Curiosity Weekly

A lot of science takes place at the zoo. Dr. Rachel Santymire, Director of the Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, discusses the animal research going on both behind the scenes and out in the wild. She also explains what animals can tell us about our environment, including her work with the black-footed ferret recovery project. Additional resources f...

What are the limits of the human body, and how can we fully utilize them? Alex Hutchinson, award-winning journalist and author of "Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance," explains why humans are nearly always capable of pushing just a little bit harder — and how you can eke out just a little bit more effort even when you think your body's tank is empty. Addition...

LeVar Burton has been a storyteller for decades. From his acting roles as Kunta Kinte in "Roots" and Geordi LaForge on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" to his decades of work with "Reading Rainbow," he's been a central figure in some of the most influential media in recent memory. Also a director, producer, and author, Burton has now turned his storytelling skills toward the world of podcasting wi...

Is there a right or wrong way to learn? Dr. Stephen Kosslyn is an expert on the science of learning, with more than 30 years of experience working at elite institutions such as Harvard and Stanford. He also thinks that higher education could learn a lot about how people learn, and that's why he became the Founding Dean and Chief Learning Officer of the Minerva Schools at KGI . On this podcast, Dr....

Mining asteroids, traveling on laser beams, and developing self-aware robots: science fiction or science fact? World-renowned physicist and futurist Michio Kaku says that these milestones are not only in humanity's future, but are beginning to occur right now. Dr. Kaku joins the Curiosity Podcast for a fascinating inside look at interstellar travel, artificial intelligence, human immortality, and...

Jared Bauer, co-founder and head of content at Wisecrack, believes it's important to explore big ideas and meaningful topics through the lens of pop culture and media. On this episode of the Curiosity Podcast, the man who helped bring you Thug Notes , 8-Bit Philosophy , Earthling Cinema , The Philosophy of Everything , What Went Wrong? , Show Me the Meaning! , and more joins the Curiosity Podcast...

You might think you're not a "math person," but maybe that's because math doesn't mean what you think it means. Mathematical and logical thinking can open up new ways of thinking about everything from social and political issues to art to even gender. And on this episode, Dr. Eugenia Cheng, author and Scientist in Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, explains how to tap into it...

Artificial intelligence is all the rage, but using swarm intelligence might be the best way to solve the world's biggest problems. Dr. Louis Rosenberg is the Founder & CEO of Unanimous AI , an artificial intelligence company that amplifies human intelligence by building "hive minds" modeled after biological swarms. Learn how swarm intelligence can combine the brainpower of humans and computers to...

Achieving goals can be difficult, but that may be because you're setting the wrong goals in the first place. That's why happiness expert and executive coach Stella Grizont returns to the Curiosity Podcast to discuss how to set the right goals and how to overcome the challenges of sticking to them. Additional resources discussed: The Vision Generator (free worksheet from Stella Grizont) Dopamine Fu...

Humans eat just like every other living creature. Have you ever wondered what drives us to binge eat, or spend too much time at the grocery store? And how does the food we eat impact us emotionally? We talk to Dr. Rachel Herz, author of "Why You Eat What You Eat: The Science Behind Our Relationship with Food," about the surprising science of food in our daily lives. Dr. Herz is a leading world exp...

Language encapsulates every part of a culture, from its history of ideas to the way its speakers perceive reality itself. And according to linguistics expert Arika Okrent, author of "In the Land of Invented Languages," even "made-up" languages like Klingon and Esperanto serve an important purpose. She joins the Curiosity Podcast to discuss the field of linguistics and why we say what we say. In ad...

On this special episode of the Curiosity Podcast, we celebrate the end of our show's first year with a look back at some of the stories you never got to hear. You'll hear stories and lessons from past guests that we didn't get to share the first time around! Plus, hosts Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer let their hair down and give you an inside look at how the show is produced. It's a refreshing (and v...

Curiosity is pretty important. And in this episode of the Curiosity Podcast, Anna Starkey, creative director of top UK interactive science center We The Curious, explains why she believes curiosity will allow humanity to survive and thrive in the 21st century. A curious person herself, Anna Starkey's areas of experience include live television production, comedy writing, classical music and live a...

Wordsmith Lynne Franklin, author of " Getting Others To Do What You Want ," explains the psychology of persuasion on this episode of the Curiosity Podcast. As a consultant to executives and teams on persuasive communication, she studies how the brain affects our choices and behavior to help people solve their problems and get what they want. Additional resources discussed: Lynne Franklin Wordsmith...

On this episode, we explore what you can learn about a person based on handwriting alone. A handwriting analyst for more than 30 years, Dale Roberts of Write Insights analyzed the handwriting of the Curiosity staff and joined us on the podcast to explain his process. Play along at home while you listen! Write the sentence "I'm truly happy to be here today at the party" in print and in cursive, the...

If you want to be comfortable in any situation, then you just need to know and remember how to behave. Manners and etiquette aren't just for snobs! Etiquette expert Jihan Murray-Smith joins the Curiosity Podcast this week to explain the guidelines behind proper etiquette in any situation. Whether you're at a family dinner, business lunch, or first date, you'll want to listen so you can act with co...

Are hackers really a constant threat, or is hacking just another tool for media manipulation and fearmongering? To get definitive answers, the Curiosity Podcast sat down with the deputy chief of research at the Army Cyber Institute at West Point, Dr. Natalie Vanatta. She explains what government and corporate entities are doing to keep the average person safe online – and how people can protect th...

CRISPR technology could change the world. Essentially, CRISPR is a technique that allows scientists to make precision edits to any DNA, whether bacterial or human. The potential for this technology is huge: if scientists have the accuracy to replace just a few faulty genes, it might be possible to cure genetic disorders as serious as cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease and as common as lactos...

Modern medicine can do extraordinary things – but how? This week, the Curiosity Podcast welcomes Dr. Sliman Bensmaia to explain how scientists are able to develop prosthetic devices that some day may be able to transmit a realistic sense of touch to their owners. An assistant professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago, Dr. Bensmaia discusses how lab...

This week, the Curiosity Podcast welcomes the fascinating Bryan Davis to share his story. Davis owns and runs a distillery in Los Angeles, but it's not your typical distillery – he's found a way to change the chemical properties of rum to age it 20 years in just 6 days. And here's where things get interesting: he taught himself the science behind how to do it. Today's conversation isn't so much ab...

Comedy comes in many forms, each with its own history and style. And while it may be subjective, there's still some surprising science that makes comedy what it is today. This week on the Curiosity Podcast, we talk to long-time performer and teacher Lilly Allison, an expert with a firm grasp on the history and psychology of comedy. In this episode, she explains and demonstrates comedic devices in...

Not all music is created equally. You may love the soundtrack of your favorite film, television show, or video game just as much as you enjoy Beethoven's 9th, but you may not know how deliberately the score from your favorite form of entertainment was composed. Elliot Callighan, independent composer and sound designer, joins the Curiosity Podcast to reveal how musicians in the 21st century write f...

Renowned skeptic Dr. Steven Novella, host of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe and author of the NeuroLogica Blog, joins the Curiosity Podcast to explain how to tell the difference between reality and fantasy – and why it's sometimes hard to do so. He brings years of experience as a neuroscientist and researcher to take a look inside the minds of both skeptics and those who believe in pseudoscie...

The institution of marriage in America appears to be struggling. Or is it? Dr. Eli Finkel's most recent research reveals that the best marriages today may in fact be the best marriages the world has ever known. A renowned relationship expert, Dr. Finkel joins the Curiosity Podcast to reveal the structure of successful marriages and explain the context needed to understand how to flourish in any se...

The dating world has radically transformed over the last few decades. Combine advances in technology with radical changes in social roles and a rise in non-traditional relationships and sexual preferences, and you end up with a pretty confusing dating environment. Dr. Eli Finkel joins the Curiosity Podcast to discuss everything from one-night stands to Tinder to pickup artists – and everything in-...