NEW – JEREMY LENT, THE PATTERNING INSTINCT – What stories have we been telling ourselves?
Written on April 20th, 2018In The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity’s Search for Meaning, JEREMY LENT writes, “The right wing has not won on the issues, but by telling a grand story of America – a story that is false and based on a set of values that are driving civilization to a precipice. It’s been successful because there has been no coherent counter-narrative.” We look at that history and look ahead for a new story.
NEW Free Forum DANIEL GOLEMAN – What Science Says About Mindfulness & Meditation
Written on October 26th, 2017Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body. With the enormous growth in awareness and practice of mindfulness and meditation have come widespread claims of benefits. Best-selling author Daniel Goleman and neuroscientist Richard Davidson, both longtime meditators, examined the scientific research to find out what is true and what is not.
Disruptive #10: Sports Genomics
Written on April 23rd, 2017DISRUPTIVE #10: Sports Genomics
McNally:
Hello, I’m Terrence McNally and you’re listening to DISRUPTIVE the podcast from Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.
Can sneaker endorsements, cereals, protein powders or electrolyte cocktails get any of us closer to the peak level performance of our favorite athletes? Despite billions in sales, the answer is probably no. But how about an elite athlete’s biology?
With 100 trillion cells in the human body, bacteria outnumber our own human cells 2 to 1, and bacteria in our gut affect all our key organ functions. They play a role in our health, development and wellness, including endurance, recovery and mental aptitude.
What if we could tap the gut bacteria of elite athletes to produce customized probiotics – and what if those probiotics could give recipients access to some of the biological advantages that make those athletes elite?
A former NBA hopeful in the lab of George Church at the Wyss Institute asked that question a couple of years ago and the lab is now moving toward a startup to bring such products to market.
In related news, consider this: With 2015 sales of $115B, sports-based nutraceuticals made up the largest share of the global nutraceutical market, but probiotic-focused sports products made up less than 1% of those sales.
I’ll talk with Wyss Research Fellow JONATHAN SCHEIMAN and – a previous guest on Disruptive – Wyss core-faculty member GEORGE CHURCH.
Continue reading “Disruptive #10: Sports Genomics”
Free Forum – Two classic political interviews from 2004 THOMAS FRANK, WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America GEORGE LAKOFF, DON’T THINK OF AN ELEPHANT: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate
Written on March 4th, 2017Originally Aired in 2004 They noticed trends, asked questions, offered warnings and gave advice.
“Why does the pro-life factory worker who listens to Rush Limbaugh repeatedly vote for the party that is less likely to protect his safety, less likely to protect his job, and less likely to benefit him economically?”
– Thomas Frank
“In politics framing is about making sure the debate takes place in language that fits your worldview. Framing trumps facts and self-interest.”
– George Lakoff Twelve years later their worst fears came true.
Free Forum – JARED DIAMOND, COLLAPSE: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.
Written on February 10th, 2017Originally aired April 2005
Environmental damage, climate change, rapid population growth and unwise political choices were all factors in the demise of these societies, but other societies found solutions and persisted. The subtitle claims “societies choose to fail or succeed.”
