Episodes
Oct. 12, 2020
#101: Code Blue: Arizona Goes to The Emergency Room
In Episode 101 , Quinn & Brian ask: How did all of America end up in the emergency room? Our guest is: Dr. Hiral Tipirneni. She is an emergency room physician, mom, immigrant, cancer research advocate, and congressional candi...
Oct. 5, 2020
#100: A Conversation With (A) Future President of the United States
In Episode 100 , Quinn & Brian discuss: Why state elections matter not just for your state but for the future of our planet. Our guests are: Aimy Steele & Amanda Litman. Aimy is a candidate for the North Carolina House of Rep...
Sept. 28, 2020
#99: How You Doin’?
In Episode 99 , Quinn & Brian, with help from Inverse.com, ask: how are YOU feeling? Our guest is: Ali Pattillo , a health and science reporter at Inverse.com and co-producer of The Abstract podcast. Supplements, metabolism b...
Sept. 21, 2020
#98: How to Stop School Shootings in the USA
In Episode 98 , Quinn & Brian discuss: common sense solutions to prevent gun deaths and destroy the gun lobby. Our guest is: Fred Guttenberg , a gun safety activist and political troublemaker. 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg was...
Sept. 14, 2020
#97: How Do We Rebuild Capitalism in a World on Fire?
In Episode #97 , Quinn digs into how we can rebuild capitalism for the world, for your company, and for yourself. Our guest is: Rebecca Henderson , Harvard professor behind the wildly popular class Reimagining Capitalism. Reb...
Sept. 7, 2020
#96: A Just Alternative to Climate Disaster *and* Gentrification
In Episode 96 , Quinn & Brian ask: How do we orchestrate a just energy transition for frontline low- and middle-income communities — from the inside out? Our guest is: Daphany Rose Sanchez , Executive Director of Kinetic Comm...
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 appli...
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 is...
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 Mi...
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 Th...
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.importantnotimp...
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 c...
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 astr...
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 ye...
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 s...
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 Southwe...
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 Be...
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 importan...
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 i...
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 n...
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 Polluti...