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

Taking Aliens Seriously, with Avi Loeb (Ep. 68)

Scientist claims aliens have visited us—and we should invest in searching for extraterrestrials

 

Big Brains podcast: The ‘Five Horsemen of the Techpocalypse’ with Kara Swisher (Ep. 67)

Writer and podcast host shares lessons from decades of covering Big Tech

Fighting Poverty And Pandemics, with Nobel Economist Michael Kremer (Ep. 66)

Economist discusses how randomized control trials can improve poverty interventions

Why Life After Incarceration Is Just Another Prison, with Reuben Jonathan Miller (Ep. 65)

Sociologist examines how system prevents many from regaining citizenship in society

Anthony Fauci On What We Need To Get Over COVID-19 (Ep. 64)

Expert examines impact of vaccines, variants and policies in a post-pandemic world

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