2021 Wrap-Up

2021 Wrap-Up

Author: Indre Viskontas December 28, 2021 Duration: 27:02
In this last episode of 2021, Adam Bristol joins Indre to talk about the major highlights of 2021, one being the journey through COVID.  They map out the key episodes of Inquiring Minds throughout 2021, talk through their personal highlights, and recommend books to read. Recapping episodes touching on the history of quarantine, food and science, the interaction between nature and humans, and quantitative approaches to human dating, today’s episode wraps up 2021 in a neat bow, providing an excellent springboard to even more entertaining and informative shows in the coming year.   Show Links: Inquiring Minds Podcast Homepage Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds See https://omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information. How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes: Science-Based Strategies for Better Parenting--from Tots to Teens Project Hail Mary: A Novel  A (Very) Short History of Life On EarthSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

Hosted by neuroscientist and communicator Indre Viskontas, Inquiring Minds digs into the questions that shape our lives, where hard data meets human experience. This isn't just about lab results or abstract theories; it's about how scientific thinking directly influences our culture, our social structures, and the daily choices we all face. Every episode is a deep, thoughtful conversation that starts with curiosity and follows the evidence wherever it leads. You'll hear from researchers, thinkers, and sometimes skeptics, all in service of untangling complex issues with clarity and nuance. The goal is to move beyond headlines and hype to examine what we really know, what remains a mystery, and how that knowledge empowers us. Tuning into this podcast means joining a community that values rigor and open-minded inquiry, recognizing that understanding the mechanisms of our world is the first step toward navigating it more thoughtfully. It's for anyone who has ever wondered how science actually informs policy, art, relationships, and our sense of self, presented not as a lecture but as an engaging, ongoing exploration.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Inquiring Minds
Podcast Episodes
The Science of Allergies and Why We Have Them [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:29
This week we talk to medical anthropologist and science writer Theresa MacPhail about her new book Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World.
How You Could Have Survived History’s Disasters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:55
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.
How to Stop Your Brain from Falling for Lies [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:08
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.
How Society Created “You” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:12
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 cr…
The Science of Silo with Hugh Howey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:07
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.
Improbable Experiments That Changed the World [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:12
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.
The Perilous Combination of Brain Wave Data and Generative AI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:18
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…
Everything you need to know about that fusion breakthrough [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:30
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 we…
Art can make you live longer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:08
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. Wh…