147. Is Your Gut a Second Brain?

<p>Michael Greenstone knows it’s corny, but he wants to make the world a better place — by tracking the impact of air quality, developing pollution markets in India, and … starting a podcast, which Steve says proves he’s over the hill.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong> ... Show More

<p>Suleika Jaouad was diagnosed with cancer at 22. She made her illness the subject of a <i>New York Times</i> column and a memoir, <i>Between Two Kingdoms.</i> She and Steve talk about what it means to live with a potentially fatal illness, how to talk to people who've gone thro ... Show More

<p>Physicist and former pop star Brian Cox tells Steve about discovering the Higgs boson, having a number-one hit, and why particle physics research will almost certainly not create a black hole that destroys all life on earth.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li> ... Show More

<p>What do Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Malcolm Gladwell have in common? Are interesting theories more significant than true ones? And what has been keeping Angela up at night? Plus: an important announcement about the show. </p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li>< ... Show More

<p>Also: are the most memorable stories less likely to be true? Stephen Dubner chats with Angela Duckworth in this classic episode from July 2020.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1938/buck/biographical/">Pe ... Show More

<p>How can you learn to love uncertainty? Is it better to cultivate acceptance or strive for change? And, after 223 episodes, what is the meaning of life? </p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://www.depts.ttu.edu/psy/people/jalquist/">Jessica Alquist ... Show More

<p>Horace Fletcher is best known for starting a food fad in that came to be known as Fletcherism. This early 20th century fad involved, in part, chewing your food A LOT.</p> <p><strong>Research:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bauerlein, Mark. "The Correspondence of William James. Vol. 3: ... Show More

<p>Daniel Kahneman left his mark on academia (and the real world) in countless ways. A group of his friends and colleagues recently gathered in Chicago to reflect on this legacy — and we were there, with microphones.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="ht ... Show More

<p>In this episode, first aired in 2012, we have two stories of brains pushed off-course. We relive a surreal day in the life of a young researcher hijacked by her own brain, and hear from a librarian experiencing a bizarre and mysterious set of symptoms that she called “gravitat ... Show More

<p>Does a surplus of information create a shortage of attention? Are today’s young people really unable to focus? And do goldfish need better PR? </p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/academics/faculty/neil-a-bradbury/">Nei ... Show More

<p>Is there any upside to negative emotions? What can comedians teach us about dealing with pain? And why did Angela eat off of a stranger’s plate at a sushi bar? </p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ludwig-van-Beethov ... Show More

<p>David Eagleman upends myths and describes the vast possibilities of a brainscape that even neuroscientists are only beginning to understand. Steve Levitt interviews him in this special episode of <i>People I (Mostly) Admire.</i></p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul> ... Show More

<p>In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. It can also produce discoveries that save millions of lives. Tales from the front line, the lab, and the I.T. department. (Part two of a <a href="https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/how-to-succeed-at-failing/">four-part series</a>.)</ ... Show More