Big Brains: Top Episodes Voted by You

UChicago Law professor Claudia Flores has spent a career advocating for human rights of vulnerable populations around the world, from East Timor to Mexico. But her latest work revealed the hidden abuse of migrant children detained at the U.S. border and separated from their parents in a report titled, “I’m going to take you back to the river so you can die.” Flores discusses her report produced in partnership with the ACLU, the history and future of immigration policy in the U.S., and her career as a human rights advocate. ➡ Subscribe: About #UChicago: Since its founding in 1890, the University of Chicago has been a destination for rigorous inquiry and field-defining research.This transformative academic experience empowers students and scholarsto challenge conventional thinking in pursuit of original ideas. #UChicago on the Web: Home: News: Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: University of Chicago on YouTube: /uchicago *** ACCESSIBILITY: If you experience any technical difficulties with thi

It’s a simple question to ask, but seems impossible to answer: What causes one nation to succeed and another to fail? What exactly are the origins of global inequality? There are few people who have spent more time trying to answer this question than Prof. James Robinson. Robinson’ first book, Why Nations Fail, was an international best-seller. It laid out in clear and stark terms what the origins of prosperity and poverty really are. Now, he’s written a sequel, The Narrow Corridor, which further explains what ingredients you need to create a prosperous nation. Full Story and Transcript: Listen to the Big Brains Podcast stream on the web: Follow Big Brains: LinkedIn: /big-brains-podcast X: Audio podcast here: Get on the list: Subscribe to the Big Brains Insider newsletter for access to special behind-the-scenes content and get a bigger bite from every guest. *** ➡ Subscribe to UChicago on YouTube: About #UChicago: Since its founding in 1890, the University of Chicago has been a destina

Prof. Jacqueline Stewart’s career has examined the histories of overlooked Black filmmakers and Black audiences. Last year, the University of Chicago film scholar won a prestigious MacArthur fellowship for “illuminating the contributions that overlooked Black filmmakers and communities of spectators have made to cinema’s development as an art form.” Stewart also serves as the host of Silent Sunday Nights on Turner Classic Movies and is chief artistic and programming officer at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. On this episode, she explores the history of Black cinema and explains how preservation and archiving are not neutral acts, but contribute to how we contextualize and understand Black history. Notes and Full Transcript: Listen/Subscribe to Big Brains on... the Web: Apple Podcasts: Stitcher: Spotify: Have a great idea for a Big Brains podcast episode? Pitch it to us: Soundcloud: /big-brains-podcast *** ➡ Subscribe: About #UChicago: Since its founding in 1890, the University o

Explore how foundational discoveries at UChicago have shaped quantum research. With the power to create unbreakable encryption, supercharge the development of AI, and radically expedite the development of drug treatments, quantum technology will revolutionize our world. Today is the day our quantum future is beginning. But what will the future look like, and what do we need to do to get there? In the latest edition of our special series The Day Tomorrow Began, we talk with two of the leading minds helping build the field of quantum technology from the ground up: David Awschalom, professor at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and the founding director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange; and Supratik Guha, professor at the University of Chicago, a senior advisor at Argonne National Laboratory and the former director of physical sciences at IBM. Full transcript and show notes: Read more about quantum technology: The quantum internet, explained: Discover The Day Tomorrow Began here

We often think our debates around sexuality and gender are a modern phenomenon. Some people argue that identities like trans and non-binary have only existed recently. But could the evidence for queer and gender-nonconforming lives actually stretch back centuries? In a recent book entitled Byzantine Intersectionality, Prof. Roland Betancourt of the University of California-Irvine uncovers an overlooked history from the Byzantine era. His work shows how surprisingly modern medieval conversations about sex and gender were—or, as he puts it, how medieval our modern conversations seem. As extremist groups on the alt-right have begun to claim an ideological lineage to Byzantium, Betancourt’s work has become a critical work for contextualizing our current moment—and drawing lessons from this neglected history. Listen/Subscribe to Big Brains on... the Web: Apple Podcasts: Stitcher: Spotify: Big Brains Insider eNewsletter: ➡ Subscribe: About #UChicago: Since its founding in 1890, the Universit

From flipping a coin to make decisions to using GPS to solve crime, data scientist sees world differently Of the academic books that have become household names, “Freakonomics” must be at the top of the list. The 2005 book by University of Chicago scholar Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner created not only a whole new way of thinking about discovering answers to complex problems, but launched a media empire—from book sequel to a movie to a hit podcast. On this special episode, we sat down with Levitt during the inaugural UCPN Podcast Festival, to talk about the legacy of Freakonomics. Almost 20 years later, he told our audience how he views himself as a “data scientist” and not just an economist, what he’s learned about using a coin flip to make hard decisions in life, and why he thinks he may have found the “holy grail” of solving crime. Listen/Subscribe to Big Brains on... the Web: Apple Podcasts: Spotify: Big Brains Insider eNewsletter:

Solar geoengineering technology holds possibilities and pitfalls, renowned scientist argues Climate change can feel like an impossible crisis these days. Every week there is some new report about the irreversible damage we’re doing to our planet and the havoc it will bring to people’s lives. We all know cutting emissions is the solution, yet governments and companies seem no closer to meeting the goals that scientists say we must hit. It can feel hopeless. There is one possible controversial solution to climate change many in the mainstream haven’t discussed. It’s so controversial, in fact, that some experts say we shouldn’t even be discussing it. But University of Chicago Professor David Keith says we need to talk about it. It’s called solar geoengineering—the process in which you reflect a small fraction of sunlight back into space using aerosols. As the founding director of the Climate Systems Engineering Initiative at UChicago, Keith is leading a team that will research solar geoen

Language shapes our world. But when we speak, there is actually a secret conversation happening beyond our words. It’s happening not with our mouths—but with our hands. Prof. Susan Goldin-Meadowis a distinguished scholar of psychology at the University of Chicago. Her research into deaf children who were never taught sign language led her to studying why the gestures we do all day may contain more information about our minds than we realize. Now she’s included all her insights in a new book,“Thinking With Your Hands—The Surprising Science Behind How Gestures Shape Our Thoughts.” Chapters: 00:02 Introduction to the University of Chicago Leadership and Society Initiative 00:37 The Power of Language and Gestures 01:34 The Role of Gestures in Communication 02:06 The Science Behind Gestures 03:12 The Importance of Gestures in Society 03:38 Big Brains Podcast Introduction 04:17 Understanding Gestures in Depth 05:32 The Origin of Language and Gestures 07:26 The Innate Need to Gesture 09:14 Th

We've all heard the phrase "Manifest Your Destiny" when it comes to wanting that new promotion, figuring out a new career path or just trying to achieve that long-term goal. It turns out that the act of manifestation is not merely pseudoscience—it actually has a body of research in neuroscience to back it up. Dr. James Doty has been exploring this topic throughout his career; and offers scientific research as well as tools on how to manifest your goals in his new book, Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything. James Doty is a clinical professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University, where is also the founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. He explores how manifestation is not only a tool to achieve what we want, but it is also fundamentally about being selfless and caring for others in order to activate our deep internal happiness. Link to the advertised Chicago Booth Review Podcast: 00:00 Unlocking the

What if we could predict the economy the way we predict the weather? What if governments could run simulations to forecast the effects of new policies—before they happen? And what if the key to all of this lies in the same chaotic systems that explain spinning roulette wheels and rolling dice? J. Doyne Farmer is a University of Oxford professor, complexity scientist, and former physicist who once beat Las Vegas casinos using his scientific-based methods. In his recent book “Making Sense of Chaos: A Better Economics for a Better World” Farmer is using those same principles to build a new branch of economics called complexity economics—one that uses big data to help forecast market crashes, design better policies and find ways to confront climate change. But can we really predict the unpredictable? And how will using chaos theory shake up well-established economic approaches? 00:00 Introduction and Predicting the Future 00:24 Applying Predictive Models to Economics 01:31 Understanding Co