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Ask a Harvard Professor — Society & Culture
Ask a Harvard Professor

A podcast presented by Harvard Magazine. Managing editor Jonathan Shaw sits down with some of the world’s most thoughtful scholars to discuss everything from academic ethics – to hip hop music and medical marijuana.

Copyright: © 2019 Harvard Magazine

Latest Episodes:

Francesca Dominici: How Does Air Pollution Affect COVID-19? Nov 23, 2020

Show notes

Discussing the link between air pollution and effects of COVID-19, and the importance of data for rapid public-health responses —with Francesca Dominici, professor of biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/2020/francesca-dominici.

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw, Marina Bolotnikova, Jacob Sweet, and produced by Jacob Sweet and Niko Yaitanes. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

Rebecca Henderson: Does Capitalism Need to be Reimagined? Nov 16, 2020

Show notes

How to reform capitalism to confront climate change and extreme inequality, with economist and McArthur University Professor Rebecca Henderson

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/2020/rebecca-henderson.

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw, Marina Bolotnikova, Jacob Sweet, and produced by Jacob Sweet and Niko Yaitanes. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

Jeannie Suk Gersen: Do Elite Colleges Discriminate Against Asian Americans? Nov 09, 2020

Show notes

Harvard Law School professor Jeannie Suk Gersen breaks down the use of race in college admissions and the future of affirmative action at the Supreme Court.

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/2020/jeannie-suk-gersen.

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw, Marina Bolotnikova, Jacob Sweet, and produced by Jacob Sweet and Niko Yaitanes. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

Danielle Allen: What Do COVID-19 and Extreme Inequality Mean for American Democracy? Nov 02, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, political philosopher Danielle Allen explains why the COVID crisis, extreme inequality, and undemocratic government are all connected—and how democracy in America can still be reinvigorated.

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/2020/danielle-allen.

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw, Marina Bolotnikova, Jacob Sweet, and produced by Jacob Sweet and Niko Yaitanes. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

Caroline Buckee: Can Mobile-phone Data Help Control the Spread of the Coronavirus? Oct 26, 2020

Show notes

Can cellphone technologies play a role in controlling the coronavirus pandemic? Knowing how public health policies interact with people’s actual behavior, even at an anonymous population-level view, can help guide the decisions of leaders. Mobile phone location data can reveal large-scale patterns of activity and travel between regions. In this episode, associate professor of epidemiology Caroline Buckee explains how such data—carefully stewarded to ensure individual privacy—can even be used to help predict where outbreaks are likely to flare next.

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/2020/caroline-buckee.

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw, Marina Bolotnikova, Jacob Sweet, and produced by Jacob Sweet and Niko Yaitanes. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

Daniel Schrag and David Keith: Can solar geoengineering help fight climate change? Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

Climate change may be the hardest problem the human race has ever confronted. In a single century, humans have set in motion events that will unfold on a geological timescale, ultimately redrawing coastlines around the globe as ice sheets melt and sea level rises. Can humanity agree to meet its energy needs with renewables such as wind and solar power? Is there a threshold beyond which the effects of greenhouse gases will become irreversible? Can solar geoengineering help stop this runaway train? In this episode, Daniel Schrag, director of the Harvard University Center for the Environment and Sturgis Hooper professor of geology and professor of environmental science and engineering, and David Keith, the Gordon McKay professor of applied physics in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School discuss the ramifications of climate change and an engineered response.

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/podcast/2020/daniel-schrag-and-david-keith

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw, Marina Bolotnikova, Jacob Sweet, and produced by Jacob Sweet and Niko Yaitanes. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

Preview: Ask a Harvard Professor, Season Three Oct 16, 2020

Show notes

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/podcast/2020/preview-ask-a-harvard-professor-season-three

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw, Marina Bolotnikova, Jacob Sweet, and produced by Jacob Sweet and Niko Yaitanes. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

Doug Elmendorf and Karen Dynan: How much can the federal budget and the deficit continue to grow? Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

What should be done now about the federal budget and the deficit, with Doug Elmendorf, dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, and Karen Dynan, professor of the practice of economics.

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/podcast/2020/doug-elmendorf-and-karen-dynan

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw and produced by Jacob Sweet. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

William C. Kirby: Is China ready for leadership on the global stage? Apr 06, 2020

Show notes

CHINA IS THE MOST POPULOUS COUNTRY ON EARTH, and until a few hundred years ago, it was also the most economically powerful. Today, China is ascendant on the world stage. What does its government seek in its relationship with the United States? Do China and the U.S. share common goals with respect to nuclear North Korea? How far will China press to reunite with Taiwan? What are the country’s economic prospects, and is the perception that it is governed by engineers accurate? How is China coping with pressing issues of the day, from climate change to coronaviruses? In this episode, William Kirby, Chang professor of China studies and Spangler professor of business administration, considers China’s aspiration to lead internationally in the twenty-first century.

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/podcast/2020/william-c-kirby

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw and Marina Bolotnikova, and produced by Jacob Sweet. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

Benjamin Sachs and Sharon Block: When did labor law stop working? Mar 30, 2020

Show notes

Why would it take an Amazon worker, employed full time, more than a million years to earn what its CEO, Jeff Bezos now possesses? Why do the richest 400 Americans own more wealth than all African-American households combined? And how are these examples of extreme income inequality linked to the political disenfranchisement of the lower- and middle-income classes? The established “solutions” for restoring balance to economic and political power in the United States have been tax increases on the rich, on the one hand, and campaign-finance reform on the other. But in this episode, we’ll explore the idea that retooling labor laws for the modern economy may be the most effective way to address both these issues. Harvard Law School’s Kestnbaum professor of labor and industry Benjamin Sachs, together with Sharon Block, executive director of the school’s Labor and Worklife Program, explain.

For more information about Harvard Magazine and this podcast, visit www.harvardmagazine.com/podcast and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/podcast/2020/benjamin-sachs-and-sharon-block

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw and produced by Jacob Sweet. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.

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