Curious by Nature

Estimates suggest that 10 to 30 percent of students are neurodivergent, raising important questions about what the future of work will look like for them. Neurodiverse employees bring many unique strengths to the workplace, but companies may need to rethink how they design roles, environments, and expectations to support those strengths.

Our guest today is Dr. Eric Patton, Professor of Management at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and author of the book Neurodiversity and Work. In this episode, we explore how organizations can better support neurodivergent employees and why embracing neurodiversity can benefit both workers and companies.

When most people hear about youth suicide and depression, the reaction is immediate and understandably heavy. But understanding the early warning signs can make a critical difference. Research suggests that signals of mental health struggles may appear 10 to 12 years before a serious crisis, meaning early awareness and intervention can be life-changing.

Our guest today has dedicated his career to improving how we identify and treat serious mental health conditions. Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, Professor of Psychiatry and Founding Director of the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care at the O’Donnell Brain Institute at UT Southwestern Medical School, joins us to discuss how researchers and communities can recognize early signs of depression and help young people get support before problems escalate.

Researchers studying Alzheimer’s disease are examining how the condition changes the brain from every possible angle. Many people have heard about amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, but another growing area of research focuses on how brain cells process small molecules like lipids and amino acids. This field, known as metabolomics, studies how these chemical processes function and how they may break down in disease.

Dr. Stewart Graham, the John and Marilyn Bishop Endowed Chair for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at Corewell Health, joins us to discuss how metabolomics is revealing new clues about Alzheimer’s disease. His work focuses on understanding how these metabolic changes may help scientists diagnose the disease earlier, predict its progression, and develop new strategies to slow or prevent its impact.

In the post-Civil War South, segregated, state-run reform schools became a source of cheap farm labor through the convict-leasing system. Decades later, investigators have uncovered troubling patterns of abuse and discrimination in how these schools operated, as well as a striking lack of historical documentation about what actually happened there.

Our guest today is one such investigator. Dr. Kaniqua Robinson of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, an anthropologist who studies cultural and collective memory, explores how communities remember and confront difficult histories, particularly where they intersect with race and criminal justice.

In this episode, we discuss how societies uncover hidden histories and ask a powerful question: How do we pass down knowledge of the past and ensure it is not forgotten?

Countless blockbuster movies have depicted a world where humanity is on the brink of destruction. But in the real world, what would it take to be an existential threat? Could a terrorist attack wipe us out? What can we do to prepare for the worst and ensure our survival?

In this episode, we speak with Zak Kallenborn, a researcher affiliated with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, George Mason University, and the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland, and Dr. Gary Ackerman, Professor and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany.

Patients with cancers of the blood, such as leukemia and lymphoma, often need to undergo a bone marrow transplant. In the past, this was a painful and complicated procedure that often didn’t always succeed.

Dr. Shernan Holtan, Chief of Blood and Marrow Transplantation at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, has dedicated her career to improving blood and bone marrow transplants and making them safer and more effective for patients. In this episode, we explore how advances in transplant medicine are helping more patients survive and recover.

We are all getting older, but scientists who study aging are learning more than ever about what happens to our bodies later in life and what we can do to stay healthier for longer. While everyone wants to know the secret to feeling young, researchers are uncovering practical ways to support healthy aging.

Dr. Benjamin Miller of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation joins us to talk about the science behind aging, what researchers are discovering about how our bodies change over time, and what it might take to help people live longer, healthier lives.

In Greenville, South Carolina, environmental scientists are finding new ways to understand the health and biodiversity of ecosystems. Sometimes, the key is simply listening. Birdsong has become a powerful tool for studying biodiversity and tracking changes in the environment.

Dr. John Quinn, a researcher at Furman University, joined us to discuss how he uses recordings of bird calls to evaluate whether land management practices are truly helping ecosystems thrive. In this episode, we explore how listening to nature can reveal important clues about the health of the world around us.

When our guest today first began working as a scientist, our understanding of atomic particles was only beginning to take shape. Dr. Christina Kourkoumelis, from the University of Athens and CERN, is now part of an enormous global collaboration involving thousands of scientists and one of the most remarkable engineering feats in modern science: the 27-kilometer particle accelerator known as the Large Hadron Collider.

In this episode, we talk about where she’s been, what she has witnessed throughout her remarkable career, and what continues to keep her curious and excited about science today.

When it comes to bosses, everyone seems to have a story about a good one or a bad one. But what actually makes the difference? For Dr. Stephen Courtright at the University of Iowa, that question has become a central focus of his research. Blending insights from business, psychology, and leadership studies, his work explores how leaders shape the people and teams around them.

In this episode, we discuss his widely cited research on transformational leadership and what it reveals about motivation, workplace culture, and the qualities that separate great leaders from the rest.