Solve For...

Everything – the planet, its flora and fauna, and our bodies – has a rhythm.

From the beginning, light and darkness have guided the essential rhythms of life on Earth. Every organism—microbes, plants, animals, and humans—has evolved in step with the rising and setting of the sun. We instinctively understand the power of these elemental forces, yet our grasp of them is still expanding. Even today, researchers are uncovering surprising new ways that sunlight shapes our ecosystems, our bodies, and our well‑being.

One big challenge? Artificial light has rewritten the ancient contract between biology and the natural world. Nights are no longer truly dark. Days are often spent indoors, shielded from the full spectrum of sunlight our physiology has come to expect. And as our environment brightens, our internal clocks—those delicate circadian rhythms that govern sleep, metabolism, cognition, and mood—are struggling to keep time.

In the inaugural episode of Solve For…, join science journalist Kate Morgan as she navigates this increasingly illuminated landscape to explore what happens when we drift out of sync with the cycles that guide every living thing. From citizen scientists in Philadelphia tracking fatal bird strikes caused by disorienting city lights to NASA scientists redesigning spacecraft lighting for astronauts, Kate weaves together insights from thought leaders who are reimagining ways that we can get back in sync by realigning our relationship with brightness in a world that never truly gets dark.

Guests:

George Brainard, PhD // Professor Emeritus, Thomas Jefferson University, and Nova Scholar Dr. Brainard has directed Jefferson's Light Research Program since 1984. This program's research studies the effects of light on neuroendocrine physiology and circadian regulation in humans. In 2014, Dr. Brainard and his collaborators were honored with the NASA Johnson Space Center Director's Innovation Award for their contributions to a new lighting system for the International Space Station and other future space habitats. During his career, Dr. Brainard has taught neuroanatomy and neurophysiology to more than 10,000 medical and graduate students. He is a recipient of the Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching. Dr. Brainard is currently conducting a controlled pilot study on the effect of light wavelengths on human prostate cancer tumorigenesis. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board, and is being performed collaboratively between Jefferson Medical College and Tulane School of Medicine. Expected outcomes of the pilot research would have public health significance and could lead to the development of preventative strategies involving outdoor night lighting and the illumination of building interiors.

Robert Fosbury, PhD // Emeritus Astronomer, European Southern Observatory Dr. Fosbury spent 26 years as an astronomer at the European Space Agency (ESA) as part of ESA's collaboration with NASA on the Hubble Space Telescope project. He subsequently worked on the development of the James Webb Space Telescope. Today he studies the effects of light on living tissue. For more from Bob, check out this lecture on life beyond photosynthesis.

Rowan Jacobsen // Writer, author, and Nova Media Fellow Rowan Jacobsen's award-winning books, features, and talks explore the frontiers of science, adventure, and meaning. His most recent book is In Defense of Sunlight. Visit his website at www.rowanjacobsen.com/.

Stephen Maciejewski // Bird Safe Philly Stephen Maciejewski is a founding member of Bird Safe Philly, which - if you're a morning person - is always looking for more volunteers. As a 2025 profile in Philadelphia Gay News notes: In addition to his heroics in the birding world, Maciejewski (pronounced MA-chay-YEF-ski), is an avid plant guy. A competitor in the Philadelphia Flower Show for 28 years, Maciejewski is also the president of the American Begonia Society. Not content to keep his efforts on one continent, he also co-founded the Gesneriad Conservation Center of China. To honor him for his conservation efforts, he's had a plant named after him, the Primulina maciejewskii.

The Nova Institute for Health is a heart-centered think tank that takes action for the good of people, places, and the planet. We look at the entire lived experience that influences health. Our mission is to catalyze new ideas in health, explore the complex network of factors that influence health, and promote the well-being of individuals, communities, and the planet. Our vision is of a world where health is valued as our most basic and essential asset and where people, places, and the planet flourish for the benefit of all.

Solve For...is a production of the Nova Institute for Health. Written and produced by Kate Morgan. Editing and sound design by Olanre Adewole. Executive producers: Brian Berman and Sue Berman. To learn more, visit www.novainstituteforhealth.org.