Podcast Episodes
Back to Search121. Exploring Physics, from Eggshells to Oceans
Episode 121
Physicist Helen Czerski loves to explain how the world works. She talks with Steve about studying bubbles, setting off explosives, and how ocean wave…
2 years ago
120. Werner Herzog Thinks His Films Are a Distraction
Episode 120
The filmmaker doesn’t want to be known only for his movies. He tells Steve why he considers himself a writer first, how it feels to be recognized for…
2 years, 1 month ago
119. Higher Education Is Broken. Can It Be Fixed?
Episode 119
Economist Michael D. Smith says universities are scrambling to protect a status quo that deserves to die. He tells Steve why the current system is un…
2 years, 1 month ago
118. “My God, This Is a Transformative Power”
Episode 118
Computer scientist Fei-Fei Li had a wild idea: download one billion images from the internet and teach a computer to recognize them. She ended up adv…
2 years, 2 months ago
117. Nate Silver Says We're Bad at Making Predictions
Episode 117
Data scientist Nate Silver gained attention for his election predictions. But even the best prognosticators get it wrong sometimes. He talks to Steve…
2 years, 2 months ago
116. Abraham Verghese Thinks Medicine Can Do Better
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 …
2 years, 3 months ago
EXTRA: Nobel Laureate Claudia Goldin on "Greedy Work" and the Wage Gap
Claudia Goldin is the newest winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. Steve spoke to her in 2021 about how inflexible jobs and family responsibilities…
2 years, 3 months ago
115. The Future of Therapy Is Psychedelic
Episode 115
For 37 years, Rick Doblin has been pushing the F.D.A. to approve treating post-traumatic stress disorder with MDMA, better known as Ecstasy. He tells…
2 years, 3 months ago
114. Is Perfectionism Ruining Your Life?
Episode 114
Psychologist Thomas Curran argues that perfectionism isn’t about high standards — it’s about never being enough. He explains how the drive to be perf…
2 years, 4 months ago
113. Do We Have Evidence of Alien Life?
Episode 113
Avi Loeb is a Harvard astronomer who argues that we’ve already encountered extraterrestrial technology. His approach to the search for interstellar o…
2 years, 4 months ago