Innovation Hub

Growing up, Thanksgivings in Jennet Conant’s house were contentious. The Vietnam War was raging, and in Cambridge, Massachusetts, student protests were ubiquitous. But Conant’s family was especially combative. Her grandfather, James B. Conant, a former president of Harvard University, had both supervised the production of poison gas during World War I, and oversaw the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. Conant’s father argued her grandfather wasn’t a scientist who had served his country, but a mass murderer. Jennet Conant is the author of a new biography of her grandfather, “Man of the House: James B. Conant, Warrior Scientist,” as well other books about war, science, and the intersection of the two. She explains what happens when people use science to create weapons - and the fallout for the scientists themselves.

For more than a 30-year span, chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov was nearly unbeatable. But, in 1997, he faced an unlikely competitor: the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue. Kasparov lost the final match, which ended up being a turning point both for him and for our understanding of artificial intelligence. We talk with Kasparov about his new book, “Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins.”

Science-fiction is a genre that imagines the future. It doesn’t necessarily predict the future (after all, where are flying cars?), but it grapples with the technological and societal changes happening today to better understand our world and where it’s heading. So, what does it mean when so much of our most popular science-fiction - The Handmaid’s Tale, The Walking Dead, and The Hunger Games - present bleak, depressing futures? Cory Doctorow might just have an answer. He’s a blogger, writer, activist, and author of the new book “Walkaway,” an optimistic disaster novel.

It’s the holidays, which means you might head back to your hometown, grab a drink at the local bar, and compare yourself with the kids you knew in high school. Luckily, we’re serving up the perfect show for the status-obsessed. We have stories that look at what makes people popular in school, how your crammed calendar can actually make you more sought after, and why achieving online popularity is trickier than you think.

Do you ever wonder why some people are more popular than others? The foundation for climbing up the social ladder starts early, and it turns out that parents actually have an enormous influence on how well-liked their kids are. Psychology professor Mitch Prinstein explains how popularity develops and why it matters.

At the height of their career, YouTube stars can make millions of dollars. But it’s a rough road to the top for social media stars, if they can get there at all. We talk with author Brooke Erin Duffy and YouTuber Gaby Dunn about the aspirational economy, and how success can take a toll on our personal life.

Don’t feel bad the next time you have to blow off your friends. Being busy is considered a status symbol here in America. Georgetown University assistant professor Neeru Paharia explains why we’re impressed with people who have too much on their plates... though that may a relatively recent phenomenon.

Listen to this one while you heat up your TV dinner. The story behind the microwave.

“The past is never dead. It's not even past.” This week on Innovation Hub, we prove Faulkner right. We’ve got stories about how history still affects all our daily lives, in a myriad of different ways. We start by taking a look at the origin of the debates over human rights. The Declaration of Independence’s second paragraph begins with the immortal phrase: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But when did those rights become self-evident? According to historian Lynn Hunt, the very concept of human rights weren’t really talked about until the 18th century. She explains how the concept began, and why we’re constantly changing our definition of equality. Then, how our own histories of trauma can affect our present health. Vincent Felitti is a doctor whose research has shown that patients who experienced childhood trauma were more likely to be sick when they grew up. He tells us how clinicians can use Adverse Childhood Experience scores to help people get better. And finally, a newspaper that changed America. Journalist and author Ethan Michaeli traces the rise of The Chicago Defender, a legendary black newspaper that began in 1905. From the Great Migration, to the desegregation of the military, to the rise of Barack Obama, we’ll learn how its legacy is still felt in American life. Also, as we promised in the show, here are some of Bobby Sengstacke’s photos. Bobby Sengstacke was a photojournalist and the last Sengstacke to edit The Chicago Defender.

We all know Thomas Jefferson’s famous words immortalized in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” But when did the world start thinking about equality? Lynn Hunt, a distinguished research professor at UCLA, and author of the book “Inventing Human Rights,” says we haven’t always recognized basic human rights, and the very concept wasn’t spoken much about until the end of the 1700s.

Vincent Felitti first made the connection between childhood abuse and adult health during an obesity research study he ran in the 1980s. During a routine checkup with one of his patients, she mentioned that the year after she was raped, she gained 105 pounds. Felitti recalled what happened next: “She looked down at the carpet and muttered to herself, ‘Overweight is overlooked. And, that’s the way I needed to be.’” Felitti started asking all of his patients about sexual abuse. The results were shocking. “It seemed every other patient in the program was acknowledging a history of childhood sexual abuse,” he said. In the end, 55 percent of his patients disclosed that they had been abused. That study kicked off Felitti’s life work. Felitti partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to survey more than 17,000 patients. He found that patients who experienced childhood trauma were more likely to be sick when they grew up. But, it took over 20 years for Vincent Felitti’s research to gain mainstream acceptance.

The Chicago Defender has humble beginnings. Started by Robert Sengstacke Abbott in the rooms of a boardinghouse, the paper quickly grew into a nationally-distributed enterprise. (Abbott himself became one of the first black self-made millionaires.) Ethan Michaeli, author of “The Defender: The Legendary Black Newspaper Change d America,” traces the paper’s influence through history, from the Great Migration to the desegregation of the military.

Your family tree is less of a tree and more of a tangled web. Geneticist Adam Rutherford explains why. There’s a conversation that all high-powered couples need to have. Two Stanford professors tell us how to use ideas from product design to create a more fulfilling life.

As scientists apply our new understanding of the human genome to genetics, we’re getting answers to big-picture questions about our species. What is race? How did humanity spread around the globe? How should we pick a mate (genetically speaking)? We talk with Adam Rutherford, geneticist and author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived:The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes. about the history of our genes, and what they reveal about our species.

The number of women running Fortune 500 companies is higher than it’s ever been. And yet, there are only 32 female CEOs on that list. So… why aren’t there more high-powered women in positions of power? There are a multitude of reasons, but according to Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, author of the article “If you Can’t Find a Spouse Who Supports Your Career, Stay Single,” part of the issue lies with the support these women are receiving.

We all want fun and rewarding careers and personal lives. But, we never really learn how to achieve our life goals in college. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, Stanford professors and co-authors of “Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life,” invented a college course to change just that.

We can thank one woman for a lot of the software still used today. A look back at the strides and struggles of Grace Hopper. Clean energy seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue. So why doesn’t the U.S. invest in it more? Jay Whitacre explains the business behind renewable energy technology. Ever notice the small pauses — like “um” and “uh” — that pepper our daily conversations? They actually serve a purpose. We break down the rules of conversation.

She’s been called “the first lady of software.” A conference named after her attracted over 18,000 attendees last year. She had her own Google doodle. She was even on Letterman. It’s fair to say that Grace Hopper is one of the most celebrated coders ever. But, behind all the accolades, who was she? And how exactly did she change technology? We talk with Kurt Beyer, author of “Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age.”

Hybrid cars. Solar energy. Hydropower. In recent years, the federal government and private companies have both paid a lot of attention to clean energy. But, the future of the industry is uncertain — especially in the U.S. We talk withCarnegie Mellon University professor and Aquion Energy founder, Jay Whitacre, about the advancement of new energy technology.

As human beings, we spend a great deal of time talking with others, but we don’t always stop to think about how and* why* we choose to say what we say. N.J. Enfield, author of “How We Talk: The Inner Workings Of Conversation,” breaks down the rules of conversation for us.

This week, we’re gearing up for the holidays with some serious shopping, a little chocolate... and a trip home. And when we say home, we’re talking Levittown, New York, where the modern suburb was born. We’ll examine the genius of businessman Bill Levitt, as well as his dark side. Then, a look at how retail has changed America. And finally, we dive into chocolate, and the story behind Hershey’s. That’s all this week on Innovation Hub.

Americans absolutely adore chocolate. The average American consumes 11 pounds of the stuff per year. But when did this love affair with chocolate start? Back in the 19th century, sugar was a luxury good, and chocolate was mostly for the rich. Milton Hershey, and his Hershey bar, changed all that. Historian Nancy Koehn, author of “Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times,” has written about Hershey’s life and company. She walks us through who he was, and how he gave America a taste for chocolate.

Middle-market stores, like Macy’s, are struggling to compete with large, low-priced retailers like Walmart and Amazon. And where we shop can have an enormous impact on jobs, communities, and how we spend our time. Darrell Rigby, a partner at Bain & Company, and journalist Charles Fishman, explore the battle of the retail giants, and the future of shopping.

When people get sick of urban living, there’s a clear alternative: the suburbs. But how did the suburbs become so popular in America? After World War II, Bill Levitt cleared a few potato fields on Long Island, New York, and created an orderly suburb, Levittown. We talk with the Executive Dean of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies, Lawrence Levy, about how Levittown, and the advent of the modern suburbs, changed the nation.

Thanksgiving involves getting stressed about the best way to cook a turkey, gathering around a table with the people you love, eating mountains of stuffing… and trying not to tell your family what you really think of them. So, in celebration of Turkey Day, we’ve got stories that explore how and why we think the way we do: from what the Rorschach test actually tells us, to what exactly is going on inside teenagers’ brains.

Lice-infested beds, unwashed surgical tools, and cut-off fingers - healthcare in the 1800s was a bloody affair. We take a look at the man who changed all that. Then, how much power does a protest really have? Zeynep Tufekci explores whether they have the power to change politics. Finally, there’s a common thread in art, music, storytelling, and even business-creation: creativity.

For most of 1800s, surgery was disgusting, filthy, and unsafe. Hospitals were places people desperately tried to avoid, and operations didn’t always result in a clean bill of health. You might even get your testicles accidentally sawed off during a leg amputation. But this all changed with Joseph Lister, who transformed the way that doctors approach surgeries. We talked to Lindsey Fitzharris, author of “The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine” about how this shift happened.

Well over 5 million people around the world took part in the Women’s March. And hundreds of thousands attended the March for Science. With turnouts like that, you might expect such protests to reflect years of planning and organizational effort. In fact, though, they were organized online in the space of a couple months, using new tools like hashtags and Facebook events. Zeynep Tufekci studies what the rise of connectivity means for the efficacy of the protests. She’s an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, and the author of Twitter and Teargas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest.

Our creativity is influenced by how we think and interact every day. So what makes us so creative? We talk with composer Anthony Brandt and neuroscientist David Eagleman, co-authors of “The Runaway Species: How Creativity Remakes the World,” about the origins of our creative thinking.

Choosing between an engineering and philosophy major? Here’s some help.

Everyone has their eye on the latest iPhone. But would we be happier if we spent our money on things that saved us time? Harvard Business School’s Ashley Whillans has the answer.

Is China pulling ahead in the global race to achieve? What’s the use of a “useless” liberal arts degree? And should you be spending money on time or things? That’s all this week on Innovation Hub.

Chinese students from cities like Shanghai are doing extremely well on worldwide standardized tests. What is the Chinese education system doing right? And what can we learn from it?

We may be moving baby-making from the bedroom to the lab. Hank Greely walks us through the future of reproduction.

You probably know him as the man who painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Walter Isaacson tells us there’s a lot more to Leonardo Da Vinci than that.

Where do fringe ideas come from? It turns out these “unpopular” positions might have been here all along - and may actually be pretty popular.

This week on Innovation Hub, we examine the future of reproduction, how fringe ideas become mainstream, and the life of Leonardo Da Vinci.

Lots of lawmakers are promoting “merit-based” immigration. But what is it? You’ve come to the right place.

Dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s is one thing. But mathematician Eugenia Cheng says obsessing over perfection leads to a lot of wasted effort.

What role should charter schools play in American education? We speak with two education experts about how charters came to be, and what lies in store for them.

We look at how charter schools are impacting American education, whether perfection is actually an attainable goal, and the pros and cons of merit-based immigration. That’s all on this week’s Innovation Hub.

The average online troll isn’t actually a jerk. One professor found nasty commenters are just average people who might be a little cranky.

Can ordinary people change a system designed to protect those in power?

America has always prided itself on the ability to separate church and state. But that idea has been reimagined with the rise and influence of evangelicals over the last 50 years. We talk with two historians about how this group has influenced the political landscape.

We look at how evangelicals changed American politics, why an online troll lives in all of us, and the history and lasting impact of gerrymandered elections. That’s all on this week’s Innovation Hub.

What do compulsions, fandoms, and the Polaroid camera have in common? Find out this week on Innovation Hub, where we’re obsessing over obsessions.

This week on Innovation Hub, we learn about different ways to keep track of the facts -- from cataloging the internet to broadcasting live from the Senate.

We learn the story of Ingvar Kamprad who revolutionized the furniture business, going from selling matches to selling matching bedroom sets.

Why does it seem like America’s more divided than ever? We turn to psychology for the answer.

This week on Innovation Hub, can we meet in the middle? We’re talking division, medians, and bipartisanship.