Special University of Chicago Convocation Podcast with Student Speaker Andrea Popova

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Special University of Chicago Convocation Podcast with Student Speaker Andrea Popova

FromBig Brains

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Length:

23 minutes

Released:

Jun 12, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

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A special Convocation edition podcast from the UChicago Podcast Network, featuring an interview with student speaker Andrea Popova, followed by the complete speeches from Andrea and fellow graduates Mark Meyer and Priscilla Daboni.

Released:

Jun 12, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

We tell the stories behind the pioneering research and pivotal breakthroughs reshaping our world. Produced out of The University of Chicago. Winner of CASE "Grand Gold" award in 2022, Gold award in 2021, and named Adweek's "Best Branded Podcast" in 2020.

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Special University of Chicago Convocation Podcast featuring Valerie Jarrett and Marianne Bertrand: A special Convocation edition podcast from the UChicago Podcast Network, featuring the full speeches given by Class Day speaker Valerie Jarrett, distinguished senior fellow in the University of Chicago Law School former senior adviser to President Obama; and Marianne Bertrand, the Chris P. Dialynas Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. by Big Brains
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Special University of Chicago Convocation Podcast with Student Speaker Andrea Popova: A special Convocation edition podcast from the UChicago Podcast Network, featuring an interview with student speaker Andrea Popova, followed by the complete speeches from Andrea and fellow graduates Mark Meyer and Priscilla Daboni. by Big Brains
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Nature’s Design Secrets with Rama Ranganathan: From the smallest proteins of cells to entire ecosystems, nature might be the most sophisticated engineer on earth. On this episode of Big Brains, Ranganathan shares his pioneering research on evolutionary physics, and explains why he believes biology is at a similar point today as engineering was two centuries ago during the Industrial Revolution. by Big Brains
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Big Brains Trailer: Big Brains tells the stories behind the pioneering research and breakthroughs reshaping our world. The show is produced out of the University of Chicago and hosted by Paul Rand. by Big Brains
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Simple Solutions To Address Social Issues with Harold Pollack: University of Chicago Professor Harold Pollack may be famous for his “financial index card”, but it’s his application of simple solutions to complex issues that’s reshaping how we tackle crime and healthcare. What can be done to reduce the number of people who end up in jail for failing to appear in court? How can we build a healthcare system that works for everyone? With the Crime Lab and Center for Health Administration Studies, Pollack is developing social impacts through science. by Big Brains
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Future of Energy Innovation with Michael Polsky: When UChicago alumnus Michael Polsky first ventured into the field of renewable energy in 2003 with his company Invenergy, he thought they had missed the boat. On this episode of Big Brains, Polsky discusses his early days in the energy field, his current project to build one of the largest wind farms in the world, and why he believes in the power of innovation. by Big Brains
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Future of Higher Education and College Access with Robert J. Zimmer: As president of the University of Chicago, Robert J. Zimmer has a unique view to the challenges and opportunities facing higher education, and one of the biggest obstacles he sees is access for all students. While private institutions continue to offer greater financial support, Zimmer believes government and public institutions now need to do their part. by Big Brains
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Why Talking to Strangers Will Make You Happier With Nicholas Epley: If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Most people say they’d want to read minds. But Prof. Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business says you already have that power: You just need to use it. Epley’s research has focused on the ways our minds understand, or fail to understand each other. Now, he’s expanded that research to look into why talking to strangers may be the key to better well-being, even if it’s difficult. by Big Brains
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The Myths Of Millennial Voters With Cathy Cohen: Every election year, poll after poll tries to predict where millennials stand politically. As we head into 2020, we'd like to replay this episode with Prof. Cathy Cohen who says some of our assumptions about young people are all wrong. Cohen’s innovative survey, GenForward, is a first of its kind. By oversampling young people of color, they investigate differences in responses by race and ethnicity. The data she’s collected gives us a unique window into what millennials might do in the 2020 electio by Big Brains
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Vietnam and the Rise of the White Power Movement with Kathleen Belew: The revelation for historian Kathleen Belew came while researching a 1979 anti-Ku Klux Klan rally in Greensboro, North Carolina that turned deadly when five members were murdered by a group of Klansmen and neo-Nazis. Belew was struck by the reflection of the killers, some of them Vietnam War veterans. On this episode of Big Brains, Belew shares the previously unknown history of the social movement of the white power movement. by Big Brains
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SCOTUS Nears Unimaginable Era with Geoffrey Stone: UChicago Law professor Geoffrey Stone has an intimate knowledge of the Supreme Court. From his time as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan where he witnessed the decision Roe v. Wade firsthand, to his decades writing on issues of free speech, Stone is an expert when it comes to the First Amendment. But in all his years studying the highest court in the United States, Stone says he has never been more pessimistic for where the judiciary branch is headed. by Big Brains
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The Hidden Dangers of Artificial Intelligence with Ben Zhao: The development of artificial intelligence has begun to feel inevitable and promising. But University of Chicago computer scientist, Ben Zhao, has spent much of his career testing how the security of these systems can break down. Zhao’s study involving Yelp reviews generated by A.I. show how these system could be used to distort our perceptions of reality, especially in this era of fake news. Music: BurrowBurrow, Lumber Down, House of Grendel, Tralaga, and Cicle DR Valga by Blue Dot Sessions by Big Brains
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What Makes Us Uniquely Human with Neuroscientist Bobby Kasthuri: Neuroscientist Bobby Kasthuri wants to do the near impossible: map the entire human brain. That means identifying each of the trillions of neural connections that exist inside the mind—a number bigger than the stars in the Milky Way galaxy. His success could mean understanding ourselves unlike ever before. On this episode of Big Brains, Kasthuri explains what makes humans distinct from all other living creatures and why the term “dim bulb” is more accurate than you think. by Big Brains
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How AI Can Predict Future Scientific Discoveries: Science is facing a perplexing problem. Although there are far more scientists today than ever before, publishing research at a faster and faster pace, new and novel advancements have slowed not increased. But one expert at the University of Chicago thinks he may have found a way out of this progress standstill…artificial intelligence. In the last few months AI has become the number one topic on everyone’s mind. This is the first episode of a three part series on the ways today's researchers think AI will build the world of tomorrow. As we continue our summer break, these first two episodes will be re-releases, with the final part of the series featuring a brand new guest. Given the recent developments in AI, coming back to these episodes has made them all the more fascinating and important. We hope you get as much out of them as we did. Thanks for listening! by Big Brains
29 min listen
The Uncovered History of Space Travel & Its Privatized Future: Everyone is talking about the upcoming summer blockbuster, Oppenheimer. We are always incredibly captivated by behind the curtain looks at some of the most momentous events in our history. Uncovering the secret details and hidden motivations of the people that have shaped our past. And all the buzz got me thinking about a fascinating prior episode of our show that did just that. You may think you know the history of space travel, from Sputnik to NASA to our recent shift toward privatized space travel. But what if there was a lost history of our origins with space science that would make us rethink the whole narrative? We’re taking a summer break while we work on some special episodes and will be back in August, but in the meantime we wanted to share some of our best and most relevant episodes. These episodes contain some fascinating and life-changing information for new and returning listeners. by Big Brains
29 min listen
The Health Costs of Air Pollution: Many cities in the US have been experiencing smoky and hazy skies lately. Some of you have probably been affected by poor air quality due to the ongoing wildfires in Canada that are causing pollution to travel as far as Chicago and New York. On a former episode of our podcast, we spoke with some of the leading experts on air pollution about how this problem has been getting worse and the cost we’re all paying for it. We’re taking a summer break while we work on some special episodes and will be back in August, but in the meantime we wanted to share some of our best and most relevant episodes. These episodes contain some fascinating and life-changing information for new and returning listeners. We can’t always see the consequences of air pollution around us, but it’s costing us years off our lives. According to a new Air Quality Life Index report from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), air pollution is taking 2.2 years by Big Brains
29 min listen
How Your Brain Benefits From Music, With Larry Sherman: Music plays an important role in all of our lives. But listening to music or playing an instrument is more than just a creative outlet or hobby — it’s also scientifically good for us. Research shows that music can stimulate new connections in our brains; keeping our cognitive abilities sharp and our memories alive. In a new book entitled Every Brain Needs Music: The Neuroscience of Making and Listening to Music, Prof. Larry Sherman explores why we all need music for our mental wellbeing — and how it can even help us later in life. Sherman is professor of neuroscience at Oregon Health & Science University. by Big Brains
30 min listen
Magic words: Can What You Say Help You Get Your way? with Jonah Berger: Everyone wishes they had a superpower. Well, it turns out you’ve had a secret power since you were a child, you just don’t know how to use it yet. That’s the power of language. In a fascinating new book, “Magic Words: What To Say To Get Your Way," Prof. Jonah Berger of the Wharton School uses massive data sets and machine learning to tease out the “magic words” that can transform our lives. Could changing just a single word in your mind help you stick to that diet? Could mastering when to say “you” and when to say “I” save your marriage? Does the word “could” make you more creative than “should”? We find answers to these questions and more as we delve into the science-backed power of words. by Big Brains
31 min listen
Providing Basic Health Insurance For Every American, With Katherine Baicker: If there is something both sides of the political aisle can agree on, it’s that there is something deeply wrong with health insurance in the United States. What they can’t agree on is how to fix it. The right blames everything on the Affordable Care Act, while those on the left say we need Healthcare For All. But what if there was another option? In a recent paper published in JAMA, leading health economist and University of Chicago Provost Katherine Baicker lays out an innovative blueprint for health care—not to tinker with our system on the margins, but to redesign the entire thing. It’s a fascinating idea that takes us through the complex history of health insurance, how that web got so tangled up and how we can straighten it out. by Big Brains
31 min listen
Why We Fight, With Christopher Blattman: Why do we fight? It’s a seemingly simple question, but it turns out the answers are surprising, deep and crucial to understanding our world. Considering how costly any conflict is in lives and money, why do wars happen at all? This is one of those episodes that will change how you view some of our most important issues, from the war in Ukraine, to understanding gang fights, and even a possible conflict with China. We’re taking the week off to work on some truly special episodes coming out in the next few weeks, but thought this was a perfect opportunity to re-share one of our episodes that we think is an absolutely must listen. So please enjoy, and we’ll see you next week for an all new Big Brains. by Big Brains
29 min listen
The Hidden Truths About Sexuality And Gender In The Medieval World, with Roland Betancourt: We often think our debates around sexuality and gender are a modern phenomenon. Some people argue that identities like trans and non-binary have only existed recently. But could the evidence for queer and gender-nonconforming lives actually stretch back centuries? In a recent book entitled Byzantine Intersectionality, Prof. Roland Betancourt of the University of California-Irvine uncovers an overlooked history from the Byzantine era. His work shows how surprisingly modern medieval conversations about sex and gender were—or, as he puts it, how medieval our modern conversations seem. As extremist groups on the alt-right have begun to claim an ideological lineage to Byzantium, Betancourt’s work has become a critical work for contextualizing our current moment—and drawing lessons from this neglected history. by Big Brains
30 min listen
How Bioelectricity Could Regrow Limbs And Organs, with Michael Levin: In the near future, birth defects, traumatic injuries, limb loss and perhaps even cancer could be cured through bioelectricity—electrical signals that communicate to our cells how to rebuild themselves. This innovative idea has been tested on flatworms and frogs by biologist Michael Levin, whose research investigates how bioelectricity provides the blueprint for how our bodies are built—and how it could be the future of regenerative medicine. Levin is professor of biology at Tufts University and director of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. by Big Brains
29 min listen

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Special University of Chicago Convocation Podcast with Student Speaker Andrea Popova

Special University of Chicago Convocation Podcast with Student Speaker Andrea Popova

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