Inquiring Minds – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Indre welcomes evolutionary biologist and UC Berkeley professor, Noah Whiteman unto the Inquiring Minds Show to delve into the world of nature’s toxins and Whiteman’s new book.

"Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature's Toxins from Spices to Vices.” explores the adaptations that have enabled various organisms to not only survive but thrive in environments laden with toxic substances, such as the monarch butterfly's resistance to milkweed toxins, and the broader and intricate relationships between plants and animals, focusing on how certain organisms have evolved to resist or utilize toxins for survival.

Their discussion highlights the potential medical benefits of plant-derived compounds, the importance of biodiversity, and how nature’s poisons aren’t all harmful but can be extremely beneficial to human health in the right contexts to be harnessed for therapeutic purposes. This duality underscores the importance of a nuanced understanding of toxins and their roles in nature.

Listen in to get a rich insight into the intersection of science and society, as Whiteman articulates the broader implications of his research, the case studies mentioned in his new book, and an overall appreciation for the deep complexity of nature’s toxins and how they affect life on Earth for all living things.

Links:

Inquiring Minds Homepage: https://inquiring.show/

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In this intriguing episode, Indre chats with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and renowned author of The Power of Habit and Smarter, Better, Faster, Charles Duhigg, to discuss his latest book “Supercommunicators”. Their conversation delves into he crucial role of effective communication in building meaningful relationships and enhancing quality of life. Duhigg shares insights from the Harvard Study of Adult Development, emphasizing the importance of close relationships for happiness and health as well as categorizes conversations into practical, emotional, and social types, explaining how understanding these can improve communication skills. Exploring further into the contents of Duhigg’s new book, they talk about the neuroscience behind communication and strategies for navigating difficult conversations. This episode is packed with practical advised and prize-winning insights and ideas for anyone who wants to learn how to improve their communication skills, build deeper relationships, and have more meaningful interactions with the people around them. Links: Inquiring Minds Homepage: https://inquiring.show/ Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds See https://omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information

This week we talk to Robert Sapolsky—MacArthur “Genius” Fellow and professor of biology, neurology, and neurosurgery at Stanford—about his new book Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will.

This week: A new study showing how you can, as a way to control their population, change blood-drinking female mosquitoes to male, non-biting mosquitoes by changing just one gene; research into new ways for robots to grab things; a study showing the ways in which the pupils of people who have PTSD react differently than others, even in emotionally-neutral situations; beavers in Alaska are working overtime in the Arctic tundra as a result of climate change and possibly damaging the ecosystem; and research examining how the Earth’s crust cracked in the first place.

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We talk to science reporter Zach St. George about his new book The Journeys of Trees: A Story about Forests, People, and the Future.

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We talk to environmental attorney Barbara Freese about her new book Industrial-Strength Denial: Eight Stories of Corporations Defending the Indefensible, from the Slave Trade to Climate Change.

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We talk to science writer Wendy Williams about her new book The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect.

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This week: New astrophysics research on the likelihood of there being intelligent life on other planets in our solar system; a study in which atomic force microscopy was used to study the biology of yeast; research into why the chlorophyll in plants doesn’t absorb peak (green) sunlight; and a look at a study that involves watching wasps fight each other in front of a crowd.

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to Tony Wagner, a globally recognized expert in education and senior research fellow at the Learning Policy Institute, about his new book Learning by Heart: An Unconventional Education.

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We talk to Robert Rosencrans, an MD/PhD student at the The University of Alabama at Birmingham about the history of structural racism in medicine and the problems with race-based medicine.

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds