Big Brains
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.
Are Your Medications Safe And Effective?, with Jerry Avorn

For a more than a century, the Food and Drug Administration has worked to protect public health. In his research, Harvard University physician-researcher Jerry Avorn has examined how the FDAâs once-rigorous gold standard approval process has been affected by a powerful shortcut known as the Accelerated Approval Programâoriginally designed for desperate AIDS and cancer patients. He says that change in the 1990s has allowed more than half of all new drugs onto the market before drug companies have proven they actually help people.
In his new book Rethinking Medications: Truth, Power and the Drugs We Take...
Are We Making AI Too Human?, with James Evans

Prof. James Evans, a University of Chicago sociologist and data scientist, believes weâre training AI to think too much like humansâand itâs holding science back.
In this episode, Evans shares how our current models risk narrowing scientific exploration rather than expanding it, and explains why heâs pushing for AIs that think differently from usâwhat he calls âcognitive aliens.â Could these âalien mindsâ help us unlock hidden breakthroughs? And what would it take to build them?
Inside The Disease That Changes Your Personality, with Bruce Miller

When someone we know or love starts to develop psychological issues, we don't often associate it with a form of dementia. However, this trait is one of the most common signs of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) â the most common neurodegenerative disease in people under the age of 65. In his new book, Mysteries of the Social Brain: Understanding Human Behavior Through Science, Dr. Bruce Miller highlights his experiences observing people with FTD and what they have taught him about what he calls the "social brain."
Dr. Bruce Miller has been observing people with FTD for decades in the Memory an...
Meet The âPlanet Hunterâ Searching For Alien Life, with Jacob Bean

The search for life beyond Earth is no longer science fictionâit takes a lot of data, powerful telescopes and a bit of cosmic detective work. And at the center of this search is University of Chicago astrophysicist Jacob Bean. Bean was part of the team that made history by detecting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a distant planet using the James Webb Space Telescopeâa major step forward in our ability to study exoplanets.
Bean uses cutting-edge tools and discoveries that are reshaping how we think about planet habitability, biosignatures and our place in the univ...
How To Stop Gun Violence Before It Starts, with Jens Ludwig

Despite decades of policy ideas, pouring millions of dollars into the problem, and a slow pace of gun control measures, the United States hasnât made much progress on curbing the epidemic of gun violence in our country.
For the past 25 years, Prof. Jens Ludwig of the University of Chicago has examined the questions of: Why does gun violence happen, and is there anything we can do about it?
In his new book, Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence, Ludwigâwho is director of the University of Chicago Crime Labâdiscusses why we've...
Can Your DNA Predict Your Future?, with Dalton Conley

What if a single number, derived from your DNA, could predict your income, education level or even who you're likely to marry? In his new book âThe Social Genome,â Princeton University sociologist Dalton Conley explores the science behind how our genes are shaping our society in ways that are both profound and unsettling.
Conley explains how our genes, and the genes of those around us, are influencing our lives in ways we barely understandâfrom fertility clinics selecting embryos based on genetic traits to the rise of âgenetic sortingâ in everything from dating to zip codes. He also debun...
Can You Really Die of a Broken Heart? The Hidden Dangers of Grief, with Mary Frances O'Connor

When we lose someone, we love, we often say we have a broken heartâbut what if thatâs not just a metaphor?
In her new book âThe Grieving Body: How The Stress of Loss Can Be An Opportunity For Healingâ University of Arizona Professor of Psychology Mary Frances OâConnor shares groundbreaking insights into the biological and physiological impacts grief has on our bodies. OâConnor reveals how profound loss can lead to serious medical conditions, from heart attacks to immune system breakdowns, and explains why grieving can make us more vulnerable to diseases like cancer, pneumonia, a...
The Science Behind Raising Successful Kids, with Ariel Kalil

New federal data paints a stark picture: American children are falling behind in reading and test scores, with the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged kids growing wider. But is this really just a problem of money? University of Chicago Developmental psychologist Ariel Kalil has spent her career studying how parents influence childhood developmentânot just through resources, but through daily habits and interactions.
On this episode, we explore the surprising science behind parental engagement, the behavioral biases that shape parenting decisions, and why simple interventionsâlike 15 minutes of reading a dayâcan have an outsized impact. Plus, we dis...
Do Animals Understand Death?, with Susana MonsĂł

What does it mean to understand death? For centuries, philosophers have argued that only humans can truly comprehend mortality. But what if theyâre wrong?
In this episode, we speak with philosopher Susana MonsĂł, author of Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death, to explore whether animals can grasp their own mortality. From grieving elephants to corpse-removing ants and possums that play dead, we investigate what animal behavior reveals about their concept of death. Do dogs understand when their owners pass away? Do predators recognize a corpse as different from prey? And what does this mean for how we...
Why Measles Is ResurgingâAnd The Rise Of Vaccine Hesitancy, with Adam Ratner

In 2000, the United States declared that measles had been eliminated. But just 15 years later, the disease made a comebackâand it hasnât gone away since. In this episode, Dr. Adam Ratner, director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at NYU and author of Booster Shots: The Urgent Lessons of Measles and the Uncertain Future of Children's Health, explains why measles outbreaks are occurring againâas vaccine hesitancy and the antivax movement is on the riseâand what this means for the future of childrenâs health.
Ratner describes why measles is the most contagious disease we know of...
The Little-Known Secrets To A Good Life, with Shigehiro Oishi

What makes a good life? For decades, psychologists have debated whether true fulfillment comes from happinessâa life of comfort and joyâor meaningâa life of purpose and impact. But what if there's a third way?
University of Chicago psychology professor Shigehiro Oishi has spent his career studying happiness, meaning, and what truly brings people deep satisfaction. His new research suggests that some of the most fulfilled people donât prioritize eitherâthey live psychologically rich lives, full of novelty, challenges, and transformative experiences.
In this episode, Oishi explains why psychological richness might be the missin...
How Bioelectronics Could Heal Our Bodies And Minds, with Bozhi Tian

Imagine a future in which Band-Aids talk to your cells, pacemakers are powered by light and your gut microbiome gets a tune-upâall thanks to tiny bioelectric devices. Sounds like sci-fi, right? Think again.
Prof. Bozhi Tian of the University of Chicago is on the frontier of bioelectronics, building living machines that can heal, enhance and maybe even transform what it means to be human. In this episode, he explains his research labâs work and explores the thrilling, strange and sometimes unsettling world in which biology meets technology.
Could A Fungal Pandemic Be âThe Last of Us?", with Arturo Casadevall

Five years after COVID became a global pandemic, could another health crisis be on our horizon? According to scientists who study diseases, the possibility of a fungal pandemicâthe subject of science fiction TV shows like âThe Last of Us,â could be more of a reality, thanks to climate change and our warming planet. As fungi are adapting to warmer climates, they are becoming increasingly stronger and more resistant against the drugs we have to fight them.
Arturo Casadevall is one of the scientists who is warning against fungi's powerful potential. He's a professor of microbiology and immuno...
The "Magic Words" That Turn Resolutions Into Reality
As we step into 2025, many of us are thinking about how to turn our New Year's resolutions into lasting changes. But what if the secret to success lies not in willpower but in the words we use every day? To kick off the year, weâre sharing our past episode with Jonah Berger, a professor at The Wharton School and author of Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way.
In this episode, Berger uncovers the science behind the language we use and how it shapes our habits, decisions, and relationships. From simple word swaps that ca...
Whatâs The Truth About Alcoholâs Benefits And Risks? with Tim Stockwell

We have long heard the claims that a glass of red wine is good for your heart, but it turns out that the research that fueled this wisdom was actually skewed. Some studies made it appear like moderate drinkers were healthier than people who didn't drink at all, leading the public to believe that alcohol was healthier than it is. While drinking alcohol occasionally might not have catastrophic effects on your health, the data shows that even moderate drinking will reduce your life expectancy.
In this episode, we speak with Tim Stockwell, a scientist at the Canadian...
What Happens When We Die? with Sam Parnia

For centuries, death has been seen as a final, inescapable lineâa moment when the heart stops and the brain ceases to function. But revolutionary research asks: What if everything we thought we knew about death was wrong?
Sam Parnia, an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone, is the author of Lucid Dying: The New Science Revolutionizing How We Understand Life and Death. His groundbreaking work explores how science is pushing the boundaries of life and death, uncovering the potential to resuscitate animalsâand maybe one day humansâafter they've been declared dead. From recalling experiences of con...
The Illusion of Moral Decline
This yearâs election might have been the most contentious in modern memory. It's not just that politics have changed, but it seems that people have too. Youâve probably heard this phrase: âPeople arenât as kind as they used to beâ. Maybe youâve experienced the feeling that people are acting meaner to each other, year after year. But is it true? Are people really less kind than they used to be?
With that question in mind, and as we take some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday, we wanted to reshare our episode with psychologist...
Can We Predict The Unpredictable? with J. Doyne Farmer

What if we could predict the economy the way we predict the weather? What if governments could run simulations to forecast the effects of new policiesâbefore they happen? And what if the key to all of this lies in the same chaotic systems that explain spinning roulette wheels and rolling dice?
J. Doyne Farmer is a University of Oxford professor, complexity scientist, and former physicist who once beat Las Vegas casinos using his scientific-based methods. In his recent book âMaking Sense of Chaos: A Better Economics for a Better Worldâ Farmer is using those same principles to bui...
Unlocking The Secrets Of âSuperAgersâ, with Emily Rogalski

https://haarc.center.uchicago.edu/We used to think aging inevitably led to memory loss, but a small group of peopleâknown as SuperAgersâare defying the odds. These individuals, all over 80, have the memory performance of someone in the 50s. The question is: how?
One of the leading experts studying SuperAgers is University of Chicago neurologist Emily Rogalski. She explores the fascinating science behind SuperAgersâuncovering what makes their physical brains different and how their lifestyle choices could be the key to a having a sharper, healthier brain well into old age.
2024 Nobel Laureate Explains What Makes Countries Fail Or Succeed, with James A. Robinson

On Big Brains, we get to speak to a lot of groundbreaking scholars and experts, but some conversations we walk away knowing weâve just heard from someone who is really changing the world. We certainly felt that way years ago after talking to University of Chicago scholar James Robinson, and it turns outâŚthe Nobel Prize committee agreed in 2024 when it awarded him a share of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Robinson was honored for the exact work that we talked to him about nearly five years ago. The auth...
Why Canât Scientists Agree On The Age Of The Universe? with Wendy Freedman

How old is the universeâand how fast is it expanding? These are part of one of the biggestâand most contestedâquestions in science, and the answers could change our understanding of physics.
In this episode, we talk with renowned UChicago astronomer Wendy Freedman, whoâs spent decades trying to solve these very questions. There are two ways to measure how fast the universe is expanding, also known as the Hubble constant; Freedman has done groundbreaking research to calculate this number using stars, but the problem is, her numbers donât match up with scientists using a differen...
What Are We Getting Wrong About Young Voters?, with Cathy Cohen

One of the biggest questions of every election is: Whatâs going on with young voters? There is endless speculation on the news about what young people care about, but very little good research examining their views on the candidates and the issues that matter most to them. The first-of-its-kind GenForward Survey changed that when it was created in 2016 at the University of Chicago.
Led by renowned University of Chicago political scientist Cathy Cohen, the survey digs into what is animating young votersâespecially young voters of color who are millennials and in Generation Zâand what they t...
Why Are More Women Saying No To Having Kids? With Peggy O'Donnell Heffington

More and more women in the United States are saying no to motherhood. Alarmingly, in 2023, the U.S. fertility rate reached the lowest number on record. But the idea of non-motherhood is actually not a new phenomenon, nor did it come out of the modern feminist movement. For centuries, women have made choices about limiting births and whether or not to become mothers at all. This history is documented in a new book, "Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother," by University of Chicago Assistant Instructional Professor Peggy O'Donnell Heffington.
Heffington writes about the...
How Homeownership Shaped Race In America, with Adrienne Brown

Race has played a huge role in the creation of mass homeownership in the United States. Discriminatory housing practices including redlining, exclusionary zoning and whitewashing led to great disparities in home ownership among White and Black homeowners. Despite the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, the damage had been done to communities of color and the rates of Black homeownership.
Mass homeownership actually changed the definition, perception and value of race, according to a new book called The Residential is Racial: A Perceptual History of Mass Homeownership. In it, University of Chicago scholar Adrienne Brown documents...
Fighting Back Against AI Piracy, with Ben Zhao and Heather Zheng

If youâve spent any time playing with modern AI image generators, it can seem like an almost magical experience; but the truth is these programs are more like a magic trick than magic. Without the human-generated art of hundreds of thousands of people, these programs wouldnât work. But those artists are not getting compensated, in fact many of them are being put out of business by the very programs their work helped create.
Now, two computer scientists from the University of Chicago, Ben Zhao and Heather Zheng, are fighting back. Theyâve developed two programs, called...
The Bioelectric Future of Regenerative Medicine

In the near future, birth defects, traumatic injuries, limb loss and perhaps even cancer could be cured through bioelectricityâelectrical signals that communicate to our cells how to rebuild themselves. This innovative idea has been tested on flatworms and frogs by biologist Michael Levin, whose research investigates how bioelectricity provides the blueprint for how our bodies are builtâand how it could be the future of regenerative medicine.
Our podcast is taking a quick summer break, but we wanted to take this time to share some of our favorite episodes with you. One of the most fascinating topi...
Is Mindfulness The Secret To Health?

Can you heal faster just by tricking your brain? Could you lose weight with only a change of mindset? Could you think yourself into being younger? If you think the answer to all these questions is no, you havenât read the research from renowned Harvard University psychologist Ellen Langer.
Our podcast is taking a quick summer break, but we wanted to take this time to share some of our favorite episodes with you. The summer is a perfect time to take a step back, evaluate where we are in our lives, and perhaps even create new he...
Feeling Stuck? Hereâs How To Achieve a Breakthrough, with Adam Alter

We've all been stuck at some point in our lives â whether we've been stuck at a job and wanting to make a career change, stuck in a location and wanting to move somewhere new, or stuck in relationships or friendships. But the method to getting âunstuckâ and achieving a breakthrough might be easier than you think.
Using research-backed tools, New York University's Adam Alter shares his tips for how to get unstuck in his new book, Anatomy of a Breakthrough. Alter shares success stories from some of the world's most successful people, and explains how altering your though...
What Makes Something Memorable (or Forgettable?) with Wilma Bainbridge

There is a science to what we remember and what we don't. For instance, why do we remember certain pieces of artwork, some brandsâ logos, or even people's faces? University of Chicago psychologist Wilma Bainbridge has been studying what makes things memorable for over a decade. Through her research, she has found that there is a common thread about what most people rememberâand even what we remember incorrectly (a phenomenon called the Mandela effect)âbut most recently, why some visuals are intrinsically more memorable.
Bainbridge directs the Brain Bridge Lab, where her team has created a machine l...
Learning To Speak To Whales Using AI, with David Gruber

If aliens landed on Earth tomorrow, how would we talk with them? Well, we already have a kind of creature on this planet we could attempt to talk to first, and in the last few years a team of renowned scientists have been exploring the ocean studying sperm whales to get that conversation going.
David Gruber is a professor of biology and environmental science at CUNY and the founder of Project CETI, an interdisciplinary scientific initiative that is using the latest developments in AI to understand, and possibly communicate with, sperm whales. The day when we break the...
Storm Warning: Why Hurricanes Are Growing Beyond Measure, with Michael Wehner

We all know that extreme weather events like hurricanes are getting worse due to climate change, but what scientists would really like to know is: By how much worse exactly? This year a team of researchers argued that hurricanes have become so much more extreme due to climate change that we need to add a new category 6 to the Saffir-Simpson scale, which measures the wind speed of hurricanes.
One of those scientists was Michael Wehner from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Using the latest and fastest computers to model how a warming world is reshaping extreme weather events...
How To Manifest Your Future Using Neuroscience, with James Doty

We've all heard the phrase "Manifest Your Destiny" when it comes to wanting that new promotion, figuring out a new career path or just trying to achieve that long-term goal. It turns out that the act of manifestation is not merely pseudoscienceâit actually has a body of research in neuroscience to back it up. Dr. James Doty has been exploring this topic throughout his career; and offers scientific research as well as tools on how to manifest your goals in his new book, Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything.
James Doty is...
Why We DieâAnd How We Can Live Longer, with Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan

Theyâre perhaps the oldest questions in the science: Why do we die? And could we find a way to live forever? But for decades, anti-aging research was a âbackwaterâ of the scientific community, consider too fanciful and unrealistic. That is until the last few years. Modern advances in biology have taught us a lot about how we age and why we dieâcould that knowledge help us turn back the clock?
In his new book, âWhy We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortalityâ, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Venki Ramakrishnan delves into the latest scien...
What Dogs Are Teaching Us About Aging, with Daniel Promislow

Every dog owner has faced the hard realization that their dog wonât live as long as they do, but weâve all probably wondered: Why do some dogs live longer than others? It turns out that several factors are at play, according to the largest research study of dogs, known as The Dog Aging Project.
Prof. Daniel Promislow of the University of Washington is co-director of the project, which examines how biology, lifestyle and environment can increase both the health and lifespan of more than 50,000 dogs. We spoke with Promislow about whether we can help our dogs...
Where Has Alzheimerâs Research Gone Wrong? with Karl Herrup

For more than a century, scientists have been studying Alzheimerâs disease and developing theories about its underlying cause. The leading theory for decades has been that abnormal amyloid plaques in the brains of those who suffer from the disease are the central cause. But, according one renowned Alzheimerâs researcher, this myopic focus is not only flawed, but may be holding back our search for a cure.Â
Neurobiologist Karl Herrup argues that we need to go back to the drawing board, redefine the disease and understand the many factors that could cause it before we can race for...
Why Breeding Millions of Mosquitoes Could Help Save Lives, With Scott O'Neill

Mosquito-borne diseases are one of the greatest global health threats, infecting around 700 million people every year with Zika virus, dengue fever, malaria and yellow fever â which can all be deadly if left untreated. Unfortunately, the mosquito population is not slowing down, and factors like climate change and increased global travel are broadening the mosquito's range. The effort to stop the mosquito is not an easy task; insecticides and vaccines can't completely stop the spread of these diseases. But instead of trying to kill mosquitoes, one nonprofit is taking a unique approach.
Scientist Scott O'Neill is founder and CE...
Why Shaming Other Countries Often Backfires, with Rochelle Terman

How do you stop a government from continuing to commit human rights abuses? You could take them to an international court of justice, or file a complaint at the UN. But none of those bodies have any enforcement power. Short of going to war, the only option on the table in most international situations is to name and shame. But is that strategy effective?
In her new book, âThe Geopolitics of Shaming: When Human Rights Pressure Works and When It Backfires,â University of Chicago political scientist Rochelle Terman argues that there is a real dilemma to international huma...
Can Trump Legally Be President?, with William Baude

The Supreme Courtâs decision on whether Colorado can take former President Donald Trump off the ballot in the 2024 election may be one of the most consequential in its history. The case will turn on the courtâs interpretation of Amendment 14, Section 3 of the Constitution, which bars any previous elected official from holding office if they participated in an insurrection. When making their case, Colorado followed the logic of a law review article co-authored last year by University of Chicago Prof. William Baude. The article drew a ton of attention, in part because Baude is a conservative legal scholar and member...
What Our Hand Gestures Reveal About Our Thoughts, with Susan Goldin-Meadow

Language shapes our world. But when we speak, there is actually a secret conversation happening beyond our words. Itâs happening not with our mouthsâbut with our hands.
Prof. Susan Goldin-Meadow is a distinguished scholar of psychology at the University of Chicago. Her research into deaf children who were never taught sign language led her to studying why the gestures we do all day may contain more information about our minds than we realize. Now sheâs included all her insights in a new book, âThinking With Your HandsâThe Surprising Science Behind How Gestures Shape Our Thoughts...
Psychedelics Without Hallucinations: A New Mental Health Treatment? with David E. Olson

The United States is facing a real mental health crisis. In the last few years, one possible treatment has gotten a lot of press: psychedelic drugs. But what is actually happening in a personâs brain when they take a psychedelic? Could understanding the biology and the chemistry allow us to make better and safer versions of these drugsâand maybe even create psychedelics without the hallucinations?
In this episode, we speak with Assoc. Prof. David E. Olson, founding director of the UC Davis Institute of Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics. Olson and his lab have been researching the ther...