Big Brains

When we lose someone, we love, we often say we have a broken heart—but what if that’s not just a metaphor? In her new book “The Grieving Body: How The Stress of Loss Can Be An Opportunity For Healing” University of Arizona Professor of Psychology Mary Frances O’Connor shares groundbreaking insights into the biological

New federal data paints a stark picture: American children are falling behind in reading and test scores, with the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged kids growing wider. But is this really just a problem of money? University of Chicago Developmental psychologist Ariel Kalil has spent her career studying how paren

What does it mean to understand death? For centuries, philosophers have argued that only humans can truly comprehend mortality. But what if they’re wrong? In this episode, we speak with philosopher Susana Monsó, author of Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death, to explore whether animals can grasp their own morta

In 2000, the United States declared that measles had been eliminated. But just 15 years later, the disease made a comeback—and it hasn’t gone away since. In this episode, Dr. Adam Ratner, director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at NYU and author of Booster Shots: The Urgent Lessons of Measles and the

What makes a good life? For decades, psychologists have debated whether true fulfillment comes from happiness—a life of comfort and joy—or meaning—a life of purpose and impact. But what if there's a third way? University of Chicago psychology professor Shigehiro Oishi has spent his career studying happiness, meaning, a

Imagine a future in which Band-Aids talk to your cells, pacemakers are powered by light and your gut microbiome gets a tune-up—all thanks to tiny bioelectric devices. Sounds like sci-fi, right? Think again. Prof. Bozhi Tian of the University of Chicago is on the frontier of bioelectronics, building living machines that