Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchAbraham Verghese Thinks Medicine Can Do Better (Update)
Episode 116
Abraham Verghese is a physician and a best-selling author — in that order, he says. He explains the difference between curing and healing, and tells …
1 year, 1 month ago
156. A Solution to America’s Gun Problem
Episode 156
Jens Ludwig has an idea for how to fix America’s gun violence problem — and it starts by rejecting conventional wisdom from both sides of the politic…
1 year, 1 month ago
155. Helping People Die
Episode 155
Ellen Wiebe is a physician who helps seriously ill patients end their lives in Canada, where assisted suicide is legal. Is death a human right?
SOURC…
1 year, 2 months ago
Yul Kwon: “Don't Try to Change Yourself All at Once.” (Update)
Episode 13
He has been a lawyer, an instructor at the F.B.I. Academy, the owner of a frozen-yogurt chain, and a winner of the TV show Survivor. Today, Kwon work…
1 year, 2 months ago
154. Can Robots Get a Grip?
Episode 154
Ken Goldberg is at the forefront of robotics — which means he tries to teach machines to do things humans find trivial.
SOURCES:Ken Goldberg, profess…
1 year, 2 months ago
153. We’re Not Getting Sicker — We’re Overdiagnosed
Episode 153
Suzanne O'Sullivan is a neurologist who sees many patients with psychosomatic disorders. Their symptoms may be psychological in origin, but their pai…
1 year, 3 months ago
Reading Dostoevsky Behind Bars (Update)
Episode 112
Reginald Dwayne Betts spent more than eight years in prison. Today he's a Yale Law graduate, a MacArthur Fellow, and a poet. His nonprofit works to b…
1 year, 3 months ago
152. Hunting for the Origins of Life
Episode 152
Chemist Jack Szostak wants to understand how the first life forms came into being on Earth. He and Steve discuss the danger of "mirror bacteria," the…
1 year, 3 months ago
151. Neurobiologist, Philosopher, and Addict
Episode 151
Owen Flanagan's newest book details his 20-year dependence on alcohol and pills — and outlines his research on what addiction can tell us about the n…
1 year, 4 months ago
Jane Goodall Changed the Way We See Animals. She’s Not Done. (Replay)
Episode 91
The primatologist discusses the thrill of observing chimpanzees in the wild, the value of challenging orthodoxy, and why dying is her next great adve…
1 year, 4 months ago