Why Are More Women Saying No To Having Kids? With Peggy O'Donnell Heffington
More and more women in the United States are saying no to motherhood. In 2023, the U.S. fertility rate reached the lowest number on record. But the idea of non-motherhood is actually not a new phenomenon, nor did it come out of the modern feminist movement. For centuries, women have made choices about limiting births and whether or not to become mothers at all. This history is documented in a new book, "Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother," by University of Chicago Assistant Instructional Professor Peggy O'Donnell Heffington.Heffington writes about the historic trends of non-motherhood as well as the modern factors that are playing a role in women's choices to not have children today ā from lack of structural support in the workplace, to a national law for paid maternity leave, and the sheer lack of affordability. She writes that if these trends continue, American millennials could become the largest childless cohort in history. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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How Full-Body MRIs Could Predict Your Long-Term Health, with Daniel Sodickson
What does it mean to see beneath the surface ā of the human body, the brain, or even the universe itself? In his new book, The Future of Seeing: How Imaging Is Changing Our World, Prof. Daniel Sodickson of NYU explores the future of imaging: How technology is transforming not just medicine, but our very ways of perceiving the world. With the rise of AI-driven ādigital vision,ā Sodickson, a pioneer of MRI innovation, argues that imaging is no longer just a diagnostic tool ā itās becoming a new language of discovery.In this conversation, Sodickson explores the promises and pitfalls of this promising new technology. Reflecting on the history of scientific discovery, we examine what the next generation of imaging might reveal about life itself. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Is There Such A Thing As A Psychopath?
Few ideas have gripped the public imagination quite like the idea of the āpsychopath.ā From Hollywood thrillers to true-crime podcasts, popular culture has led us to believe that psychopaths are dangerous and biologically distinct from the rest of us. But what if almost everything we think we know about them is wrong?In this episode, we talk with Rasmus Rosenberg Larsen, an Assistant Professor of Forensic Epistemology at the University of Toronto and author of "Psychopathy Unmasked," whose research is challenging the very foundation of psychopathy as a diagnosis. Larsen explains how the term āpsychopathā is relatively new, dating to the Ted Bundy trial in the 1970s, and how TVs and movies have skewed our understanding of the āpsychopath.ā He discusses psychopathy tests, their impact on the criminal justice systemāand what the latest science reveals about the minds weāve long misunderstood. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Why We Havenāt Solved Brain DisordersāAnd How To Fix It, with Nicole Rust
For decades, neuroscience has promised breakthroughs in treating conditions like depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimerās. Yet despite powerful technologies and billions invested, progress has been frustratingly slow. Why?On this episode of Big Brains, we talk with Nicole Rust, neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Elusive Cures. Rust argues that the traditional ādominoā view of the braināwhere one broken piece can simply be fixedāhas held us back. Instead, she says we need to embrace the brainās true nature: a complex, dynamic system more like the weather than a machine.We explore why treatments so often fail, what makes mood such a scientific mystery, and whether a new era of brain researchāpowered by models, feedback loops, and fresh ways of thinkingācan finally deliver the cures that have long eluded us. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Life On Mars: Is It Possible For Humans? with Edwin Kite
Billions of years ago, Mars may have looked less like the barren red desert we know today and more like Earthāwith a blue sky, flowing rivers, and even seas. What happened to turn a once-habitable world into the frozen, lifeless planet we see now?On this episode of Big Brains, University of Chicago geophysical scientist Edwin Kite takes us on a journey through Marsā hidden past. From evidence of a lost carbon cycle to theories about ancient climate swings, Kiteās research is rewriting the story of the Red Planet. But itās not just about the pastāhis work is also at the forefront of a provocative question: could humanity one day terraform Mars and make it a living world again? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Big Brains explores the groundbreaking research and discoveries that are changing our world. In each episode, we talk to leading experts and unpack their work in straightforward terms. Interesting conversations that cover a gamut of topics from how music affects our brains to what happens after we die.
Ireland