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I sit down with Dr. Nina Kraus to discuss her book, Of Sound Mind: How our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World.Topics: The importance of sound What is the sound mind? How sound shapes our brains How the mind replays sound in our heads How the mind adapts in musicians  The deaf vs hearing brain Resources: Of Sound Mind - https://amzn.to/3PD6x1A On Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions and the Unmaking of the World  - https://amzn.to/3wL8xxn The Songs of Trees - https://amzn.to/3NExxvO Dr. Nina Kraus is Hugh Knowles Professor of Communication Sciences, Neurobiology, and Otolaryngology at Northwestern University. As a biologist and amateur musician, she thinks about sound and brain health. Her research has found that our lives in sound, for better (musicians, bilinguals) and for worse (concussion, hearing loss, language disorders, noise), shape how our brain makes sense of the sounds we hear. Her book, Of Sound Mind - How our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World, was written for the intellectually curious.Kraus advocates for biologically informed choices in education, health, and society. Seewww.brainvolts.northwestern.eduSocials! -Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonTaylor's Blog: https://www.taylorgbledsoe.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXkAll Amazon Affiliate links help financially support "Aiming for the Moon" while you get a great read or product.

After a long sabbatical of procrastination, I have returned to finish our trilogy on creativity. In today’s episode, I sit down with Mason Currey, the author of Daily Rituals and Daily Rituals: Women at Work. We tackle one of my leading questions about creativity - how to create when it feels like the world is swallowing you! Topics- Why and how Mason Currey wrote Daily Rituals Getting addicted to art How to maximize creative energy  Habits - the key to creativity What we can learn from great artists' creative process How creators balance life and art Has the creative process changed over the centuries? The importance of ruthless routines  How tiny increments build great works (even when life is busy) What books have had an impact on Mr. Currey What advice Mr. Currey has for teenagers The Writer's high Resources- Daily Rituals - https://amzn.to/3KtQmQl Daily Rituals: Women at Work - https://amzn.to/3s5Zx34 The Diaries of Franz Kafka, 1910-1923 (The Schocken Kafka Library) - https://amzn.to/3vTDWw8 The Metamorphosis - https://amzn.to/3LCq006 Mason Currey is the author of the Daily Rituals books, featuring brief profiles of the day-to-day working lives of more than 300 great creative minds. He's currently working on a new book and writing Subtle Maneuvers, a newsletter about the ups and downs of the creative process. He lives in Los Angeles. Socials! -Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonTaylor's Blog: https://www.taylorgbledsoe.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXkAll Amazon Affiliate links help financially support "Aiming for the Moon" while you get a great read or product.

Living a life fueled by your own creativity is my dream as well as many others. The question always is, “How do you do that?” In this episode, I’ll be talking to designer Kevin Bethune about this and his new book, “Reimagining Design: Unlocking Strategic Innovation." Topics -  How did you go from nuclear engineering to design? Why should designers be in the room when creating new products? How multi-discipline teams develop well-rounded products How the Socratic method can be used when creating new products How depth and breadth form unique perspectives  Curiosity - the maker of innovators  What books have had an impact on Mr. Bethune What advice Mr. Bethune has for teenagers How students can manage their passions and workloads Kevin G. Bethune is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of dreams • design + life, a think tank for design and innovation. Over a career that spans more than twenty years, he has worked in engineering, business, and design.  Resources - Reimagining Design  - https://amzn.to/36bkYIn Socials! -Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonTaylor's Blog: https://www.taylorgbledsoe.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXkAll Amazon Affiliate links help financially support "Aiming for the Moon" while you get a great read or product.

“When am I going to use this in my life?” is probably the most common question in math class right behind “when does class end?” This subject is notorious for being, we can say, less than loved by students. However, today, we’re applying math to an unexpected and interesting area. I'll be talking to mathematician Dr. Sarah Hart on how math is the structure of beauty as well as how math is interwoven with art and writing. Topics - How beauty can be replicated and described through math In light of math's relation to art, is beauty relative?  How our perception of beauty has changed over the centuries Math in music and literature How authors have used math in writing Modern art and math Why we should teach math like music What books have had an impact on Dr. Hart What advice Dr. Hart has for teenagers Dr. Sarah Hart is a respected pure mathematician and a gifted expositor of mathematics, as evidenced by her 2021 profile in the New York Times (https://tinyurl.com/3urd7pxk).  Dr Hart was the youngest STEM professor appointed at Birkbeck College (University of London) and its first woman Mathematics Professor.  Educated at Oxford and Manchester, she gained her PhD in Mathematics in 2000 at the age of 25, moving to Birkbeck as a lecturer in 2004. As a hugely popular lecturer with over 20 years teaching experience, she is a regular speaker at public events. In 2020 she was appointed the 33rd Gresham Professorship of Geometry, the oldest mathematics chair in the UK dating back to 1597. She is the first woman ever to hold the position. Dr. Hart's lively Gresham lectures can be found here: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/search/?terms=sarah+hart https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1t6kKXoBvjdr8m9KJ2Fx7A She is also President of the British Society for the History of Mathematics, the oldest such society in Europe. As well as promoting academic research into the history of mathematics, a key aim of the society is to emphasize the cultural importance of mathematics by incorporating the history of mathematics into mathematics education. Resources - The Luminaries - https://amzn.to/3HXNycW Gulliver's Travels - https://amzn.to/362XDbi Moby Dick - https://amzn.to/3tJEuDG The Movie Maniacs Podcast- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-movie-maniacs-podcast/id1527652674 Socials! -Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonTaylor's Blog: https://www.taylorgbledsoe.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXkAll Amazon Affiliate links help financially support "Aiming for the Moon" while you get a great read or product.

Johann Hari and I explore why and how our attention spans are getting systematically destroyed by the modern world as we investigate his new book, "Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again." The reasons span from reading time to social media. Topics discussed:  How did our attention spans get this bad?  How the system is rigged against our focus Why multitasking fails How the business models of Big Tech destroy our focus How promoting regulation could stop the demolition of our attention Flow - what is it and how can we harness it to empower our focus Easy steps to flow Why systemic changes are needed, not Self-Help Practical tools for focus How students can improve focus How the modern education system is ruining students' attention spans What books have had an impact on Johann Hari What advice Johann Hari has for teenagers Johann Hari is a writer and journalist. He has written for the New York Times, Le Monde, The Guardian, and other newspapers. His TED talks and NowThis viral video have been viewed almost 100 million times, and his work has been praised by a broad range of people, from Oprah Winfrey to Noam Chomsky to Joe Rogan. He was the Executive Producer of the Oscar-nominated film “The United States vs Billie Holiday” and of a forthcoming eight-part TV series starring Samuel L JacksonWebsite: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Taylor's Blog: https://www.taylorgbledsoe.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk"Stolen Focus" - https://amzn.to/36V6a0DkSafe - https://amzn.to/35jH8aQAll Amazon Affiliate links help financially support "Aiming for the Moon" while you get a great read or product.

In this episode, Dan Pink and I dive into the foreboding pool of regrets as we examine his newly released book, "The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward." Surprisingly, having regrets can bring about good. Topics discussed - Why Dan Pink wrote about regrets The four main regrets found across all cultures The four ways we deal with regrets How regrets provide a "photographic negative" and point us toward the good life.  How age shapes our perception of regrets  How long does it take for us to recognize a regret? What books have been most impactful on Mr. Pink? What advice does Mr. Pink have for teenagers? Daniel H. Pink is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, including his latest, "The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward," published in February. His other books include the New York Times bestsellers "When" and "A Whole New Mind" — as well as the #1 New York Times bestsellers "Drive" and "To Sell is Human."  Dan’s books have won multiple awards, have been translated into 42 languages, and have sold millions of copies around the world. He lives in Washington, DC, with his family. Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk

We tackle social media's effect on political polarization with Dr. Chris Bail, author of Breaking the Social Media Prism, Duke professor, and director of the Polarization Lab. According to Dr. Bail, most of the population of America isn't actually polarized; social media only gives us that perception. Topics Discussed-  The myth of echo chambers How vocal and extreme, social media users influence our view of political polarization What do you mean by "the social media prism?" Breaking the social media prism  How to bring the moderates back to social media How future tech will shape our perception of politics Fake news - who shares it How do we fix tech in order to crack this perception? Chris Bail is Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at Duke University, where he directs the Polarization Lab. He studies political tribalism, extremism, and social psychology using data from social media and tools from the emerging field of computational social science. His widely acclaimed 2021 book, Breaking the Social Media Prism, was featured in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and described as “masterful,” and "immediately relevant" by Science Magazine.Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk

This week, we are looking back on our conversation with Stuart Gibbs from episode 35!We often wonder what it's like to be a fiction author. How do they come up with their original ideas? What is their daily routine like? Does word count even matter? In this episode, we sit down with Stuart Gibbs, bestselling author of five children's series including "Spy School," "Moon Base Alpha," "FunJungle," and more, and discuss these fascinating topics and his advice for aspiring writers. Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk

In this episode, we talk to Oliver Burkeman, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, about why and how to balance productivity and the present.Topics Discussed- Ancient philosophy's perspective on work and productivity vs now How our mindset towards work changed Is living forever bad? The balance between productivity and the present  Why and how being highly productive leads to more work Strategies to prioritize time and life Time management for students The most impactful books of Mr. Burkeman's life Mr. Burkeman's advice for teens Oliver Burkeman is the author of the New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller Four Thousand Weeks, about embracing limitation and finally getting round to what counts, along with The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking and Help! How to Become Slightly Happier and Get a Bit More Done. For many years he wrote a popular column for the Guardian, "This Column Will Change Your Life." In his email newsletter The Imperfectionist, he writes about productivity, mortality, the power of limits, and building a meaningful life in an age of distraction. He lives in the North York Moors. Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk 

In this episode, Professor James Salzman explains how ownership is the secret root of civilizations. From the time they can say "Mine!", people bump into ownership arguments. From traffic laws, to grocery store shopping, to whether or not you can lean your chair back on airplanes, ownership design confronts all of us throughout our lives. Here are a few topics Prof. Salzman discusses- What are common instances of ownership design? What are the six stories of ownership? What are examples of cultural ownership customs? How do laws form to support ownership customs? What are ancient creation stories that involve ownership?  Can big tech companies really use our data for free? James Salzman is the Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law with joint appointments at the UCLA School of Law and at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara. He is the co-author of the bestselling book, "Mine!: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control our Lives," and author of "Drinking Water: A History." In twelve books and more than 100 articles and book chapters, his broad-ranging scholarship has addressed topics spanning drinking water, trade and environment conflicts, ownership engineering, and creating markets for ecosystem services. There have been over 100,000 downloads of his articles. He frequently appears as a media commentator and has lectured on environmental policy on every continent.  Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk 

Welcome to 2022! For the start of this hopefully amazing year, Dr. David Melnikoff joins us to describe how goals reshape our brains. Whenever you begin a New Year's resolution or another goal, your mind changes its operation in order to align itself best for that new task. Dr. Melnikoff also defines the psychological theory of "flow," a cited creativity and productivity booster, and explains his work to create a computational model of it.   Here are a few questions Dr. Melnikoff discusses- How do goals reconfigure our brains? Do goals that we don't often enjoy doing (like exercising) still shape our minds? How do our motives affect our interpretation of events and stimuli? What is "flow?" How will your computational model of flow help us in the future?  Dr. David Melnikoff is a social psychologist studying how goals shape the human mind. He earned his PhD in 2019 from Yale University where he worked with John Bargh. Currently, Dr. Melnikoff is a postdoctoral researcher at Northeastern University working with Lisa Feldman Barrett. Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk 

For our last episode of the year, we follow up on our dive into psychology with Dr. Brad Bushman joining us to discuss video games and violence as well as other areas of aggression! Here are a few questions Dr. Bushman answers - Do video games make us more aggressive and violent?   How is aggression measured in the lab? Can video games be used as cathartic releases of aggression?  What is the scientific difference between violence and aggression? How does cartoon and fantasy violence affect children? Does literature make us more violent and aggressive?   Dr. Brad J. Bushman is a Professor of Communication at The Ohio State University. For over 30 years he has studied the causes, consequences, and cures to the problem of human aggression and violence. He was a member of President Obama’s committee on gun violence, and he has testified before the U.S. Congress about youth violence. He has over 200 peer-reviewed articles that have been cited over 55,000 times. Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk 

Mattie and Taylor discuss cognitive science with Dr. John Bargh, Yale professor and author of “Before You Know It: The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do” (2017). We discuss free will, the hidden cues that manipulate us, and how to take control of our lives.  Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk 

In Sam Kean's bestselling book, "The Disappearing Spoon," he dives deep into the periodic table, but not the way most people would think. In each chapter, he relates stories about each element on the table. Join us as we discuss some of chemistry's impacts on the world as well as how chemistry should be taught in schools. Should we focus on the technical know-how or the entertaining tales?Sam Kean is the New York Times bestselling author of six books,including “The Icepick Surgeon,” “The Bastard Brigade,” “The DuelingNeurosurgeons,” and “The Disappearing Spoon.” Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk

Dr. George Church, a leading genetics engineer, professor at Harvard and MIT, and the co-founder of Colossal, is taking on an ambitious mission. His goal: to upgrade our current elephants with woolly mammoth genes to make them suitable for the Arctic circle. Sound crazy? Listen in to find out his plan!Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk

In honor of Veterans’ day, we decided to release a re-run of our interview from episode six with distinguished military historian, Dr. John McManus. To all of the veterans, thank you for your service. We wouldn’t be able to aim for the moon without your sacrifice.  Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk

In this episode, we discuss the ancient Chachapoya civilization, also known as the cloud warriors of Peru.Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk

Dr. Tara Johnson is a pediatric neurologist and inventor who studies and helps identify children with neuro-developmental disabilities. She also helps invent modified daily-use items.Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk

Today, "Aiming for the Moon" is collaborating with Joanna from Thumbs Up Concepts (as seen in Ep 56 & 57) to interview Benedict Carey. Carey, long-time science journalist and author of "How We Learn - The aspiring slacker’s guide to learning," shares a taste of the fascinating science of learning!If you like this collaboration and want to see more, message us! We love feedback.Also, if you want us to interview another teen or kid running interesting projects for our bonus series, please message us on Instagram, Twitter, or our email.Thumbs Up Concepts: https://www.thumbsupconcepts.com/Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk

Listen in to our conversation with Dr. Steven Levitt, professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. Dr. Levitt is best known for co-authoring the #1 NYT best-seller, "Freakonomics."  Our Website: https://www.aimingforthemoon.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiming4moon/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aiming4MoonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-TwYdfPcWV-V1JvjBXk