Innovation Hub

Americans spend a lot of time, money and energy filing taxes every year, and yet our tax system is both less fair and less efficient than other systems around the world. Author T.R. Reid says the U.S. government should look to other countries’ tax models to fix our own.

Dark money, microbes, oppressive ads, and overconfidence. It’s this week’s Innovation Hub.

There’s a health epidemic that doctors have been ignoring for decades. We talk with Dr. Vincent Felitti about how childhood trauma can affect adults’ health.

Human rights are hotly-debated, but when did that debate begin? UCLA’s Lynn Hunt talks about what might have been the formative moment for human rights - and how we’re constantly changing our definition of equality.

When did the fight for human rights begin? According to Lynn Hunt, the 18th century. And why? One answer is rather unexpected: the rise of the novel. Childhood experiences can drastically affect a person’s health for the rest of their life. We talk to a doctor about what that means for medicine. Science gave us penicillin, the moon landing, and the theory of evolution. But scientists can also make really big mistakes.

Science gave us penicillin, the moon landing, and the theory of evolution. But scientists also make mistakes. NPR’s Richard Harris tells us why, and what the consequences are.

Loneliness is a drag. But it’s also bad for your health. We find out why feeling lonely is as dangerous as obesity.

The key to advancing medicine might be found right in your backyard. Harvard’s Jeff Karp finds inspiration in nature to create medical solutions for humans.

Our kids are our future, so what happens when we start having fewer of them? Dowell Myers and Fariborz Ghadar explain.

Parents won’t shut up about their kids being precious. And with American birth rates declining, they’re actually right. Geckos can help us perform surgery, and kingfishers can help us design trains. We dive into the world of biologically-inspired design. Being lonely isn’t just bad for your emotional health, it’s bad for your physical health. We talk about why Americans are lonelier than ever and what can be done about it.