In a new book, science writer Thomas Hager recounts the fascinating backstories of ten drugs that have changed the way we live. Behind the search for new and better medicines there’s always been this hope for an effective drug without any risk.
Utah writer Matthew LaPlante is with us to talk about the world's biggest, tiniest and deadliest creatures. He says they survived the process of evolution, so they must have something to teach us.
Friday, we're talking about success. The network scientist Albert-Laszlo Barabasi says he has figured out a quantifiable formula that explains why some people are successful and others are not.
Tuesday, science writer Carl Zimmer joins us to talk about the power of heredity. The traits we share with our parents or kids, how does that work exactly? Zimmer says it can be a gift or a curse.
In a controversial new book, Alex Berenson aims to torpedo a lot of what we think we know about marijuana. He says it isn’t the panacea we’ve been led to believe it is, and that it causes psychosis, which leads to violence.
Neuroscientist Joseph Jebelli became interested in Alzheimer’s disease as he watched his own grandfather go through it. There’s a good chance it’s touched someone in your life too; Jebelli calls it the next global pandemic.
The writer Michael Pollan is with us to talk about his book on psychedelics. It’s about their potential to heal mental illnesses, and to explore the subject, Pollan took a few trips himself.
University of Liverpool Faculty of Health & Life Sciences / Flickr CC
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Science writer Brian Switek says human bones are often a symbol of death, but they also represent deep truths about who we are. His latest book is a cultural and natural history of our bones.
Monday, we're talking about this strange mix in human nature of virtue and violence. The anthropologist Richard Wrangham is fascinated by how and why humans evolved to be both so nice and so brutal.
Wednesday, we're talking about success. The network scientist Albert-Laszlo Barabasi says he has figured out an actual, quantifiable formula that explains why some people are successful and others are not.
