Big Brains

University of Chicago Podcast Network 224 - How to Use Nature to Restore Your Focus, with Marc Berman

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.

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Episodes

23 Jul 2026

Thu, 9 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

25 Jun 2026

11 Jun 2026

28 May 2026

14 May 2026

30 Apr 2026

16 Apr 2026

Thu, 2 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000

19 Mar 2026

Fri, 6 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

19 Feb 2026

Thu, 5 Feb 2026 13:00:00 +0000

22 Jan 2026

Thu, 8 Jan 2026 13:00:00 +0000

29 Dec 2025

11 Dec 2025

24 Nov 2025

13 Nov 2025

30 Oct 2025

16 Oct 2025

Thu, 2 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000

19 Sep 2025

Thu, 4 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000

21 Aug 2025

Thu, 7 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000

24 Jul 2025

10 Jul 2025

26 Jun 2025

12 Jun 2025

29 May 2025

15 May 2025

Thu, 1 May 2025 12:00:00 +0000

17 Apr 2025

Thu, 3 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000

20 Mar 2025

Thu, 6 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000

20 Feb 2025

Thu, 6 Feb 2025 13:00:00 +0000

23 Jan 2025

Thu, 9 Jan 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Thu, 2 Jan 2025 13:00:00 +0000

19 Dec 2024

Thu, 5 Dec 2024 13:00:00 +0000

21 Nov 2024

14 Nov 2024

31 Oct 2024

17 Oct 2024

Thu, 3 Oct 2024 12:00:00 +0000

19 Sep 2024

Big Brains

Episodes

How to Use Nature to Restore Your Focus, with Marc Berman

How to Raise Kids in the Age of AI, with Dana Suskind

What Our Trash Problem Says About Our Culture, with Sarah Newman

How Websites Trick You Using ‘Dark Patterns’ with Marshini Chetty

Quantum Technology, Explained: A Big Brains Live Event

Our Untapped Superpower: Connecting With Others, with Nicholas Epley

Why the Fed Matters Now More Than Ever, with Douglas Diamond

Anxious? Avoidant? How to Build More Secure Relationships

Could AI Models Forecast Extreme Weather Events? with Pedram Hassanzadeh

Are Judges Too Powerful? The Rise of Universal Injunctions, with Samuel Bray

Could Data Centers Break Our Power Grid? with Andrew Chien

Remarkable New Treatments for Spinal Cord Injuries, with Mohamad Bydon

Can You Improve Your Working Memory and Attention? with Edward Awh

Why Knowing Your True Self Is So Difficult, with Eric Oliver

The Breakthrough Quantum Sensor That Sees Inside Your Cells, with Peter Maurer

How to Manifest Your Destiny with the Late James Doty

What Makes Music Go Viral—From AI to Taylor Swift

How Wearable Tech Will Heighten Our Senses and Abilities, with Pedro Lopes

Why Are More Women Saying No To Having Kids? With Peggy O'Donnell Heffington

How Full-Body MRIs Could Predict Your Long-Term Health, with Daniel Sodickson

Is There Such A Thing As A Psychopath?

Why We Haven’t Solved Brain Disorders—And How To Fix It, with Nicole Rust

Life On Mars: Is It Possible For Humans? with Edwin Kite

How To Use Nature To Restore Your Focus, with Marc Berman

Could Plants Unlock Quantum Medicine’s Potential? with Greg Engel

How Microplastics Are Invading Our Bodies, with Matthew Campen

Why We Get Stuck—And How to Finally Move Forward

Inside the AI Debate: Hope, Hype, Or Harm? A Big Brains Panel Weighs In

Are Your Medications Safe And Effective?, with Jerry Avorn

Are We Making AI Too Human?, with James Evans

Inside The Disease That Changes Your Personality, with Bruce Miller

Meet The ‘Planet Hunter’ Searching For Alien Life, with Jacob Bean

How To Stop Gun Violence Before It Starts, with Jens Ludwig

Can Your DNA Predict Your Future?, with Dalton Conley

Can You Really Die of a Broken Heart? The Hidden Dangers of Grief, with Mary Frances O'Connor

The Science Behind Raising Successful Kids, with Ariel Kalil

Do Animals Understand Death?, with Susana Monsó

Why Measles Is Resurging—And The Rise Of Vaccine Hesitancy, with Adam Ratner

The Little-Known Secrets To A Good Life, with Shigehiro Oishi

How Bioelectronics Could Heal Our Bodies And Minds, with Bozhi Tian

Could A Fungal Pandemic Be “The Last of Us?", with Arturo Casadevall

The "Magic Words" That Turn Resolutions Into Reality

What’s The Truth About Alcohol’s Benefits And Risks? with Tim Stockwell

What Happens When We Die? with Sam Parnia

The Illusion of Moral Decline

Can We Predict The Unpredictable? with J. Doyne Farmer

Unlocking The Secrets Of ‘SuperAgers’, with Emily Rogalski

2024 Nobel Laureate Explains What Makes Countries Fail Or Succeed, with James A. Robinson

Why Can’t Scientists Agree On The Age Of The Universe? with Wendy Freedman

What Are We Getting Wrong About Young Voters?, with Cathy Cohen