Inquiring Minds

This week, we examine a recent discovery that certain types of cancer cells may allow us to better understand how cells adapt to the intracellular environment (and explain what the intracellular environment is). Indre discusses how she and her students have recently been working on methods of measuring creativity. And we look at some new research focusing on the hunting method used by archerfish i...

During the pandemic, one thing we’ve had a little more of--at least sometimes--is time. Time to panic and stress and worry, but also time to think and reflect. This week, in the spirit of reflection, we’re revisiting a conversation with theoretical physicist Sean Carroll recorded back in 2016. At the time he had just written a book called The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the U...

We can never know what it’s like for a bat to be a bat. Or even if there is something that it is like for a bat to be a bat. But if there is something, we would speculate that the bat has some kind of consciousness or sentience. That’s the argument Jackie Higgins makes in her new book Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses, in which she takes us on a deep dive into the sen...

One of the fascinating things about neuroscience is that it gives us something tangible to study in the biology of the brain that can tell us something about the mind, which is so intangible. But what if that approach leaves us missing a big piece of the puzzle? What if the mind actually extends far beyond the biology of the body? Today, Indre is joined by Annie Murphy Paul, an acclaimed science w...

More than a hundred million people watched the Netflix movie Don’t Look Up, which focused on our fear that something could crash into our planet from space and destroy it. But what if things that come from space don’t just have the potential to destroy life but also to create it? That’s Greg Brennecka’s argument, and he joins Indre on today’s episode to talk all about it. Greg is a staff scientist...

In this week’s episode, Indre revisits a topic that has been covered a couple of times on the podcast: addiction. This time, she’s joined by addiction physician and bioethicist Carl Erik Fisher, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University. Carl works at the intersection of law, ethics, and psychiatry and has had his own struggles with addiction, which he documents in his new...

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 quanti...

The holidays are a time for storytelling, and what better story to re-experience than the greatest one of all: the history of the universe and life on Earth. In today’s episode, Indre is joined by writer and editor Henry Gee to discuss this most epic of all stories and how it’s depicted in Henry’s new book, A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth . Henry is a senior editor at Nature and the author...

In this episode, Emily Willingham joins Indre to talk about tailoring the brain, a subject on which she’s an expert and about which she writes extensively in her book The Tailored Brain: From Ketamine, to Keto, to Companionship, A User's Guide to Feeling Better and Thinking Smarter. Emily is a journalist, a science writer, the author of previous books, including Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Ani...

In today's up to date episode, Adam Bristol is back to highlight three scientific papers that have caught his eye lately. The first two are about our evolutionary history of life on this planet, filling in some of the holes in the fossil record, and making some unexpected discoveries along the way. The third paper has us looking at potential biosecurity concerns in the distant future, which may ac...

In early 2020, experts predicted the development of the COVID-19 vaccine would take 12 to 18 months. Fast forward to today and there are at least five vaccines approved by the World Health Organization. Joining Indre today is Brendan Borrell, a health scientist and business journalist who’s written for The Atlantic, National Geographic, Wired, and The New York Times. He also happens to be the auth...

The topic of cancer is one that has been addressed more than once before on Inquiring Minds, and today Indre visits it once again, this time looking at the impact that exercise can have on those undergoing cancer treatment. Joining her for this revelatory discussion is Dr. Kathryn Schmitz, whose many, many accomplishments include holding the position of Distinguished Professor of Public Health Sci...

Indre continues to pursue her fascination with the neural basis of consciousness in this week’s episode. In her never ending quest to understand how the biology of the brain gives rise to every experience we’ve ever had, ever will have, and everything in between, she has picked the brains of a number of experts in the field over the years. Today is no exception as she revisits this favorite topic...

On the show this week, Adam Bristol introduces Florida’s controversial genetically modified mosquito pilot program, and then delves into the details of the Dual Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which should be launching in the near future. Indre also explains recent efforts to use music to help humans visualize proteins. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds Hosted by Simplecas...

We think of consistent water consumption as a necessary component for life… but then there are tardigrades. Adorable and tiny, tardigrades can survive intervals of extreme drying or dehydration and then later be revived. They’re amazing animals, and much of what is known about them comes from the work of John and Lois Crowe, two former UC Davis researchers who devoted much of their careers to stud...

Nina Kraus, Ph. D., is a neuroscientist who has done groundbreaking research on sound and hearing for more than three decades. She's the Hugh Knowles Professor of Neurobiology, Communication Sciences, and Otolaryngology at Northwestern University, and she has been a frequent guest on Indre’s other podcast, Cadence: What Music Tells Us About the Mind . Nina has just released her first trade book ca...

Who among us hasn’t, at some point, wondered just what exactly a bear manager or a danger tree feller blaster does? Well, Mary Roach, America’s funniest science writer, TED 20 Most Watched list member, and increasingly frequent guest on this podcast has, and now she’s written a book for our collective enlightenment. In today’s episode, Mary discusses her latest offering, FUZZ: When Nature Breaks t...

Anxiety has become a staple of modern life, particularly over the past year and a half. It can be debilitating, but it is at its core a necessary component of our lives—if it can be managed. Wendy Suzuki, Professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University, is best known for her extensive work studying areas in the brain critical for our ability to form and retain new long-term memor...

This week we welcome back Sam Kean, the New York Times bestselling author whose previous books include The Bastard Brigade , Caesar's Last Breath , and The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons . Sam joins the show to discuss his latest book, The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science . Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/in...

Of all the side effects of opioid use that exist, one that is only recently starting to get the attention it deserves is that of becoming amnestic. That doesn’t mean that this effect hasn’t been on the radar of some researchers over the years, though. As far back as 2016, Neurology Specialist, Dr. Jed Barash, brought some case studies to Indre’s attention, and today’s guest, Lauren Aguirre, has bu...

One side effect of the pandemic is that a lot of parents have spent more time than they were expecting to with their kids, and were sometimes left questioning their parenting decisions along the way. Melinda Wenner Moyer’s new book How To Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes: Science-Based Strategies for Better Parenting—from Tots to Teens could not be more timely, and she joins us on this week’s episod...

This week we delve into a study with a citizen science element regarding the evolution of a social behavior in parrots, followed by a collaborative study regarding empathy in rodents, particularly toward those with whom they were kin or had some sense of association. Our hosts share the results of their own recent microbiome analyses which leads into a study looking at the impact of dietary fibre...

In the summer of 2019—before Covid-19 had emerged—author, researcher, and ‘Gastropod’ co-host Nicola Tilley and her husband and co-author Geoff Manaugh told a rapt audience, “You and everyone around you is going to be quarantined, is going to experience quarantine in your lifetimes.” They had just presented their extensive research into quarantine that would ultimately become their new book, Until...

Among COVID-19’s many side effects are two that seem to be in direct conflict – on the one hand we’ve all become armchair epidemiologists, and on the other, conspiracy theories are at an all time high. In the common search for answers regarding the virus, some have put all their faith in the certainties of science while others are just as committed to making decisions based upon opinions and belie...

Over the years, music producers have tried to predict what audiences want to hear while at the same time advances in science and technology have taught us a lot about what happens in the brain when we listen to music that we love. Now, David Rosen, CEO and Co-founder of Secret Chord Labs, has brought these two fields together to explore the potential for artificial intelligence to generate guarant...