Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar

Ep 101: Deepak Chopra On Consciousness and Reality

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Useful Resources: 1. Deepak Chopra2. Donald D. Hoffman3. Awakening: The Path to Freedom and Enlightenment - Deepak Chopra4. Seymour Reichlin5. Digi...

Ep 100: David Ko, From Panic to Purpose

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 100 of Brave New World features David Ko, CEO of Calm, a digital health company focused on mental wellness and mindfulness. From experiencing ...

Ep 99: Vasant Dhar on Thinking With Machines, Hosted by Joel Roberts

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Joel Roberts, former host of a prime-time talk show on KABC Radio, Los Angeles, takes over hosting duties to talk Vasant Dhar about his upcoming book ...

Ep 98: There's no I in AI, Ben Shneiderman on The Evolution and State of Artificial Intelligence

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Useful Resources: 1. Ben Shneiderman, Professor Emeritus, University Of Maryland. 2. Richard Hamming and Hamming Codes. 3. Human Centered AI - Ben S...

Ep 97: Alex Wiltschko on Digitizing Scent

10 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Alex Wiltschko, CEO and Founder of Osmo, returns to Brave New World on Episode 97 to discuss the developments in the field of mapping smell and what t...

Ep 96: Deogratias Niyizonkiza, Healing a Nation, One Village at a Time

12 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 96 of Brave New World features Deogratias Niyizonkiza in conversation with Vasant Dhar. From surviving the genocide in Burundi to rebuilding l...

Ep 95: Peter Ward On The Evolution Of Life

08 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Episode 95 of Brave New World, Palaeontologist Peter Ward returns to explore life's evolutionary journey and examine compelling possibilities for i...

Ep 94: Anil Seth On The Science of Consciousness

10 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Neuroscientist Anil Seth explores how the brain constructs our sense of self and reality in Episode 94 of Brave New World with Vasant Dhar, offering i...

Ep 93: Uma Valeti on Cultivating Meat

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How do we get meat that is more nutritious, sustainable, and less cruel to animals? Dr Uma Valeti, a cardiologist turned CEO of Upside Foods, joins Va...

Ep 92: Angela Hawken on Changing Government

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

All meaningful reform happens when there is one smooth pipeline from research to policy to execution. Angela Hawken joins Vasant Dhar in episode 92 of...

Ep 91: Michael Levin on the New Frontiers of Biological Intelligence

11 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Memory, consciousness and the self aren't what you think they are. Michael Levin joins Vasant Dhar in episode 91 of Brave New World to explain why t...

Ep 90: Sandeep Robert Datta on Smell and the Brain

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We take it for granted -- but we shouldn't: smell is incredibly powerful and plays a critical role in our lives. Sandeep Robert Datta joins Vasant ...

Ep 89: Missy Cummings on Making AI Safe

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There's always risk at the cutting edge of technology. Driverless cars are awesome -- but can we rely on the tech? Missy Cummings joins Vasant Dhar ...

Ep 88: Raghu Sundaram on Building a Great University

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He lifted The Stern School of Business up significantly in the rankings, and is now making NYU a major global player in higher education. Raghu Sundar...

Ep 87: Andrew McAfee on the Geek Mindset

12 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to be geeky -- and how are geeks changing the world? Andrew McAfee joins Vasant Dhar in episode 87 of Brave New World to share his...

Ep 86: Natalie Foster on the Guarantee

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine an America where the government provides a floor for all our needs, from housing to health care to college to an income. Natalie Foster joins ...

Ep 85: Seth Shostak on Extraterrestrial Life

11 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Does life exist outside our planet? Are we alone in the universe? Seth Shostak joins Vasant Dhar in episode 85 of Brave New World to describe his sea...

Ep 84: Vlad Barbalat on Immigration, Insurance and America

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He came to America as a ten-year old, and became invested in both the country and its world of finance. Vlad Barbalat joins Vasant Dhar in episode 8...

Ep 83: Shashi Verma on Transport in the 21st Century

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He has been a driver of change at Transport for London, which has shown the way to the rest of the world. Shashi Verma joins Vasant Dhar in Episode...

Ep 82: Josh Tucker on the Complex Truth About Social Media

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How much blame should we put on social media for polarizing our society? Perhaps not as much as we tend to do. Joshua A Tucker joins Vasant Dhar in ep...

Ep 81: Alex Wiltschko on the Sense of Smell

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Smell is the most underrated of our senses -- and it affects everything. Alex Wiltschko joins Vasant Dhar in episode 81 of Brave New World to disc...

Ep 80: Kevin Mitchell Makes a Case for Free Will

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Given what we know of physics and neuroscience, can there be free will? Kevin Mitchell, a neuroscientist himself, joins Vasant Dhar in episode 80 of...

Ep 79: Arthur Spirling on How AI Can Change Politics

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence is transforming society. And therefore politics. Arthur Spirling joins Vasant Dhar in episode 79 of Brave New World to shar...

Ep 78: David Halpern on Nudging

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How can we use the insights of behavioral economics to make the world a better place? David Halpern joins Vasant Dhar in episode 78 of Brave New World...

Ep 77: Pippa Ehrlich on the Mysteries of the Sea

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Her film My Octopus Teacher won an academy award -- and her insights on nature, and her love for it, go far beyond the film. Pippa Ehrlich joins Va...

Ep 76: Peter Ward on Life on Earth

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Life on earth is a crazy accident. We have no idea how it arose or whether it will survive. Peter Ward joins Vasant Dhar in episode 76 of Brave New Wo...

Ep 75: Mohit Satyanand on Investing and India

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He's been a successful entrepreneur and investor, and is highly regarded for his sharp understanding of India. Mohit Satyanand joins Vasant Dhar in ...

Ep 74: Peter Singer on Animal Liberation

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why should only human beings be worthy of moral consideration? Would we still eat animals if we had a sense of their mass-produced suffering? Peter Si...

Ep 73: Paul Sheard Demystifies Money

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is money? How is it created? What is the relationship of governments, central banks, and commercial banks to money? Paul Sheard joins Vasant Dh...

Ep 72: Ajay Shah on the Dangers of Digital Public Infrastructure

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Digital Public Infrastructure sounds like a huge step forward for the world -- till you think about how it empowers the state to oppress the people. A...

Ep 71: David Sontag on AI in Healthcare

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David Sontag joins Vasant Dhar on episode 70 of Brave New World to highlight where and how AI is creating a major transformation in healthcare. We cou...

Ep 70: Rajesh Jain, Disrupter

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

He was an early dotcom millionaire -- and he repeated his success. He wants to reinvent email, and has radical insights on politics. Rajesh Jain joins...

Ep 69: Chandrika Tandon on Music and Impact

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

She's a business leader, a Grammy-nominated musician and is trying to transform education. Chadrika Tandon joins Vasant Dhar in episode 69 of Brave ...

Ep 68: Gary Smith is an AI Skeptic

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Will big data and scary AI take over the world? Not a chance, says Gary Smith, as he joins Vasant Dhar in episode 68 of Brave New World. The human b...

Ep 67: Ellie Pavlick on the Cutting Edge of AI

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Does ChatGPT really understand anything? Or is it faking it? Hell, do we understand how it works? Ellie Pavlick joins Vasant Dhar in episode 67 of...

Ep 66: Jameel Jaffer on Free Speech in the Social Media Age

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Law and social conventions around free speech have evolved with the times, but technology presents new challenges to both. In this new world of social...

Ep 65: Rick Smolan on a Life in Photography

29 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In a rich career as a photographer, he's brought his own distinct gaze to every place he's been to. Rick Smolan joins Vasant Dhar in episode 65 of Br...

Ep 64: Amit Varma on the Creator Economy

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There has never been a better time to be a creator. Amit Varma joins Vasant Dhar in episode 64 of Brave New World to discuss his learnings as a pod...

Ep 63: Piyush Gupta on How AI Will Transform Business

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

He has skin in the game as a top banker -- and saw the power of AI long before others did. Piyush Gupta joins Vasant Dhar in episode 63 of Brave New...

Ep 62: Dmitry Rinberg on the Mysteries of Smell

18 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We live in a world of smell -- and we barely understand it! Dmitry Rinberg joins Vasant Dhar in episode 62 of Brave New World to discuss what he has...

Ep 61: Marty Fridson on How Tech Changed Wall Street

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One of the great disruptions that shaped the modern world was the way in which technology transformed Wall Street. Marty Fridson joins Vasant Dhar in ...

Ep 60: Raphaël Millière Looks Under the Hood of AI

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

ChatGPT is great -- but does it 'understand' what it is telling us? Raphaël Millière joins Vasant Dhar in episode 60 of Brave New World to understan...

Ep 59: Paulo Kaiser on Assimilating ChatGPT

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Will it take all our jobs? In what way will it make us better? What do we need to do? Paulo Kaiser joins Vasant Dhar in episode 59 of Brave New Worl...

Ep 58: Sam Bowman on ChatGPT & Controlling AI

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence is awesome -- but should we fear it? How can we stay in charge? Sam Bowman joins Vasant Dhar in episode 58 of Brave New Worl...

Ep 57: Rich Bonneau on the Exciting Frontiers of Computational Biology

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When computer science and biology come together, can you reprogram nature? Richard Bonneau joins Vasant Dhar in episode 57 of Brave New World to sh...

Ep 56: Tom Davenport on Artificial Intelligence in Business

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It is about time companies went all in on artificial intelligence. Tom Davenport joins Vasant Dhar in episode 56 of Brave New World to discuss how ...

Ep 55: Paul Barrett on Regulating Social Media

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Social media has brought new challenges to our times, such as what they should or shouldn't publish or amplify. Do we need new laws to deal with these...

Ep 54: Dana Carroll on the Science and Ethics of Gene Editing

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We have become the first species that can edit its own programming. Dana Carroll joins Vasant Dhar in episode 54 of Brave New World to share his insig...

Ep 53: Paul Shapiro on Growing Meat Without Animals

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In principle, you can take a single cell from an animal and feed an entire village. It's a matter of time. In the meantime, there are alternatives, li...

Ep 52: Neeti Bhalla Johnson on Risk in Our Modern World

29 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Has the world become more or less safe over the years? How do we measure risk in these times of crazy change? Neeti Bhalla Johnson joins Vasant Dhar i...

Ep 51: Emeran Mayer on the Brain in Our Gut

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The brain and the gut are connected -- and our well-being depends on it. Emeran Mayer joins Vasant Dhar to speak about the importance of the gut in ...

Ep 50: Pramod Varma on India's Digital Empowerment

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

India has achieved a technological miracle by empowering hundreds of millions of people with the power of identity. Pramod Varma joins Vasant Dhar in ...

Ep 49: Anshu Gupta on Using Waste For Good

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We need to change the way we do philanthropy: it should be about sharing, not giving. Anshu Gupta joins Vasant Dhar in episode 49 of Brave New World...

Ep 48: Hanna Halaburda and Yannis Bakos on Bitcoin, Blockchain and DeFi

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Is Bitcoin just a bubble, or the first face of the future? What about blockchain and DeFi? Hanna Halaburda and Yannis Bakos join Vasant Dhar in epis...

Ep 47: Shelley Stewart on Black Economic Mobility

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How did Covid-19 affect black Americans? What are the obstacles to their mobility and what can you do about it? Shelley Stewart joins Vasant Dhar in...

Ep 46: Soumitra Datta on Measuring Innovation

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How can we tell if one country is more innovative than another? What drives that difference? And hey, what is innovation to begin with? Soumitra Dat...

Ep 45: Joseph Aoun on Becoming Robot-Proof

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If robots and AI are replacing us, we need to reinvent ourselves. Joseph Aoun joins Vasant Dhar in episode 45 of Brave New World to discuss the role...

Ep 44: Maneka Gandhi on Animal Rights

04 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Perhaps the greatest human sin is how we treat animals. Maneka Gandhi joins Vasant Dhar in episode 44 of Brave New World to share her learnings from...

Ep 43: Bernard Haykel on Islam and the West

21 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How is the relationship between Islam and the West evolving? Is there is a clash of civilizations or a clash within Islam? Bernard Haykel joins Vasan...

Ep 42: Antoinette Schoar on Decentralized Finance & Crypto

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Will cryptocurrencies save the world or create a new can of worms? Antoinette Schoar joins Vasant Dhar in episode 42 of Brave New World to take us o...

Ep 41: David Chalmers on the Nature of Reality

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What are the philosophical implications of virtual reality? Do we exist "physically" or "virtually" and does it matter? Is virtual reality real? How i...

Ep 40: Ben Hunt on the Power of Narrative

09 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

'We need narrative theory,' says Ben Hunt, to understand the alien beings called Narratives that inhabit our Metaverse. Hunt joins Vasant Dhar in ep...

Ep 39: Marie Bergstrom on Online Dating and Intimacy

26 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hooking up ain't like it used to be. Marie Bergstrom joins Vasant Dhar in episode 39 of Brave New World to discuss her research on how the internet ...

Ep 38: Joel Peterson on the Art and Science of Winemaking

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

These are exciting times for wine lovers. Joel Peterson, the Godfather of Zinfandel, joins Vasant Dhar in episode 38 of Brave New World to raise a to...

Ep 37: Caitlin Zaloom on the Explosion of Student Debt

28 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Education empowers people, but education debt can cripple them and they families financially. Caitlin Zaloom joins Vasant Dhar in episode 37 of Brav...

Ep 36: Jeff Teper on the Post-Covid Workplace

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Big tech is in the spotlight these days, but Microsoft keeps a low profile. It has escaped the flak while shaping the post-Covid world. Company vetera...

Ep 35: Anthony Zador on How our Brains Work

31 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The brain is a complex machine, but some of us study its circuits and figure out its secrets. Anthony Zador joins Vasant Dhar in episode 35 of Brave...

Ep 34: Chris Bail on How to Fight Polarization

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Social media is tearing us apart by feeding into our need for status. Can we mitigate its effects? Chris Bail joins Vasant Dhar in episode 34 of B...

Ep 33: Aswath Damodaran on Investing

03 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The value of a company has a lot to do with the stories it tells about itself. Aswath Damodaran joins Vasant Dhar in episode 33 of Brave New World t...

Ep 32: Helena Rosenblatt on Liberalism's Long Journey

17 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What is liberal democracy and has it lost its way? Helena Rosenblatt joins Vasant Dhar in episode 32 of Brave New World to add a historical perspecti...

Ep 31: Philip Tetlock on the Art of Forecasting

03 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Yogi Berra once said, "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." Philip Tetlock joins Vasant Dhar in episode 31 of Brave New Wor...

Ep 30: David Yermack on The Crypto Revolution

20 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Goodbye big banks. Hello crypto. The world of finance is in the process of changing forever, and David Yermack is your guide. Yermack joins Vasant ...

Ep 29: Albert Wenger on the World After Capital

06 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Capital is no longer a scarce resource. Attention is. Albert Wenger joins Vasant Dhar in episode 29 of Brave New World to discuss how the Industrial...

Ep 28: Adam Alter on Beating Our Addictions

23 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

More and more, the digital world is being designed to turn us into addicts. Adam Alter joins Vasant Dhar in episode 28 of Brave New World to describe...

Ep 27: Andrew Yang on the New Politics America Needs

09 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Yang supports some game-changing ideas, such as UBI and taxing robots, and they're rooted in a radical vision of what America's politics should...

Ep 26: Anna Lembke on Beating Dopamine

25 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are you addicted? You may be a slave to dopamine without realising it, whether in the substances you put into your body or the behaviors you adopt. An...

Ep 25: John McWhorter on the Religion of Wokeism

11 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There is a new religion in town. It has the best intentions, but it may harm those it claims to help. John McWhorter joins Vasant Dhar in episode 25...

Ep 24: Solon Barocas on Removing Bias From Machines

28 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Machine Learning can improve decision making in a big way -- but it can also reproduce human biases and discrimination. Solon Barocas joins Vasant ...

Ep 23: Terry Odean on How to Think about Investing

14 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How do we pick the stocks we buy? What drives us to sell? How does new technology impact our attention and behavior? Terrance Odean joins Vasant Dhar...

Ep 22: Dina Srinivasan on the Dangers of Big Tech

30 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Google and Facebook have an outrageous amount of market power, and that's dangerous for society. Dina Srinivasan joins Vasant Dhar in episode 22 of Br...

Ep 21: Daniel Kahneman on How Noise Hampers Judgement

16 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We overestimate our skill at decision making. We're pretty bad, and bias isn't the only reason. Daniel Kahneman joins Vasant Dhar in episode 21 of B...

Ep 20: Stuart Russell on The Existential Risk of AI

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It is a matter of time before machines outstrip humans in most capabilities. How can we possibly stop a more intelligent entity from taking control? S...

Ep 19: James Robinson on What Makes a Successful State

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why do some nations fail in their lurch towards liberty while others succeed? James Robinson joins Vasant Dhar in episode 19 of Brave New World to e...

Ep 18: Erik Brynjolfsson on the Second Machine Age

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The first machine age was about mechanical machines. We now live in a time of thinking machines. Erik Brynjolfsson joins Vasant Dhar in episode 18 o...

Ep 17: Peter Railton on Moral Intuitions

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How do we come upon our morality? How much of our moral judgement is intuitive and how much is learned? Moral philosopher Peter Railton joins Vasant ...

Ep 16: Samuel Moyn on Humane War

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is a humane war a contradiction in terms? Can rules be made and followed that limit the damage that wars do, or will that make conflict perpetual? Is ...

Ep 15: Nandan Nilekani on an Egalitarian Internet

24 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The internet began with an Age of Innocence, which gave way to the Age of Commerce, driven by the advertising model. Nandan Nilekani joins Vasant Dhar...

Ep 14: Bias, Lies, and Democracy

10 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is our democracy in peril? What role has the media played in this? What should we do about it? Ali Velshi joins Vasant Dhar in episode 14 of Brave New...

Ep 13: Can a Machine Have Human Values?

27 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As artificial intelligence gets more and more powerful, the need becomes greater to ensure that machines do the right thing. But what does that even ...

Ep 12: Are We Becoming a New Species?

13 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Social media is changing human behavior. How and why are humans being transformed by algorithms? Molly Crockett joins Vasant Dhar in episode 12 of Bra...

Ep 11: The Future of Liberal Education

29 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In these polarised times, what should the colleges of tomorrow look like? Michael S Roth, the president of Wesleyan University, joins Vasant Dhar i...

Ep 10: Understanding QE in the New World

15 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Covid was a shock to the global economy. Policy makers have responded with Quantitative Easing. Paul Sheard joins Vasant Dhar in episode 10 of Brave...

Ep 9: Waiting for Doctor AI

01 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence can transform healthcare -- and the medical profession may be behind the curve. Regina Barzilay joins Vasant Dhar in episode...

Ep 8: How Social Media Threatens Society

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The internet has changed our lives, mostly for the better. But there is a flip side. Jonathan Haidt joins Vasant Dhar in episode 8 of Brave New Worl...

Ep 7: The Nature of Intelligence

04 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Trying to build artificial intelligence can teach us so much about intelligence itself. AI pioneer Yann LeCun, a winner of the Turing Award, joins Vas...

Ep 6: The China Question

18 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How should the Biden administration treat China? The same way the Trump administration did, Peter Berkowitz tells Vasant Dhar in episode 6 of Brave ...

Ep 5: Law and Education in Our Modern World

04 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We live in a different world than we did 30 years ago. How can law and education adapt to the disruptions of technology and politics? John Sexton join...

Ep 4: Human and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

21 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Despite amazing scientific advances, why is our healthcare system failing us today? It is rife with mistakes and lacks care. Can artificial intelli...

Ep 3: The Social Media Industrial Complex

07 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Can social media platforms change our society? Sinan Aral joins Vasant Dhar in episode 3 of Brave New World to share his concerns. Useful resources...

Ep 2: Uplift the Unremarkables

24 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this no-holds-barred conversation with Vasant Dhar, Scott Galloway shreds the myth of American mobility. He urges our institutions, especially univ...