Inquiring Minds

Latest Episodes:

The Science of Allergies and Why We Have Them Oct 12, 2023

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This week we talk to medical anthropologist and science writer Theresa MacPhail about her new book Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World.

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Why It’s Important to Know What’s Actually in Your Clothes Sep 26, 2023

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This week we talk to journalist and sustainable fashion expert Alden Wicker about her book To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick—and How We Can Fight Back.

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How You Could Have Survived History’s Disasters Aug 10, 2023

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This week we talk to writer Cody Cassidy about his new book How to Survive History: How to Outrun a Tyrannosaurus, Escape Pompeii, Get Off the Titanic, and Survive the Rest of History's Deadliest Catastrophes.

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How to Stop Your Brain from Falling for Lies Jul 21, 2023

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This week we talk to psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris about their new book Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It.

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How Society Created “You” Jun 22, 2023

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This week we talk to social psychologist and Stanford professor Brian Lowery about his new book Selfless: The Social Creation of “You”. In it, he proposes that what you think of as “you” is actually a social construct created by your relationships and affected by every interaction you have.

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The Science of Silo with Hugh Howey Jun 02, 2023

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This week we talk to Hugh Howey, author of the bestselling Silo series of books and executive producer of the new Apple TV+ series of the same name.

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Improbable Experiments That Changed the World May 18, 2023

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This week we talk to accelerator physicist Suzie Sheehy about her most recent book The Matter of Everything: How Curiosity, Physics, and Improbable Experiments Changed the World.

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The Perilous Combination of Brain Wave Data and Generative AI Apr 18, 2023

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On the show this week we talk to Nita A. Farahany, distinguished professor of law and philosophy at Duke University and the founding director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, about her new book, "The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology."

Many people choose to give up unprecedented levels of privacy in exchange for convenience. So why not give up your brain data too? Is it really that different? While the proposition may seem analogous, and despite how it’s often presented, says Farahany, what could get decoded from your brain is a very different thing.

“Everybody has something to hide when it comes to what’s in their brain. Not in the sense of like, you’re thinking about committing some horrible crime. But it is the space where you work out everything. And if you don’t have that space to work out everything, suddenly what it means to be human is fundamentally different.”

https://inquiring.show/episodes/400-the-perilous-combination-of-brain-wave-data-and-generative-ai

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Everything you need to know about that fusion breakthrough Apr 04, 2023

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Last December, a team of scientists made history by creating a fusion reaction that—for the first time ever—gave off more energy that it took to start. It’s a groundbreaking milestone.

We talked to two researchers who were part of that team—Sabrina Nagel and Matthias Hohenberger—about what exactly happened, why it’s been decades in the making, and why it’s such a big deal. This is everything you need to know about their team’s fusion breakthrough.

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Art can make you live longer Mar 22, 2023

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This week we talk to pioneering art & science researcher Susan Magsamen along with vice president of design for hardware products at Google, Ivy Ross, about their new book Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us.

While sometimes considered opposites, art and science are unequivocally linked in ways we’re still figuring out. Not only does our way of thinking and living impact our art, but art also has an impact on how we think and live.

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