Episodes
March 12, 2019
BONUS REPLAY: Is Food Waste the Stupidest Thing We Do (& How Do We Cut it in Half)?
We’re digging into our vault and playing a hit this week because there’s big news for former guest Dr. James Rogers and his company Apeel Sciences: Fast Company named Apeel the 7th most innovative company on their list of the...
March 5, 2019
#57: Make Food Great (Nutritious) Again
In Episode 57, Quinn & Brian discuss: Why more food ≠ more nutrition. Our excellent guests are Professors Kristie Ebi and Irakli Loladze. Dr. Ebi is the Rohm & Haas Endowed Professorship in Public Health Sciences at the Unive...
Feb. 26, 2019
#56: What’s It Feel Like To Be Asked To Save the World?
In Episode 56, Quinn & Brian ask: What’s it feel like to be asked to save the world? Our guest is Rhiana Gunn-Wright, who is writing policy and leading the Green New Deal project at New Consensus, which is one of the main thi...
Feb. 19, 2019
#55: What are the Energy Requirements of Well-being?
In Episode 55, Quinn & Brian ask: What are the energy requirements of well-being? Our guest is Julia Steinberger, a Professor of Social Ecology & Ecological Economics at the University of Leeds School of Earth and Environment...
Feb. 12, 2019
#54: The State That’s Not a State is a Hell of a Lot Greener Than Your State
In Episode 54, Quinn & Brian discuss: why the state that’s not a state is a hell of a lot greener than your state. Our guest is Jamie DeMarco, a State-Level Carbon Pricing Coordinator with our friends the Citizens' Climate Lo...
Feb. 5, 2019
#53: How the Hell Do We Pull Clean Drinking Water Out of Thin Air?
In Episode 53, Quinn & Brian ask: How the hell do we pull clean drinking water out of thin air? Our guest is Dr. Shing-Chung “Josh” Wong, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Akron In addition to pursuin...
Jan. 29, 2019
#52: What’s the Deal With the Green New Deal?
In Episode 52, Quinn & Brian ask (using their best Seinfeld impression): What’s the deal with the Green New Deal? Our guest is Varshini Prakash, a founder of the Sunrise Movement, a veritable army of young folks fighting to s...
Jan. 22, 2019
#51: Are We Thinking About CRISPR All Wrong (& What the Hell is CRISPR)?
In Episode 51, Quinn & Brian ask: Are we thinking about CRISPR all wrong (and what the hell is CRISPR)? Our guest is C. Brandon Ogbunu , an evolutionary systems biologist working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of...
Jan. 15, 2019
BEST OF 2018: New Antibiotics in a Post-Antibiotic Era
Back in Episode 19, Quinn & Brian asked: What’s the future of antibiotics? To find out, we sat down with bowtie enthusiast and professor of pathology and immunology and biomedical engineering Dr. Gautam Dantas. Dr. Dantas lea...
Jan. 8, 2019
BEST OF 2018: He’s Given 200+ Climate Speeches to Congress. What’s Next?
Back in Episode 26, Quinn & Brian asked: what drives a man to give 200 climate speeches to Congress? Our guest was Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the junior senator from Rhode Island and all-around stellar human. He’s been a mem...
Jan. 4, 2019
BEST OF 2018: Is It Harder to Build Clean Power Plants or Play in a Reputable Cover Band?
Back in Episode 38, Quinn & Brian asked: Is it harder to build clean power plants or play in a reputable cover band? Our guest Sean Casten then went on to win the election for congressman of Brian’s home district, Illinois’ 6...
Jan. 3, 2019
BEST OF 2018: Congress Got a Female Air Force Officer / Engineer / Chemistry Teacher / Mom
Back in Episode 37, Quinn & Brian asked: Why does Congress need a female Air Force Officer / Engineer / Chemistry Teacher / Mom among its ranks? We found out – and now our guest Chrissy Houlahan is the new congresswoman from ...
Jan. 1, 2019
#50: It’s Getting Hot in Here & America’s Poor are (Not Surprisingly) Dying Fastest
In Episode 50, Quinn & Brian discuss: How D.C. and LA are dealing with urban heat issues. Our guests are Yesim Sayin Taylor and Molly Peterson. Yesim is the founding Executive Director of the D.C. Policy Center and Molly is a...
Dec. 25, 2018
#49: How Can HUGE Food & Beverage Companies Contribute to a More Sustainable Future?
In Episode 49, Quinn & Brian ask: What can the HUGE food and beverage companies do, right now, to improve U.S. food systems and drive trends towards a more sustainable future? It’s a big and complicated question, but our gues...
Dec. 18, 2018
#48: Why Does Childhood Cancer Exist & What Can We Do to Make It Go Away Forever?
In Episode 48, Quinn & Brian ask: Why the hell does childhood cancer exist, isn't the world effed up enough as it is, and what can we do to make it go away forever? Our guest is one of our favorite humans, Jay Scott, Co-Execu...
Dec. 11, 2018
#47: The Future of Digital Health, Part 2: America’s Data
In Episode 47, Quinn goes solo for a minute to discuss: America’s data and the future of digital health. Quinn sits down for a one-on-one chat with Dave Gershgorn, the lead artificial intelligence reporter at Quartz (AKA qz.c...
Dec. 4, 2018
#46: Is There Nuclear Waste in the Ocean (& Can We Become Super Heroes if There Is)?
Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson is an Associate Dean and Distinguished Professor in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of South Carolina, and today she schools us on radioactivity in the ocean. Want to send us feedba...
Nov. 27, 2018
#45: Poop Vs. Cancer
Our guest is Dr. Diwakar Davar, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and a a medical oncologist/hematologist. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!
Nov. 20, 2018
#44: Is Food Waste the Stupidest Thing We Do (& How Do We Cut it in Half)?
Our guest is Dr. James Rogers, founder and CEO of Apeel Sciences and one of our most mind-blowing guests yet. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!
Nov. 13, 2018
#43: The Future of Digital Health, Part 1
Our guests are Dr. Indra Joshi & Maxine Mackintosh, the co-founders of One HealthTech. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!
Nov. 6, 2018
#42: What Happens When You’re Almost an Astronaut... And What Comes Next?
Dr. Sian Proctor tells us how we can all help get more women and more people of color into space, one way or another. Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!
Oct. 30, 2018
Trailer -- Important, Not Important
"The Conversations Most Vital to Our Survival As a Species”. Quinn Emmett & Brian Colbert Kennedy, publishers of the popular “Important, Not Important” weekly newsletter and otherwise regular, progressive, terrified folks lik...
Oct. 30, 2018
#41: Outsmarting Cholera
Our guest is Dr. Minmin Yen, the CEO and co-founder of medical startup PhagePro, where she and her team are developing viruses specifically designed to kill bacteria and prevent bacterial infections. Want to send us feedback?...
Oct. 26, 2018
Bonus: The #1 thing you can do to fight climate change
Hi. So you read the IPCC climate change report. Not great, Bob. We get it. Now you want to do something about it. We get that, too. So here’s a re-run of one of our favorite episodes, “What’s the #1 Thing You Can Do To Affect...