Michigan Minds

Laura Aull , professor of English and linguistics and recent director of the English Department Writing Program at the University of Michigan, joins the Michigan Minds podcast to discuss "AI English," how generative tools disrupt the natural diversity of human speech and why automated hiring and housing systems inherit these linguistic biases. She also explores a largely unexamined downside to our...

Jenny Radesky , is associate professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School. Her clinical work focuses on children with autism, ADHD, and learning disabilities, while her research lab examines how young children and parents use mobile and interactive technology, parent-child relationships, and child self-regu...

Ekow Yankah , is associate dean for faculty and research, Thomas M. Cooley Professor of Law and a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan. His work focuses on questions of political and criminal theory and, particularly, questions of political obligation and justifications of punishment. Yankah joins the Michigan Minds podcast to discuss the legal structures governing American electi...

Many people love to eat ultra-processed foods. Think about those crispy French fries, or the delicious strawberry milkshake. Ultra-processed foods are heavily changed from their original form and made mostly in factories rather than kitchens. Instead of simple ingredients you might recognize—like flour, eggs, or milk—these foods often contain long lists of additives, preservatives, artificial flav...

Christopher Friese , a University of Michigan professor of nursing and of health management and policy, is a national authority on health care quality, nursing work environments and workforce policy. Friese joins the Michigan Minds podcast to explain how proposed federal caps on graduate student loans could shape nurses’ education and career decisions, what high student debt is revealing about the...

It begins with a single, panicked phone call about a fallen parent or a flickering memory, but it is quickly becoming the defining white noise of a nation. As the American population ages and family structures splinter, a quiet domestic struggle has escalated into a pressing national inquiry: Who is actually responsible for our elders? New insights from the University of Michigan suggest that whil...

Joanne Hsu , director of the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers and research associate professor at the Institute for Social Research, specializes in the fields of household finance, consumer sentiment and the impact of economic expectations on the national economy.  Hsu joins the Michigan Minds podcast to discuss her findings on current consumer sentiment, offering insight into pers...

ANN ARBOR —News, advice and research about what we eat - and drink - and how it influences our health is inescapable. What we hear less about is exactly what's taking place inside the body when nutrition is considered bad or toxic, say ultraprocessed foods like our favorite packaged cookies, chips or frozen pizza, or good and healthy, those whole, methyl-donor-rich leafy veggies, beefs and eggs. I...

Shelie Miller, a professor in the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability and co-director of the Center for Sustainable Systems, spends a lot of her time in the weeds detailing the environmental impacts of our everyday choices. But people wanting to live more sustainably can make the most meaningful gains by focusing on three big-picture categories, she says: food, trans...

William Lopez joins the Michigan Minds podcast to discuss his findings on the effects of immigration raids, offering insight into how intensified enforcement efforts shape the well-being and resilience of students and their communities. Michigan Minds is produced by Greta Guest and hosted by Michigan News staff. Jeremy Marble is the audio engineer and Hans Anderson provides social media animations...

Valeria Bertacco , the Mary Lou Dorf Collegiate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, joins the Michigan Minds podcast to talk about semiconductors – how ubiquitous they are in our lives, why manufacturing moved overseas, and what it will take to produce them in the U.S. Bertacco's research explores hardware solutions for next generation computing and security. She is also the vice provos...

Nick Tobier, professor of art and design at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan, focuses on collaborative projects in the public realm and the potential of public spaces. Nick is also the co-founder of the Detroit-based Brightmoor Makerspace, in partnership with Detroit Community Schools. Utilizing the ideals of the Waldorf method—learning with your head, hea...

Scott L. Greer , a professor of health management and policy and of global public health in the University of Michigan School of Public Health and a political science professor, shares decades of studies documenting the shaping of political engagement and poor health and negative health care experiences. Greer joins the Michigan Minds podcast and discusses the ways politics and public health are c...

Archaeologist Brian Stewart , associate professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan, has conducted research in the small southern African country of Lesotho for 15 years.  There, he is investigating the world's earliest evidence of human behavioral complexity: the behaviors, actions and beliefs that make us human. Through his work, Stewart is hoping to understand how humans develo...

Climate expert Jonathan Overpeck , dean of the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, does not sugarcoat things. The words "scary," "depressing" and "devastating" come up when he talks about the impacts of climate change, including record warmth and drought conditions. But he also doesn't ignore how communities across the country and around the world are finding ways to...

Shalanda Baker is the University of Michigan's vice provost for sustainability and climate action. She joined the Michigan Minds podcast to discuss the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. How does the current political climate affect what we're doing here at the University of Michigan with regard to sustainability and climate action? I am so laser focused on climate action and sustainabil...

Welcome to the Michigan Minds Podcast, where we explore the wealth of knowledge from faculty experts at the University of Michigan. I'm Jared Wadley, a lead public relations representative for Michigan News. Today I'm speaking to Oliver Haimson about the changing social media landscape. He's an assistant professor in the School of Information and the Digital Studies Institute. Oliver's research fo...

When Russia invaded Ukraine, civilian lives, as well as lives of the scientists who live in the country, were upended. When an international grant was launched to support Ukrainian scientists, Andrzej Wierzbicki , a U-M professor of cellular, molecular and developmental biology, who is Polish, saw the funding opportunity as a way to help support the country that neighbors his own.  Wierzbicki...

In this episode of Michigan Minds, Pamela Herd, social policy professor at the University of Michigan, discusses issues of healthcare access and affordability in light of the slaying of an industry CEO, efforts of a university lab in boosting access and breaking down walls to social safety net programs, and finding common ground within a polarized electorate. Here's an excerpt of the conversation:...

To combat climate change, the world needs to pivot away from fossil fuels. But building battery electric vehicles and infrastructure for renewable energy will require enormous amounts of minerals and resources, which can only be obtained in the quantities needed through mining. Low and low-to-middle income countries are also looking to boost their access to electricity, which will now likely take...

Scott Rick is an associate professor of marketing at the Ross School of Business. His research speaks to how consumers perceive and experience inflation, how they choose what gifts to buy, and how they experience in-store and online shopping environments. He is particularly interested in understanding the behavior of extreme “tightwads” and “spendthrifts.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

In this episode of the Michigan Minds podcast, J. Alex Halderman—Bredt Family Professor of Engineering and director of the Center for Computer Security and Society—discusses weak points in the U.S. electoral system and how to fix them, as well as the results of investigations following the 2020 election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Reames, an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Environment and Sustainability, just returned to campus from two years at the U.S. Department of Energy working on energy justice. The Tishman professor of environmental justice and director of the SEAS Detroit Sustainability Clinic joined us on the Michigan Minds Podcast to share his thoughts on how energy justice could m...

In this episode of the Michigan Minds podcast, Henry Liu —director of Mcity and the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation, and a professor of civil and environmental engineering at U-M's College of Engineering—gives an overview on the state of autonomous vehicles, whether you're wondering what the hold-up is for cars that no longer need driver's wheels, or eyeing offerings like Tesla's...

In this episode of the Michigan Minds podcast, Timothy Cernak , associate professor of medicinal chemistry in the College of Pharmacy and associate professor of chemistry in the the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, makes the case for growing the field of conservation medicine and calls on pharmacists and medicinal chemists to "be on the front line of species conservation." Hosted on A...