Ask a Harvard Professor

Dec 20 2021 32 ep. 29 mins 496

Ask a Harvard Professor Podcast artwork

A podcast presented by Harvard Magazine. Managing editor Jonathan Shaw sits down with some of the world’s most thoughtful scholars to discuss everything from academic ethics – to hip hop music and medical marijuana.

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Rudolph Tanzi: What Can People Do To Maintain Brain Health As They Age?

Dec 20 2021 33 mins

Harvard Medical School professor of neurology Rudolph Tanzi discusses how lifestyle choices can help maintain brain health during a person’s lifespan. Topics include Alzheimer’s disease and other kinds of dementia, the role of genetics and environment in health, and the importance of sleep, exercise, and diet in controlling neuroinflammation.

Makeda Best: What Does Landscape Photography Say About Our Politics?

Dec 13 2021 28 mins

Makeda Best, curator of photography at the Harvard Art Museums and a visiting professor of Art, Film, and Visual Studies, shares her insights on landscape photographers, as well as photographers of war and protest, capture their historical moments, and what their work says about cultural history and politics. Topics discussed include Best’s research on Alexander Gardner, a Civil

Claudia Goldin: Why Do Women Still Make Less Than Men?

Dec 06 2021 33 mins

Claudia Goldin, Henry Lee professor of economics, shares the reason why working mothers still earn less and advance less often in their careers than men: time. Even with antidiscrimination laws and unbiased managers, certain professions pay employees disproportionately more for long hours and weekends, passing over women who need that time for family care. Goldin also discusses how

Jerrold Rosenbaum: Are Psychedelics an Effective Treatment for Mood Disorders?

Nov 29 2021 44 mins

Jerrold Rosenbaum, director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics, discusses the potential of using psychedelics, such as MDMA and magic mushrooms, to treat treatment-resistant mood disorders like depression and anxiety. Topics include the effect of psychedelics on the brain, how psychedelic therapy is conducted, the legality of medicinal

Nicholas Stephanopoulos: Why Does Gerrymandering Matter So Much?

Nov 22 2021 27 mins

Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a political scientist and legal scholar whose research focuses on gerrymandering, explains its effect on American democracy and how it might be stopped. Topics include recent state laws that limit voting, the voting-rights bills being debated in Congress, and the current state of “alignment” between voters’ wishes and government actions.

Emily Broad Leib: What Can be Done About Food Waste?

Nov 15 2021 30 mins

Emily Broad Leib, founder and director of Harvard’s Food Law and Policy Clinic, discusses how to reduce food waste in the United States and abroad. Topics include the confusion caused by misleading date labels, the impact of COVID-19 on food waste, and the FLPC’s collaborations with governments and non-profit organizations to enact better food laws.

Sandeep Robert Datta and Venkatesh Murthy: Why is Smell Such a Mystery to Scientists?

Nov 08 2021 36 mins

Neurobiologists Venkatesh Murthy and Sandeep Robert Datta discuss what scientists know about our sense of smell, and what big mysteries remain. Topics include smell loss from COVID-19, experimental approaches to understanding olfaction, and the role of artificial intelligence in olfactory research.

Michael Mina: Why Do We Still Need Rapid Tests?

Nov 01 2021 32 mins

Epidemiologist and immunologist Michael Mina discusses the use of rapid tests as public health tools. Topics include using rapid tests to protect gatherings of friends and family; the differences between rapid tests and PCR tests; and why rapid tests are useful even for people who are vaccinated—particularly the elderly.

Preview: Ask a Harvard Professor, Season Four

Oct 28 2021 1 mins

Each week, our editors will interview some of the world’s most prominent scholars, discussing subjects from gerrymandering to food waste to COVID-19.Join us for podcasts with Michael Mina, Sandeep Robert Datta and Venkatesh Murthy, Emily Broad Lieb, Nicholas Stephanopoulos, Jerrold Rosenbaum, Claudia Golden, Makeda Best, and Rudy Tanzi.

Carrie Lambert-Beatty: What Happens When an Artwork Deceives its Audience?

Nov 30 2020 36 mins

The term “parafiction” refers to an artistic performance or presentation that depicts fiction as fact. This idea has particular relevance for our current post-truth moment, in which Americans find themselves overrun with conspiracy theories, misinformation, and fake news. In this episode, art historian Carrie Lambert-Beatty explains how parafiction can actually help us sort out