Could Plants Unlock Quantum Medicine’s Potential? with Greg Engel
We’ve long marveled at how efficiently plants convert sunlight into energy—but no one guessed they were using quantum mechanics to do it.In this episode, we speak with Greg Engel, a pioneering biophys...
21 Aug 202525min
How Microplastics Are Invading Our Bodies, with Matthew Campen
You’ve heard of plastic polluting oceans. But what if it’s polluting you—your brain, your reproductive system, even your unborn children?In this eye-opening episode, we speak with Prof. Matthew Campen...
7 Aug 202528min
Why We Get Stuck—And How to Finally Move Forward
Hello listeners…we're re-releasing one of our favorite Big Brains episodes—an incredibly insightful conversation with psychologist Adam Alter. If you've ever felt stuck in your life or career, this ep...
24 Juli 202534min
Inside the AI Debate: Hope, Hype, Or Harm? A Big Brains Panel Weighs In
One of the benefits of producing this podcast at the University of Chicago is that there are often events on campus that bring in not just one Big Brain, but many in order to find answers to the some ...
10 Juli 202547min
Are Your Medications Safe And Effective?, with Jerry Avorn
For a more than a century, the Food and Drug Administration has worked to protect public health. In his research, Harvard University physician-researcher Jerry Avorn has examined how the FDA’s once-ri...
26 Juni 202536min
Are We Making AI Too Human?, with James Evans
Prof. James Evans, a University of Chicago sociologist and data scientist, believes we’re training AI to think too much like humans—and it’s holding science back.In this episode, Evans shares how our ...
12 Juni 202531min
Inside The Disease That Changes Your Personality, with Bruce Miller
When someone we know or love starts to develop psychological issues, we don't often associate it with a form of dementia. However, this trait is one of the most common signs of frontotemporal dementia...
29 Maj 202526min
Meet The ‘Planet Hunter’ Searching For Alien Life, with Jacob Bean
The search for life beyond Earth is no longer science fiction—it takes a lot of data, powerful telescopes and a bit of cosmic detective work. And at the center of this search is University of Chicago ...
15 Maj 202534min
