In the last 30 years, there has been an explosion in the diversity of cuisine. But while there are more diverse and healthier food choices available than ever before, and people are becoming more aware of what they are actually eating, the science of taste is still underdeveloped compared to our other senses. John McQuaid, is a journalist and author, most recently of the book " Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat ," which explores the biology and history of flavor from the origin of life t...
Jan 24, 2023•47 min•Ep. 237
When is clean too clean? And what science connects how we treat our skin with common skin conditions? While the virtues of cleanliness may seem to flow from modern scientific findings about germs, there are deep cultural and economic factors that have shaped the evolution of hygiene. James Hamblin is a physician who specializes in public health and preventative medicine. He is also a journalist, author, and lecturer at Yale University. His latest book is titled Clean: The New Science of Skin , w...
Jan 20, 2023•33 min•Ep. 236
Fear is a common and important human emotion that we’ve all experienced at some time. But have you ever paid attention to how you react to fear in others? Your response may say a lot about your moral compass. Neuroscientist Abigail Marsh studied two groups of people, psychopaths and altruists, and how they interpret fear and other emotions in others. The psychopaths have trouble identifying fear in others, while the altruists respond immediately with empathy. The result of Marsh’s research is he...
Jan 18, 2023•56 min•Ep. 235
Whether we are talking about food, clothing, or financial products, the supply chains which convert the raw materials to finished goods are getting more and more complex, giving rise to a wide range of intermediaries, ranging from the Walmarts and Amazons of the world to the Etsys and the Kickstarters. Increasing complexity often means increasing opacity. Regardless of the industry, understanding where our stuff comes from requires an understanding of intermediation design. Kathryn Judge, a Colu...
Jan 16, 2023•51 min•Ep. 234
What happens when two sides are in disagreement and both think they are right? How do you change a mind? Some tactics can be persuasive, but others can backfire and result in no movement or even extra resistance. There are things that can be learned from these disagreements, and tools that can be used to resolve them. David McRaney is a journalist, podcaster and author. His latest book is How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion where David explores different m...
Jan 11, 2023•59 min•Ep. 233
All multicellular organisms face the risk of cancer cells developing and growing. When these cells work together and cooperate they can create new problems that require novel approaches to solve. Healthy cells also cooperate with each other in the effort to eliminate the cancer as the two sides battle for territory in the body. Athena Aktipis is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, the Director of ASU’s Interdisciplinary Cooperation Initiative, and a member of the Ce...
Jan 09, 2023•54 min•Ep. 232
In February 2020, Mark Woolhouse, a UK epidemiologist, called the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland. Mark wanted to talk to the leader about what the country was doing to prepare for the inevitable arrival of a virus that was spreading through China. Thus began Mark’s years-long critique and study of the worldwide system failure in reaction to COVID-19. On this episode of unSILOed, Greg and Mark discuss some of the things Mark thought we did wrong (lockdowns), what we might do going forward (bri...
Jan 06, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 231
When we read fiction, our brains are able to suspend our awareness of the fiction so we can fully immerse ourselves in the story we’re reading. When this happens, we are able to think about our own lives and personal beliefs in the context of the story. That’s the power of great art- the themes of a text should transcend the particulars of that story, its setting, or those characters. Leonard Barkan, professor of literature and classics at Princeton, has had this experience over and over in his ...
Jan 04, 2023•45 min•Ep. 230
What drives fertility? What drives mortality? What drives migration? These are some of the questions that drive the field of demography. Paul Morland is the author of three books: 'Demographic Engineering: Population Strategies and Ethnic Conflict' which looks at the links between demography and conflict, 'The Human Tide: How Population Shaped the Modern World' which charts the last two hundred years from a demographic perspective, and his most recent, 'Tomorrow's People' which examines current ...
Jan 03, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 229
Design is the science of the artificial, but what makes for good design? Everything designed is man-made, but not everything man-made is designed. There are ways to study and teach good design theory, but implementation and human use is needed to refine and inform the field to make things more efficient and intuitive. Donald A. Norman is a professor emeritus at the University of California San Diego, who has also taught at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is the foundin...
Dec 23, 2022•57 min•Ep. 228
Bankruptcy law and laws that govern corporate restructures play an important role in our economy. How a business moves forward after declaring bankruptcy is determined by these laws and the judges who uphold them – but how this all works can be somewhat of a mystery to many people. Doug Baird is the author of the new book ‘The Unwritten Law of Corporate Reorganizations,’ which explains these laws and how they impact our modern economy. Doug and Greg discuss the history of bankruptcy laws (this w...
Dec 21, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 227
What can the study of animals tell us about beauty? How can the mate choices of birds or frogs give us insight into human attraction? As a part of the animal kingdom, humans share more than we think with the ways of other animals, and by studying how they assess and reward beauty, we can unlock truths about our relationship to beauty as humans, too. Michael J. Ryan is a biologist and author of several books. He is a Senior Research Associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Pana...
Dec 20, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 226
Imagine yourself at a dinner party filled with people you don’t know. As you head to the appetizer tray to get another snack, there’s someone already standing there. You have two options: one, you could make boring small talk by asking how they know the host or what they do for a living. But according to Christian Busch, this is also a moment where you could create a serendipitous event. You could ask that stranger what their biggest passion in life is, what kinds of challenges they are facing, ...
Dec 16, 2022•57 min•Ep. 225
Most people fail to realize how much the process of what we regard as normal, healthy, or sick is influenced by social, cultural, political, or financial factors. Dr. Allan Horwitz joins Greg to talk about how the public’s perception of many common conditions, such as depression, anxiety or PTSD, has evolved over time and no longer involves the stigmatization they once had. Dr. Horwitz also shares how "psychiatry's bible," the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM, conscio...
Dec 14, 2022•45 min•Ep. 224
What does it take for a developing economy to grow and thrive? There are many obstacles that stand in the way, but they can be overcome with the knowledge of where to apply efforts for best results. To understand another country or advise their government on how to grow economies takes someone who has been to the places, spoken to the people, listened to their needs, and can communicate the challenges. Stefan Dercon is a professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and the ...
Dec 12, 2022•52 min•Ep. 223
We use evidence in many areas of our world: courtrooms, scientific laboratories, and legislative bodies that create policies. But the evidence in these different arenas is used in very different ways. For example, how lawyers present evidence in a courtroom varies from how historians use evidence to write about past events. University of Virginia law professor Frederick Schauer joins Greg to talk about the different ways we use evidence and how in some situations, we are too rigid and, in other ...
Dec 09, 2022•51 min•Ep. 222
What is free will, and how can it be both tested and defined? How do you know where the line is between what is your choice, what is compelled, and what is inevitable? What are the limits on the will, and how do you study them? Alfred Mele is a ph professor of philosophy at Florida State University. He also served as director of the Philosophy and Science of Self-Control Project and the Big Questions in Free Will Project. Alfred has written thirteen books and over 250 articles. His latest book i...
Dec 07, 2022•41 min•Ep. 221
Does competition always make you stronger, or does it subtly shape far too much of life throughout childhood and beyond. Society is now shaping itself around newly competitive fields in school and academics while contorting students and their families in different directions to keep up in today’s environment of education. Matt Feeney is a writer whose latest book, “Little Platoons: A Defense of Family in a Competative Age” dissects the benefits and detriments that competition of all types has on...
Dec 05, 2022•52 min•Ep. 220
How do you motivate yourself? What works in motivating others? Do you turn to the stick, the carrot, or a combination of both? These age-old questions are at the root of humans trying to turn what they need to do into what they want to do and manage complex slates of desire and obligation. Ayelet Fishbach is a professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is an expert in the fields of motivation and decision-making and the author of Get ...
Dec 02, 2022•55 min•Ep. 219
The world seems to be moving faster and faster but there is always a need to plan for the longer arc of life. Having a strategy lets you set short goals while achieving progress toward your longer ones. Now more than ever people need to be intentional about the strategies they use in creating a career. Building these strategies in different areas of your life is what today’s episode is all about. Dorie Clark is a teacher at Duke and Colombia University’s business schools, a speaker who has given...
Nov 30, 2022•48 min•Ep. 218
Economists have been harshly criticized for their response to the recent financial crisis and the pandemic. Yet, they are willing to adapt to changing environments and take on new ideas but sometimes don't do it rapidly enough. Paul Andrew Ormerod is a British economist, best-selling author, a partner at Volterra Partners consultancy, and a founder and director of Algorithmic Economics. Additionally, he is a visiting professor at UCL’s Department of Computer Science. Paul writes a weekly opinion...
Nov 28, 2022•52 min•Ep. 217
The trauma of loss is inevitable, but there are things that can be done to consciously prepare for and deal with things we lose in life. They are also connected deeply to the concepts of discovery. Death and love both hold mysteries that have always captivated the mind. Kathryn Schulz is a writer at “The New Yorker” and is the author of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error and her newest book Lost & Found: Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and Happiness was just released this year. ...
Nov 25, 2022•42 min•Ep. 216
The behavior of business practitioners is often driven by the defunct theories of economists. But to some extent all theories and models come with limitations and both the financial crisis of 2008 and the recent pandemic have made those limitations hard to ignore. Sir John Kay is one of Britain’s leading economists. He was the first dean of Oxford’s Said Business School and has held chairs at the London School of Economics, the University of Oxford, and London Business School. His interests focu...
Nov 23, 2022•55 min•Ep. 215
It’s remarkable,how driven we are to set goals for ourselves that we're incapable of attaining. But we're not doomed to be disenchanted; Instead, we can make some incremental and meaningful progress toward their attainment. Anthony Kronman is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School. A former Dean of Yale Law School, Professor Kronman teaches in the areas of contracts, bankruptcy, jurisprudence, social theory, and professional responsibility. Among his books are Education’s End: Why Our Coll...
Nov 21, 2022•58 min•Ep. 214
It’s no secret that the nature of our food has been changed quite dramatically by big food companies in the last 50 years. This is just one of the things that has contributed to a nation of overeaters. Michael Moss is the author of “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us,” and “Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions.” He is also a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist formerly with the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. So what has chang...
Nov 18, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 213
Innovation is a crucial part for organizations to stay ahead of their competitors, adapt to changing circumstances in the environment and create long-lasting businesses. Yet, many big corporations eventually stagnate and become obsolete while a lot of groundbreaking ideas come from small companies. Safi Bahcall is a second-generation physicist, a biotech entrepreneur, former public-company CEO and author of the highly acclaimed book “Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure ...
Nov 16, 2022•50 min•Ep. 212
In today’s world, corporate lobbying is everywhere. Corporations wield immense power over our economy and use their economic clout to influence policymakers, politicians and regulators in a way that can lead to corporate welfare and crony capitalism. Luigi Zingales is a finance professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of two widely-reviewed books, “Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists” and “A Capitalism for the People”. He is also a faculty research fellow...
Nov 14, 2022•56 min•Ep. 211
When it comes to nutrition, conventional wisdom suggeststhat we are at the mercy of an unhinged appetite and an addiction to calories. But as science shows, we're much smarter when it comes to eating than we previously thought. Mark Schatzker is an award-winning writer based in Toronto and author of such books as “The End of Craving, rediscovering, or Recovering the Lost Wisdom of Eating”. He is also a writer-in-residence at the Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center at Yale University, and ...
Nov 11, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 210
While wars and other violent conflicts dominate the news, it is easy to overlook that the majority of conflicts are actually resolved peacefully. In his highly acclaimed book “Why We Fight The Roots of War and The Paths to Peace”, author Chris Blattman draws on his expertise in economics, political science, and history to explain the five reasons why conflicts (rarely) turn violent and how to interrupt that deadly process. Chris Blattman is an economist and political scientist who uses field wor...
Nov 09, 2022•53 min•Ep. 209
Clinical psychologists like Todd Kashdan are in many ways the philosophers of our time, digging into what it is that makes for a fulfilling and happy and comfortable life. Awarded the 2013 Distinguished Early Career Researcher Award by the American Psychological Association, Todd Kashdan is among the world’s top experts on the psychology of well-being, psychological strengths, mental agility, and social relationships. As a Professor of Psychology at George Mason University, and a leading educato...
Nov 07, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 208
