Jafar Tabebordbar was in his early 30’s, living and working as an accountant in Shiraz, Iran, when he became a father. It was 1986, nearly a decade after the 1979 revolution, and Jafar’s muscles were already beginning to wither. As his sons grew, and watched, their father Jafar lost his…
This week: Everyone needs insurance. But what kind? And what does it mean to have it, or not? Well, there’s actual insurance, which is a policy where you and an insurer contract with one another in case things go south with (usually) your home, your car, or your body. That’s…
How do we reimagine capitalism in a world on fire? That's today's big question, and my guest is Rebecca Henderson, Harvard professor behind the wildly popular class "Reimagining Capitalism". I had Rebecca on the show in 2020 to discuss her book of the same name and her research, which explores…
This week: What does it mean when people say “revolution”? For these purposes, which are pretty narrow and entirely of my own invention, I don’t mean some single moment in time, unless it was a bellwether for something bigger. And I don’t mean the revolutions that have necessarily most directly…
How can I be a better ancestor? This question has haunted and inspired me since way back in 2019 when I first read the Optimist's Telescope. A beautiful, helpful, inspiring book by Bina Venkataraman. Then I had Bina on the show. I think it's fair to say it reframed and…
Across the front of our website, in big bold letters, is our calling card: “Science for people who give a shit.” You may have seen it and immediately thought “That’s me!” or “You sir, are a child.” Either reaction is well and great. We’re not for everybody. You’re here, though,…
Riley Black is a science writer and amateur paleontologist based in Salt Lake City, Utah, right in the center of dinosaur country, where she chases tales of vanished lives from museum collections to remote badlands. Riley’s published books include Written in Stone, my favorite and critically-acclaimed My Beloved Brontosaurus, When…
Dr. Britt Wray is the author of the fantastic new book “Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis”, an impassioned generational perspective on how to stay sane amid climate disruption. Britt has a Ph.D. in Science Communication from the University of Copenhagen and is the author of…
👉 Watch the full podcast: https://youtu.be/HHur6d7wl5E 👉 Find the audio version with useful links: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/podcast/why-we-cant-focus 👉 Find out more: https://www.importantnotimportant.com or become a Member at https://www.importantnotimportant.com/Membership. 🎧 You can listen our newsletters and podcasts on: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7d1bcYSKPF19PQDLi7mJS3 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1336515208?mt=2&ls=1 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5jYXB0aXZhdGUuZm0vaW1wb3J0YW50LW5vdC1pbXBvcnRhbnQv Castro: https://castro.fm/podcast/3dd79317-d048-4527-a9b8-a49d21536b5b 📲 Follow us on social…
We’re taking giving a shit quite literally this week! Our guest is Newsha Ghaeli, the president and co-founder at Biobot Analytics. If you read our newsletter, you’ll have heard me go on and on about Biobot, whose mission is to transform wastewater infrastructure into public health observatories. As an architect…
Johann Hari is the author of three New York Times best-selling books. His TED talks have been viewed more than 80 million times. The first is named ‘Everything You Think You Know About Addiction is Wrong.’ The second is entitled ‘This Could Be Why You Are Depressed or Anxious’. Johann…
👉 Watch the full podcast: https://youtu.be/bbkyXlXM6JU 👉 Find the audio version with useful links: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/podcast/vaginas-and-friends 👉 Find out more: https://www.importantnotimportant.com or become a Member at https://www.importantnotimportant.com/Membership. 🎧 You can listen our newsletters and podcasts on: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7d1bcYSKPF19PQDLi7mJS3 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1336515208?mt=2&ls=1 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5jYXB0aXZhdGUuZm0vaW1wb3J0YW50LW5vdC1pbXBvcnRhbnQv Castro: https://castro.fm/podcast/3dd79317-d048-4527-a9b8-a49d21536b5b 📲 Follow us on social…
Residential energy use accounts for about 20% of US greenhouse gas emissions, but an electric future awaits us, and now, having passed the IRA, there are a huge variety of rebates to help you electrify your home, to become less dependent on the grid, to save money over time, and…
Rachel E. Gross is an award-winning science journalist based in Brooklyn whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic, WIRED, New Scientist, Slate, Undark, and NPR, among others. Rachel covers the debates and personalities that shape scientific knowledge, most recently as Digital Science Editor for…
Marcius Extavour is the Chief Scientist & Executive Vice President of Climate and Energy at XPRIZE. He moved to XPRIZE after over a decade of working at the intersection of science, policy, education, and technology development. He served as Director of Government and Corporate Partnerships in the Faculty of Applied…
What’s one big change we can make that can make our food healthier, make farming more lucrative, draw down carbon in the atmosphere, and reduce climate emigration? That’s today’s big question, and my guest is Sasankh Munukutla, another fellow in our series with the 776 Foundation. Sasankh is the Co-Founder…
In this week's news we're covering: 0:00 Intro 0:45 Climate change updates around the world 02:59 Covid vaccination could have saved lives 04:08 Earth is covered with undrinkable water 05:25 Quick PSA 05:48 Still struggling with online safety 07:09 The science AI is here 09:13 10 things from my notebook…
Aluminum. It’s everywhere! And we’re going to need a hell of a lot more of it in the future. Aluminum is a primary ingredient in solar, wind, hydro, concentrated solar, bioenergy, the grid, batteries, hydrogen, and more. And that’s just electricity generation and distribution, to say nothing of consumer goods,…
