Science for people who give a sh*t. Want to feel better AND unf*ck the world? The 6-time Webby nominee delivers deep conversations with the world's smartest people (scientists, doctors, CEO's, farmers, and more!), and digestible news updates every single week, loaded with tips and steps you and we can take to fix this place right up. We're talkin' clean energy and coral reefs, COVID vaccines and pediatric cancer research, clean water and carbon capture tech, asteroid deflection and artificial intelligence ethics. "A vital service in an era where important truths, outright fiction and mere trivia all compete for your attention.” - Craig Mazin, creator, writer, and executive producer of HBO's Chernobyl Hosted by Quinn Emmett
How do we take a huge chronic disease burden like Lyme disease or long COVID or even long flu and make it so personal that we simply can't ignore it anymore?
That's today's big question and my guest is Dr. Mikki Tal, an immunoengineer and a principal scientist at MIT.
Dr. Tal leads the Tal Research Group within the Department of Biological Engineering, and also serves as the Associate Scientific Director of the Center for Gynepathol...
This week I wrote about a groundbreaking and essential new study that — thank christ — is not actually about which seemingly reasonable dietary supplement will definitely extend/tragically cut short your life.
It’s about 🍿 film, and after you’re done reading, I’d love it if you replied to this email with some favorite movies that moved the needle for you in some way. We’ll share the list with...
In this essay, I will argue that Bridget Jones is the perfect climate-era hero, because she is all of us.
Who is still covering Long COVID, and how much is the audience actually growing?
That's today's big question, and my guests are Betsy Ladygetz and Miles Griffis, editors and co-founders of The Sick Times, a journalist-founded website chronicling the Long COVID crisis.
The Sick Times investigates injustices, challenges powerful institutions, wades through the latest research, assesses COVID-19 data, and offers an essential platform ...
Let’s talk about the Information Era.
What have we learned from millennia of water insecurity, of climate changes and disasters, of building along freshwater ways and the ocean, that we can apply today?
That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Amber Wutich.
Dr. Wutich is an ASU President's Professor, Director of the Center for Global Health, and 2023 MacArthur Fellow.
She's an expert on water insecurity, and directs the Global Ethnohydrology Study, a cross cultur...
Bernie decided March 15th is Long COVID Awareness Day, so I thought it was an appropriate moment to try to pull together the threads of why Long COVID pisses me off so much, examples of other self-defeating issues we never learned from, and a blueprint for how to do better, better.
You know you're stressed. You know you're anxious. Do you have depression? And do you need to know the latest in the biology of how the brain works and depression works or doesn't work and whether the gut is involved in getting meaningful help?
That's today's big question. I promise it's kind of one question, even if there are a ton of different answers, and they're going to be different for everybody.
This conversation is a follow-...
There are few problems so simple that a single donation can fix them.
Usually, to turn a problem into a realistic opportunity takes many donations. Over time, spread over a large number of donors.
But all the work before that is kind of exhausting: you’ve gotta make sure your donation goes to the right place, the right organization, the right people — usually the ones closest to the problem — with the most pragmat...
The climate clock is ticking faster and faster.
How can we use capitalism to undo the bad stuff that capitalism did and maybe even make things better?
That's today's big (loaded) question, and my returning guest is Akshat Rathi.
Akshat is a London-based senior reporter, newsletter writer, and podcaster for Bloomberg News.
Akshat has a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Oxford, and a BTech in Chemical Engineering from th...
Are we in the hardest part of the climate transition?
What are reverse coattails, and how might they slow climate change, prevent the next pandemic, and keep Nazis off of school boards?
That's today's big question, and my returning guest is Amanda Litman.
Amanda is one of my favorite people. She is the co-founder and co-executive director of Run for Something, which recruits and supports young, diverse progressives running for down-ballot office, state, and local, and all those fun le...
How are we supposed to navigate this energy transition, AI, and pandemics, if we cannot agree on the most basic, fundamental shit?
We argue about tradeoffs or gently suggest expanding the scope of our moral concern to include other people’s air, water, food, shelter, and health, instead of simply saying some things — like the lives of children — are simply, emphatically, non-negotiable.
Today’s essay is a bit of a departure — I just wanted to make super clear where I stand vis a vis the next eleven months.
A MAGA party don't stop unless we stop it.
Today’s essay is my version of a 2024 preview. Unlike other previews, though, it’s less, “This is what is going to happen” and more “These are the table stakes as far as I can tell.”
I think that approach is much more helpful, but you can be the judge.
I’m back today to share my 2023 wrap-up. It’s a pretty stream-of-consciousness endeavor, but I think it sums up where I was right in my 2023 preview, where I was very wrong, how the world changed — or didn’t — and most importantly, how we responded.
How will the universe end?
That's today's big question, and my guest is Sarafina El-Badry Nance.
Sarafina is an NSF graduate research fellow, astrophysics Ph.D. candidate, and Forbes 30 Under 30 Science 2022 honoree, specializing in supernova and cosmology.
She's also the author of the new, honest, and empowering memoir "Starstruck: A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark".
Sarafina and I recorded this conversation ba...
Why does it matter who reviews our video games?
That's today's big question, and my guest is Swapna Krishna.
Swapna and I recorded this conversation in 2022, and as gaming and the entire media ecosystem changes and evolves and is pulled apart and merged, it's more important than ever to find reputable sources we not only trust, but who we have a connection with, and that's why representation matters so much.
Swapna is a writer and ...
How do we get our attention back?
That's today's big question. I think about it every day, and my guest is Johann Hari. Johann and I recorded this conversation in 2022, and with the Internet in general and social networks of the past fifteen years being straight-up pulled apart, I think it's more relevant than ever.
Johann Hari is the author of three New York Times best-selling books, an executive producer of an Oscar-nominated mov...
How's your mental health around climate change?
That is today's big question, and my guest is Britt Wray. Britt and I recorded this conversation in 2022. It is an all-time favorite of mine and of our listeners.
Britt is the author of the fantastic book, Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis. She has a passionate generational perspective on how to stay sane amid climate disruption. Britt has a PhD in science c...
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.