What 2020 May Hold for Global Politics (0:32)

Guest: Quinn Mecham, Professor of Political Science, Brigham Young University

Regular Top of Mind contributor Quinn Mecham gives his predictions for what he thinks we might see in world political events in 2020. But first, a look back at 2019. 

 

Feeling Anxious? Get More Deep Sleep. (23:30)

Guest: Eti Ben-Simon, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Center for Human Sleep Science, University of California, Berkeley

Have you felt anxious today? How well did you sleep last night? The two are so connected that when researchers at the Center for Human Sleep Science at UC Berkeley took 18 perfectly healthy adults and forced them to stay awake all night, the next day, half of the poor souls registered anxiety levels high enough they’d normally trigger a clinical diagnoses of anxiety disorder. 

 

Romantic Love is One of The Most Addictive Substances on Earth (34:56)

Guest: Helen Fisher, PhD, Biological Anthropologist, Senior Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, Chief Scientific Advisor for Match.com, Author of “Anatomy of Love” and “Why We Love”

After scanning the brains of people falling in and out of love and surveying tens of thousands of people on a dating site, Helen Fisher has concluded that romantic love is among the most addictive substances on Earth. We’re not talking about lust or sex drive. She says the desire – to fall in love, be loved romantically by someone – is entirely separate and even more powerful. 

 

The Tech That Changed the World in the 2010's and What to Expect From the 2020's (50:37)

Guest: Jason Perlow, Senior Technology Editor, ZDNet

Ten years ago – the dawn of the 2010s – the world was about to get its first glimpse of the iPad. It changed us. Now we all have tablets – or phones and laptops that can act like tablets if we want. Think of all the other technology the 2010s gave us: smart watches, smart speakers, smart-everything, really, including home appliances, lights and locks. The 2010's also brought our first real taste of just how much companies like Google, Apple and Facebook know about us – how easily that data can be misused. 

 

Fine Art is Still Very Much a Man’s World, Even as Museums Claim Otherwise (1:07:39)

Guest: Julia Halperin, Executive Editor, artnet News

Over the last decade, America’s most prominent art museums acquired nearly 300,000 new pieces for their permanent collections. Barely 10% of those works were done by female artists.  At auction, the gap between what art by men and women brings in is even bigger. Why is art still such a man’s world when, for the last decade US museums and galleries have made a big show of trying to close the gap, including special exhibitions of art by women? 

 

The Unseen Danger of Noise Pollution (1:25:43)

Guest: Erica Walker, ScD, Founder of Noise and the City, Postdoctoral Researcher at Boston University School of Public Health

The noise on a big city street can be overwhelming. It can also be harmful to your health. The Noise and the City project out of Boston University’s School of Public Health is working to understand how noise affects us – and how we can have less of it in our lives.