The Most Important Question

By Important, Not ImportantSociety & Culture Science Technology

The Most Important Question episodes

July 26, 2019 Fun Talk: I Would Like to Fly, But I’d Also Really Like to See in The Dark
In this week’s Fun Talk, Brian stuffs a power bar between his cheeks while we explore none of the topics fit to print: our favorite peanut butter brands, why people look forward to these conversations, why Starship Troopers is controversial, some more deets on the Zebrafish, heat waves, Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, and sci-fi that Brian should read or watch.
FYI: Fun Talk is when we talk about whatever we want, we don’t have a topic, and we stop whenever Brian gets tired. If you want to hear us staying on topic and pondering the many ways we are approaching world-wide catastrophe, check out the episodes that publish on Tuesdays.
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Leave us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/important-not-important/message
L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade 2019: https://www.alexslemonade.org/event/279/register
“How the diminutive zebrafish is having a big impact on medical research”: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/15/zebrafish-human-genes-project
“It’s The End of the World As They Know It”: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/07/weight-of-the-world-climate-change-scientist-grief/
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429X
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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com
Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
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33 min
July 23, 2019 #75: Can Zebrafish Beat Childhood Cancer?
In Episode 75, Quinn & Brian discuss: Beating the crap out of childhood cancer with science and... zebrafish?

We’re getting really nerdy about beating childhood cancer with Dr. Jaclyn Taroni and Dr. Genevieve Kendall. Dr. Kendall is a Postdoctoral scholar at UT Southwestern Medical Center who utilizes zebrafish genetic models to understand how pediatric muscle cancers develop and better identify any therapies we can use to treat it. Dr. Taroni is a Principal Data Scientist at the Childhood Cancer Data Lab, an initiative of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, and her job is to help childhood cancer researchers like Dr. Kendall use data to answer some of the most important questions in the field.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: these badasses are trying to beat kid cancer, so if you don’t care or understand why this is important, you’re a monster.

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Trump’s Book Club:

Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand by Liz Scott, Jay Scott, and Pam Howard & Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3

Links:

Have feedback or questions? Send a message to [email protected]

L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade 2019: https://www.alexslemonade.org/event/279/register

Jaclyn-taroni.com

Dr. Taroni on Twitter: twitter.com/jaclyn_taroni

Childhood Cancer Data Lab: ccdatalab.org

Dr. Kendall on Twitter: twitter.com/genkendall

“Zebrafish expose tumor pathway in childhood muscle cancer”: https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/articles/year-2018/zebrafish.html

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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com
1 hr 9 min
July 19, 2019 Fun Talk: Are You a Massage Guy?
Summer is in full swing and we’re out here living our best lives, so today’s Fun Talk is packed full of nonsense: recording in your PJs, what the world will look like without us, the bad people who say Ace Ventura: Pet Detective sucks, how Brian convinced his mom that he did a good job sweeping (spoiler: he didn’t), Quinn’s kid getting caught lying to him, how rude his kids are for not listening to this podcast, why kids are dumb and other shade, going full wedding planner, Erewhon making Whole Foods look like a dumpster, multi-tasking during the recording (y tho?), a donut and a cookie: the breakfast of champions, how pointless life would be if you were allergic to avocados (sorry Seth), that good EVOO, running into the hilarious Drew Spears, so much dark eating, why L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade Stand is like the best thing, and the anniversary of Apollo 11.
FYI: Fun Talk is when we talk about whatever we want, we don’t have a topic, and we stop whenever Brian gets tired. If you want to hear us staying on topic and pondering the many ways we are approaching world-wide catastrophe, check out the episodes that publish on Tuesdays.
Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!
Links:
Have feedback or questions? Send a message to [email protected]
Leave us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/important-not-important/message
L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade 2019: https://www.alexslemonade.org/event/279/register
Connect with us:
Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!
Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant
Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message
Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett
Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp
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Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant
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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com
Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/important-not-important/message
48 min
July 16, 2019 #74: Incentivizing Those Dirty Capitalists to Solve Climate Change for Us
In Episode 74, Quinn & Brian discuss: Making carbon capture suck more (but this time, with carrots).

Our guest is Henry Elkus, the frustratingly young and impossibly optimistic founder of Helena, an organization that assembles “some of the world’s most remarkable people to develop and lead projects that help build a better tomorrow.” They’re a little different from other think-tanks, though, because they focus on one problem at a time, creating projects that aim to operationally address a societal problem.

The first project Helena focused on was a carbon capture solution – one of the most positive and lucrative possible solutions for addressing the excess carbon in our atmosphere, which has to be done if we want to slow down and possibly reverse climate catastrophe. They helped build and scale the world’s first commercial carbon capture company, Climeworks, creators of the first carbon capture plant that is carbon net-negative.

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Trump’s Book Club:

On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3

Links:

Have feedback or questions? Send a message to [email protected]

www.helena.org

www.climeworks.com

Henry on Twitter: www.twitter.com/henryelkus

The Elk List: www.instagram.com/elklist

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Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!

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Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message

Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett

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Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp

Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant

Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant

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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
1 hr 14 min
July 12, 2019 Fun Talk: A Lot of the Time, It’s Just Deep Sighs for 23 Minutes
FYI: Fun Talk is when we talk about whatever we want, we don’t have a topic, and we stop whenever Brian gets tired. If you want to hear us staying on topic and pondering the many ways we are approaching world-wide catastrophe, check out the episodes that publish on Tuesdays.
And in this week’s Fun Talk, Quinn and Brian chat about their month-long separation, ice cream dates, the jungles of Las Vegas, the NBA’s summer league tournament, a slightly back-handed review of the show, when we didn’t talk about white guys, existential sighing, the second consecutive World Cup Championship won by the U.S. women’s national soccer team, re-making The Matrix, the five movie posters that we want most, what Daniel Tiger teaches us about emotions, our excitement for The Lion King, and sleep.
Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!
Links:
Have feedback or questions? Send a message to [email protected]
Why Ghostbusters Shouldn’t Work (But Does): https://twitter.com/chrismcquarrie/status/1147934258931163136?s=20
Connect with us:
Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!
Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant
Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message
Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett
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Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp
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Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant
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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com
Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/important-not-important/message
48 min
July 10, 2019 BEST OF THE BEST: What’s It Feel Like To Be Asked To Save the World?
Today’s episode is a rerun of Episode 56, where Quinn & Brian asked: What’s it feel like to be asked to save the world?

Our guest is Rhiana Gunn-Wright, who is writing policy and leading the Green New Deal project at New Consensus, which is one of the main think tanks working on the Green New Deal.

The Green New Deal is one of the most important pieces of policy being worked on right now, and it could have wide sweeping effects that impact not just our generation but the future for everyone. Conversations around environmental topics tend to get real political real fast, but Rhiana reminds us that this isn’t a political issue – this is not a political game and millions of people will die. Sorry, no joke there, just a stark reality that too many people are happily ignoring.

Trump’s Book Club:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3

Links:

Rhiana Gunn-Wright on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rgunns

Rhiana Gunn-Wright on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rgunner

New Consensus: https://newconsensus.com/

Green New Deal explainer: bit.ly/2tgm66v

The official GND resolution: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/109/text

Data for Progress GND Report: https://www.dataforprogress.org/green-new-deal

Sunrise Movement: https://www.sunrisemovement.org

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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett

Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken

Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant

Check us on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant

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1 hr 30 min
July 05, 2019 Fun Talk: Why Does He Keep Doing It With His Face?
It’s a long-distance Fun Talk this week as Quinn and Brian defy distance to have a not-that-important conversation about the 3,000 miles separating them, Brian’s least-favorite time of year, watching soccer while recording a podcast, recording a podcast in your underwear, our first not-five-star review, the superhero women who don’t drink pop, good doggos, where you can send your hate mail, Teddy’s real dad, and straight hanging.
Want to send us feedback? Tweet us, email us, or leave us a voice message!
Links:
Have feedback or questions? Send a message to [email protected]
Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message
Connect with us:
Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!
Check out our Morning Show and other daily bite-size content on Instagram: instagram.com/ImportantNotImportant
Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message
Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett
Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp
Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant
Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant
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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com
Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/important-not-important/message
39 min
July 02, 2019 #73: Did A.I. Just Make My Life’s Work Obsolete?
In Episode 73, Quinn & Brian ask: Hold On A Minute -- Did A.I. Just Take Our Jobs?

Of course, we aren’t talking about our jobs. If A.I. took our jobs, the show would have won that Webby. We’re talking about really, really important jobs – like curing cancer and slowing down our climate collapse. But we are talking about people like our guest Dr. Mohammed AlQuraishi, who is a Department Fellow at the Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology and the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School.

Still, Dr. AlQuraishi is hopeful about the future and his role in it – an attitude so refreshing it’s like stumbling onto a digital oasis in the internet’s hateful and pessimistic desert.

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Trump’s Book Club:

The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3

Links:

Have feedback or questions? Send a message to [email protected]

Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message

Learn more at https://moalquraishi.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/moalquraishi

“The Future of Protein Science will not be Supervised”: https://moalquraishi.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/the-future-of-protein-science-will-not-be-supervised/

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: https://chanzuckerberg.com

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Subscribe to our newsletter at ImportantNotImportant.com!

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Leave us a voice message: anchor.fm/important-not-important/message

Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett

Follow Brian: twitter.com/briancolbertken

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp

Like and share us on Facebook: facebook.com/ImportantNotImportant

Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant

Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com

Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
1 hr 8 min
June 28, 2019 Fun Talk: He Put a Piece of Lasagna in the Bagel
Fun Talk is 6 months old today, and to celebrate, we are back on their BS again. Quinn and Brian talk over each other, discuss Mercury’s retrograde status (and maybe make fun of astrology a little), plea with Baby Boomers to accept their responsibility in all sorts of crap, consider how awesome the tree spaceship from Saga is, plan to read Watchmen before the HBO show comes out, reflect on the regrets that Quinn’s wife definitely doesn’t have, ponder how many calories are in a bagel-lasagna sandwich, go over the statistical breakdown of this show by topic, and dream of taking a vacation.
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Saga Vol. 1: https://www.amazon.com/Saga-Vol-1-Brian-Vaughan/dp/1607066017
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Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett
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Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp
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Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com
Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/important-not-important/message
39 min
June 25, 2019 #72: The Monsoon Is 11 Days Late
In Episode 72, Quinn & Brian discuss: Monsoons, food, and people.

Our guest is Dr. Deepti Singh, an Assistant Professor in the School of the Environment at Washington State University - Vancouver who is motivated by the potential for climate studies to minimize future disaster risk to vulnerable communities around the world.

Because here’s the thing: while there are still many people and governments who are still denying the existence and impact of climate change – or our active climate crisis – it’s already having a noticeable and negative impact on our planet and the people who live on it. And this is, perhaps, the most obvious (really, it’s pretty obvious) when we look at what’s happening to already extreme weather phenomenon, such as monsoons.

Good news: we also talk about Dr. Singh’s dog!

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Trump’s Book Club:

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3R5XF4WMZE0TV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_2Gr8Ab6RS5WF3

Links:

Have feedback or questions? Send a message to [email protected]

Climate Extremes in a Warming World: https://deeptis47.github.io/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/climatechirper

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Follow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmett

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Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImp

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Pin us on Pinterest: pinterest.com/ImportantNotImportant

Tumble us or whatever the hell you do on Tumblr: importantnotimportant.tumblr.com

Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Important, Not Important is produced by Crate Media
1 hr 12 min

About The Most Important Question

From the publisher's feed

The most important question in today's world of climate chaos, AI psychosis, and crumbling democracy is: what can I do? Your host, Quinn Emmett is completely unqualified to answer it, so he's calling the people that already are.