Science

Encore: How the Nuclear Bomb Came to Be

Richard Rhodes won a Pulitzer Prize for his definitive book on the development of nuclear weapons called “The Making of the Atomic Bomb.” It’s one of 26 books he’s written, several of them focused on the world in the nuclear age. He joins Tim to talk about the wartime effort that changed everything, The Manhattan Project. This Encore Episode was first released November 4, 2019.

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Barry Schwartz: Freedom and Choice

Psychologist, author, researcher and professor Barry Schwartz joins Tim to talk about his landmark book called Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. While Barry has written several books and is a popular public speaker, this book is about how having more choice may not be all it’s cracked up to be. In this episode, he discusses the balance between having the freedom of choice and the potential to be held captive by having too much choice.

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Megan Bruck Syal: Incoming! Can We Really Intercept Asteroids?

Dr. Megan Bruck Syal joins Tim to talk about something that until now was just the stuff of science fiction and Hollywood movies…defending Earth against deadly collisions with asteroids and comets. Megan is a planetary defense investigator at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She and a large team of scientific experts are actively working to establish ways to prevent an asteroid from making impact with earth and threatening life as we know it.

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Transplant Surgeon: Doctor of Second Chances

Dr. David Weill joins Tim to talk about those life-saving transplant surgeries, the patients, the system for care and the challenges it faces, and what it’s like to be a doctor of second chances. Dr. Weill was the Director of the Center for Advanced Lung Disease, and the Lung Transplant Program at Stanford. Today he operates the Weill Consulting Group, where he focuses on improving the delivery of transplant care.

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Space: The Search for Intelligent Life

Seth Shostak joins Tim to talk about the serious scientific search for intelligent life beyond Earth.  Seth is the senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, which was created by NASA and is located in Silicon Valley. It is dedicated to the search for life beyond Earth. In this episode, Seth talks about what we’re learning about the potential for finding intelligent life, not only within our solar system, but well beyond it.

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Dr. James Fallon on The Psychopath Next Door

Author and neuroscientist Dr. James Fallon joins Tim to talk about the dark side of the human brain and how common psychopathy may really be throughout society. And his story has a twist. Dr. Fallon is a neuroscientist, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior, and an author of the book, “The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist’s Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain.”

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Revealing the Secrets of Mars

NASA’s Chief Scientist Dr. Jim Green joins Tim to talk about big plans for the red planet, Mars. Jim has had a long and distinguished career on some of the agency’s major research projects and missions that have explored the rest of our solar system, from Mars to Pluto. In this episode, Jim gets into detail on what we have learned, can learn and will learn from Earth’s nextdoor neighbor. He uncovers some of the secrets of Mars.

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The Baby Story

Dr. Lori Buzzetti joins Tim to talk about one of the most magical stories of all time, one we all think we know, but it’s amazing what we don’t. Lori is a board-certified physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She has served in private practice, and at a large medical center, where she was on the teaching faculty. Today, she is the founder and president of a nonprofit organization that serves expectant mothers called So Big. In this episode we’re going to talk about one of the most basic questions you can think of. What actually happens in those nine months before we meet our babies?

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Dr. Judy Ho: Social Media & Mental Health

Dr. Judy Ho joins Tim to talk about something that could affect all of us: social media and mental health.  You may have seen her on the TV show called The Doctors, or on the CBS TV network’s Face the Truth. Or, you may have listened to her podcast called Supercharged Life. Judy is a licensed and triple-board certified Clinical and Forensic Neuropsychologist, she’s an author, and she’s a professor at Pepperdine University.

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Big Pharma: How it Got this Way

Author and investigative journalist Gerald Posner joins Tim to talk about his new book that traces the pharmaceutical industry back to its roots and takes a hard look at just how medical drugs have become one of the most powerful industries in the nation. His book is called, “Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America.”  In this episode, Gerald details the pharmaceutical industry’s origins, how it became a marketing machine, and the current state of the industry and its relationship with society.

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Do Political Campaigns Really Change Voters’ Minds?

Author and cognitive scientist Hugo Mercier joins Tim to talk about an article he wrote for the Wall Street Journal where he sheds light on research that answers the question: “Do political campaigns change voters’ minds?” Hugo is the author of, “Not Born Yesterday: The Science of Who We Trust and What We Believe.”

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Building The Bomb

Richard Rhodes won a Pulitzer Prize for his definitive book on the development of nuclear weapons called “The Making of the Atomic Bomb.” It’s one of 26 books he’s written, several of them focused on the world in the nuclear age. He joins Tim to talk about the wartime effort that changed everything, The Manhattan Project.

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The VA Discovers the Healing Power of Story

Thor Ringler joins Tim to talk about an effort by the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs to tap the power of narrative medicine. Thor is a writer and a poet with a special background that has placed him at the center of an effort at the VA health system to see patients as more than a number, a condition, a chart. But rather as people, each with his or her own story.

 

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Some Angels Don’t Have Wings

John Chamberlin joins Tim to talk about something we may take for granted, that is until we need it. It’s the story behind those helicopters that swoop in to take critically injured or sick people to the hospital care needed to save their lives. John is a co-host at the popular Pittsburgh podcast called YaJagoff, and over the years has served as an emergency medical responder. He remains an active advocate for that community.  In short, this episode is about hope that didn’t exist before, all thanks to a wingless aircraft.

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The Nobel Prize: Directing Evolution

Nobel Prize recipient Frances Arnold joins Tim to talk about winning a Nobel Prize honor for her pioneering work in “directed evolution,” which harnesses the power of evolution to enhance products throughout society – from biofuels and pharmaceuticals, to agriculture, chemicals, paper products and more. We talk with Frances about her journey and her work that is changing the world for the better.

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