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. 3d ago

    #24 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 Intro02:03 From East Asian Studies major to science writer05:18 Climate Science in the 1980s15:22 Measure for Measure: A Musical History of Science22:35 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 AI36:34 Moments of Unreason, Folley, and Fraud in Science47:08 Germ Theory, Public Health, Antibiotics, and Vaccines52:39 The Andrew Wakefield Paper: Fraudulent in Everyway

  2. Jul 27

    #23 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

  3. Jul 13

     #22 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

  4. Jun 29

    #21Andrea 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

  5. Jun 15

    #20 David Spergel on Cosmology, Scientific Discovery, and the Role of Philanthropy

    David Spergel is a theoretical astrophysicist and professor emeritus of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University. A renowned cosmologist, he helped lead NASA's landmark Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) mission, which revolutionized our understanding of the universe, and later chaired NASA's independent study team on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. As president of the Simons Foundation, he carries forward the vision of its co-founders, Jim and Marilyn Simons, and advocates for the unique role philanthropy can play in advancing bold, long-term scientific research and discovery. Learn more about the Simon's Foundation: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/ 00:00 Intro 05:26 Dr. Spergel’s Path to Cosmology: From Theorist to Experimentalist 14:23 Developing Revolutionary Ideas: The Role of Failure in Science 17:45 Rethinking Incentives for High-Risk, High-Reward Science 23:51 Advantages and Challenges of Interdisciplinary Research 28:09 Determining Merit within the Research Funding Bureaucracy 36:57 Research on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena 43:16 The Phenomena of “Sprites” 49:56 Rebuilding Public Trust in Science

  6. Jun 1

    #19 Webb Keane on Fieldwork in Indonesia, Anthropology’s Role in the Development of AI, and Exploring Meaning in Everyday Life

    Webb Keane is the George Herbert Mead Distinguished University Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and a leading thinker on ethics, religion, and meaning in everyday life. His work explores how belief, morality, and material objects shape who we are and howmodern ideas of sincerity, freedom, and responsibility came to be. Through fieldwork in Indonesia and wide‑ranging theoretical writing, he brings weighty philosophical questions to the level of everyday practice. His latest book ‘Animals, Robots, Gods: Adventures in the Moral Imagination’explores non-human agency from animals to AI and automated beings.00:00 Intro 06:37 Why Indonesia for Fieldwork? 13:03 Understanding the Social Isolation of the American Individual 18:11 The Role of the Anthropologist in Artificial Intelligence Development 23:13 How Human Values, Morality, and Ethics Inform AI 29:46 What Does this New Power of the Machine Mean for What it Means to Be Human? 36:48 The Role of AI in Our Social Lives 46:34 Make AI Less Human-Like so It’s Not Mistaken for a Human

  7. May 18

    #18 Azra Raza on the Unique Challenges in Treating Blood Cancers, Becoming Her Late Husband’s Oncologist, and the Need for a More Humane, Patient-Centered Approach

    Azra Raza, MD, is a world leading cancer physician scientist and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University, where she directs the Myelodysplastic Syndrome Center. For more than four decades, she has been at the forefront of research into blood cancers, with a particular focus on detecting cancer at its very earliest stages. She is also the author of the acclaimed book The First Cell, which challenges how we think about cancer research, treatment, and prevention. Dr. Raza is widely respected not only for her scientific contributions, but for her powerful advocacy for a more humane, patient centered approach to cancer. 00:00 Intro 06:15 The Unique Challenges of Blood Cancers 13:21 The Importance of Early Diagnosis: Finding “The First Cell” 19:42 A Patient-Centered Approach: The Human Cost of Cancer Treatment 24:13 A Waste of Financial and Intellectual Resources: The Current State of CancerResearch 29:15 Exploring New Technologies in Cancer Research: AI, Multi-omics, SpatialBiology, Nanotechnology 35:59 Developing “Implantable Intelligence” to Detect Cancer 40:34 The Future of Healthcare and the Role of AI

  8. May 12

    #17 Jonathan Metzl on Firearm Control, Vaccine Mandates, and the Rural Pushback Against Government 

    Jonathan Metlz, MD, PhD, joins Nick Dirks to discuss his educational journey that combined the sciences with the humanities, firearm culture in the American Heartland, and the growing skepticism of institutional expertise. Prof. Metzl is a physician, psychiatrist, sociologist and public intellectual whose scholarship and commentary explore the intersections of health, race, identity and violence in America. He currently holds the Frederick B. Rentschler II Professorship in Sociology and Psychiatry and directs the Department of Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University. His path-breaking books – such as Dying of Whiteness and What We’ve Become – challenge conventional public-health narratives about gun violence, mental illness and race. His work asks what it means to be healthy, safe and free in a deeply divided society.

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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
    25
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The New York Academy of Sciences
  • Show Website
    Shaping Science with Nick Dirks

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