Shaping Science with Nick Dirks

The New York Academy of Sciences
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Science
  • Updated Semimonthly

Welcome to Shaping Science with Nick Dirks where we talk with experts from science, academia, industry, and beyond to explore the latest in research, education and innovation for the public good. Episodes are released on a biweekly basis.

  1. 2d ago

    #28 Seven Rasmussen on Whether We’re Alone in the Universe, How the Drake Equation Applies to Life in the Cosmos, and the Need for Effective Science Communicators

    Dr. Seven Rasmussen is an astrobiologist, author, educator, and science communicator whose work explores one of humanity’s oldest questions: are we alone in the universe? Dr. Rasmussen studies how planets form, evolve, and potentially support life, while also bringing these ideas to wider audiences through her writing. Rasmussen’s recent book, ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Starships,’ uses the famous Drake Equation as a starting point for exploring the odds of intelligent life beyond Earth. Cloudy with a Chance of Starships: How the Drake Equation Reveals the Odds of Life in the Cosmos was published in 2026 by Princeton University Press This episode of Shaping Science is made possible with the generous support of Tata Sons. 00:00 Intro 01:53 How Did You Become Interested in Astrobiology? 08:02 From Active Galactic Nuclei to Nuclear Astrophysics to Exoplanets 11:10 Exploring Science Fiction Writing 14:56 Writing about Science for a General Readership 18:03 What is the Drake Equation? 19:05 The Principle Issues in Cosmological Thinking 23:07 What Habitability in the Cosmos Means 29:10 The One Place on Earth that Doesn’t Have Life 33:08 Understanding Exoplanets 35:57 Finding Microbial Life Elsewhere in the Solar System 38:29 How to Become an Astrobiologist 43:34 The Need for Effective Science Communicators

  2. Sep 21

    #027 Josh Lerner on Venture Capital, Rethinking Innovation, and Shared Knowledge as a Competitive Strategy

    Josh Lerner, a leading expert on venture capital, private equity, and innovation policy, is an economist and the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School. Over the past three decades, his research has shaped how governments, investors, and entrepreneurs understand the financing of innovation. Prof. Lerner’s work explores when markets succeed, when public policy fails, and what it really takes to build sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems. His newest book ‘Rethinking Innovation’ with Jean Tirole, published earlier this year by Princeton University Press, explores how corporations have increasingly embraced the sharing of knowledge as a competitive strategy. He was also the recipient of the Academy’s inaugural Constellation Award earlier this year. This episode of Shaping Science is made possible with the generous support of Tata Sons. 00:00 Intro 02:00 The Innovation Economy and Innovation Policy 08:47 The Silicon Valley: Venture Capital, Innovation and Entrepreneurship 13:55 How Does Venture Capital Work? 20:05 Challenges Around the Innovation Economy/Ecosystem 24:53 The Global Environment Around Successful Innovation Zones 33:58 Developing Funding Mechanisms for Outside-the-Box Research 39:22 The Multi-Dimensional Role of Patents in Innovation 42:02 Regulating Innovation: Quantum Computing, AI, and Beyond 48:09 China’s Innovation Economy

  3. Sep 8

    #026 Hans Peter Brondmo on Everyday Robots, Moving Toward an AI Society, and the Future of Work

    Hans Peter Brondmo is a technology entrepreneur, former Google Vice President, and a leading thinker on artificial intelligence, robotics, and the future of work. He has founded several startups and held positions at Nokia in Berlin, Apple in Tokyo, and at CERN in Geneva. At Google’s X — the “moonshot factory” — he founded and led the Everyday Robots project, an ambitious effort to build general-purpose robots capable of working alongside humans in everyday environments. Across a career spanning Silicon Valley, startups, and global tech leadership, Brondmo has consistently been at the forefront of emerging technologies — from early internet marketing to social networks and now embodied AI.  This episode of Shaping Science is made possible with the generous support of Tata Sons.  00:00 Intro 02:21 “Nerd Credentials” 06:40 From Toy Trains and Ham Radio to Computers and Robots 11:12 Finding Success as an Entrepreneur 13:58 Building Robots for Google: “Breaking Glass, but Not Too Much” 17:18 Pre-LLMs: The Robotic Scene in 2016 23:30 The Theory of the Robot in 2019 30:57 Parallels Between LLMs and Robotics 36:30 The Current State of Robotics 44:45 Moving Toward an AI Society

  4. Aug 24

    #025 Peter Agre on Science as a Social Endeavor, How Scientists Can Succeed Where Politicians Fail, and the Current Climate for Science Diplomacy

    Peter Agre, MD, is a physician, molecular biologist, and Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2003) whose discovery of aquaporin water-channel proteins transformed our understanding of how water moves through cell membranes. He is also a passionate advocate of global health, malaria research and holds the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship at Johns Hopkins University. He is also a strong believer in science diplomacy and the role of scientists in geopolitics as described in his book - Can Scientists Succeed Where Politicians Fail? - published in 2025 by Johns Hopkins University Press. This episode of Shaping Science is made possible with the generous support of Tata Sons. 00:00 Intro 04:56 The Significance of Discovering Aquaporins 10:52 Curiosity-Driven Science: When Research Interests Meet Serendipity 16:31 From Nobel Laureate to Malaria Researcher 25:24 Utilizing Ancient Chinese Remedies 32:15 Can Scientists Succeed Where Politicians Fail? 37:17 The Role of Healthcare in the Origins of the Cuban Revolution 41:29 The Current Climate for Science Diplomacy

  5. Aug 10

    #024 Thomas Levenson on the Impact of Storytelling in Science, the Three Major Scientific Revolutions of the Current Era, and the Case for Vaccinations in the Age of Misinformation

    Thomas Levenson is a historian of science and Professor of Science Writing at MIT. He has written several bestselling narrative histories covering topics from Isaac Newton’s unexpected career as a crime fighter to the 1720 South Sea Bubble, now recognized as one of the world's first financial crises. Levenson explores how scientific ideas emerge, collide with politics, and reshape society and the modern world. His work brings together science, history, and human drama, showing how discovery is never isolated from culture, power, and chance. A Pox on Fools: The True Believers, Grifters, and Cynics Who Convinced Us to Reject Vaccines was published in 2026 by Penguin Random House. This episode of Shaping Science is made possible with the generous support of Tata Sons. 00:00 Intro 02:03 From East Asian Studies major to science writer 05:18 Climate Science in the 1980s 15:22 Measure for Measure: A Musical History of Science 22:35 A Hunt for an Imaginary Planet and an Imaginary Fortune 27:24 Einstein and Two World Wars 34:43 From Early 18th Century South Sea Explorations to 21st Century Advances in AI 36:34 Moments of Unreason, Folley, and Fraud in Science 47:08 Germ Theory, Public Health, Antibiotics, and Vaccines52:39 The Andrew Wakefield Paper: Fraudulent in Everyway

  6. Jul 27

    #023 Emily Eakin on the Intellectual and Philosophical Debates that Shaped a Generation and Changed the Way We Understand Language

    Emily Eakin, senior editor at The New York Times Book Review, whose pieces have also been published in The New Yorker, Vogue, The New Republic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and more. She recently published her first book, ‘The Frenchmen, or My Life in Theory,’ which tells the improbable story of the prominent French philosophers that had profound and lasting influence in the 1980s and ’90s. Their impact on American education and intellectual culture was immense, with some of their ideas tying into the cultural wars of present day. ‘The Frenchmen Or, My Life in Theory’ was published in 2026 by Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317335/the-frenchmen-by-emily-eakin/ This episode of Shaping Science is made possible with the generous support of Tata Sons: https://www.tata.com/business/tata-sons 00:00 Intro 05:50 The Personal and Intellectual History of Language 13:28 A More Scientific Way of Interpreting Meaning in Language 18:40 The Intellectual Embrace of Structuralism 24:40 The French Impact on American Higher Education 28:50 The Emergence of Poststructuralist Thought 32:56 The Role of Jean-Jacques Rousseau 37:00 The Specter of Jacques Derrida 43:35 The Role of Michel Foucault

  7. Jul 13

     #022 Diana Reiss on Understanding Mirror Self-Recognition in Dolphins, Dispelling the Fallacy of Human Cognitive Uniqueness, and Advocating for Animal Welfare

    Diana Reiss is a cognitive psychologist and one of the world’s leading researchers on animal cognition and consciousness. Best known for her groundbreaking work demonstrating mirror self-recognition in dolphins – a discovery that challenged long-standing assumptions about human cognitive uniqueness, Reiss has spent decades studying how dolphins and other animals think, communicate, and understand themselves, while also translating this science into advocacy for animal welfare and conservation.  This episode of Shaping Science is made possible with the generous support of Tata Sons.  00:00 Intro  01:38 From the Arts to the Sciences  07:02 Working with Whales and Dolphins  13:05 The Physiology, Neuroscience, and Consciousness of Dolphins   17:26 The Mirror Test: Utilizing Set Design Skills  26:10 Evolution and the Stages of Development  30:41 Mirror Self-Recognition with Different Mammals  37:17 How Animal Consciousness Relates to Human Consciousness   42:58 Advocating for Better Treatment of Animals

  8. Jun 29

    #021Andrea Wulf on the History of Science, How the Past Shapes the Present, and Bringing a Novelistic Style to Nonfiction

    Andrea Wulf is an internationally bestselling historian and author whose work has reshaped how we understand the relationship between science, nature, and culture. Across her work, Wulf brings to life the intellectual networks and ideas that have shaped modern understandings of the natural world, from Enlightenment science to Romantic philosophy. Her latest book, ‘The Traveler,’ is a sweeping biography of George Forster, the visionary 18th-century naturalist and explorer, which chronicles his journey from a child prodigy sailing with Captain Cook to a radical voice advocating for universal human rights. Visit: penguinrandomhouse.com/books/768155/the-traveler-by-andrea-wulf/ This episode of Shaping Science is made possible with the generous support of Tata Sons. For more info, visit: nyas.org/ideas-insights/podcasts/ 00:00 Intro  02:14 The Life of Alexander van Humboldt   08:36 The Politics of Nature vs Climate  11:31 Stanger Than Fiction: Creating a Compelling Narrative through Primary Source Materials  15:15 From the World to the Self  19:14 The Most Fascinating Man Most People Have (Probably) Never Heard Of   25:20 Developing a Theory of the 18th Century World   32:32 A Stunning and Correct Theory of Polynesian Migration  40:28 Almost Lost to History  44:06 A Tumultuous and Tragic Life that Ended Too Soon

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About

Welcome to Shaping Science with Nick Dirks where we talk with experts from science, academia, industry, and beyond to explore the latest in research, education and innovation for the public good. Episodes are released on a biweekly basis.

Information

  • Creator
    The New York Academy of Sciences
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The New York Academy of Sciences
  • Show Website
    Shaping Science with Nick Dirks

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