Podcast

AskDifferent #41 – As one of the most consequential concepts in modern history, nationalism has reordered, and wrought havoc on, the world: In this episode of #AskDifferent, Michael Goebel, Einstein Professor of Global History at Freie Universität Berlin, explores the deep roots and global reach of nationalism. He explains why the rise of nationalism today isn’t a contradiction to globalization but rather an integral part of it. In conversation with moderator Doris Hellpoldt, Goebel delves into the "chicken and egg" conundrum, asking whether the nation creates the state or vice versa, and wonders whether there is a viable alternative to the traditional nation-state model in the modern world.

AskDifferent #40 – The human liver has an extraordinary ability to regenerate – a phenomenon that was even described in Greek mythology. But what happens when these self-healing powers aren't enough for patients with chronic liver diseases? In this episode of AskDifferent, we dive into groundbreaking research on liver regeneration with stem cell expert Ludovic Vallier from the Berlin Institute of Health. Vallier and his team are developing innovative organoid models—miniature livers grown from stem cells—that could revolutionize treatments and drug testing. Tune in to explore the science behind liver regeneration and the future of medical breakthroughs.

AskDifferent #39 – In this episode of #AskDifferent, Elisabeth Bik takes us behind the scenes of her work as a 'science detective’, where she meticulously scans thousands of published research papers for signs of fraud – having uncovered manipulated and duplicated images in over 7,600 scientific papers. But what drives scientists to fake data, and how does this impact all of us? Tune in to learn about the challenges of detecting fraud and hear Elisabeth Bik’s compelling message on the urgent need for systemic change. For her tireless fight to preserve integrity in research, she was awarded the 2024 Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research. Photo: Michel & Co.

AskDifferent #34 – The brain is a complex system, and an extremely clever one, too. In order to remain functional, it constantly compensates for external changes and influences. In this episode of #AskDifferent, we learn from Einstein BUA/Oxford Visiting Fellow Andrew Sharott how understanding these fundamental properties of brain activity can help the discovery and treatment of Parkinson’s. Sharott is a professor at the University of Oxford’s MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit and an internationally recognized expert on how neuronal activity changes in Parkinson’s and its treatment with neurosurgery. Bearing in mind the fact that more than 10 million patients are affected by the disease worldwide, we talk about chances of finding a cure, what the abbreviation DBS stands for, and the progress Professor Sharott hopes to achieve through his research.

AskDifferent #33 – Olena Kononenko left her native Ukraine to work in Berlin at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where she is a fellow in the Einstein Foundation’s Academic Freedom Program. As an expert in economic and social geography, she is interested in how cities are reconstructed in the aftermath of disasters such as wars. In this episode of our podcast, she speaks about the power of urban gardening, her vision for postwar Ukraine, and why it is never too early to start rebuilding, even under the most challenging circumstances. A crisis, she believes, is always the best opportunity to start something new.

AskDifferent #31 – If you ask Yves Moreau, we are drunk teenagers losing control of the car we are driving – at least when it comes to artificial intelligence. The 2023 Einstein Foundation Individual Award winner studies biomedical DNA data and describes himself as a “concerned scientist.” In this metaphor-packed episode of #AskDifferent, he describes the cultural shift he would like to see regarding the way we deal with artificial intelligence, how he helped push prestigious scientific journals to retract articles, and what the future holds for ethical standards in technological engineering.

AskDifferent #28 – Recent years have taught us that diseases can easily transcend national borders in today's interconnected world. How can we secure health on a global scale, especially when there are such stark disparities between different regions? Beate Kampmann is one of the leading researchers into childhood tuberculosis and vaccines, and Scientific Director of the Center for Global Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin. A physician with a wealth of international experience, Kampmann aims to tackle the idea of global health investments as a form of humanitarian aid and change the understanding of this vital field - especially by broadening the perspective of the Global North. In this thought-provoking episode of #askdifferent, Beate Kampmann explores the multifaceted challenges and opportunities for Global Health and offers insights into how to foster progress by stressing the importance of its character as a collaborative networking activity.

AskDifferent #27 – What is going on in babies' minds? What do they think and feel? Jessica Kosie and Martin Zettersten are not only looking for answers to these questions - they are cooperating with more than 200 scientists in 40 countries to define the fundamentals needed to establish research globally. The challenges they face are not easy to solve: Since babies are unable to speak, they cannot answer our questions directly. In this episode of #AskDifferent, the Einstein Foundation Award 2021 winners talk about finding ways around that obstacle, what we can learn from studying babies' attention, their gazes and preferences, and how parents and adults can benefit from that knowledge.

AskDifferent #26 – Are we alone in space? What could extraterrestrial life forms look it? And how do we find them? These questions are almost as old as mankind itself. Natural Scientist and former Einstein International Postdoctoral Fellow Riccardo Giovanni Urso tries to answer them every day. In this episode of #AskDifferent, he talks about his scientific journeys through space, basic ingredients for life, and why he would love to be onboard a mission to mars.

AskDifferent #25 – Preprints have been shared in the physics community since the early 1950s but mostly among well established professors. Physicist Paul Ginsparg, who received the first Einstein Foundation's Individual Award for Promoting Quality in Research in 2021, set out to democratize access to scientific results. Today, his preprint server arXiv.org has spread to many other fields - and made science progress more efficient and fairer. In this episode, he reflects on his motivation to create arXiv.org back in 1991, the ways it has changed and still changes scientific processes today and the fact that the availability of scientific information may attract young people to become scientists.

AskDifferent #23 – Can behavioral economics change the world? Yes, thinks Bertil Tungodden, the Centre for Experimental Research on Fairness, Inequality, and Rationality in Bergen and Einstein Visiting Fellow at the Humboldt University. His comparative studies aim at explaining why people have a different idea of when existing inequalities are actually unfair. In this episode, he gives insight into the experiments he designs to find out about the norms & values underlying decision making – and explains why, by the effects of his research, he can make a little difference. Photo: private.

AskDifferent #21 – Everyone is familiar with globalization, its problems and discontents. But how to correspond to it politically? Andrew Hurrell is Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford and has spent much time studying liberal ideas about globalization: how it has evolved in modern times as well as its current challenges like populism, pandemics, climate change, and war. As an Einstein Visiting Fellow, Andrew Hurrell seeks to understand why adopting truly internationalist policies is so difficult today. Please note: The interview was recorded in 2021, months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Andrew Hurrell/Oxford University

AskDifferent #20 – Chris Sander, Professor for Cell Biology from Harvard Medical School and one of the founders of bioinformatics, works to understand the "labyrinth" of cancer growth. The aim of his current research as an Einstein Visiting Fellow at the Berlin Institute of Health is to find out how to block the side doors through which aggressive cancer types manage to escape medical blockage during a treatment. Starting his career as a physicist, it took him some turns to get where he is today. His advice for young researchers: stick with science, look for mentors - and ask the right questions. Photo: Chris Sander/ Sanderlab.org

AskDifferent #19 – Careful work and self-criticism is not rewarded enough in today's accelerated research culture, Dorothy Bishop thinks. A jury member of the 2021 Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research, the Professor of Developmental Neuropsychology at the University of Oxford advocates for evidence-driven, open science practices and a new incentive structure. In the interview, the experienced teacher and mentor shares her ideas how to increase public trust in science and encourages every scholar who encounters systemic problems to try and change them. Photo: Dorothy Bishop 

AskDifferent #18 – As a social neuroscientist, Vittorio Gallese has a unique understanding of how we live together. Until recently, he headed a research group at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain focusing on the development of socio-cultural identities. Back in Italy, the Professor of Psychobiology from Università di Parma, who is widely known for his discovery of mirror neurons, continues to explore the cognitive structures of empathy and sympathy. An episode about the lockdown experience, the ambivalences of digital media, and the role of effort and coincidence in scientific breakthroughs. Photo: Florian Büttner

AskDifferent #12 – For a special episode in the wake of the US presidential elections, we spoke with Richard Samuels, Director of the Center for International Studies at MIT, about American national identity and the current role of the United States on the geopolitical stage. Find out why, according to the former Einstein Visiting Fellow anarchy in international affairs is endlessly fascinating, and what he thinks it takes to be a “brave scholar”. Photo: Pablo Castagnola

AskDifferent #11 – Irene Sibbing-Plantholt is passionate about micro-history: the multiple, often relatable stories of everyday life in a past era. As an Assyriologist and research associate at the Einstein Center Chronoi, Sibbing-Plantholt examines textual and archeological findings from Ancient Mesopotamia, mostly letters inscribed on clay tablets, some of them around 5000 years old. When she went to Syria for an excavation in 2004, she got inspired to do further research on ancient concepts of lifetime and death.

AskDifferent #2 – Valentina Forini first graduated in classical piano. Looking for an additional challenge, she decided to study physics. Today, Forini conducts research in string and quantum field theory as an Einstein Junior Fellow at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. She told us what drove her to follow this path - and why we need more female role models in top-notch science. Photo: Henning Maier-Jantzen

Once a month, we will be releasing new episodes of our podcast, #AskDifferent. Hosted by journalists Nancy Fischer and Leon Stebe, each episode will feature an interview with a brilliant mind who asks differently.