Big ideas and big debates, explained through intimate conversations with the compelling personalities who shape them. AI and biotech. Higher education and health care. Climate and sustainability. Politics and the media. Culture and culture wars. Hosted by Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung.
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Health Unchained dives into healthcare projects enabled by blockchain technology. Listen to healthcare leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, researchers, and medical professionals who share their insights and experience.
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Technical discussions with deep learning researchers who study how to build intelligence. Made for researchers, by researchers.
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Ep. 129: Light Therapy & Securing Clinical Data with Dr. Brandon Crawford (NeuroSolution)
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45:58Dr. Brandon Crawford, DC FIBFN-CND, is a board-certified developmental functional neurologist and global laser expert. He discusses his work on laser and light therapy to transform patient lives. Dr. Crawford shares his journey from chiropractic training to pioneering functional neurology and photobiomodulation. He explains how different wavelength…
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The C-Word: Let’s talk about cancer – starting with my own.
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30:15Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung is generally open about her personal life. But this is the first time she is talking publicly about her own experience with breast cancer. She was treated in Boston hospitals and underwent a mastectomy. Like so many others, she will spend the rest of her life getting tested to make sure she stays cancer-free. In…
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Ep. 128: Introducing the Coalition for Decentralized Healthcare and Life Sciences (CDHLS) with leads Nitin Gaur (CTO LedgerLink.ai) & Jim Nasr (CEO Acoer)
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47:24Guests Nitin Gaur, CTO of LedgerLink.ai, and Jim Nasr, CEO of Acoer, discuss decentralized healthcare and life sciences initiatives. The conversation explores the Coalition for Decentralized Healthcare and Life Sciences (CDHLS), which aims to unite global stakeholders from healthcare, technology, academia, and regulatory sectors to enhance healthca…
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Ken Burns tackles the complexities of the Revolutionary War
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28:54If it's an important slice of American history, you can bet Ken Burns has made a documentary about it. The list is nearly endless. From baseball to jazz, Mark Twain to Ernest Hemingway, the Civil War to the Dust Bowl. Now, he's going back to the beginning. Burns’s upcoming documentary series, out later this year, will explore the Revolutionary War …
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Ep. 127: Funding DeSci - Reflections of @ Gwei_SHA - Eleanor Davies (Head of DeSci at the Sei Foundation)
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32:23Eleanor Davies is the Head of DeSci at the Sei Foundation. Eleanor previously helped launch VitaDAO, the first tokenized longevity venture studio, she served as Operating Partner at Cerebrum DAO, and was COO at Convexity Labs (previously known as LabDAO). With deep experience bridging web3, biotech, and healthcare, Eleanor shared her unique insight…
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Today, we’re sharing the first episode of the brand new podcast Spotlight: Snitch City, produced by The Boston Globe's award-winning Spotlight team. In this specific episode, you’ll find yourself on the docks of New Bedford, Massachusetts, hearing whispers about a rogue police officer harassing fishermen and stealing drugs, all of which come to a h…
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Why cops are addicted to confidential informants: The Globe investigates Snitch City.
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32:12When it comes to the war on drugs, you could say the police are addicted to confidential informants. That’s the conclusion of a new Boston Globe Spotlight investigation into the pervasive and shadowy world of this police practice that is widely used and barely regulated. The story starts in New Bedford Massachusetts, where use of informants has had…
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Ep. 126: Decentralizing Organ Transport with Pulse Charter Connect - Laura Epstein (CEO) & Chris Tyler (CTO)
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36:01Laura Epstein, CEO and founder of Pulse Charter Connect, along with Chris Tyler, Pulse's Chief Technology Officer, join host Ray Dogum in an episode you won’t want to put on ice. They dive into their backgrounds and share how their company is revolutionizing organ transportation logistics to save time—and lives. Pulse Charter Connect (PCC) digitize…
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Say More LIVE: Mayor Wu on The Joy and Challenges of Being a Working Mom
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32:04Being a working parent can be a rewarding joy, but it’s also an endless challenge. This week, Say More is happy to share its first LIVE show, recorded from the Boston Globe’s inaugural Working Mothers Summit in Boston. In the episode, Shirley talks to Mayor Michelle Wu about her decision to parent in public, even bringing baby Mira on stage. Then, …
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Canadians are really upset, Americans should pay attention.
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28:39Canadian Journalist Stephen Marche says he’s experiencing the most powerful moment of Canadian politics in his lifetime. The trigger has been Donald Trump’s presidency and his antagonistic stance towards Canada, one of the US’s closest historic allies and trading partners. On this episode of Say More, Shirley talks to Marche about the ways Canadian…
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How Massachusetts became the Lottery Capital of America
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32:54Massachusetts has one of the oldest and most successful publicly run lottery systems in the country. It shouldn’t surprise you that per adult, MA residents spend more on the lottery than any other state, by a wide margin. But if you dig into the numbers, the problems with the lottery system start to become visible - tickets are more likely to be bo…
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Trump’s China policy? Jane Perlez says “I don’t think anybody knows.”
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26:24Former New York Times Beijing bureau chief Jane Perlez will pay $1 million to whoever knows what President Trump will do when it comes to China. Ok, not really, but Jane says Trump’s plans are hugely important, and anyone’s guess. Jane is now a fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, and is the host of the podcast, Face-Off: The U.S. vs Chin…
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Ep. 125: Biohacking with Follistatin Gene Therapy - Tristan Roberts (Founder of Dog Years DAO)
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44:29Tristan Roberts, founder of Dog Years DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization focused on improving canine longevity. They discuss the potential of using blockchain technology to manage decentralized trials and gather data more effectively. Tristan shares his journey from cognitive neuroscience to biohacking and gene therapy, detailing his expe…
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was called to Washington this week to answer questions about Boston’s so-called "sanctuary city” status. At a Congressional hearing, she, and 3 other blue-city mayors, were grilled by Republicans who say that Boston’s lack of collaboration with federal immigration officials puts residents in danger. Wu refuted this point, a…
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Dr. Ashish Jha says experts made serious mistakes during the COVID pandemic
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34:06The first days of the COVID pandemic feel like a movie looking back: we watched in horror as the virus ravaged China, Italy, and Iran - and wondered if we would be next. Now, five years later, we know what happened: the economy suffered from a prolonged shutdown, more than one million Americans died, and political polarization reached an all-time h…
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Ep. 124: CureLedger's Role in the New Era of Health Data Sharing with David Stefanich, Nina Kilbride, Dr. Suren Movsisyan
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1:01:09David Stefanich, Nina Kilbride, and Dr. Sarin Movsisyan from CureLedger join host Ray Dogum to discuss their upcoming token launch. The discussion centers on CureLedger, an initiative aimed at transforming the decentralized science (DeSci) landscape through blockchain and Web3 technologies. David speaks about Rymedi’s foundational software for Clem…
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Murder or Suicide? Breaking the Sandra Birchmore Story
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29:46The story of Sandra Birchmore may never have made headlines if it wasn’t for Laura Crimaldi, a Boston Globe reporter who spent years following the trail of Birchmore’s life and tragic death. While Birchmore’s death was originally ruled as a suicide, follow up investigations showed she was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a married Sto…
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Ep. 123: Privacy. Period. - Anna Hall (CEO Embody.Space)
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27:35Privacy. Period. Anna Hall is the founder and CEO of Embody Space, a menstrual cycle tracking and wellness app with 50k+ users, that prioritizes data privacy through local encryption and open-source technology. Anna shares her journey from an educator to a startup founder, driven by her own diagnosis of PMDD and the need for secure menstrual health…
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Boston’s Mayor Had a Baby In an Election Year, Will it Help Her or Hurt Her?
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28:51Michelle Wu is the first Boston Mayor to have a baby while in elected office, and while it was unprecedented, it wasn’t much of a news story. Pregnancy is increasingly normalized for powerful women, which is a sign of progress. But Wu’s decision to forgo maternity leave brings up important questions about the politics of motherhood: Can a champion …
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Alcohol is Actually Bad for You, and other Lessons from ‘Damp January’
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24:16Surveys show that more and more Americans put down the bottle this January to try out drinking less. For some people, the goal was sobriety, and for others, moderation. Researchers are finding that alcohol consumption is going down in general across the population after spiking during the pandemic. Helping the cause are some stark recommendations f…
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Ep. 122: Decentralized Biobanking Marketplace with Caspar Barnes (CEO Aminochain)
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43:07Meet Casper Barnes, co-founder and CEO of AminoChain, discusses the intersection of biobanking and blockchain technology. Barnes, who has a background in economics, neuroscience, and biotech, shares insights on decentralized science (DeSci) and how his company aims to revolutionize the use of biosamples in preclinical research. They delve into the …
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Jenny Boylan on Humanizing the Trans Experience
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29:49Writer Jenny Boylan is perplexed about why trans people “finding their peace” has resulted in such outrage from much of the American public. She moves forward in the only way she knows how: by continuing to write and tell stories about the humanity of the trans experience. Jenny transitioned 25 years ago and in that time she has seen the culture ch…
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Are We Ready for Trump 2.0? A Boston Globe Roundtable
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29:46It happened. Trump was sworn in as 47th president of the United States, as only the second person in history to serve non-consecutive terms. Trump laid out a detailed list of priorities during his speech, but it’s still unclear what he will actually do, and what the Trump 2.0 coalition will look like. Will he stick to his populist roots? Or continu…
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THE COMMENT SECTION: When Pets Die. Readers Shared Their Stories.
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33:45You wrote in, and we read everything. Say More’s THE COMMENT SECTION is a monthly exploration of the many forms of reader engagement found within the pages of Boston Globe Opinion. This week, we talked to columnist Marcela García about her pet stories. Recently, Marcela covered a fraught court case about pet euthanasia, and hundreds of readers wrot…
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Ep. 121: Protecting Genetic Data Privacy - Barry Weber (CISO & DPO of Global Genes)
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40:01Summary Barry Weber, the Chief Information Security Officer and Data Protection Officer at Global Genes brings decades of expertise in data compliance and cybersecurity. The discussion centers on the importance of data privacy, the challenges of protecting sensitive health information, and the complexity of compliance with various privacy laws like…
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How Will We Remember Biden? Transformation or Failure?
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29:52In modern US politics, no one’s star has risen and fallen more times than Joe Biden’s. His life has been defined by the worst personal tragedy and the greatest professional success. After decades in politics, Biden leaves office with arguably his biggest failure, the loss of the presidency to Donald Trump. Will this final failure define the Biden p…
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Ep. 120: Dancing into Social Prescribing with Arun Nadarasa (CEO of International Social Prescribing Pharmacy Association)
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39:45Arun Nadarasa on Social Prescribing and Blockchain in Pharmacy In this episode of Health Unchained, host Ray welcomes Arun Nadarasa, a pioneering pharmacist and founder of the International Social Prescribing Pharmacy Association. Arun talks about his journey in integrating social prescribing into community pharmacy and his insights on combining th…
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When Power and Diversity Clash at Harvard
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30:52The last 12 months were tumultuous on Harvard’s campus: pro-Palestinian encampments took over the quad, students were suspended, and a university president lost her job. If those things weren’t enough, the story coincided with conservative activism happening throughout the country working against diversity programs - with a particular eye on Harvar…
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Author Amy Tan doesn’t just watch birds, she “feels the life within them.” Amy’s new book, “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” takes us into her daily journal, drawing and musing on the lives of birds in her backyard in California. Shirley Leung talks to Amy about her breakthrough novel, “The Joy Luck Club,” the agony of fiction writing, and whether she…
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The murder of a healthcare CEO has led to an overdue conversation about health insurance in the US. The reaction to the news is revealing a visceral anger about the unfairness and dysfunction of how we pay for healthcare. What makes our system so frustrating for people? And what are the solutions? On Say More this week, host Shirley Leung turns to …
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The Reporter Behind the Shelby Hewitt Story
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29:18Usually it’s easy to tell a con artist’s motivations. Some do it for money, power or access. Some, however, do it for reasons hard to understand. The Boston Globe recently exposed an incomprehensible con: a 33-year old-woman who posed as a destitute teenage high school student. Her name is Shelby Hewitt. She enrolled in public high school under dif…
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Ep. 119: Tokenless Blockchains for Enterprises - Juliun Brabon (CEO of Stability Protocol)
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42:38In this episode, Julian Brabon, co-founder and CEO of Stability Protocol, discusses the innovative, fee-less, token-less blockchain solution designed with enterprise adoption in mind. Julian explains his transition from the nutraceutical manufacturing industry to blockchain technology due to his belief that current blockchain models, which are heav…
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Josh Foer Wants Us to be Curious about Everything
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23:44If there is one thing to know about writer and entrepreneur Josh Foer: he wants to learn EVERYTHING. Tying his projects together is an endless curiosity about our world. On this episode of Say More, editorial page editor Jim Dao journeys to Somerville to visit one of Josh’s projects: Lehrhaus, the world’s first Jewish tavern and house of learning. …
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BONUS: WBUR's The Common: A vibe check on Boston nightlife
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31:03This week on Say More, we share a podcast episode from our friends at Boston’s NPR station WBUR. Find new episodes of The Common here, hosted by Darryl C. Murphy Last spring, the City of Boston welcomed its inaugural Director of Nightlife Economy, Corean Reynolds. You might have heard some people refer to her as the “night czar,” though that’s not …
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Until recently, Connie Chung didn’t realize what her TV career meant to millions of Asian Americans who saw her on the nightly news. While they watched her breaking barriers, she was focused on being the best possible journalist she could be: camping out for high-profile interviews and delivering scoops. Now, Connie is coming to terms with her lega…
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Should Democrats be Freaking Out? A Boston Globe roundtable.
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27:33After a big election, it’s easy to point to all the things the winners did right and the losers did wrong. But where does the Democratic Party go from here? Globe writers James Pindell and Adrian Walker say there’s hope for Democrats in the future, but they need to find a way to reconnect with their voters. Shirley asks why more Black voters were d…
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What The Election Was About. Globe Opinion Has Thoughts.
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24:47Whether you like it or not, America made a clear choice in the 2024 presidential election. Donald Trump won decisively, and Kamala Harris fell short. What exactly happened? On Say More, Shirley Leung talks to Globe Opinion writers Joan Vennochi and Carine Hajjar about national results. They also discuss how New England is shifting right like the re…
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He Bought the Celtics to Win a Championship or Die Trying
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26:27If you ask Celtics lead owner Wyc Grousbeck why he wanted to buy a sports team, he has a hard time explaining why. Isn’t it just obvious? If you love your hometown team and you love to compete, what could be better? When he and his family engineered the purchase of the Celtics in 2002, Wyc vowed to “win Banner 17 or I will die trying.” The Celtics …
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Ep. 118: AI & Ethics in Healthcare - Doug Heintzman (Blockchain Research Institute)
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1:08:02In this episode, Douglas Heintzman, Chief Catalyst at the Blockchain Research Institute, and Ray Dogum meet to uncover the cutting-edge intersection of AI, blockchain, and personalized medicine in healthcare. With extensive experience at IBM, Doug provides profound insights into AI's transformative role in drug discovery, clinical trials, diagnosti…
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Dan Shaughnessy on the Best Sports Story Ever Told
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30:22If you ask Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy the best story he’s ever covered, the answer is easy: the 2004 Red Sox. After 86 years of losing, the team finally won the World Series - with a dramatic comeback over their rivals the New York Yankees. Dan was there for every game, and even played a role in reversing the curse when he wrote a scath…
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Protests, Arrests, and a Free Speech Crisis on Campus
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32:27Campus newspapers are not just a way to train a next generation of reporters and editors; they also provide great real time reporting about what’s going on in the hearts and minds of young people. The most controversial story on campus this past year has been protests against the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East. On Say More, Shirley talks to th…
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Phil Eng Says the MBTA is the “Best in the World.” Is he Crazy?
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30:51MBTA General Manager Phil Eng says our train system in Boston is the “best in the world.” That might seem laughable, but he makes the case that the city’s transit system might not be the fastest or biggest, but what it lacks in modern amenities, it makes up for in “character.” This week on Say More, Phil talks to Shirley about his childhood working…
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We’ve all heard of the girldad, but what about the boymom? Parenting boys has always been a challenge, but in the age of #metoo, incels and the manosphere, navigating boyhood feels especially hard. Shirley has two sons and worries about raising them right. This week on Say More, she talks to fellow boymom, Ruth Whippman, who just wrote the book, “B…
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THE COMMENT SECTION: You Wrote In, We Listened
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28:54You wrote in, and we read everything. Say More’s THE COMMENT SECTION will be a monthly exploration of the many forms of reader engagement found within the pages of Boston Globe Opinion. The spectrum begins with the lively, often passionate, and usually anonymous online comments on viral essays, and ends with the thoughtful signed letters to the edi…
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Sebastian Junger Nearly Died. It Changed His Life.
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27:46“A black pit opened underneath me… a void that was infinitely black.” This is what author Sebastian Junger saw while near death on an operating table in a Massachusetts hospital. Junger survived, but his brush with death would alter his life - and his attitude about the existence of an afterlife. Junger is best known for writing the book “The Perfe…
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Episode 37: Rylan Schaeffer, Stanford: On investigating emergent abilities and challenging dominant research ideas
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1:02:51Rylan Schaeffer is a PhD student at Stanford studying the engineering, science, and mathematics of intelligence. He authored the paper “Are Emergent Abilities of Large Language Models a Mirage?”, as well as other interesting refutations in the field that we’ll talk about today. He previously interned at Meta on the Llama team, and at Google DeepMin…
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50 Years Ago, Busing Rocked East Boston. Two Best Friends Remember.
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27:42Growing up in East Boston, Robert Lewis Jr. and Sal LaMattina have been best friends since they were in the first grade. They both received an education of a lifetime when, in 1974, a federal court order forced the city to bus kids to different schools in the name of racial integration. Forced busing resulted in a racist backlash that tore their Ea…
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Should Kids Play Tackle Football? A Concussion Expert Has Thoughts
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33:46Would you let your kid play in traffic? Co-Founder and CEO of Boston’s Concussion Legacy Foundation Chris Nowinski has some tough questions for parents who sign their kids up for tackle football while their brains are still in vulnerable stages of development. Chris is a neuroscientist who played football at Harvard and wrestled in the WWE. He's ha…
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Glenn Loury Shares Confessions of a Black Conservative
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31:27Glenn Loury is not your average economist, and his memoir is full of shocking details. You might enjoy the parts about policy and markets, and pay even closer attention to the parts about sex workers and an enduring addiction to crack cocaine. While he was working during the day in places like Harvard and Boston University, he was spending nights o…
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Decoding AI: What Happens When AI Decides Your Medical Coverage
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25:49Murky rules for health care coverage are not new, but now, companies are increasingly turning to AI to help make complex decisions about medical decisions — leading to some devastating mistakes. STAT News reporters Casey Ross and Bob Herman were recently named finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for exposing how the large insurer UnitedHealth Group us…
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