SCIENCE FOR PEOPLE WHO GIVE A SHIT
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Episodes

Issue #234: Tripping Over Our Bootstraps, Cover My Crops, AI is as Bad as Us
June 11, 2021

Issue #234: Tripping Over Our Bootstraps, Cover My Crops, AI is as Bad as Us

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 l...
115: Fossil Fuel Propaganda
June 7, 2021

115: Fossil Fuel Propaganda

In Episode 115 , Quinn & Brian discuss: How to stop fossil fuel advertising. Our guests are JaRel Clay and Jamie Henn. JaRel Clay is the Digital Director of Hip Hop Caucus, a national nonprofit focused on ending the climate c...
Issue #233: Big Renewable Energy, AI Isn’t All That (Yet), Hot Vax Summer
June 4, 2021

Issue #233: Big Renewable Energy, AI Isn’t All That (Yet), Hot Vax Summer

This week: bigger doesn’t mean better; COVAX has got next, finally; a brand new day… and vaccine; AI and medicine – so close, and yet so far. Visit ImportantJobs.com to find your next role working on the frontlines of the fut...
114. Carbon Offsets: Not A Get Out of Jail Free Card, TBH
May 31, 2021

114. Carbon Offsets: Not A Get Out of Jail Free Card, TBH

In Episode 114 , Quinn asks: What are carbon offsets, and do they even work? Our returning guest is Akshat Rathi , a reporter at Bloomberg Green. Carbon offsets -- like our planet -- are so hot right now. And like our planet ...
Issue #232: These Shrooms Aren’t Fungi, Climate Change Is Costly, Keep the Vaccines Rolling
May 28, 2021

Issue #232: These Shrooms Aren’t Fungi, Climate Change Is Costly, Keep the Vaccines Rolling

This week: a brutal day for oil; fungi on the move (not great); wastewater: so hot right now; paying for climate protection; vaccine inequities; and facial recognition on the way out (for now). Find links from this newsletter...
Do Better Better #18: Back to the Future
May 26, 2021

Do Better Better #18: Back to the Future

Synopsis: We can time travel to the past to understand how we got to where we are today. But the past doesn’t dictate the future - not anymore. So we have to look forward. The decisions we make today will guarantee that the w...
113: Lessons from Plants
May 24, 2021

113: Lessons from Plants

In Episode 113 , Quinn asks: What can we learn from plants? The answer, it turns out, is: A whole heck of a lot. Our guest is the wonderful and way overqualified Dr. Beronda Montgomery -- PhD, writer, researcher, scholar, and...
Issue #231: Electric Truck Boogaloo, Get Your Colon Checked, What’s Your Beef
May 21, 2021

Issue #231: Electric Truck Boogaloo, Get Your Colon Checked, What’s Your Beef

This week: An electric truck for the masses; India’s vaccine production stays home; Better cancer screening; Beef emissions. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email...
112. The Next Pandemic
May 19, 2021

112. The Next Pandemic

Oh, when we were young and so naive. In Episode #9 (!), Quinn and Brian got to know Dr. Nahid Bhadelia , an infectious diseases physician, Associate Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, and the Medical Direc...
111: When Your Government Runs on Windows 95
May 10, 2021

111: When Your Government Runs on Windows 95

In Episode 111 , Quinn & Brian discuss the past, present, and future of government IT infrastructure. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED??? Our guest is Aneesh Chopra , the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States. Twelve yea...
Issue #229: Fossil Fuel Funding, MDMA Magic, Leaky Legislation
May 7, 2021

Issue #229: Fossil Fuel Funding, MDMA Magic, Leaky Legislation

This week: fossil fuel financing under the microscope, India’s COVID summer, MDMA to the rescue, how to fix our water pipes. Psychedelics 101: Books, Documentaries, Podcasts, Science, and More – The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss...
110. The End of the Universe
May 3, 2021

110. The End of the Universe

In Episode 110 , Quinn’s talking about the end of the universe. His guest is Sarafina Nance , Ph.D. candidate at Berkeley, astrophysicist, author, and women’s health advocate. She also hosts Constellation , a TV show by Seeke...
Issue #228: Carbon Offset Upset, the COVID Baby Bust, Man vs. Mosquito
April 30, 2021

Issue #228: Carbon Offset Upset, the COVID Baby Bust, Man vs. Mosquito

This week: AI is going backwards; carbon offsets are a mirage; falling birthrates and COVID; the end of malaria?; Jordan’s out of water. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got fee...
109. Introducing “What Can I Do?”
April 26, 2021

109. Introducing “What Can I Do?”

In Episode 109 , Quinn & Brian try to help answer the eternal question: What can I do? Our guest is Frank Buncom IV , Head of Product Management at AIRx Health, a ground-breaking digital health and remote monitoring service f...
Issue #227: Building a Better Battery, It’s Covid Crunch Time, I Was Promised Waterworld Wouldn’t Suck
April 23, 2021

Issue #227: Building a Better Battery, It’s Covid Crunch Time, I Was Promised Waterworld Wouldn’t Suck

This week: Batteries 101; too many vaccines, not enough takers; new antibiotics, but are they the right ones?; water disputes grow; AI gets the crack down Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/...
108. Data for Progress
April 19, 2021

108. Data for Progress

In Episode 108 , Quinn & Brian discuss: Data for progress. Our guest is Julian Brave NoiseCat , the Vice President of Policy & Strategy at Data for Progress, a progressive think tank that uses data science, public opinion res...
Issue #226: Show Me Receipts, I Like Those Odds, The Next Frontier in Your Fleshbag
April 16, 2021

Issue #226: Show Me Receipts, I Like Those Odds, The Next Frontier in Your Fleshbag

This week: Biden’s climate disclosures; Johnson & Johnson on pause; Odds of being infected post-vaccination; Biotech’s next decade; The EU draws up AI rules… and just in time Find links from this newsletter and more at import...
107. Start a Sustainable Fashion Revolution
April 12, 2021

107. Start a Sustainable Fashion Revolution

In Episode 107 , Quinn & Brian discuss: How to buy clothing that lasts while not polluting the oceans or exploiting low-income workers. Our guest is Orsola de Castro , a fashion icon and the founder of Fashion Revolution , a ...
Issue #225: The Cost of Climate Change, Skeptical Evangelists, Algorithms for the Win
April 9, 2021

Issue #225: The Cost of Climate Change, Skeptical Evangelists, Algorithms for the Win

This week: Climate finance remains unregulated; God vs Vaccines; AI antibiotics are coming; New data on food waste since the 1960s Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback?...
Do Better Better #17: Start Over
April 7, 2021

Do Better Better #17: Start Over

Synopsis: Starting over sucks. But, like in Contra, maybe starting over is just the thing that’ll save the world. Do Better Better essays help you build mental models and ask questions about our changing world — for yourself,...
#106: Black Moms Matter
April 5, 2021

#106: Black Moms Matter

In Episode 106 , Quinn & Brian ask: Why is it so dangerous to have Black babies in America? Our guest is Congresswoman Lauren Underwood , the millenial Black nurse and former senior adviser to President Obama. Her “Momnibus ...
Issue #224: Biden Steps Up, The Take-Home Test You Hope to Fail, Why Green is Good
April 2, 2021

Issue #224: Biden Steps Up, The Take-Home Test You Hope to Fail, Why Green is Good

This week: Biden’s plan, explained; financial climate risk, uncovered; at-home COVID tests, approved; pesticide poisonings, revealed Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedbac...
Best of the Best: “‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens”
March 29, 2021

Best of the Best: “‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens”

Hi. Hello. Americans are leaving their living rooms again, which means we’re shooting people again, too. As such, we’re re-running our conversation with Fred Guttenberg, father of Parkland victim, Jaime Guttenberg. We need to...
Issue #223: Summer’s About to Get a Whole Lot Longer
March 26, 2021

Issue #223: Summer’s About to Get a Whole Lot Longer

This week: The Western drought grows; China’s vaccine exports; menthol cigarettes on the run; bacon and Alzheimer’s; croissants and cancer. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got ...