National Champion Radio

Naomi Oreskes is Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. A world-renowned earth scientist, historian and public speaker, she is the author of the best-selling book,  Merchants of Doubt  (2010) and a leading voice on the role of science in society, the reality of anthropogenic climate change, and the role...

Most Americans have no idea how far we've drifted from the constitutional limits on war and the stakes are sky-high. National Champion Dr. John Owen, winner of the 2025 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order, exposes how today's reckless decision-making risks plunging us into an uncontrollable and unjustified conflict in Iran. In this urgent conversation, he reveals how the erosion of in...

Laurene Allen joins us for a deep conversation on environmental health, water contamination, and how her work has contributed to cleaning contaminated water in her hometown of Merrimack. She is an American community and environmental health activist based in Merrimack, New Hampshire.  She is known for her work addressing contamination from PFAS linked to the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant...

Mercouri Kanatzidis joins us for a deep conversation on chemistry, Novel solar cell technology , and how his research has contributed to the discovery of novel materials and formed unique structures and compositions. A 2025 Albert Einstein World Award of Science Recipient, Kanatzidis was recognized for his pioneering work in halide perovskite semiconductors and solar photovoltaic material. Now, Ka...

Barney Graham joins us for a deep conversation on vaccine research, the fight against Covid-19 , and how his work shaped the first Covid-19 vaccine. A 2025 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee, Graham is one of the leading scientists on vaccine research and worked at the National Institute of Health (NIH) during the head of the Covid-19 Pandemic. He is an American immunologist, virologist, and...

Lauren K. Williams joins us for a deep conversation on mathematics, structure, and how abstract ideas quietly shape the modern world. A 2025 MacArthur Fellow and professor at Harvard University, Williams is one of the leading mathematicians advancing our understanding of algebraic and combinatorial systems—work that connects pure theory to powerful applications across science and engineering. At H...

Dr. Ángel Adames-Corraliza joins us for a powerful conversation on climate, weather, and how the atmosphere shapes life on Earth. A MacArthur Fellow, Dr. Adames-Corraliza is one of the world’s leading atmospheric scientists, whose work is transforming how we understand tropical weather systems and their global impact. As a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and educated at the Unive...

Dr. Pamela C. Ronald joins us for a powerful conversation on science, food security, and the future of humanity. A Wolf Prize winner, Dr. Ronald is one of the world’s leading plant geneticists, whose work has transformed how we think about agriculture, climate resilience, and global hunger. As a professor at the University of California, Davis, Dr. Ronald pioneered breakthroughs in understanding h...

Kerrie Holley joins us for a powerful conversation on innovation, equity, and the future of artificial intelligence. A 2025 inductee into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Holley is best known as IBM’s first African American Distinguished Engineer and one of the visionary minds behind Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) a technology that became the foundation for cloud computing and modern ente...

🎙️ National Champion Radio | Dr. Eduardo Brondízio 🏅 2025 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement 🎖️ Two-time National Champion 📚 Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Indiana University Bloomington What can the Amazon teach us about coexisting with nature—and one another? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Eduardo Brondízio, Brazilian-American anthropologist and 2025 Tyler Prize laureate,...

Dr. Arogyaswami Paulraj joins us to unpack the future of wireless communication and the journey behind one of the most important breakthroughs in modern technology. As the inventor of MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) technology, Dr. Paulraj’s innovations have become the foundation of high-speed wireless networks from Wi-Fi to 5G impacting billions of devices around the world. A professor eme...

34567890123456789  views Jun 20, 2025🎙️ National Champion Radio | Dr. John M. Owen IV🏅 2025 Grawemeyer Award Winner for Ideas Improving World Order📚 Professor of Politics, University of VirginiaWhat shapes world order—military power, or the battle of ideas? In this episode, we speak with Dr. John M. Owen IV, winner of the prestigious 2025 Grawemeyer Award, about the enduring impact of political...

2025 Wolf Prize Laureate | Pioneering Plant Immunologist | HHMI Investigator. Dr. Jeffery L. Dangl joins us to delve into the intricate world of plant immunity and its profound implications for global agriculture. As a leading figure in plant biology, his research has revolutionized our understanding of how plants defend themselves against pathogens, paving the way for sustainable crop protection...

2024 Stockholm Prize Laureate | Founding Director, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) Dr. Gary LaFree joins us to unpack the patterns, causes, and consequences of political violence. As one of the world’s foremost experts in criminology, his work has transformed how we understand terrorism—not just as isolated acts, but as data-rich phenomena with glo...

Dr. John Alverdy, a two-time National Champion and the Harold and Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago, takes us on a journey into the unseen world of the human microbiome. As a surgeon Dr. Alverdy is nationally recognized for introducing several new operations into the field, including minimally invasive pancreatic surgery, bariatric surgery, and surgery for disorder...

Christopher Bailey is an American track and field athlete and 2024 Olympic gold medalist running the 1st leg in the Men's 4x400 relay. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Bailey attended Carver High School before competing for Mississippi Valley State University, the University of Tennessee, and finally the University of Arkansas. While at Arkansas, Bailey broke the school’s 400-meter record with a time...

Winner of the 2024 Gruber Prize in Genetics a $500,000 Prize from Yale University Hugo Bellen has revolutionized our understanding of human diseases through groundbreaking work with fruit flies. His lab has a promising cure for Alzheimer's that already works for mice and for fruit flies, yet because the drug is already generic no one wants to fund the clinical trial. At Baylor College of Medicine...

Harald Hess's induction into the 2024 National Inventors Hall of Fame celebrates a career defined by transformative discoveries and bold scientific leaps. His groundbreaking co-invention of PALM microscopy shattered the diffraction barrier that had limited microscope resolution for centuries, revealing the nanoscale world with unprecedented clarity. This achievement emerged from an unusual career...

2024 National Champion Dr. Robert Costanza is a pioneering ecological economist who first calculated Earth's ecosystem services value at $33 trillion. Here is the 2024 winner of Japan's prestigious $500,000 Blue Planet Prize given yearly by The Asahi Glass Foundation. GUEST LINKS: Website: https://www.robertcostanza.com/ Books: Addicted to Growth: Societal Therapy for a Sustainable Wellbeing Futur...

Dr. Asad Madni is a visionary engineer, inventor, and leader, whose innovations have revolutionized multiple industries, from aerospace to automotive safety, positively impacting our lives each and every day. In 2022, he was awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor; in 2023, the John Fritz Medal; and in 2024, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fam. Join us this week as we hear about all th...

2024 National Champion Dr. Adrian Bejan, a renowned mechanical engineer and professor at Duke University was awarded the prestigious 2024 AMSE Medal the highest honor from the Association of Mechanical Engineers which was originally awarded in 1920. Dr. Adrian Bejan and Andre Ray explore a wide range of topics, from personal experiences growing up in different eras to the importance of education a...

2024 National Champion Dr. Sara Seager, a renowned astrophysicist and professor at MIT was awarded the prestigious 2024 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics worth $1M. She discusses her groundbreaking work in the search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system, particularly focusing on Venus and the potential for life there. She shares insights into the challenges of funding space exploration, the impo...