Big Brains

What Historic Pandemics Could Teach Us About Coronavirus, with Ada Palmer (Ep. 48)

A historian explains what we can really learn about COVID-19 from the Black Death pandemic

A Crisis Management Expert’s Advice on Handling Coronavirus, with Daniel Diermeier (Ep. 47)

A world-renowned scholar gives advice to business and political leaders on handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

How Students and Schools Can Recover From Coronavirus, with Elaine Allensworth (Ep. 46)

A leading education expert discusses how families and teachers are adjusting to remote learning.

Trump, Coronavirus and the Cost of Ineffective Government, with William Howell (Ep. 45)

Leading presidential scholar thinks coronavirus has revealed why our governmental institutions need to be reformed.

How Coronavirus Is Exposing Our Racial Disparities, with Monica Peek (Ep. 44)

Dr. Monica Peek was studying racial health disparities before the coronavirus outbreak. Now her research is more important than ever.

Coronavirus Shows Why We Need To Rethink Health Care, with Katherine Baicker (Ep. 43)

Leading UChicago health economist explains why our public health infrastructure wasn’t ready for coronavirus, and what we need to change for the next pandemic.

What Rats Can Teach Us About Empathy and Racism, with Peggy Mason (Ep. 42)

What can rats teach us about empathy? As one University of Chicago neurobiologist discovered, we can learn from them a lot.

Why the coronavirus could send China’s economy back to the ‘80s, with Chang-Tai Hsieh (Ep. 41)

A University of Chicago economist explains why the coronavirus is one of the most pivotal moments in China’s economic history.

 

Why the Doomsday Clock is Closer to Apocalypse Than Ever, with Rachel Bronson (Ep. 40)

Even though the Doomsday Clock is a symbolic metaphor, understanding the meaning behind it is a matter of life and death.