The Most Important Question

This week: Solar’s wilding out; $65 billion for the next pandemic; Better, cheaper, more inclusive clinical trials; Protecting farmworkers; Biden’s AI board Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? ...

This week: Climate tech billions; COVID goals; A new hope for neurodegenerative diseases; An IPCC for food; Facial recognition knows no bounds. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email us at q...

If we're going to make this world a better place, things have to change. That's why we talk with the changemakers who have the power – and the courage – to get things done. We wrap up every conversation with one question meant to get to the root of tha...

This week: Wind NIMBY’s; More nurses, stat; Diabetes on the rise; Evictions; Cybersecurity commitments. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.com Follo...

Each week we kick off our conversations with the smartest people in the universe with one humble question: “ Why are you vital to the survival of the species?” The responses typically range from laughter, modest denial, to audible discomfort. But when ...

This week: Operate from a place of self-awareness; God, we are so bad at math; A half-century later; Drive pediatric cancer research; What’s the future of meat work? TikTok misinformation enters the chat. Find links from this newsletter and more at imp...

In Episode 122, Quinn has big questions about AI ethics and, like many other situations, is left wondering: was Dr. Ian Malcolm right all along? Our guest is Dr. Rumman Chowdury. She is the director of the Machine Ethics Transparency & Accountability (...

In Episode #121, Quinn’s got a fantastic new guest to help answer his favorite question: “ What can I do? ” Isaias Hernandez – or, as he’s known pretty much everywhere on the internet, Queer Brown Vegan -- shares the mic today. He’s built a massive fol...

This week: 50% isn’t good enough; Facebook fossil fuel ads; How to get shots to Africa; Oysters!?; Why has AI failed to help during COVID? Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email us at questi...

In Episode 120, Quinn discusses retraining our mind to understand and operate in the discontinuity we are in. Let’s get META. HIs guest is Alex Steffen, a longtime climate reporter and futurist, as well as writer of the forthcoming book The Snap Forwar...

This week: FDA got next?; Flooded subways; Delta's a game-changer; Epic (AI) fail; Fire predictions; Food stamp groceries delivered. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email us at questions@im...

In Episode 119, Quinn asks: what’s in wildfire smoke, what does it do to your body, and how can you stay safe? Our guest is Dr. Mary Prunicki, the director of air pollution and health research at Stanford University under The Sean N. Parker Center for ...

I don't have to tell you folks – climate change is the story of our time. There’s been a sharp rise (like last week) in people are anxious, angry, and want action – and the opening for bold climate action has never been wider. And “A Matter of Degrees”...

This week: The climate crisis kicked down the door of the west and global north this week; The Pizza King of Vaccines; Mental health care now available everywhere; The Human-Machine interface; You like drugs, Danny? Find links from this newsletter and ...

In Episode 118, Quinn discusses: the big mosquito problem. Our guest is Dr. Omar Akbari, one of the world’s pre-eminent biotechnology and mosquito researchers. For how afraid people are of sharks, mountain lions, or even just other people (the worst), ...

This week: deep breath; COVID all around the world; there are two Americas and it’s obvious why; the global hungry jump to 768 million; call your doctor!; money for nothing; held hostage by hackers. Find links from this newsletter and more at important...

In Episode 117, Quinn discusses: how accountability works – and doesn’t – in the climate movement, how you can get involved, and how the best in the world are doing it. Our guests are Mary Annaïse Heglar and Amy Westervelt. The duo makes up Hot Take, a...

This week: To understand Africa, look to India -- or not; Reverse course; Don’t believe everything you read -- especially Best Buy food labels; New headline, who dis? Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got ...

This week, Quinn is proud to share a new favorite podcast: “The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women (HERO).” Could empowering women in the workplace be the simplest way to boost the global economy? In a word: “yes,” but how do we get there? “The Hidde...

This week: What’s a dew point, anyways?; The COVID Delta variant is here; And then there were six; An all female Justice League of social media. #51: Are We Talking About CRISPR All Wrong? Also, What The Hell Is CRISPR? Find links from this newsletter ...

In Episode 116, Quinn wants to know: why is simply giving people money the most effective way to 1) help them make positive changes to their lives and 2) erase global poverty along the way? To help him understand the answer, he brought on Caroline Teti...

This week: it’s Bolsonaro all the way down; the 99%; 44 thousand patients can’t be wrong; “fire beats water” should be relegated to D&D; Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email us at question...

In light of new research on toxic ingredients, it looks like America might finally start regulating cosmetic products, so it’s a great moment to re-run one of our most popular episodes with Beautycounter CEO Gregg Renfrew. In episode 87, Quinn & Brian ...

In celebration of New York state passing Bill S6532A, permitting underwater kelp cultivation, we’re re-playing one of our coolest (and most entertaining) episodes. Kelp could be THE crop of the 21st century. But why? Listen in to find out. In Episode 8...

This week: “Do not come”; The pandemic is not over for everyone; We can do better, can’t we? Cover crops; Language barriers in AI. Visit ImportantJobs.com to find your next role working on the frontlines of the future. Find links from this newsletter a...