Episodes
Aug. 31, 2020
#95: How to Upgrade Your Microbiome
In Episode 95 , Quinn & Brian ask: how can we upgrade our microbiome (also, what’s a microbiome (also, why does it need upgrading))? Our guest is: Raja Dhir, Co-Founder of Seed Health a microbiome company pioneering the appl…
Aug. 24, 2020
#94: Wait. Is Climate Science...Fashionable? It Is With Allbirds!
In Episode 94 , Quinn & Brian discuss: the most comfortable and sustainable shoes on the planet. Our guest is: Hana Kajimura , who leads the development and execution of the Allbirds sustainability program and strategy and i…
Aug. 17, 2020
#93: All The Fun Stuff (That Shouldn’t Be) in Your Drinking Water
In Episode 93 , Quinn & Brian ask: What can we do about all of this not-water in our water? Our guest is: Imari Walker , who is quite possibly the world’s preeminent Microplastics Bae. Imari is an Environmental Engineer, a M…
Aug. 10, 2020
#92: Your Invitation to Climate School at Terra.do
In Episode 92 , we're headed off to climate school! Our guest is Anshuman Bapna , the creator (and headmaster) of Terra.do , which is like Hogwarts but for fixing the broken Earth. Of course, unlike Dumbledore, you can trust…
Aug. 3, 2020
#91: Why is Drinking Water So Unaffordable for So Many Americans?
We’re back! In Episode 91 , Quinn & Brian ask: Why is drinking water so unaffordable, or unavailable, or just filthy for so many people? Our guests are: Nina Lakhani & Mary Grant. Nina is environmental justice reporter for T…
June 15, 2020
GOOD NEWS: What The Hell Is CRISPR?
Back in Episode 51 , Quinn & Brian asked: Are we thinking about CRISPR all wrong (and what the hell is it)? This is one of our most popular episodes, probably because it features one of our coolest guests: C. Brandon Ogbunu …
June 13, 2020
Black Lives Matter: A Letter to My Fellow White Men
We published our company statement on the Black Lives Matter protests on June 8th. This is an audio version of that statement, titled "A Letter to My Fellow White Men." You can read the original at https://www.importantnotim…
June 12, 2020
Issue #184: Climate Change Needs More Color, Asthma is Racist, Yakety Yak (MIT Tracks Back)
Please enjoy this preview of our weekly premium audio newsletter. Find out more at https://important.supportingcast.fm . This week : Racism is distracting us from the climate fight; if you’re black, you probably live near a …
June 1, 2020
GOOD NEWS: What's It Like To Almost Be An Astronaut?
Back in Episode 42 , Quinn & Brian asked: What happens when you’re almost an astronaut... and what comes next? Our guest is Dr. Sian Proctor , an explorer, scientist, full-time professor, STEM communicator, and almost an ast…
May 25, 2020
GOOD NEWS: Food Waste is the Stupidest Thing We Do
In Episode 44 , Quinn & Brian discussed: Why food waste is the stupidest thing we do and how can we cut it in half. Our guest was Dr. James Rogers , founder and CEO of Apeel Sciences and one of our most mind-blowing guests y…
May 18, 2020
GOOD NEWS: How to Be A Better Ancestor
To continue our Good News series, we’re looking back to Episode 78 , when Quinn & Brian discussed: Planning for chaos . (Cheery, right?) For real, though. This episode offers an actionable, helpful, revealing, and — dare we …
May 11, 2020
GOOD NEWS: Can Zebrafish Beat Childhood Cancer?
In Episode 75 , Quinn & Brian discussed: Beating the crap out of childhood cancer with science and... zebrafish? Our guests are Dr. Jaclyn Taroni and Dr. Genevieve Kendall . Dr. Kendall is a Postdoctoral scholar at UT Southw…
May 4, 2020
WEBBY NOMINEE: "Who's Fixing The People Fixing The Planet?"
If you haven’t already heard, we received a Webby nomination for Best Podcast Episode in the Science & Education category. We’re really proud to be nominated again… but, we also really want to win. So, today, we’re re-airing…
April 29, 2020
Holy Cow We're Nominated For Two Webbys
That's right, we are now a four-time Webby-nominated podcast! But what we really want is to be a Webby-winning podcast. So, please, go vote! It's free and you can stick it to the AARP. Vote for Important, Not Important for B…
April 27, 2020
GOOD NEWS: Did A.I. Just Make My Life’s Work Obsolete?
In Episode 73 , Quinn & Brian asked: Did A.I. take our jobs? Of course, we aren’t talking about our jobs. If A.I. took our jobs, the show would have won that goddamn Webby. No, no — we’re talking about really, really importa…
April 20, 2020
GOOD NEWS: So We Can’t Just Blow Up Asteroids, Then?
Our “Good News” series of replays begins today with Episode 66 , when Quinn & Brian hosted a delightfully important discussion: Why, apparently, we shouldn’t just blow up asteroids. Our guest is: Professor K.T. Ramesh , who …
April 13, 2020
#90: What It’s Like to be a COVID-19 Lab Rat
In Episode 90 , Quinn & Brian discuss: What it’s like to be a COVID-19 Lab Rat. Our guest is: Allie Broas , an almost-MBA and one of Quinn’s many, many cousins. We weren’t exactly planning to do more of these episodes right …
April 7, 2020
BEST OF THE BEST: Air Pollution: The Low Hanging Fruit of Our Hellish Future
Cast your mind back to Episode 79 , when Quinn & Brian discussed: Optimism in the air (can it be?). Our guest is: Beth Gardiner , an environmental journalist and the author of Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollut…
March 31, 2020
BEST OF THE BEST: Is COVID-19 America’s Chernobyl?
Way back in Episode 65 , Quinn asked: Was Chernobyl a preventable and rare accident from the past, or a vivid picture of what happens when the government abandons its citizens during a crisis? FUN STORY: turns out, it’s B! W…
March 27, 2020
Special Edition: How You Can Help — And (Mostly) Still Stay Home
If you've been wondering how else you can help fight coronavirus besides staying at home in sweatpants, this episode is for you. Please share widely. You can find links and additional details at importantnotimportant.com/blo…
March 23, 2020
#89: Why Does It Require a PhD in Neuroscience Just to Support a Green New Deal?
In Episode 89 , Quinn & Brian discuss: Taking down the white guy who politically stabbed you (and the planet) in the back. Our guest is: Dr. Arati Kreibich. She gave us a call a couple weeks back to explain that she’s a fres…
March 16, 2020
#88: You Voted for Clean Energy… So Where The Hell Is it?
In Episode 88 , Quinn & Brian ask: You voted for clean energy… so why hasn’t it become a thing yet? Our guest is: Dr. Leah Stokes , author of the new book Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean En…
March 9, 2020
#87: What's In Your Moisturizer, Anyways?
In Episode 87 , Quinn & Brian ask: What, exactly, are we putting on our bodies (and why aren’t more people asking questions about it)? Our guest is: Gregg Renfrew . Gregg is a serial entrepreneur who most recently founded Be…
March 3, 2020
Special Edition: How to Survive the Coronavirus (With Your Sanity Intact)
In this special episode, Quinn (with some help from our friends at the CDC and elsewhere) talks you through everything you need to know about the coronavirus, what you can do to prepare, and — maybe most importantly — what y…