Innovation Hub

Vincent Felitti first made the connection between childhood abuse and adult health during an obesity research study he ran in the 1980s. During a routine checkup with one of his patients, she mentioned that the year after she was raped, she gained 105 pounds. Felitti recalled what happened next: “She looked down at the carpet and muttered to herself, ‘Overweight is overlooked. And, that’s the way I needed to be.’”

Felitti started asking all of his patients about sexual abuse. The results were shocking. “It seemed every other patient in the program was acknowledging a history of childhood sexual abuse,” he said. In the end, 55 percent of his patients disclosed that they had been abused.

That study kicked off Felitti’s life work. Felitti partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to survey more than 17,000 patients. He found that patients who experienced childhood trauma were more likely to be sick when they grew up. But, it took over 20 years for Vincent Felitti’s research to gain mainstream acceptance.

The Chicago Defender has humble beginnings. Started by Robert Sengstacke Abbott in the rooms of a boardinghouse, the paper quickly grew into a nationally-distributed enterprise. (Abbott himself became one of the first black self-made millionaires.) Ethan Michaeli, author of “The Defender: The Legendary Black Newspaper Change d America,” traces the paper’s influence through history, from the Great Migration to the desegregation of the military.

Your family tree is less of a tree and more of a tangled web. Geneticist Adam Rutherford explains why.

There’s a conversation that all high-powered couples need to have.

Two Stanford professors tell us how to use ideas from product design to create a more fulfilling life.

As scientists apply our new understanding of the human genome to genetics, we’re getting answers to big-picture questions about our species. What is race? How did humanity spread around the globe? How should we pick a mate (genetically speaking)? We talk with Adam Rutherford, geneticist and author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived:The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes. about the history of our genes, and what they reveal about our species.

The number of women running Fortune 500 companies is higher than it’s ever been. And yet, there are only 32 female CEOs on that list. So… why aren’t there more high-powered women in positions of power? There are a multitude of reasons, but according to Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, author of the article “If you Can’t Find a Spouse Who Supports Your Career, Stay Single,” part of the issue lies with the support these women are receiving.

We all want fun and rewarding careers and personal lives. But, we never really learn how to achieve our life goals in college. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, Stanford professors and co-authors of “Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life,” invented a college course to change just that.

We can thank one woman for a lot of the software still used today. A look back at the strides and struggles of Grace Hopper.

Ever notice the small pauses —  like “um” and “uh”  —  that pepper our daily conversations? They actually serve a purpose. We break down the rules of conversation.

She’s been called “the first lady of software.” A conference named after her attracted over 18,000 attendees last year. She had her own Google doodle. She was even on Letterman.

It’s fair to say that Grace Hopper is one of the most celebrated coders ever. But, behind all the accolades, who was she? And how exactly did she change technology? We talk with Kurt Beyer, author of “Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age.”

Hybrid cars. Solar energy. Hydropower. In recent years, the federal government and private companies have both paid a lot of attention to clean energy. But, the future of the industry is uncertain —  especially in the U.S. We talk withCarnegie Mellon University professor and Aquion Energy founder, Jay Whitacre, about the advancement of new energy technology.

As human beings, we spend a great deal of time talking with others, but we don’t always stop to think about how and* why* we choose to say what we say. N.J. Enfield, author of “How We Talk: The Inner Workings Of Conversation,” breaks down the rules of conversation for us.