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When you taste the subtle flavor of a perfectly brewed cup of coffee, or smell the funk of an aged blue cheese – you don’t just experience those flavors with your taste buds and nose, you experience them with your brain! Neuroscience PhD Jess Kanwal says that our brain’s ability to combine taste and smell is just one example of how our brains are able to mix and match senses – with very interesting results.Full TranscriptThe Veritalk Team:Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertSound Designer: Ian CossLogo: Emily CrowellExecutive Producer: Ann HallSpecial thanks to Jess Kanwal and the PRX Podcast Garage.Jess Kanwal’s research is funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Award, and a National Institutes of Health F31 Grant.

Can robots ever learn to feel? Our ability to perform delicate tasks, like giving a gentle hug or picking a piece of fruit, is something that robots can't yet mimic.Ryan Truby, an alum of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has created bioinspired soft robots that can squish, stretch, and feel their way around the world - and they have the potential to change how we understand robotics.Full TranscriptThe Veritalk Team:Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertSound Designer: Ian CossLogo: Emily CrowellExecutive Producer: Ann HallSpecial thanks to Ryan Truby and Jennifer Lewis. Ryan Truby’s research is supported by the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, National Science Foundation through the Harvard MRSEC, the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the Schmidt Science Fellows program, in partnership with the Rhodes Trust.

From the moment you open your eyes in the morning, your sense of sight helps you navigate and interact with the world. But how do our brains understand what our eyes are telling us? And how do we know what's surrounding us, where we can move, and what objects are within reach? Emilie Josephs, a PhD student at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, is discovering that the way our brain processes vision is even more complex than scientists initially thought.Full TranscriptThe Veritalk Team:Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertSound Designer: Ian CossLogo: Emily CrowellExecutive Producer: Ann HallSpecial thanks to Emilie Josephs and Phil Lewis, who voiced our brain. Emilie Josephs’ research is supported by the NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant Program.

Why isn’t King Kong scaling the Empire State Building right now? Should we worry about Godzilla rising from the depths of the Pacific Ocean? Shane Campbell-Staton, co-host of the podcast The Biology of Superheroes and Harvard PhD ’15 in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, talks about our favorite movie monsters, and some of the biological processes that could make them come to life. Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Executive Producer: Ann Hall Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo Designer: Emily Crowell Special thanks Shane Campbell-Staton and Graham Ball.

Some monsters live inside us. PhD candidate in Biological Sciences in Public Health Maddy McFarland studies Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite that transforms its shape to sneak inside our cells and makes us sick. The scariest part: Our cells can’t signal that they’re infected until it’s too late.Full TranscriptThe Veritalk Team:Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertExecutive Producer: Ann HallSound Designer: Ian CossLogo Designer: Emily CrowellSpecial thanks to the lab of Barbara Burleigh, professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and to the National Institutes of Health, which funds the research of the Burleigh lab.Originally released in 2018.

Mermaids: They’re cute, innocent, and great singers, right? Think again! PhD candidate in Celtic Languages and Literatures Greg Darwin explains why you wouldn’t want to meet a mermaid in a dark aquatic alley. He also talks about selkie tales – and legendary creatures that live at the edge of humanity.Full TranscriptThe Veritalk Team:Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-PinkertExecutive Producer: Ann HallSound Designer: Ian CossLogo Designer: Emily CrowellOriginally released in 2018

Can nutrition education solve the obesity epidemic? Hannah Cory asked that question over and over while working as a dietician in a public school system. Now, as a PhD candidate in Population Health Sciences, Hannah’s research seeks to uncover the connection between fat-phobia, racism, and obesity in the US. Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo: Emily Crowell Executive Producer: Ann Hall Special Thanks: Hannah Cory, Rick Sheiber, Julia King, Noah Leavitt, and the PRX Podcast Garage.

What does it mean to have a "healthy gut?" Is it worth drinking kombucha or taking probiotics? What about that gut-brain connection? PhD candidates Cary Allen-Blevins and Vayu Maini Rekdal explore how "good" bacteria help us to break down our food – from our “first food” (breast milk) to meat and veggies. Love this episode? There are more stories about Harvard scientists' research into microbes on the podcast Proof, from America's Test Kitchen. Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo: Emily Crowell Executive Producer: Ann Hall Special Thanks to: Cary Allen-Blevins, Vayu Maini Rekdal, the Harvard Museum of Natural History, and the PRX Podcast Garage.

In the last few years, the popularity of "plant-based diets" has exploded. Celebrities from Tom Brady to Beyoncé promote eating less meat. Even Burger King introduced a meatless burger. Nina Gheihman, a PhD candidate in sociology, tells us how vegan cultural entrepreneurs, celebrities, and researchers are changing hearts, minds, and dinner plates. She'll also explain why we might all be eating vegan soon - whether we like it or not. Full Transcript Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo: Emily Crowell Executive Producer: Ann Hall Special Thanks to: Graham Ball, Youth Radio Oakland, and Nina Gheihman

After moving to the US from Mauritius, PhD candidate in Romance Languages and Literatures Nikhita Obeegadoo felt homesick. Her experience eating a bowl of dal (spiced lentils) in the US led her to ask questions about food and diaspora, cultural appreciation, and cultural appropriation through a course she designed and taught called "Translate the Menu, Please." Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo: Emily Crowell Executive Producer: Ann Hall Special thanks to Nikhita Obeegadoo, and the PRX Podcast Garage.

When developers try to revitalize the nightlife in Johannesburg, not everyone is invited to the party. PhD candidate Chrystel Oloukoi explores the ways that race, gender, and class shape the nightlife culture in Johannesburg and Lagos. The last episode in our series on the secret life of cities. Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Executive Producer: Ann Hall Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo Designer: Emily Crowell Special thanks: Chrystel Oloukoi, Pien Huang, Emma Jacobs, Sarah Montgomery, and Graham Ball

Potholes are an everyday annoyance for commuters, but they're a really complex problem for cities to solve. Many cities, including Boston, have 311 apps that allow citizens to report potholes in their own neighborhoods. But Elijah de la Campa is curious to know whether those apps are actually improving citizen participation in local government. Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Executive Producer: Ann Hall Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo Designer: Emily Crowell Special Thanks: Graham Ball, Elijah de la Campa, the Government Performance Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School, and the What Works Cities Initiative funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

One jetlagged night in Manila leads PhD candidate Justin Stern into the world of business process outsourcing. The first episode in Veritalk's series on the Secret Life of Cities. Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Executive Producer: Ann Hall Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo Designer: Emily Crowell Special thanks: Justin Stern, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Anne Brown, and Graham Ball. Additional sound recorded by Kevin Luce, whose work you can find at www.freesound.org

Why isn’t King Kong scaling the Empire State Building right now? Should we worry about Godzilla rising from the depths of the Pacific Ocean? Shane Campbell-Staton, co-host of the podcast The Biology of Superheroes and Harvard PhD ’15 in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, talks about our favorite movie monsters, and some of the biological processes that could make them come to life. Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Executive Producer: Ann Hall Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo Designer: Emily Crowell Special thanks Shane Campbell-Staton and Graham Ball.

Some monsters live inside us. PhD candidate in Biological Sciences in Public Health Maddy McFarland studies Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite that transforms its shape to sneak inside our cells and makes us sick. The scariest part: Our cells can’t signal that they’re infected until it’s too late. Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Executive Producer: Ann Hall Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo Designer: Emily Crowell Special thanks to the lab of Barbara Burleigh, professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and to the National Institutes of Health, which funds the research of the Burleigh lab.

Mermaids: They’re cute, innocent, and great singers, right? Think again! PhD candidate in Celtic Languages and Literatures Greg Darwin explains why you wouldn’t want to meet a mermaid in a dark aquatic alley. He also talks about selkie tales – and legendary creatures that live at the edge of humanity. Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Executive Producer: Ann Hall Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo Designer: Emily Crowell

PhD graduate in Sociology Monica Bell’s interviews with poor youth of color in Baltimore led her to formulate the idea of “legal estrangement.” While the press focuses on a “trust gap” between black youth and the police, Monica believes that the issue is far deeper. Her interviews revealed a generation of young Americans who feel both stateless and powerless. Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Executive Producer: Ann Hall Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo Designer: Emily Wilson

During World War II, many Greek people had to flee their homes and seek safety in the Middle East. Today, Syrian refugees flee violence in the Middle East, and wind up on the shores of Greece. Argyro Nicolaou, a PhD student in Comparative Literature, wants us to take a second look at the literature and art that displaced people produce, particularly in the Mediterranean. Can we find common ground between displaced Greeks in World War II, and displaced Syrians today? Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Executive Producer: Ann Hall Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo Designer: Emily Wilson

Almost no outsiders have visited the internally displaced persons camps in Burma where over 140,000 Rohingya Muslims are forced to live. Cresa Pugh, a PhD student in sociology, was able to visit last year. She saw a community in turmoil – but many Burmese people deny that the Rohingya are being persecuted. Cresa asks why marginalized people like the Rohingya are often blamed for their own suffering. Full transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Executive Producer: Ann Hall Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo Designer: Emily Wilson

In our last episode about plumage, Chloe Chapin, PhD student in American Studies, explores how humans have used fashion to express gender and status -- and how present-day fashion can bend the "rules" we've come to know. Full Transcript The Veritalk Team: Host/Producer: Anna Fisher-Pinkert Executive Producer: Ann Hall Sound Designer: Ian Coss Logo Designer: Emily Wilson