culture for Wired, Slate, The New York Times, and many other publications. His book entitled "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)" is based on exhaustive research and interviews with driving experts and traffic officials around the globe. The book gets under the hood of the everyday activity of driving to uncover the surprisingly complex web of physical, psychological, and technical factors ...
Aug 13, 2021•56 min•Ep. 170
Brahma Kumari Shivani, also known as BK Shivani, has a widely popular television show called "Awakening With Brahma Kumaris." The program is meant to help it's audience with self-transformation, which empowers individuals from all walks of life all over the world. In this episode, BK Shivani discusses the difference between "to be" vs "to do", and the importance of incorporating daily practices in our lives to maintain our well-being at all times. She provides insight on the art of detaching, ye...
Aug 10, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 169
Janet Mock is an American writer, television host, director, producer and transgender rights activist. Her debut book, the memoir Redefining Realness, debuted on the New York Times bestseller in 2014. The book tells her story of growing up as a trans girl in Hawaii, and celebrates self-actualization and self-love. In addition, she is a contributing editor for Marie Claire, a former staff editor of People magazine's website, and a writer, director, & producer for the acclaimed FX television s...
Aug 06, 2021•39 min•Ep. 168
This episode features Dr. Christopher Mason - an associate professor of genomics, physiology, and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Director of the WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative Prediction. The Mason laboratory develops and deploys new biochemical and computational methods in functional genomics to elucidate the genetic basis of human disease and physiology. Inevitably, life on Earth will come to an end, whether by climate disaster, or by cataclysmic war, or when the sun runs...
Aug 03, 2021•59 min•Ep. 167
Dr. Eugenia Cheng is Scientist In Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She won tenure in Pure Mathematics at the University of Sheffield, UK, where she is now an Honorary Fellow. Alongside her research in Category Theory and undergraduate teaching her aim is to rid the world of "math phobia". Eugenia is also math columnist for the Wall Street Journal and a concert pianist. Emotions are powerful. In newspaper headlines and on social media, they have become the primary way of u...
Jul 30, 2021•53 min•Ep. 166
This episode features Sis and Karen Olivo discussing The Next Generation Project, an organization dedicated to distributing resources to Black and Brown Trans folks in need. Through donations and crowdfunding campaigns, The Next Generation Project raises money to provide Trans people with the access to self care and mental health services to nourish their body, mind, and spirit. Through alleviating financial burdens, TNG's goal is to assist in shaping a future where the next generation of Trans ...
Jul 27, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 165
Lisa Piccirillo is a mathematician specializing in the study of three- and four-dimensional spaces. Her work in four-manifold topology has surprising applications to the study of mathematical knots. Perhaps most notably, Piccirillo proved that the infamous Conway knot is not, quote-unquote, "slice." For all other small knots, "sliceness" is readily determined, but this particular knot had remained a mystery since English mathematician John Conway presented it in the mid-1900s. After hearing abou...
Jul 20, 2021•49 min•Ep. 164
Our relationship with the ocean is undergoing a profound transformation. Just three decades ago, nearly everything we ate from the sea was wild - but rampant overfishing combined with an unprecedented bio-tech revolution has brought us to the point where wild and farmed fish occupy equal parts of a complex and confusing marketplace. We stand at the edge of a cataclysm; the distinct possibility that our children's children will never eat a wild fish that has swum freely in the sea. In Four Fish ,...
Jul 16, 2021•58 min•Ep. 163
In this episode, Graham discusses his new book Home Stretch: A Novel about a small-town tragedy that reverberates throughout the lives of those involved and how shame and longing can become a legacy. It is 1987 and a small Irish community is preparing for a wedding. The day before the ceremony, a group of young friends, including the bride and groom, drive out to the beach. There is an accident. Three survive, but three are killed. In Home Stretch, Norton expertly explores the power of stigma an...
Jul 13, 2021•57 min•Ep. 162
After a successful career at Microsoft, Patrick Awuah looked back to his native Ghana and decided that the ills of the country could only by solved by educating the next generation of business and government leaders, providing them with training in critical thinking and ethics that the current generation lacked. To put his plan into action, he founded Ashesi University in Accra, West Africa's first liberal arts school. Now in its 19th year, Ashesi empowers young Africans to develop the motivatio...
Jul 09, 2021•54 min•Ep. 161
This episode features Dr. Donna Christensen & Dr. Lauren Smith who discuss the significance of Minority Health Month from its inauguration, to the work that is being done for BIPOC communities today. The Honorable Donna M. Christensen retired from the US House of Representatives in 2015 after serving nine terms over 18 years. She is the first female physician to serve as a Member in the history of the U.S Congress. Lauren Smith, MD, MPH, is the Chief Health Equity and Strategy Officer for th...
Jul 06, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 160
Ice has been around for billions of years but it has taken less than three centuries for human growth and industry to bring it to the point of extinction. Henry Pollack, professor of geophysics at the University of Michigan for more than forty years and one of the world's leading experts on the temperature of the Earth, argues that ice is natures best thermometer and perhaps its most sensitive and unambiguous indicator of climate change. When ice gets sufficiently warm, it melts. Ice asks no que...
Jul 02, 2021•50 min•Ep. 159
Dr. Cassandra Coburn joins us to discuss her book Enough: How Your Food Choices Will Save the Planet. Our food production systems are the single biggest cause of environmental change, while diseases linked to our eating habits are at epidemic levels and increasing. Enough uses the latest scientific research to address the vital question: can we provide a growing population with a healthy diet from sustainable food systems? Fortunately for us all, the answer is yes and the book shows exactly how ...
Jun 29, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 158
Named as one of TIME's Most Influential People (2018), Peggy Whitson has an incredible list of record-breaking accomplishments to her name. She is the first woman to command the International Space Station, twice(!) in 2008 & 2013, the first female and first non-military Chief Astronaut, she has performed 10 spacewalks, the most of any female astronaut, and at 665 days, Dr. Whitson has spent more time in space than any other American. Moderated by Leigh Gallagher. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGo...
Jun 22, 2021•51 min•Ep. 157
