The Most Important Question

Latest Episodes:

#52: What’s the Deal With the Green New Deal? Jan 29, 2019

Show notes

In Episode 52, Quinn & Brian ask (using their best Seinfeld impression): What’s the deal with the Green New Deal?

Our guest is Varshini Prakash, a founder of the Sunrise Movement, a veritable army of young folks fighting to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process. We think Varshini will be, no exaggeration, one of the most instrumental people in American politics (and for the future health of our planet) over the next couple years.

The Sunrise Movement’s army is comprised of ordinary people who are scared about what the climate crisis means for the people and places they love. They aren’t looking to the Left or the Right to solve the problem – they’re looking forward to unite millions of people and reclaim our democracy from the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executive and those who empower them. The cornerstone of this movement is the Green New Deal, a plan that will transform our economy and society at the scale needed to stop the climate crisis. So this summer, thousands of people from Sunrise will descend on one of the first Democratic Presidential debates to #ChangeTheDebate and make sure the #GreenNewDeal is a top issue in the 2020 election.

Like our friends Elsa Mengistu and Emelly Villa from episode 33, Varshini recognizes that #thisisZeroHour – and the Green New Deal is our chance to turn back the clock.

Trump’s Book Club:

Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther King Jr.

Links:

Learn more at https://www.sunrisemovement.org

Find or start a local Sunrise Hub: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/hubs

Donate to Sunrise: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dec-dc-action?refcode=website-top-button

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunrisemvmt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunrisemvmt

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt

Blueprint for the Green New Deal: http://ocasio2018.com/gnd

Check out https://5calls.org/

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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett

Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken

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#51: Are We Thinking About CRISPR All Wrong (& What the Hell is CRISPR)? Jan 22, 2019

Show notes

In Episode 51, Quinn & Brian ask: Are we thinking about CRISPR all wrong (and what the hell is CRISPR)?

Our guest is C. Brandon Ogbunu, an evolutionary systems biologist working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Brown University.

Although the title is different, his role is almost identical to Brian’s here at INI: He uses experimental evolution, mathematical modeling, and computational biology to better understand the underlying causes and consequences of disease, across scales: from the biophysics of proteins involved in drug resistance to the social determinants underlying disease.

In doing so, he aims to develop theory that enriches our understanding of the evolutionary and ecological underpinnings of disease, while contributing to practical solutions for clinical medicine and public health.

So, like Brian, it’s pretty apparent why C. Brandon is vital to the survival of our species. (The similarities are just uncanny, aren’t they?)

We’ve talked about CRISPR before on the show, but if you’re not familiar, here’s a brief and overly simplistic overview of this potentially world-changing technology: it’s scissors for DNA. It’s still a very young technology – it was only patented in 2012 – but it has the potential to do everything from eliminating genetic diseases from our lineage, to making our food supply more efficient and productive, to creating a real-life Jurassic Park. But what can’t we do with it – and perhaps more importantly, what shouldn’t we be doing with it? That’s what we’re going to find out today.

Trump’s Book Club:

From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America by Elizabeth Hinton

Links:

Learn more at https://vivo.brown.edu/display/cogbunug

Twitter: https://twitter.com/big_data_kane

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/big_data_kane/

Read C. Brandon’s writing: https://medium.com/ogplexus

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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett

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BEST OF 2018: New Antibiotics in a Post-Antibiotic Era Jan 15, 2019

Show notes

Back in Episode 19, Quinn & Brian asked: What’s the future of antibiotics?

To find out, we sat down with bowtie enthusiast and professor of pathology and immunology and biomedical engineering Dr. Gautam Dantas. Dr. Dantas leads the Dantas Lab at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, where they work at the interface of microbial genomics, ecology, synthetic biology, and systems biology, to understand, harness, and engineer the biochemical processing potential of microbial communities.

We had a lovely, not terrifying chat about designing new antibiotics in the post-antibiotic area. Topics covered include bacteria as the O.G., Thanos, precision medicine, cows, horror shows from the ancient past buried in ice cores, and your vote and where it should go. This was one of our favorite and most-downloaded episodes of all time, and we wanted to share it as we prepare for some exciting stuff to come in 2019.

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Trump’s Book Club:

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3

Links:

Dr. Gautam Dantas on Twitter: http://twitter.com/VolatileBug

Dantas Lab: http://www.dantaslab.org/

“Why Some Bacteria Eat Antibiotics,” NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/why-some-bacteria-eat-antibiotics-what-we-can-do-about-n870181

“Antibiotic Resistance is Ancient,” Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110831155334.htm

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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett

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Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters

BEST OF 2018: He’s Given 200+ Climate Speeches to Congress. What’s Next? Jan 08, 2019

Show notes

Back in Episode 26, Quinn & Brian asked: what drives a man to give 200 climate speeches to Congress?

Our guest was Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the junior senator from Rhode Island and all-around stellar human. He’s been a member of Congress since 2007 and he was just sworn in for his 3rd term – plus, he’s recently been moonlighting as some sort of Captain Planet figure.

We discuss his speeches, his future carbon bill, bi-partisanship, calling bullshit when we see it, Rhode Island’s fossil-fuel lawsuit, and so much more.

Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!

Trump’s Book Club:

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3

Links:

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SenWhitehouse

Sandra Thornton Whitehouse: https://www.oceancollectiv.co/sandra/

Republicans for Carbon Tax: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/science/a-conservative-climate-solution-republican-group-calls-for-carbon-tax.html

Resilient Rhody: https://www.ecori.org/climate-change/2018/7/6/b52i1qjgqsacdfh2l5z8rxjz8bd42m

Connect with us:

Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!

Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett

Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken

Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant

Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant

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Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters

BEST OF 2018: Is It Harder to Build Clean Power Plants or Play in a Reputable Cover Band? Jan 04, 2019

Show notes

Back in Episode 38, Quinn & Brian asked: Is it harder to build clean power plants or play in a reputable cover band?

Our guest Sean Casten then went on to win the election for congressman of Brian’s home district, Illinois’ 6th! There’s a little more hope in the world, so we want to re-introduce you to these kickass STEM politicians.

Sean is a scientist, clean energy entrepreneur, and cover band member who ran against Peter Roskam, who called climate change “junk science,” which is really all we needed to hear to know that Sean is the right man for Illinois’’ 6th district. Plus, Sean is backed by our friends at 314 Action, an incredible group of people who are smarter than us trying to get other people who are smarter than us elected. You can check out our previous episodes with 314 Action founder Shaughnessy Naughton (episode 35) and fellow Congressional candidates Chrissy Houlahan (episode 37) and Joseph Kopser (episode 32).

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Trump’s Book Club:

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents a Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss and Marlon Bundo: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3

Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/castenforcongress/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/votecasten

Support more candidates endorsed by 314: http://www.314action.org/endorsed-candidates-1/

Connect with us:

Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!

Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett

Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken

Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant

Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant

Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant

Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com

Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters

BEST OF 2018: Congress Got a Female Air Force Officer / Engineer / Chemistry Teacher / Mom Jan 03, 2019

Show notes

Back in Episode 37, Quinn & Brian asked: Why does Congress need a female Air Force Officer / Engineer / Chemistry Teacher / Mom among its ranks? We found out – and now our guest Chrissy Houlahan is the new congresswoman from Pennsylvania District 6! So we’re playing that episode again to celebrate. We dig into the very personal reasons she ran, what’s so special about Pennsylvania, and the first thing she’s going to do when she gets elected. Plus, how did she collect such an impressive list of bona fides? Chrissy was one of our featured conversations in partnership with 314 Action, an organization working hard to put STEM candidates in office. You can learn more about the organization in our interview with the founder, Shaughnessy Naughton, back in episode 35 and support them at 314action.org. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message! Trump’s Book Club: Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3 Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/HoulahanForPa Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoulahanForPA Support more candidates endorsed by 314: http://www.314action.org/endorsed-candidates-1/ Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters

#50: It’s Getting Hot in Here & America’s Poor are (Not Surprisingly) Dying Fastest Jan 01, 2019

Show notes

In Episode 50, Quinn & Brian discuss: How D.C. and LA are dealing with urban heat issues.

Our guests are Yesim Sayin Taylor and Molly Peterson. Yesim is the founding Executive Director of the D.C. Policy Center and Molly is a renowned reporter focusing on the environment and climate change (and our first returning guest!).

We all remember when Nelly said, “It’s getting hot in herre,” but not a lot of people remember the whole verse: “It’s getting hot in herre, so take off all your clothes / all of the poor minorities in America are suffering and dying before everybody else / Uh, uh, uh, let it hang all out.” But it’s a shame, really, because if we’d just paid more attention to Nelly’s important message back in 2002, maybe we wouldn’t be facing this problem today.

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Trump’s Book Club: The Old Man Who Read Love Stories by Luis Sepúlveda Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa by Jason Stearns

Links:

Learn more at https://www.dcpolicycenter.org

Yesim on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yesimsy

Check out https://pactio.us/host/molly-peterson

Molly on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mollydacious

Greater Greater Washington: https://ggwash.org

Connect with us:

Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!

Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett

Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken

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Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters

#49: How Can HUGE Food & Beverage Companies Contribute to a More Sustainable Future? Dec 25, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 49, Quinn & Brian ask: What can the HUGE food and beverage companies do, right now, to improve U.S. food systems and drive trends towards a more sustainable future?

It’s a big and complicated question, but our guest Jennifer Mleczko is going to share the one simple thing you can do to address all of it at once. Jennifer is a consultant at the World Bank focused on sustainable development, specifically agriculture and, even more specifically, livestock. There are environmental, social, economic, and political implications to the food systems we’ve created here in the United States; globalization, international trade, market consolidation, and the ways we produce food affects communities all around the globe. We aren’t always aware of how buying a package of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets from Walmart affects a small farm halfway across the country or the world, but every choice we make has consequences – and the more we work to bring awareness to these choices, the more we can do to transition to a more sustainable food system.

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Trump’s Book Club: The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry Links: Jennifer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennifermleczko Jennifer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermleczko/ Find Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) near you: https://www.localharvest.org/csa/ Find a Farmers’ Market near you: https://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/ Download the Seasonal Food Guide app: https://www.seasonalfoodguide.org/download-app Connect with us: Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com! Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters

#48: Why Does Childhood Cancer Exist & What Can We Do to Make It Go Away Forever? Dec 18, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 48, Quinn & Brian ask: Why the hell does childhood cancer exist, isn't the world effed up enough as it is, and what can we do to make it go away forever?

Our guest is one of our favorite humans, Jay Scott, Co-Executive Director of the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Jay runs the organization with his wife, Liz, in honor of their daughter Alex, who was diagnosed with cancer just two days before her first birthday. She set up a lemonade stand in their yard to help support her doctors and, before she died, she managed to raise more than $1 million. Since then, Alex’s Lemonade Stand has raised over $150 million and funded nearly 1,000 medical research grants for more than 135 institutions across the U.S. and Canada, and they’re not slowing down for a second.

This is an awesome, inspiring, and necessary conversation, but be warned: our keyboards are covered in salty man tears and your phone may get wet as well.

Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!

Trump’s Book Club: Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3

Links:

Support ALSF: https://www.alexslemonade.org/donate

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexslemonade/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexslemonade

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexsLemonade

Host an event: https://www.alexslemonade.org/campaign/individuals-families?gclid=CjwKCAiAo8jgBRAVEiwAJUXKqBx6zZOMypRtjWtfenqvysIvRFhjTFzVPu6btuYC2ZYKXkB2oYZwohoCP90QAvD_BwE

Connect with us:

Subscribe to our newsletter at http://www.ImportantNotImportant.com!

Intro/outro by Tim Blane: http://www.timblane.com

Follow Quinn: http://www.twitter.com/quinnemmett

Follow Brian: http://www.twitter.com/briancolbertken

Like and share us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant

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Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters

#47: The Future of Digital Health, Part 2: America’s Data Dec 11, 2018

Show notes

In Episode 47, Quinn goes solo for a minute to discuss: America’s data and the future of digital health. Quinn sits down for a one-on-one chat with Dave Gershgorn, the lead artificial intelligence reporter at Quartz (AKA qz.com), to figure out why our data is different, how the future we were promised is both here and pretty damn far away, and whether/why data is too white. The worlds of healthcare and artificial intelligence are looking – big surprise – really biased right now, but with some effort, we can get to the colorful and diverse future of digital health we talked about with Dr. Indra Joshi and Maxine Mackintosh back in episode 43.

Today, Dave provides some journalist-approved action steps that will help us get a little more informed on the subject so that we can all help make that future our reality.

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Trump’s Book Club: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

Links: Read Dave’s work: https://qz.com/author/dgershgornqz/

Twitter: @davegershgorn

Dave’s Machine Learning Twitter List: https://twitter.com/davegershgorn/lists/machine-learning

“If AI is going to be the world’s doctor, it needs better textbooks” Machines of Loving Grace: The Quest for Common Ground Between Humans and Robots by John Markoff

AI Now Institute: https://ainowinstitute.org/

Data & Society: https://datasociety.net/

“A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence”

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Intro/outro by Tim Blane

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