Big Brains

Reading is one of the most significant practices in the modern age of information, but it has a complicated history. Scientists began studying reading over a century ago; they built eye movement devices to study how fast and efficiently we read, and even proposed methods on the best ways to teach kids how to read. But all of this well-intentioned science led to various debates, from America's Reading Wars to today's anti-elite and anti-science movement.

In a new book,The Science of Reading: Information, Media, and Mind in Modern America, Prof. Adrian Johns, chair of the Department of History at the University of Chicago, dives into reading's complicated history and what we can learn from it to better shape the future of reading.

One of the first areas to be affected by AI has been science. Researchers have already started to integrate these new technologies into their work, but what does it mean to let these systems into our labs? Can they be trusted? And, if they so, how radically can they push science forward?

Prof. Rebecca Willett is the faculty director of AI at the University of Chicago Data Science Institute. She is at the forefront of thinking through how AI will change science, and in this episode, she examines the opportunities—and the dangers—of this rapidly emerging technology.

AI promises to change every part of our society, but one area that has already started to be affected is law. And AI may do more than just upend the profession of lawyers. One professor here at the University of Chicago believes that, with its ability to handle massive data sets, AI could be used to entirely change the law itself, making it personal for every individual based on how they live their lives. It’s a radical idea, but one we may need to start confronting sooner rather than later.

In the last few months AI has become the number one topic on everyone’s mind. This is the second episode of a three-part series on the ways today's researchers think AI will build the world of tomorrow. As we continue our summer break, these first two episodes are re-releases, with the final part of the series featuring a brand-new guest. Given the recent developments in AI, coming back to these episodes has made them all the more fascinating and important. We hope you get as much out of them as we did. Thanks for listening!

Science is facing a perplexing problem. Although there are far more scientists today than ever before, publishing research at a faster and faster pace, new and novel advancements have slowed not increased. But one expert at the University of Chicago thinks he may have found a way out of this progress standstill…artificial intelligence.

In the last few months AI has become the number one topic on everyone’s mind. This is the first episode of a three part series on the ways today's researchers think AI will build the world of tomorrow. As we continue our summer break, these first two episodes will be re-releases, with the final part of the series featuring a brand new guest. Given the recent developments in AI, coming back to these episodes has made them all the more fascinating and important. We hope you get as much out of them as we did. Thanks for listening!

Everyone is talking about the upcoming summer blockbuster, Oppenheimer. We are always incredibly captivated by behind the curtain looks at some of the most momentous events in our history. Uncovering the secret details and hidden motivations of the people that have shaped our past. And all the buzz got me thinking about a fascinating prior episode of our show that did just that.

You may think you know the history of space travel, from Sputnik to NASA to our recent shift toward privatized space travel. But what if there was a lost history of our origins with space science that would make us rethink the whole narrative?

We’re taking a summer break while we work on some special episodes and will be back in August, but in the meantime we wanted to share some of our best and most relevant episodes. These episodes contain some fascinating and life-changing information for new and returning listeners.

Many cities in the US have been experiencing smoky and hazy skies lately. Some of you have probably been affected by poor air quality due to the ongoing wildfires in Canada that are causing pollution to travel as far as Chicago and New York. On a former episode of our podcast, we spoke with some of the leading experts on air pollution about how this problem has been getting worse and the cost we’re all paying for it.

We’re taking a summer break while we work on some special episodes and will be back in August, but in the meantime we wanted to share some of our best and most relevant episodes. These episodes contain some fascinating and life-changing information for new and returning listeners. 

We can’t always see the consequences of air pollution around us, but it’s costing us years off our lives. According to a new Air Quality Life Index report from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), air pollution is taking 2.2 years off the average global life expectancy. In some of the most polluted regions in the world, residents are expected to lose an average five years of their lives, if the current high levels of pollution persist. 

While smog seem like a difficult problem to tackle, some countries have proven it’s possible to clean up the air. In the past seven years, China has reduced air pollution as much as the United States has in the past three decades. And since India’s Gujarat state launched the world's first clean air market in 2019, they’ve been successful in cutting particulate pollution by at least 20 percent. 

In this episode, we speak with EPIC’s Air Quality Programs Director Christa Hasenkopf and EPIC’s South Asia Director Anant Sudarshan about why we need to treat air pollution as a global health threat—and what we can do about it.

Music plays an important role in all of our lives. But listening to music or playing an instrument is more than just a creative outlet or hobby — it’s also scientifically good for us. Research shows that music can stimulate new connections in our brains; keeping our cognitive abilities sharp and our memories alive.

In a new book entitled Every Brain Needs Music: The Neuroscience of Making and Listening to Music, Prof. Larry Sherman explores why we all need music for our mental wellbeing — and how it can even help us later in life.

Sherman is professor of neuroscience at Oregon Health & Science University.

Everyone wishes they had a superpower. Well, it turns out you’ve had a secret power since you were a child, you just don’t know how to use it yet. That’s the power of language. In a fascinating new book, “Magic Words: What To Say To Get Your Way," Prof. Jonah Berger of the Wharton School uses massive data sets and machine learning to tease out the “magic words” that can transform our lives.

Could changing just a single word in your mind help you stick to that diet? Could mastering when to say “you” and when to say “I” save your marriage? Does the word “could” make you more creative than “should”? We find answers to these questions and more as we delve into the science-backed power of words.

If there is something both sides of the political aisle can agree on, it’s that there is something deeply wrong with health insurance in the United States. What they can’t agree on is how to fix it. The right blames everything on the Affordable Care Act, while those on the left say we need Healthcare For All. But what if there was another option?

In a recent paper published in JAMA, leading health economist and University of Chicago Provost Katherine Baicker lays out an innovative blueprint for health care—not to tinker with our system on the margins, but to redesign the entire thing. It’s a fascinating idea that takes us through the complex history of health insurance, how that web got so tangled up and how we can straighten it out.

Link to the advertised Chicago Booth Review podcast: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/podcast?source=cbr-sn-bbr-camp:podcast23-20230525

Why do we fight? It’s a seemingly simple question, but it turns out the answers are surprising, deep and crucial to understanding our world. Considering how costly any conflict is in lives and money, why do wars happen at all? This is one of those episodes that will change how you view some of our most important issues, from the war in Ukraine, to understanding gang fights, and even a possible conflict with China.

We’re taking the week off to work on some truly special episodes coming out in the next few weeks, but thought this was a perfect opportunity to re-share one of our episodes that we think is an absolutely must listen. So please enjoy, and we’ll see you next week for an all new Big Brains.