Important, Not Important

Science Podcasts >

"The Conversations Most Vital to Our Survival As a Species”. Quinn Emmett and Brian Colbert Kennedy, publishers of the popular “Important, Not Important” weekly newsletter and otherwise regular, progressive, terrified folks like you, host weekly-ish conversations with awesome scientists, engineers, doctors, politicians, and journalists, as they discuss the questions and topics most likely to either save the planet, or end it! Topics include climate change, artificial intelligence, clean energy, space exploration, antibiotics, bio-tech and more.

"The Conversations Most Vital to Our Survival As a Species”. Quinn Emmett and Brian Colbert Kennedy, publishers of the popular “Important, Not Important” weekly newsletter and otherwise regular, progressive, terrified folks like you, host weekly-ish conversations with awesome scientists, engineers, doctors, politicians, and journalists, as they discuss the questions and topics most likely to either save the planet, or end it! Topics include climate change, artificial intelligence, clean energy, space exploration, antibiotics, bio-tech and more.

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United States

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Science Podcasts

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Technology Podcasts

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Language:

English

Episodes

#43: The Future of Digital Health

11/13/2018

In Episode 43, Quinn & Brian discuss: The future of digital health. Our guests are Dr. Indra Joshi & Maxine Mackintosh. Together, these two co-founded One HealthTech, a grassroots community that champions and promotes the unheard voices in health innovation to drive our future healthcare using technology. Dr. Joshi is also the clinical lead for NHS England's digital experience programme and Maxine is pursuing her PhD in neuroinformatics at the Alan Turing Institute, where she is working...

Duration:00:53:36

#42: What Happens When You’re Almost an Astronaut... And What Comes Next?

11/6/2018

In Episode 42, Quinn & Brian ask: What happens when you’re almost an astronaut... and what comes next? Our guest is Dr. Sian Proctor, an explorer, scientist, full-time professor, STEM communicator, and almost as astronaut. Today she joins the show to tell us how we can all help get more women and more people of color into space, one way or another. If you didn’t know – and we weren’t sure – being a white, male military pilot isn’t the only way to get to space! You can be exposed to...

Duration:01:08:12

BONUS: After Dark #02

10/31/2018

In After Dark Episode 2, Quinn & Brian continue talking about whatever they want: canvassing, the looming election, not being lawyers, Ready Player One, moving in with the girlfriend, waking up at a decent hour, upcoming guests, (not) sitting on stairs, movember, & more. Links: Have feedback or questions? Send a message tofuntalk@importantnotimportant.comREGISTER TO VOTE:vote.govDO SOMETHING: swingleft.org/importantpodSupport candidates endorsed by 314:314action.org/endorsed-candidates-1...

Duration:00:45:58

#41: Outsmarting Cholera

10/30/2018

In Episode 41, Quinn & Brian discuss: Outsmarting cholera. Cholera is still around in many parts of the world, and not a lot has changed. That is to say, it’s still shitty and deadly. However, there is hope when it comes to treatment, and that hope is our guest Dr. Minmin Yen! Dr. Yen is the CEO and co-founder of medical startup PhagePro, where she and her team are developing bacteriophages, or viruses specifically designed to kill bacteria and prevent bacterial infections. So why is...

Duration:01:01:17

Trailer -- Important, Not Important

10/30/2018

"The Conversations Most Vital to Our Survival As a Species”. Quinn Emmett & Brian Colbert Kennedy, publishers of the popular “Important, Not Important” weekly newsletter and otherwise regular, progressive, terrified folks like you, host weekly-ish conversations with awesome scientists, engineers, doctors, politicians, and journalists, as they discuss the questions and topics most likely to either save the planet, or end it! Topics include climate change, artificial intelligence, clean...

Duration:00:01:07

Bonus: The #1 thing you can do to fight climate change

10/26/2018

Hi. So you read the IPCC climate change report. Not great, Bob. We get it. Now you want to do something about it. We get that, too. So here’s a re-run of one of our favorite episodes, “What’s the #1 Thing You Can Do To Affect Climate Change?” Enjoy. -- On the mic and down the street, Peter Kalmus, an atmospheric scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Peter wrote a book called Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution and also he’s got...

Duration:01:02:14

#40: What Takes a Young Woman from Art School to NASA... & Why Might That Change Everything Forever, for Everyone?

10/23/2018

In Episode 40, Quinn & Brian ask: What would take a young woman from art school to NASA... and why might that change everything forever, for everyone, for good? Our guest is Ariel Waldman, the author of What's It Like in Space? Stories from Astronauts Who've Been There, the founder of Spacehack.org, the global director of Science Hack Day (something she awesomely calls “massively multiplayer science”), and a member of the council for NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts – a program that...

Duration:01:16:43

#39: Is The Ocean Running Out of Oxygen? Is That Bad?

10/16/2018

In Episode 39, Quinn & Brian ask: Is The Ocean Running Out of Oxygen? Is That Bad? Our guest is Dawn “Deepsea Dawn” Wright, Ph.D., the Chief Scientist of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (AKA Esri) and a Professor of Geography and Oceanography at Oregon State University. She also happens to have the distinction of being the first African-American woman to dive to the ocean floor in the deep submersible ALVIN (which we would totally be up for doing if anyone has a spare...

Duration:01:11:49

#38: Is It Harder to Build Clean Power Plants or Play in a Reputable Cover Band?

10/9/2018

In Episode 38, Quinn & Brian ask: Is it harder to build clean power plants or play in a reputable cover band? Our guest is Sean Casten, a scientist, clean energy entrepreneur, and cover band member who is running for Congress in Illinois’ 6th district. Let’s let out a big “whoop whoop!” for Brian’s home district! Sean is running against Peter “Skeletor” Roskam, who called climate change “junk science,” which is really all we need to hear to know that Sean is the right man for...

Duration:00:46:10

#37: Why Does Congress Need a Female Air Force Officer / Engineer / Chemistry Teacher / Mom?

10/2/2018

In Episode 37, Quinn & Brian ask: Why does Congress need a female Air Force Officer / Engineer / Chemistry Teacher / Mom among its ranks? (Possibly our dumbest question yet?) Our guest is Chrissy Houlahan, a candidate for Pennsylvania District 6 on Nov. 6th. We dig into the very personal reasons she’s running, what’s so special about Pennsylvania, and the first thing she’s going to do when she gets elected. Plus, how did she collect such an impressive list of bona fides? Chrissy shares...

Duration:00:51:59

BONUS: After Dark #01

9/28/2018

In After Dark Episode 1, Quinn & Brian talk about whatever they want. Connect with us: Subscribeto our newsletter atImportantNotImportant.com!Intro/outro byTim BlaneFollow Quinn:@quinnemmettFollow Brian:@_bpckLike and share uson Facebook!Check uson Instagram!Follow uson Twitter!Pin uson Pinterest!Tumble usor whatever the hell you do on Tumblr! Important, Not Important is produced by Podcast Masters

Duration:00:35:17

#36: Can Latinos Save the Planet?

9/25/2018

In Episode 36, Quinn & Brian ask: Can Latinos save the planet? Our guest is Mark Magana, the Founding President & CEO of GreenLatinos, a national coalition of Latino environmental, natural resources, and conservation advocates. Mark started the organization 10 years ago (with the super pithy name National Latinos Coalition on Climate Change) in an effort to garner support for a cap and trade bill in Congress. What they found, however, was that Latinos in the environmental movement were...

Duration:01:16:16

#35: Can These Scientists Really Save Congress?

9/18/2018

In Episode 35, Quinn & Brian ask: Can these scientists really save congress? Our guest is Shaughnessy Naughton. She is the President & Founder of 314 Action, an organization founded by members of the STEM community; grassroots supporters and political activists who believe in the power of SCIENCE! They are committed to electing more STEM candidates to every level of elected office, advocate for evidence-based policy solutions to issues like climate change, and stand up to fight back...

Duration:01:09:16

#34: Electrocuting the S#!t Out of Cancer.

9/11/2018

In Episode 34, Quinn & Brian discuss: Electrocuting the S#!t Out of Cancer. Our guest is Theo Roth, an MB/PhD student candidate at UCSF who spends his days running experiments in the Marson Lab, and contributing to kick-ass research like the development of new tools for efficient CRISPR genome engineering in human cells. The topic of this episode is extremely close to us and particularly relevant right now because September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Childhood cancer,...

Duration:01:15:20

#33: This is Zero Hour... So What The Hell Are You Doing?

9/4/2018

In Episode 33, Quinn & Brian ask: This is Zero Hour... so what the hell are you doing? Our guests are Elsa Mengistu and Emelly Villa, two of the young people behind Zero Hour, a movement that is aligning the voices of diverse in the conversation on climate and environmental justice. They’re doing incredible things to make this the world they want to (and can) live in – and they’re only 17 and 18! The older generations, all around the world, have been stealing the future away from their...

Duration:01:16:40

#32: Are You Ready for Some Radical Environmental Justice?

8/28/2018

In Episode 32, Quinn & Brian ask: Are You Ready for Some Radical Environmental Justice? Our guest is Shantha Ready Alonso, Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries, which we’re pretty sure means she’s the boss of all the religious folks out there – and luckily enough for you pious people, she’s delightful! The mission of Creation Justice Ministries is to “educate, equip, and mobilize Christian communities and individuals to protect, restore, and rightly share God's Creation.” But...

Duration:01:12:53

#31: Can Texas Go (Clean Energy) Independent?

8/21/2018

In Episode 31, Quinn & Brian ask: Can Texas Go (Clean Energy) Independent? Joining us this week is candidate for Texas district 21, Joseph Kopser. He’s a military vet and clean energy entrepreneur on the hunt for enemy of science Lamar Hunt’s seat. This is the first in our series of conversations with candidates supported by 314 Action, the largest pro-science advocacy organization committed to electing scientists and STEM professionals to public office. Links: Joseph Kopser on...

Duration:01:07:46

#30: What’s the Business Incentive for Climate/Clean Energy Action?

8/14/2018

In Episode 30, Quinn & Brian ask: what’s the business incentive for climate/clean energy action? In light of the Paris Agreement and all the bullshit that’s gone down since, we drafted Will Hackman to be our guest and explain it all. Will’s been a campaign manager for the House and Senate, he’s worked as a marine fisheries conservation advocate, he represented Georgetown University at the UN climate change conference, and he’s an author on various energy, environmental, and climate change...

Duration:01:14:55

#29: The Pope Has Decided to Defeat Climate Change with His Own Bare Hands.

8/7/2018

In Episode 29, Quinn & Brian ponder the fact that the Pope Has Decided to Defeat Climate Change With His Own Bare Hands. Our guest — Jose Aguto. Jose is the Associate Director of the Catholic Climate Covenant, where he works to lead Catholicism into climate action, which includes building and providing the tools to do so. We’re excited to continue our streak of talking to and hopefully not insulting the last segments of the population that we (desperately) need to get on board with climate...

Duration:01:13:00

#28: Why the Hell is Space Exploration Important When the Planet is Literally on Fire?

7/31/2018

In Episode 28, Quinn & Brian ask: why the hell is space exploration important when the planet is literally on fire? To answer that, they’ve brought on The Space Gal, Emily Calandrelli. And boy does she set the record straight. Emily is an MIT-engineer turned Emmy-nominated science host on TV and online, and she’s also a children’s book author. Join us as we discuss the history of space exploration, what she’d do as NASA administrator/dictator, and her own upbringing in West...

Duration:01:09:03