Bridging the Gaps: A Portal for Curious Minds
Episodes
“Seven Decades: How We Evolved to Live Longer” with Professor Michael Gurven
23 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our ability to live for many decades is often viewed as a modern luxury made possible by clean water, improved living conditions, and advances in medi...
“AI Fairness: Designing Equal Opportunity Algorithms” with Professor Derek Leben
01 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As artificial intelligence takes on a growing role in decisions about education, jobs, housing, loans, healthcare, and criminal justice, concerns abou...
“How Our Grasp of the Universe and Our Minds Changed Everything” with Professor Linda Zagzebski
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At the heart of the intellectual and cultural awakening that swept across the globe during the first millennium BCE—an era that witnessed the emerge...
“The Nobel Prize and the Public Image of Science” with Professor Massimiano Bucchi
24 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a world where scientific work often feels distant and difficult to grasp, the Nobel Prize makes science visible and understandable in a unique way....
“The Human Journey From Ape to Agriculture” with Professor Peter Bellwood
21 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Over a span of five million years, humankind rose from modest origins to become the planet’s most dominant species. Along the way, people changed a ...
“The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood” with Professor James Boyle
05 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Humans are no longer the only entities capable of generating language and ideas with fluency. But this advancement raises a profound question: are art...
“From Sensing to Sentience: How Feeling Emerges from the Brain” with Professor Todd Feinberg
09 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sentience is the feeling aspect of consciousness, encompassing the capacity to experience sensations such as pain, pleasure, and emotions. It is the f...
“Welcome to the Universe in 3D: A Visual Tour” with Neil deGrasse Tyson
28 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Astronomy tells the story of humanity's journey from viewing the sky as a flat, two-dimensional dome to understanding it as a vast, dynamic, and ever-...
“The Evolution of Biological Information” with Professor Christoph Adami
21 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Consider this thought-provoking statement: “Life is information that maintains itself.” This argument, proposed by Professor Christoph Adami in hi...
“The Painful Truth about Hunger in America” with Professor Mariana Chilton
17 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hunger is far more than the immediate and tangible experience of not being able to find or buy food. While it is true that hunger is often depic...
“The Network of Life: A New View of Evolution” with Professor David Mindell
19 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For a long time, the prevailing perspective on evolution has been that it follows a vertical pathway, where genetic information is passed down from on...
“Middle Tech: Software Work and the Culture of Good Enough” with Professor Paula Bialski
06 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Contrary to the widespread belief that all technology is sleek, flawless, and cutting-edge, much of it isn’t designed to meet such high standards or...
“Lessons from the Global South on Designing Inclusive Tech” with Professor Payal Arora
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The news about emerging technologies often sounds alarming as well as discouraging. Headlines talk about how algorithms control and oppress people. Th...
“The Blind Spot: Why Science Cannot Ignore Human Experience” with Professor Adam Frank
22 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Since the Enlightenment, humanity has turned to science to answer profound questions about who we are, where we come from, and where we’re headed. H...
“The Secret Life of Data: Navigating Hype and Uncertainty” with Aram Sinnreich and Jesse Gilbert
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As fresh algorithms and new analytical methods emerge, existing datasets can uncover insights beyond their original purpose. Regardless of their inten...
“Off-Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space” with Dr Erika Nesvold
28 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As humanity sets its sights on venturing beyond the confines of Earth, it is immensely important to acknowledge that the journey to space is not mere...
“Evolutionary Intelligence: How Technology Will Make Us Smarter” with Professor W. Russell Neuman
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as one of the most remarkable advancements of our time. It is a powerful evolving technology that has transfo...
“Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered” with Professor Don Norman
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Has human behaviour pushed our world to the edge, especially the mistaken belief that the earth’s resources are infinite? And can a shift in human b...
“The AI Playbook: Mastering the Rare Art of Machine Learning Deployment” with Eric Siegel
11 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The most powerful tool often comes with the greatest challenges. In recent times Machine learning has emerged as the world's leading general-purpose t...
“Sharing Our Science: How to Write and Speak STEM” with Professor Brandon Brown
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Science communication plays an important role in bridging the gap between researchers and the general public, fostering understanding, engagement, and...
“The Good-Enough Life” with Dr Avram Alpert
02 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We live in a society driven by a relentless pursuit of greatness, where we are constantly pushed to attain the highest levels of wealth, power, and f...
“Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness” with Professor Nicholas Humphrey
15 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We experience, thus we exist. Our conscious perceptions form the foundation of our self-awareness. They play a vital role in shaping our understanding...
“The Smartness Mandate” with Professor Orit Halpern
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Smartness has permeated our lives in the form of smartphones, smart cars, smart homes, and smart cities. It has become a mandate, a pervasive force th...
“Ending Epidemics: A History of Escape from Contagion” with Richard Conniff
28 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It is difficult to imagine a not-so-distant past when deadly diseases were a routine part of life. Even more astonishing is the fact that during that ...
“Kendall Square and the Making of a Global Innovation Hub” with Robert Buderi
20 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kendall Square, situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has earned the reputation of being "the most innovative square mile on the planet." It serves as...
“Worlds Without End: Exoplanets, Habitability, and the Future of Humanity” with Prof. Chris Impey
16 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When considering the long-term survival and sustainability of human civilization, two developments hold significant implications. Firstly, humanity ha...
Reclaiming Human Intelligence and “How to Stay Smart in a Smart World” with Prof. Gerd Gigerenzer
01 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The future of technology is a subject of debate among experts. Some predict a bleak future where robots become dominant, leaving humans behind. Others...
“A Traveller’s Guide to the Stars” with Physicist, Author and Nasa Technologist Les Johnson
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The ancient ambition of exploring the cosmos and possibly even inhabiting other planets may one day come true, as we discover more and more exoplanets...
“When Galaxies Were Born: The Quest for Cosmic Dawn” with Professor Richard Ellis
29 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Looking for the earliest galaxies is like travelling back in time. Something that astronomers do all the time. Astronomers use huge and powerful teles...
Cloud Empires: Governing State-like Digital Platforms & Regaining Control with Prof Vili Lehdonvirta
08 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The rise of the platform economy puts state-like power in the hands of platform owners with little or no accountability. Over the past few decades, th...
“The Exquisite Machine: The New Science of the Heart” with Professor Sian Harding
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The heartbeat may be the first physical manifestation of an unborn child that can be seen six weeks after conception, and it continues roughly 100,000...
“Working with AI”: Human-Machine Collaborations with Prof. Thomas Davenport and Prof. Steven Miller
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There is a widespread view that artificial intelligence is a job destroyer technical endeavour. There is both enthusiasm and doom around automation an...
"Zero to Birth: How the Human Brain Is Built" with Professor William Harris
15 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A single fertilised egg generates an embryo. Different cell types in this embryo develop into various organs of a new human being, including a new hum...
“The Case Against Reality” and The Hard Problem of Consciousness with Professor Donald Hoffman
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is the true nature of reality? Does the objective reality reported back by our senses paint a complete picture of the true reality? Is it possibl...
Augmented Thinking: The New Convergence of Art, Technology, and Science with Professor Julio Ottino
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We live in an age of increasing complexity and uncertainty. We live in a time when humanity faces extremely complex challenges. Our ability, or lack t...
“Machines like Us: TOWARD AI WITH COMMON SENSE” with Professor Ronald Brachman
04 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There is a consensus among the researchers in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning that today’s artificial intelligence systems...
“The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds” with Professor Christopher Mason
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We are the only known species that understands species go extinct. We also understand that climate calamity, apocalyptic war, or the demise of the sun...
"The Joy of Science" with Professor Jim Al-Khalili
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can living scientifically empower us to navigate the complexities of today’s complex and unpredictable world? Can the joy of critical thinking and t...
"Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans" with Professor Melanie Mitchell
01 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Recent developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence are fascinating as well as terrifying; there are extravagant promises as well as frustrati...
The End of Astronauts, Robotic Space Missions and Our Future on Earth & Beyond with Prof Martin Rees
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Human space exploration is challenging as well as fascinating. However, the excitement of space flight for astronauts comes at a high cost and is ridd...
"Spark: The Life of Electricity and the Electricity of Life" with Professor Timothy Jorgensen
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When we think about electricity, we most often think of the energy that powers various devices and appliances around us, or perhaps we visualise the l...
Asking Better Questions for Problem Solving, Innovation and Effective Leadership with Hal Gregersen
27 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Every problem or issue raises new questions, which must be correctly answered in order to address the problem or resolve the issue. What if we could g...
On Public Communication of Science and Technology with Professor Bruce Lewenstein
12 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From the museums of the fifteenth century, to the public lectures of Michael Faraday in the nineteenth century, and to various science fairs & festiva...
"Forgetting: The Benefits of Not Remembering" with Dr Scott Small
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We all wish to have a better memory, yet there are times when it fails us. Until recently, most people, even memory scientists, believed that forgetti...
"Learning How to Learn": Techniques to Help You Learn with Dr Barbra Oakley (CLASSIC)
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Humans have fundamental ability and cognitive resources to learn new concepts and acquire new skills and knowledge, although this may not seem natural...
"The Self-Assembling Brain" and Quest for Improved AI with Professor Peter Robin Hiesinger
07 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How does a network of individual neural cells become a brain? How does a neural network learn, hold information and exhibit intelligence? While neurob...
Quantum Computers: Building and Harnessing the Power of Quantum Machines with Prof. Andrea Morello
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Quantum computers store data and perform computations by utilizing properties of quantum physics. Quantum computations are performed by these machines...
"Nano Comes to Life": DNA NanoTech, Medicine and the Future of Biology with Professor Sonia Contera
22 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nanotechnology allows scientists to better understand, interact with, and manipulate biology by creating and manufacturing artificial structures and e...
"Free Will" Through the Lenses of Philosophy and Neuroscience with Dr Alfred Mele
25 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The debate over whether or not free will exists is not new. The main points of contention in this discussion are whether or not we have control over o...
Time, Space and Nature of Reality through the Lens of Quantum Theory with Dr Carlo Rovelli
13 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What is time? Is time real or just an illusion? Time is an enigma, a mystery that never ceases to perplex us. Philosophers, poets, painters and thinke...
The Spike: Journey of Electric Signals in Brain from Perception to Action with Prof. Mark Humphries
07 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Neurons are the fundamental building blocks of the brain. In the human brain, billions of these neurons communicate and liaise with one another using...
History of Information with Professor Paul Duguid
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over centuries “information has shaped and been shaped by human society”, writes professor Paul Duguid at the start of the book “Information: A ...
"On Task: How Our Brain Gets Things Done" with Professor David Badre
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Neural mechanisms in the human brain that are responsible for generating and keeping track of plans, and influencing a cascade of brain states that ca...
"Philosophy & Ethics of Technology" with Professor Peter-Paul Verbeek
31 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Philosophical reflection on technology is not new, it is about as old as philosophy itself. However, as the impact of technology on everyday human lif...
"A Passion for Ignorance" and for Denials and Negations with Professor Renata Salecl
26 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ignorance, denials and negations have always been part of human experience. In this post-truth, post-industrial world, we often feel overwhelmed by th...
Intriguing Science of Sense of Smell with Professor Matthew Cobb
12 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sense of smell is the process of creating the perception of smell. Animals use smell for a range of essential functions such as to find food or a mate...
"Exploring the Mysteries of Our Universe's First Seconds" with Dr Dan Hooper
20 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists now have a good understanding of how our universe evolved over the past 13.8 billion years, but we know very little about what happened in ...
"The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)" with Dr Katie Mack
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout history philosophers, poets and explorers have been pondering upon and debating the question that what the long term future of our universe...
Artificial Intelligence: Fascinating Opportunities & Emerging Challenges with Professor Bart Selman
14 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Research and development in the field of Artificial Intelligence is progressing at an amazing pace. These developments are moving beyond simple applic...
"Philosophy of Information" and "Ethics of Information" with Professor Luciano Floridi
05 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Information is a crucial concept. Its significance is evident by the fact that the present era is labelled as the information age. An intriguing quest...
"The Evolution of Knowledge: Rethinking Science for The Anthropocene" with Professor Jürgen Renn
02 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Most history of science publications narrowly focus on specific periods in human history, or particular disciplines of scientific discovery, or small ...
"Dark Data: Why What You Don't Know Matters" with Professor David Hand
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the era of big data and super-fast information capturing and processing systems, it is easy to imagine that we have all the information that lead ...
Origin Of Mathematics and Mathematical Thinking with Dr Keith Devlin
02 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mathematics is everywhere. We use numbers, quantities, values and measurements almost all the time. Counting and quantifying is part of almost everyth...
Timefulness: Thinking Like a Geologist with Professor Marcia Bjornerud
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Our planet’s history, from its initial formation to present day, spans over a long period of time. It is not easy to conceptually imagine such a lar...
"The Technology Trap" and the Future of Work with Dr Carl Frey
22 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
An intriguing set of questions that is being explored by researchers across the globe and is being discussed and brainstormed in various organisations...
How Cooking Made Us Human with Professor Richard Wrangham
20 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Humans are the only animals that cook their food. One of the implications of cooking food, as noted by Oliver Goldsmith is, “of all other animals we...
Spitzer Space Telescope: Discovering "More Things in the Heavens" with Michael Werner
02 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Since 2003, in a unique Earth-trailing orbit around the sun, the Spitzer Space Telescope has been observing in infrared an optically invisible univers...
"Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason" with Justin Smith
16 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In his new book, "Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason" philosopher Justin Smith presents a fascinating narrative that reveals the ways...
"2062: The World That AI Made" with Professor Toby Walsh
10 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Toby Walsh is a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, and has spent his life dreaming about machines that might think. He is...
Robots, Artificial Life and Technology Imagined by the Ancients with Adrienne Mayor
17 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Adrienne Mayor is an author and historian of ancient science and human curiosity. She is a research scholar at Stanford University who investigates na...
Origin of Human Emotions and Underlying Neurophysiological Functions with Professor Joseph LeDoux
10 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Origin of Human Emotions and Underlying Neurophysiological Functions with Professor Joseph LeDoux by Dr Waseem Akhtar
A History of the Concept of Genius from Antiquity to the Modern Time with Professor Darrin McMohan
10 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A History of the Concept of Genius from Antiquity to the Modern Time with Professor Darrin McMohan by Dr Waseem Akhtar
Memory Slips, Ageing and Strategies For Keeping Brain Healthy with Dr Gary Small
17 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Memory Slips, Ageing and Strategies For Keeping Brain Healthy with Dr Gary Small by Dr Waseem Akhtar
Phoenix Mars Mission with NASA's Peter Smith
17 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Phoenix Mars Mission with NASA's Peter Smith by Dr Waseem Akhtar
False Memories, Misinformation Effect and Eyewitness Testimony: Professor Elizabeth Loftus
02 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
False Memories, Misinformation Effect and Eyewitness Testimony: Professor Elizabeth Loftus by Dr Waseem Akhtar
Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age with Professor Viktor Mayer-Schönberger
17 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age with Professor Viktor Mayer-Schönberger by Dr Waseem Akhtar
Why You Are Not Your Brain? A Conversation on Consciousness with Alva Noe
24 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Human Consciousness is a fascinating research topic. Discussed previously in a number of Bridging the Gaps conversations, cutting edge research on con...
Everything a Curious Mind Should Know About Planetary Ring Systems: Dr Mark Showalter @ BTG
27 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
When Galileo pointed his telescope towards Saturn (circa 1610), he was not able to fully understand what was around the planet; in 1659 Christian Hyge...
A Conversation with Dr Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut and Sixth Person to Walk on the Moon
06 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Edgar Mitchell discusses his journey to the moon on board Apollo 14 in this very interesting conversation at Bridging the Gaps. He describes when a...
Giant Magellan Telescope: Past, Present and Future of Space Exploration with Ground Based Telescopes
13 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
An in-depth conversation with Professor Wendy Freedman on the topic of space exploration with ground based telescopes. We discuss the history of space...
Education: What works and what does not, with Professor John Hattie
31 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Evaluating the quality of teaching and learning in our schools, and assessing the effectiveness of our school systems and primary education frameworks...
Search for Exoplanets: A Discussion with Professor Sara Seager @ BTG
16 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most existing developments of the last two decades in the field of astronomy is the discovery of exoplanets: planets that orbit around the ...
New Horizons Spacecraft's Pluto Flyby with Dr Mark Showalter
17 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
As NASA's New Horizons spacecraft approaches Pluto, Dr Mark Showalter describes in detail the nature of the mission and what to expect in terms of sci...
Multiple Intelligences and Future Minds with Dr Howard Gardner
07 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Multiple intelligences, future minds, and characteristics and expectations of 21st century learners with Dr Howard Gardner.
From Consciousness to Synthetic Consciousness: Prof. David Chalmers
01 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What is consciousness? In this podcast David Chalmers starts addressing this question by saying that “being conscious is when there is something it ...
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Dr Jill Tarter
27 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with Dr Jill Tarter on the past, present and future for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Growth Mindset: Professor Carol Dweck at BTG
30 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A Conversation with Professor Carol Dweck
Memory: Professor Daniel Schacter at BTG
30 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
What exactly is a memory? How much do we know about the processes that a human brain executes to store and retrieve a memory? An individual memory may...
Philosophy of Science: Professor Tim Maudlin at BTG
30 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Is philosophy dead? Well over the past few years a number of scientists and researchers have said that we don’t need philosophy, philosophy should n...
Meta-awareness and Mind Wandering: Professor Jonathan Schooler at BTG
24 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
How much do we think about thinking? How aware usually are we of our awareness, and about what is happening around us? Jonathan Schooler, professor of...