Insights

Tim Robbins is an Academy Award winning actor of movies such as The Shawshank Redemption, Mystic River, and The Player. We talk about the responsibilities of a film and theatre actor, how stories get selected by movie studios, and potential of art to bring about empathy and change.

Enjoy this Tim Robbins interview.

Dr. Charles Rice won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus. We talked about the nature of the Hepatitis C virus, the novel coronavirus, and his developing interest in science.

Dr. J. Michael Kosterlitz is the 2016 Nobel Prize winner in physics for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter. We discuss condensed matter physics, rock climbing, and advice for future scientists.

Dr. Owen Brian Toon is the founding chair of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. We talk the footprint of carbon dioxide emissions, the dangers of coal and natural gas, and advice for future scientists.

Dr. Russell Foster is a professor of circadian neuroscience at Oxford. We talk about the various types of biological rhythms, what happens if the clock is thrown off, and his early interest in science.

Dr. Robert Harrington was the president of the American Heart Association from 2019-2020. We talk about trends in heart disease, COVID-19 cardiac complications, and getting involved with the American Heart Association.

Dr. Jim Al-Khalili is a professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in science at the University of Surrey. We talk about the applications of quantum physics, the emergence of quantum biology, and the role of science in today's culture.

Dr. Kelly Brownell is the director of the World Food Policy Center. We discuss public health with regard to how and what we eat today. We also talk about how public policy could be used to promote healthier eating habits.

Filmed on December 8, 2020.

Dr. Avi Loeb is the former chair of Harvard's astronomy department and the New York Times best-selling author of Extraterrestrial. We talk about the possibility of life outside Earth, the UFO sightings, and the necessity of space exploration.

Link to his best-selling book, Extraterrestrial

https://www.amazon.com/Extraterrestri...

Link to some of his opinion pieces

https://lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/~loeb/Op...

Dr. Daniel Gilbert is a psychology professor at Harvard and author of the best-selling book Stumbling on Happiness. We talk about the scientific basis of imagination and how it relates to our understanding of happiness.