Inquiring Minds
464 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 days ago - ★★★★ - 821 ratingsEach week we bring you a new, in-depth exploration of the space where science and society collide. We’re committed to the idea that making an effort to understand the world around you though science and critical thinking can benefit everyone—and lead to better decisions. We want to find out what’s true, what’s left to discover, and why it all matters.
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Episodes
Science Got Women Wrong
January 23, 2018 07:01 - 51 minutes - 47 MBWe talk to science journalist and author Angela Saini about her latest book Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
A Volcano Scientist Runs for Congress
January 16, 2018 03:22 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MBWe talk to Jess Phoenix, a volcanologist, geologist, and 2018 Democratic candidate seeking election to California's 25th Congressional District. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Mapping Human Brains
January 09, 2018 06:10 - 41 minutes - 37.7 MBWe talk to neuroscientist Lucina Uddin about her work mapping human brains. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Losing Genes but Gaining Music | [BONUS EP] Cadence | S02 Episode 01
January 01, 2018 22:18 - 32 minutes - 30 MBHappy new year! It’s a bonus podcast: episode one of the second season of Indre’s other podcast, Cadence. Subscribe to Cadence here: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/cadence/id1207136496 RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/cadence-podcast This season, we’re going to focus on music as medicine—telling the stories of people whose lives have been immeasurably improved with music. In this episode, we talk about William’s Syndrome, a genetic condition that causes heart problems, int...
How One Emotion Connects Altruists and Psychopaths
December 25, 2017 07:41 - 44 minutes - 40.6 MBWe talk to professor of psychology & neuroscience Abigail Marsh about her new book The Fear Factor: How One Emotion Connects Altruists, Psychopaths, and Everyone In-Between. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Lessons in Investigating Death
December 19, 2017 07:18 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBWe talk to Ken Holmes, who worked in the Marin County Coroner’s Office for thirty-six years, starting as a death investigator and ending as the three-term, elected coroner. A new book, The Education of a Coroner: Lessons in Investigating Death, chronicles his life spent studying death. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Lost Einsteins: Left Behind by the Innovation Economy
December 12, 2017 07:16 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBWe talk to celebrated Stanford economist Raj Chetty about his work focusing on using empirical evidence—often big data—to inform the design of more effective governmental policies. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Getting Politicians to Talk About Science
December 05, 2017 02:31 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBWe talk to Sheril Kirshenbaum, executive director of Science Debate (sciencedebate.org), a nonpartisan organization that asks candidates, elected officials, the public and the media to focus more on science policy issues of vital importance to modern life. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Black Hole Blues
November 28, 2017 06:08 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MBWe talk to theoretical astrophysicist Janna Levin about her book Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Why Dinosaurs Matter
November 21, 2017 08:16 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBWe talk to paleontologist, professor, expeditioner, and science communicator Ken Lacovara about his recent book Why Dinosaurs Matter. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
What's Going on in the Brain of a Fetus?
November 14, 2017 07:24 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBWe talk to pediatric neuroscientist Moriah Thomason about her research into what we can learn by imaging the brains of fetuses before they're born. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
How Science Built One of the Greatest Basketball Teams in History
November 07, 2017 08:00 - 42 minutes - 38.9 MBWe talk to sports writer Erik Malinowski about his new book Betaball: How Silicon Valley and Science Built One of the Greatest Basketball Teams in History. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
A Paid Climate Change Skeptic Switches Sides
October 30, 2017 23:15 - 45 minutes - 42.1 MBIn a joint production with Stevie Lepp and the Reckonings podcast we hear from Jerry Taylor, a former professional climate change skeptic who switched sides entirely. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve and/or Ruin Everything
October 24, 2017 10:21 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBWe talk to cartoonist and author Zach Weinersmith about his latest book, Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve and/or Ruin Everything, co-written with his wife, parasitologist Kelly Weinersmith. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
A Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump
October 17, 2017 07:21 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBWe talk to renowned psychiatrist Allen Frances about his latest book Twilight of American Sanity: A Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Molecules From Caesar's Last Breath Are Inside You
October 03, 2017 01:33 - 41 minutes - 38.1 MBWe talk to science writer Sam Kean about his latest book Caesar's Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Where the Animals Go: Tracking Wildlife with Technology
September 27, 2017 01:44 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBWe talk to Oliver Uberti and James Cheshire, authors of the new book Where the Animals Go: Tracking Wildlife with Technology in 50 Maps and Graphics. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Why Buddhism is True
September 18, 2017 21:38 - 45 minutes - 42.1 MBWe talk to journalist, scholar, and prize-winning author Robert Wright about his latest book Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
The Psychology of Hate
September 12, 2017 01:52 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBWe talk to clinical psychologist Ali Mattu about the psychology of dehumanization and hate. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Jonathan Lynn on Why US Healthcare Is Worthy of Ridicule
August 31, 2017 02:59 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MBWe talk to award winning writer and director Jonathan Lynn about his latest novel, Samaritans, which is a satirical look at the US healthcare system. His films as director include Clue, Nuns on the Run (both of which he wrote), My Cousin Vinny, The Distinguished Gentleman and The Whole Nine Yards. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
The Great American Solar Eclipse
August 15, 2017 01:03 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBWe talk to astronomer Andrew Fraknoi about the upcoming total solar eclipse—the first total solar eclipse over North America in decades—on August 21st, 2017, and how you can best enjoy it. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
The Science of Game of Thrones
August 07, 2017 23:50 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBWe talk to English comedian and writer Helen Keen about her new book The Science of Game of Thrones: A myth-busting, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping and fun-filled expedition through the world of Game of Thrones. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Why Are We Curious?
July 31, 2017 22:31 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MBWe talk to acclaimed astrophysicist Mario Livio about his new book Why?: What Makes Us Curious. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
We've Got to Start Eating Insects
July 24, 2017 14:27 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBWe talk to entomologist Brian Fisher about his his research on ants in Mozambique and his new initiative to get entomologists more directly involved in conservation—a big part of which involves edible insects. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
186 Jason Silva - Origins: The Journey of Humankind
July 17, 2017 07:00 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBWe talk to Jason Silva, host of National Geographic Channel’s new show Origins: The Journey of Humankind. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
185 Jennifer Latson - A True Story of Pathological Friendliness
July 03, 2017 07:00 - 44 minutes - 41 MBWe talk to journalist Jennifer Latson about Williams syndrome and her new book The Boy Who Loved Too Much: A True Story of Pathological Friendliness. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
184 Zeynep Tufekci - Twitter and Tear Gas
June 26, 2017 07:00 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBWe talk to Zeynep Tufekci, writer and associate professor at the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science, about her book Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
183 Dean Buonomano - The Neuroscience and Physics of Time
June 19, 2017 07:00 - 52 minutes - 47.9 MBWe talk to neuroscientist Dean Buonomano about his new book “Your Brain Is a Time Machine: The Neuroscience and Physics of Time.” Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
182 Ty Tashiro - The Science of Being Awkward
June 06, 2017 00:58 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MBWe talk to psychologist Ty Tashiro about his new book “Awkward: The Science of Why We're Socially Awkward & Why That's Awesome.” Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
181 Mike Drucker - How to Write Science Into Comedy
May 29, 2017 20:33 - 41 minutes - 38.1 MBWe talk to Mike Drucker, co-head writer for Bill Nye Saves the World, writer for Adam Ruins Everything, the Tonight Show, and much more about incorporating science into comedy writing. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
180 The Unique Challenge of Being a Woman in Engineering [Collaboration with Cited]
May 22, 2017 10:08 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBIn this second and final special collaborative episode with the Cited podcast, Indre and guest host Alexander B. Kim focus on women in engineering and the obstacles they face throughout their careers. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
179 The Leaky Pipeline of Women in Science [Collaboration with Cited]
May 15, 2017 07:00 - 56 minutes - 51.5 MBIn this special collaborative episode with the Cited podcast, Indre and guest host Alexander B. Kim look into the “leaky pipeline” of women in science. There are many stages you go through from early school to a career in science and there are points along the way at which women seem to disproportionately slip out of that pipeline. This week we talk to researchers trying to learn more about why that happens and what we can do about it. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
178 Teresa Zimmers - The Murky Science of Lethal Injection
May 09, 2017 02:36 - 29 minutes - 27.5 MBWe talk to associate professor of surgery at Indiana University Teresa Zimmers about her work on whether or not lethal injection drugs actually provide a humane, painless death as promised. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
177 Bill Nye - Let’s Change the World
May 05, 2017 01:24 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBWe talk to Bill Nye about his approach to communicating climate change and what he hopes will change in the future. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
176 Paul Doherty - The Actual Science Behind Outlandish Deaths
April 25, 2017 05:52 - 29 minutes - 27.5 MBWe talk to Paul Doherty, senior staff scientist at San Francisco’s famed Exploratorium Museum about his new book “And Then You're Dead: What Really Happens If You Get Swallowed by a Whale, Are Shot from a Cannon, or Go Barreling over Niagara.” Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
175 Sharon Begley - Can't Just Stop: An Investigation of Compulsions
April 17, 2017 20:46 - 46 minutes - 43 MBWe talk to science writer Sharon Begley about her new book “Can't Just Stop: An Investigation of Compulsions.” Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
174 James Beacham - The Exciting World of Particle Hunters
April 10, 2017 08:57 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBWe talk to James Beacham, particle physicist with the ATLAS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN about what it’s like to hunt for strange new subatomic particles. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
[BONUS EP] Cadence | Episode 01: What Is Music?
April 04, 2017 03:28 - 21 minutes - 19.5 MBIt's the first episode of Indre's new podcast, Cadence! (Don’t worry, she’s not leaving Inquiring Minds.) Cadence is a podcast about music and how it affects your mind. What is music? How would you define it? Does it defy definition? In this episode we try to get answers to those questions from from a pioneer in music cognition research, a musicologist, and an otolaryngologist who surgically restores hearing and studies the brain basis of musical improvisation. If you like this first episo...
173 Mary Roach - Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
April 04, 2017 03:28 - 35 minutes - 33 MBWe talk to science writer Mary Roach about the science of your guts and her book “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal.” Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
172 Dan Ariely - The Surprising Science of What Motivates Us
March 27, 2017 08:54 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBWe talk to Dan Ariely, the James B Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University about what actually motivates us to get things done—to finish that novel, to stick to a diet, or even to want to get up and go to work every day. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
172 Dan Ariely - The Surprising Science of What Motivates Us
March 27, 2017 08:54 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBWe talk to Dan Ariely, the James B Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University about what actually motivates us to get things done—to finish that novel, to stick to a diet, or even to want to get up and go to work every day. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
171 Siddhartha Roy - The Science Behind the Flint Water Crisis
March 20, 2017 07:00 - 44 minutes - 41.3 MBWe talk to Siddhartha Roy, a PhD student and graduate researcher in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Roy is a founding member of the Virginia Tech Flint Water Study and has worked on the ground in Flint applying his research on corrosion and plumbing to the crisis. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
170 Steven Hatch - Inferno: A Doctor's Ebola Story
March 13, 2017 09:46 - 45 minutes - 42.1 MBWe talk to Dr. Steven Hatch, a specialist in infectious diseases and immunology about his latest book “Inferno: A Doctor's Ebola Story,” an account of his time in Liberia during the height of the ebola epidemic in 2014. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
169 Daniel Levitin - The Emerging Epidemic of the Silent Home
March 06, 2017 08:00 - 44 minutes - 41.3 MBWe talk to neuroscientist, music producer, and best-selling author Daniel Levitin about his recent research into how playing music in the home affects us. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
168 Alison Van Eenennaam - Gene Editing Livestock
February 27, 2017 08:00 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBWe talk to researcher in Animal Genomics and Biotechnology at UC Davis Alison Van Eenennaam about the science of gene editing livestock. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
167 Haider Warraich - Modern Death: How Medicine Changed the End of Life
February 20, 2017 08:00 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MBWe talk to physician, writer, and clinical researcher Haider Warraich about his most recent book "Modern Death: How Medicine Changed the End of Life." Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
166 Alan Burdick - Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation
February 13, 2017 08:00 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBWe talk to Alan Burdick, staff writer and former senior editor for The New Yorker, about his most recent book "Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation.” Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
165 Nate Allen - Why Science Is Huge on Reddit
February 06, 2017 08:00 - 34 minutes - 31.6 MBWe talk to Nate Allen, chemist and head moderator of one of the internet’s largest science communities: Reddit’s r/science subreddit. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
164 Alexandra Wolfe - Valley of the Gods: A Silicon Valley Story
January 23, 2017 08:00 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBWe talk to author and Wall Street Journal reporter Alexandra Wolfe about her new book Valley of the Gods: A Silicon Valley Story. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
163 Dave Levitan - The Return Of "I'm Not a Scientist”
January 16, 2017 08:00 - 34 minutes - 31.9 MBThis week, as we near the inauguration of Donald Trump, we revisit a conversation with science journalist Dave Levitan about his book Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent, and Utterly Mangle Science. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds