On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with Columbia University professor Eric Johnson about “The Elements of Choice: Why the Way We Decide Matters”. Then insight into rare genetic diseases with Dr. Dietrich Stephan, CEO of NeuBase Therapeutics. He talks us through rare genetic diseases, as well as NeuBase’s approach. And Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft talks about the challenges of Telehealth.
Oct 20, 2021•59 min•Ep. 440
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with Adam Tooze, a Columbia professor of history who is also an economist. His book is “Shutdown … How Covid Shook the World’s Economy.” Then Dr. Erica Smith from the Belgium company, Tools4Patient. How you identify when participants in drug trials report a positive response, even when they receive nothing. And Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft talks about how to create what he calls a “check engine light” for your body....
Oct 13, 2021•59 min•Ep. 439
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with Harvard professor experimental cognitive scientist Steven Pinker about “Rationality … What it is, Why it seems scarce, and Why it matters”. Then Lemony Snicket – the one and only. You know him from his children’s book series, “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. He’s here with “Poison for Breakfast”. You will start bewildered and leave bewildered, but feeling much better about it.
Oct 07, 2021•59 min•Ep. 438
University of Chicago professor Dr Neil Shubin about “Some Assembly required … Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA.” Ancient viruses in our DNA? And what about “jumping genes”? Also, climatologist Marina Psaros talks about “The Atlas of Disappearing Places … Our Coasts and Oceans in the Climate Crisis”.
Sep 29, 2021•59 min•Ep. 437
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with Wired journalist Maia Szalavitz about why our recent approach to opioid addiction has resulted in a rise of undesired outcomes, and an interesting perspective on what we as individuals can do. Her book is “Undoing Drugs … The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction.” Then Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft wants us to look at Digital Health differently. Our digitally-enhanced Quantified Self can lead to a new Q...
Sep 21, 2021•59 min•Ep. 436
Neuroscientist and psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett. She gives us “7½ Lessons about the Brain” and has some surprises – there is no “reptilian” part of your brain … it’s just a myth. Then in biotech – treatments to fight diseases caused by inflammation – Dr. Jim Woody, the CEO of 180 Life Sciences talks about their pipeline of drugs, as well as their lead work in clinical trials now – it’s for Dupuytren’s Contracture, affecting one out of 25 people in Europe and North America.
Sep 15, 2021•59 min•Ep. 435
On this week’s Tech Nation, from the bumpy history of the chariot to how smartphones are essential equipment for transportation in the future. Economist deputy editor Tom Standage talks about “A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next”. Then Dr. Jim Brown, the CEO of DURECT, describes their first Phase 2 clinical trials for Alcoholic Hepatitis, known as AH. And a look at what comes next for their approach to regenerative medicine.
Sep 07, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 434
On this week’s Tech Nation, it’s about developing medicines which enable the body to heal itself. First up, treating depression in a whole new way … and rapidly. Dr. Jeff Jonas, the Chief Innovation Officer and Director of Sage Therapeutics, talks about their drug Zuranolone, nearing the end of its drug approval journey. Then, Craig Parker, the CEO of Surrozen, talks about their work with the W-N-T pathway, or Wnt pathway. Their initial candidate for treatment? Repairing the liver.
Sep 01, 2021•59 min•Ep. 433
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with ROBERT SIEGEL, Venture Investor and Stanford University Lecturer, and the Author of “The Brains and Brawn Company … How Leading Organizations blend the best of Digital and Physical.” Then, intervening with “cytokine storms”. JIM JOYCE, the CEO of San Diego’s Sigyn Therapeutics talks about their progress to intervening quickly.
Aug 26, 2021•59 min•Ep. 432
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with journalist Oliver Broudy about his book “The Sensitives - The Rise of Environmental Illness and Search for America’s Last Pure Place.” Then in biotech, a San Diego company who pivoted from treating parainfluenza and influenza to target COVID … and they started in Wuhan, China. Moira speaks with Dr. Stanley Lewis, the Chief Medical Officer of Ansun Biopharma.
Aug 19, 2021•59 min•Ep. 431
Moira speaks with journalist Jason Fagone talks about Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a pioneer in codebreaking, from World War I to rumrunners to drug smuggling to the famous Enigma machine. His book is “The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies.” Then on Tech Nation Health, Dr. Marco Taglietti, President and CEO of Scynexis, talks about their work in serious invasive fungal infections.
Aug 19, 2021•59 min•Ep. 430
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with DR. HARVEY KAUFMAN, the Senior Medical Director of Quest Diagnostics, about how the use or delay of medical tests reveals about the health status of the US. Then MIKE CLAYMAN, the CEO of Flexion Therapeutics, talks about the treatments they have in clinical trials for osteoarthritis, knee replacement surgery, and more.
Aug 11, 2021•59 min•Ep. 429
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with Dr. Levi Garraway, the Chief Medical Officer of Genentech about FDA approvals for treatments in two very rare diseases - SMA - Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and NMOSD - Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder. Then Dr. Thomas Rando, Co-Founder of Fountain Therapeutics, a Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and Director of Glen Laboratories on the Biology of Aging talks about a rampant medical condition – aging.
Aug 04, 2021•59 min•Ep. 428
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with anthropologist EBEN KIRKSEY, a professor of anthropology at Deakin University in Melbourne. He’s look at the societal and ethical implications of CRISPR – and not just hypothetically. He traveled to China, with an eye to understanding the circumstance of the three CRISPR babies known to exist. His book is “The Mutant Project: Inside the Global Race to Genetically Modify Humans”. Then Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft gives us a ...
Jul 30, 2021•59 min•Ep. 427
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with psychologist Dr. Ron Friedman about “Decoding Greatness … How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success”. Then Dr. Tom Hallam from Palisade Bio in San Diego talks about their efforts to solve a major problem post-surgery – how to get your GI track back on track. And Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft reviews tests to detect Alzheimer’s early.
Jul 22, 2021•59 min•Ep. 426
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with Tanuj (“Ta-nooj”) Mohan, the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Enlighted, a Siemens Company based in Silicon Valley. Smart technology may bring us back to safe workplaces - from social distancing, to automatic contact tracing, overly crowded points of contact, and more. Then Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft talks about our “Sociome” – where and how we live is more important than our DNA.
Jul 06, 2021•59 min•Ep. 425
On this week’s Tech Nation, what we lose if we go to driverless cars. Moira speaks with Matthew Crawford about his book: “Why We Drive … Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road”. Then Yochi Slonim, CEO of Anima Biotech, talks about the path from your DNA to producing proteins, and the potential for new drugs.
Jun 29, 2021•59 min•Ep. 424
On this week’s Tech Nation, Steven Johnson with “Enemy of All Mankind … A True Story of Piracy, Power and History’s First Global Manhunt.” It’s a 17th century story that’s rife with insights for today. Then Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft talks about food as medicine – it might be steamed vegetables … or could that be chocolate and wine?
Jun 23, 2021•59 min•Ep. 423
On this week’s Tech Nation, WIRED journalist ADAM ROGERS talks about his book: “Full Spectrum: How the Science of Color Made Us Modern.” Then making headway in treating nerve damage. AxoGen’s KAREN ZADEREJ tells that transplanting the nerves of others is now possible.
Jun 15, 2021•59 min•Ep. 422
On this week’s Tech Nation, what Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson all have in common: They all started spaceflight companies. Moira speaks with New Yorker writer NICHOLAS SCHMIDLE (“schmidd-uhl”) , the author of “Test Gods: Virgin Galactic and the Making of a Modern Astronaut”. Then 40% of Americans report that they have gained weight since the COVID pandemic began. Excerpts from a past interview with DR SANDRA AAMODT (“ehh-mutt”), the former editor-in-chief of Nature Neuroscience. Her ...
Jun 08, 2021•59 min•Ep. 421
On this week’s Tech Nation, University of Wisconsin math professor JORDAN ELLENBERG, whom you might know from his earlier book, “How Not To Be Wrong”. He talks about “Shape … The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else.” Then MARCIO SOUZA, the President and CEO of Praxis Precision Medicines, describes their research drug modulating GABA, a key neurotransmitter in the brain, and its potential to treat depression, essential tremor, and other conditions.
Jun 02, 2021•59 min•Ep. 420
On this week’s Tech Nation, it’s all about changing behaviors now that that we interact online. Erica Dhawan talks about “Digital Body Language – How to Build Trust & Connection No Matter the Distance”. Then how to take an insight in science and enable it to become an actual product. Dr. Mark Allen, the co-founder and CEO of Elevian, tells us their experience and about selecting their first target: stroke.
May 26, 2021•37 min•Ep. 419
On this week’s Tech Nation, how exactly did Edward Snowden deliver those classified government documents into the hands of the media? Former Washington Post investigative journalist Bart Gellman, currently writing for The Atlantic, talks about his book: “Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State”. Then Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft talks about the potential for genetic susceptibility to the COVID-19 virus, and other aspects of genetic predispositio...
May 20, 2021•59 min•Ep. 418
On this week’s Tech Nation, Matt Ridley, columnist from The Times of London on science, the environment, and economics, and author of “How Innovation Works – And Why It Flourishes in Freedom”. Then Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft leads the COVID-19 Response Task Force for the XPrize Pandemic Alliance.
May 12, 2021•59 min•Ep. 417
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with Jer Thorp. The former Data Artist in Residence at the New York Times, he talks about his book: “Living in Data – A Citizen’s Guide to a Better Information Future”. Then Joe Hernandez, the Founder and CEO of Blue Water Vaccines tells us about their quest for a universal flu vaccine. Even more unusual? Along the way, they also found a Dodo bird.
May 05, 2021•59 min•Ep. 416
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with WIRED journalist Lauren Goode. They talk about her article appearing in the May, 2021 issue: “I called Off My Wedding. The Internet will never let me forget.” But in a follow-up to a recent interview with Dr. Jonathan Javitt, the CEO of NeuroRX Pharma. That twist of fate which resurrected a scientific discovery literally shelved for most of two decades? That NeuroRX transformed it into a treatment for COVID-19? The clinical trial results are in....
Apr 27, 2021•59 min•Ep. 415
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with MIT psychology professor Dr. Sherry Turkle. She’s written her memoir, and talks about the concept of “Deep” empathy. Then advanced clinical trial results for treating mild Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Jim Galvin, a professor and Director of the Comprehensive Center for Brain Health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, talks about what it means, prior to its June, 2021 final decision by the FDA
Apr 21, 2021•59 min•Ep. 414
On this week’s Tech Nation, Moira speaks with former UC Irvine professor, Dr. Hans Keirstead, the chairman and CEO of Aivita Biomedical. They’re talking about adult stem cells, in your body right now, and work in treating spinal cord injury, and in ovarian cancer, melanoma, the skin cancer, glioblastoma … and even in a vaccine for COVID-19, this one designed to be affordable for everyone, everywhere.
Apr 13, 2021•59 min•Ep. 413
On this week’s Tech Nation, we’re talking about “Good Medicine … Health, Ethics and Innovation”. It’s a Collaboration Between Bioethics International and Scientific American. We’ll hear from Jennifer Miller, a professor at the Yale University School of Medicine, and Jeremy Abbate, the publisher of Scientific American. Then Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft talks about existing drugs being repurposed in the fight against COVID. And what gets us to stick with all that persona...
Apr 07, 2021•59 min•Ep. 412
On this week’s Tech Nation, spurred by the re-opening of expeditions to the summit of Mount Everest, after a one-year closure due to COVID-19, a 1993 interview with Sir Edmund Hillary, who with his climbing partner, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was the first to reach the summit. Then Dr. Gene Kinney, the President & CEO of Prothena Biosciences, a new drug in clinical trials for Parkinson’s. How Parkinson’s unfolds in the brain, the idea behind how this drug, and the hope of slowing, if not stoppin...
Mar 31, 2021•59 min•Ep. 411
