The show, episode by episode

Big Brains

University of Chicago Podcast Network

Big Brains explores the groundbreaking research and discoveries that are changing our world. In each episode, we talk to leading experts and unpack their work in straightforward terms. Interesting conversations that cover a gamut of topics from how music affects our brains to what happens after we die.

225 episodes tracked Similar shows

Big Brains

Recreating A Sense of Touch, Using Our Minds, with Nicholas Hatsopoulos

Why The Key to Treating Cancer May Be In Your Gut, with Thomas Gajewski

The Little-Known Secrets To A Good Life, with Shigehiro Oishi

How to Use Nature to Restore Your Focus, with Marc Berman

How to Raise Kids in the Age of AI, with Dana Suskind

What Our Trash Problem Says About Our Culture, with Sarah Newman

How Websites Trick You Using ‘Dark Patterns’ with Marshini Chetty

Quantum Technology, Explained: A Big Brains Live Event

Our Untapped Superpower: Connecting With Others, with Nicholas Epley

Why the Fed Matters Now More Than Ever, with Douglas Diamond

Anxious? Avoidant? How to Build More Secure Relationships

Could AI Models Forecast Extreme Weather Events? with Pedram Hassanzadeh

Are Judges Too Powerful? The Rise of Universal Injunctions, with Samuel Bray

Could Data Centers Break Our Power Grid? with Andrew Chien

Remarkable New Treatments for Spinal Cord Injuries, with Mohamad Bydon

Can You Improve Your Working Memory and Attention? with Edward Awh

Why Knowing Your True Self Is So Difficult, with Eric Oliver

The Breakthrough Quantum Sensor That Sees Inside Your Cells, with Peter Maurer

How to Manifest Your Destiny with the Late James Doty

What Makes Music Go Viral—From AI to Taylor Swift

How Wearable Tech Will Heighten Our Senses and Abilities, with Pedro Lopes

Why Are More Women Saying No To Having Kids? With Peggy O'Donnell Heffington

How Full-Body MRIs Could Predict Your Long-Term Health, with Daniel Sodickson

Is There Such A Thing As A Psychopath?

Why We Haven’t Solved Brain Disorders—And How To Fix It, with Nicole Rust

Life On Mars: Is It Possible For Humans? with Edwin Kite

How To Use Nature To Restore Your Focus, with Marc Berman

Could Plants Unlock Quantum Medicine’s Potential? with Greg Engel

How Microplastics Are Invading Our Bodies, with Matthew Campen

Why We Get Stuck—And How to Finally Move Forward

Inside the AI Debate: Hope, Hype, Or Harm? A Big Brains Panel Weighs In

Are Your Medications Safe And Effective?, with Jerry Avorn

Are We Making AI Too Human?, with James Evans

Inside The Disease That Changes Your Personality, with Bruce Miller

Meet The ‘Planet Hunter’ Searching For Alien Life, with Jacob Bean

How To Stop Gun Violence Before It Starts, with Jens Ludwig

Can Your DNA Predict Your Future?, with Dalton Conley

Can You Really Die of a Broken Heart? The Hidden Dangers of Grief, with Mary Frances O'Connor

The Science Behind Raising Successful Kids, with Ariel Kalil

Do Animals Understand Death?, with Susana Monsó

Why Measles Is Resurging—And The Rise Of Vaccine Hesitancy, with Adam Ratner

The Little-Known Secrets To A Good Life, with Shigehiro Oishi

How Bioelectronics Could Heal Our Bodies And Minds, with Bozhi Tian

Could A Fungal Pandemic Be “The Last of Us?", with Arturo Casadevall

The "Magic Words" That Turn Resolutions Into Reality

What’s The Truth About Alcohol’s Benefits And Risks? with Tim Stockwell

What Happens When We Die? with Sam Parnia

The Illusion of Moral Decline

Can We Predict The Unpredictable? with J. Doyne Farmer

Unlocking The Secrets Of ‘SuperAgers’, with Emily Rogalski

2024 Nobel Laureate Explains What Makes Countries Fail Or Succeed, with James A. Robinson

Why Can’t Scientists Agree On The Age Of The Universe? with Wendy Freedman

What Are We Getting Wrong About Young Voters?, with Cathy Cohen

Why Are More Women Saying No To Having Kids? With Peggy O'Donnell Heffington

How Homeownership Shaped Race In America, with Adrienne Brown

Fighting Back Against AI Piracy, with Ben Zhao and Heather Zheng

The Bioelectric Future of Regenerative Medicine

Is Mindfulness The Secret To Health?

Feeling Stuck? Here’s How To Achieve a Breakthrough, with Adam Alter

What Makes Something Memorable (or Forgettable?) with Wilma Bainbridge

Learning To Speak To Whales Using AI, with David Gruber

Storm Warning: Why Hurricanes Are Growing Beyond Measure, with Michael Wehner

How To Manifest Your Future Using Neuroscience, with James Doty

Why We Die—And How We Can Live Longer, with Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan

What Dogs Are Teaching Us About Aging, with Daniel Promislow

Where Has Alzheimer’s Research Gone Wrong? with Karl Herrup

Why Breeding Millions of Mosquitoes Could Help Save Lives, With Scott O'Neill

Why Shaming Other Countries Often Backfires, with Rochelle Terman

Can Trump Legally Be President?, with William Baude

What Our Hand Gestures Reveal About Our Thoughts, with Susan Goldin-Meadow

Psychedelics Without Hallucinations: A New Mental Health Treatment? with David E. Olson

The Science Of Happiness

Do We Really Have Free Will? With Robert Sapolsky

A Radical Solution To Address Climate Change, with David Keith

How PFAS “Forever Chemicals” Are Harming Our Health, with Linda Birnbaum

Are We Worse People Than We Used To Be? With Adam Mastroianni

Freakonomics’ Steven Levitt On The Secret To Making Tough Choices

Will Political Violence Destroy Our Democracy?, With Robert Pape

Defending Campus Free Speech In A Polarized Age, with Paul Alivisatos and Tom Ginsburg