Big Brains: All Episodes

Translating groundbreaking research into digestible brain food. Big Brains, little bites. Produced out at the University of Chicago. Winner of CASE "Grand Gold" award in 2022, Gold award in 2021, and named Adweek's "Best Branded Podcast" in 2020.

Big Brains podcst

Episode List

The Ethics of COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, with Laurie Zoloth (Ep. 63)

Scholar discusses religion, personal freedom, challenge trials and our duty to one another

Doomsday Clock’s ‘historic wake-up call,’ with Rachel Bronson (Ep. 62)

CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists discusses threats of COVID-19, ‘infodemic’ 

Unraveling the Mystery of Life’s Origins on Earth, with Jack Szostak (Ep. 61)

Harvard geneticist and Nobel laureate explores how we got here—and whether we’re alone in the universe

 

The Urgent Need to Reinvest in American Research, with Barbara Snyder (Ep. 60)

AAU president discusses how more federal funding can secure American innovation

 

How Alternate Reality Games Are Changing The Real World with Patrick Jagoda and Kristen Schilt (Ep. 59)

UChicago scholars design ARGs to address issues ranging from climate change to public health

 

 

What Remains Unanswered After The 2020 Election, with William Howell and Luigi Zingales (Ep. 58)

UChicago economist and political scientist discuss the polls, what lies ahead for Biden and the country post-Trump

 

When Governments Share Their Secrets—And When They Don't, with Austin Carson (Ep. 57)

Scholar discusses the political theater of foreign policy—and the case for declassifying intelligence

How We Can Fix a Fractured Supreme Court, with Geoffrey Stone (Ep. 56)

Legal scholar examines how nomination of Amy Coney Barrett could tip an increasingly politicized bench

 

Correcting History: Native Americans Tell Their Own Stories (Ep. 55)

How scholars helped a Chicago museum rethink its representation of Indigenous peoples

The Future of Voting And The 2020 Election, with Assoc. Prof. Anthony Fowler (Ep. 54)

A leading political scholar discusses voting by mail, mobile voting and why he thinks it should be illegal not to vote.