Big Brains: All Episodes

Translating groundbreaking research into digestible brain food. Produced out at the University of Chicago. Honored by CASE for the past four years as the best podcast in higher ed; winner of the PRNEWS's Platinum Award, Communicators Award and Adweek's "best branded podcast." 

Big Brains podcst

Episode List

The man who fought to sanction Putin and Russian oligarchs, with Bill Browder

Businessman explains how his work on the Magnitsky Act made him country’s No. 1 enemy

Why big ideas fail to scale—and how to fix it, with John List (Ep. 87)

Economist discusses the secrets of using science to scale promising social programs

Could personalizing laws make society more just? with Omri Ben-Shahar (Ep. 86)

Exploring the benefits and pitfalls of using big data to tailor different rules to different people

How to stick to your resolutions, with Ayelet Fishbach (Ep. 85)

New book explores science of setting goals, achieving success and learning from failure

Confronting gun violence with data, with Jens Ludwig (Ep. 82)

Director of Crime Lab explains evidence behind community-based solutions to violent crime

 

Unlocking the secrets of black holes, with Andrea Ghez (Ep. 81)

Nobel-winning scientist examines the monster at the center of our galaxy—and how we got here

Do your genes determine your success in life? with Kathryn Paige Harden (Ep. 80)

In new book, behavior geneticist debates the role genetics play in social inequality

How the UN aims to save humanity, with Chris Williams and Luis Bettencourt (Ep. 79)

Examining the 17 goals that could achieve a sustainable global future

Combating Our Global Water Crisis Using AI, with Junhong Chen (Ep. 78)

UChicago-Argonne scientist explores more sustainable ways to make use of water