
Episode 23 – Ransomware attacks: How secure are we?
Launched August 5, 2021
Ransomware attacks are up 300 percent this year compared to 2020. Anyone who uses an electronic device, whether it’s a simple cellular phone or computers that runs small or large businesses, is at risk for a ransomware attack. But how does a society defend itself against an unseen enemy and an impending cyberattack? Tulane cybersecurity expert Randy Magiera discusses how hacking occurs, what to do following a ransomware attack and how to avoid becoming a victim.
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Episode 22 – Delta Rising: Who’s at risk as a new COVID-19 variant spreads?
Launched July 20, 2021
Tulane epidemiologist Susan Hassig answers questions about the highly contagious Delta variant — what’s at stake for low-vaccinated states, what we know about breakthrough cases among the vaccinated and what people should do to protect themselves as the virus that causes COVID-19 continues to mutate.
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Episode 21 – Torch song: producing the opening ceremony
Launched July 13, 2021
The only thing that may rival the inspiring athletes at the Olympics is the pageantry of the Olympic opening ceremony. What does it take to put on such a memorable spectacle broadcast live around the world? Tulane’s own Director of Bands Barry Spanier discusses his experience producing and directing music for two opening ceremonies and shares the magic and ingenuity required to produce the historic event.
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Episode 20 – The future of policing
Launched June 29, 2021
Tulane University Associate Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies Andrea Boyles, a race scholar, ethnographer and author, discusses what we have learned about police interactions and in the year that has passed since George Floyd died in Minneapolis.
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Episode 19 – President Michael Fitts discusses future of Tulane with Walter Isaacson
Launched May 10, 2021
On this special episode, bestselling author and Tulane faculty member Walter Isaacson sits down with Tulane President Michael A. Fitts to discuss the resiliency of the university, his time at Tulane, and what the future holds for the university.
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Episode 18 – How to eat better for the planet
Launched April 23, 2021
Food production accounts for about a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions across the globe. Yet, diet is often overlooked as an important factor in climate change. Tulane nutritionist Diego Rose found that if we changed our diets by swapping out just one item each day, Americans could greatly reduce our carbon footprint from food. He discusses how food choices affect the environment and ways people can make their diets healthier — for themselves and the planet.
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Episode 17 – Voices of New Orleans
Launched March 23, 2021
A New Orleans native may ask you where you went to high school and who your mama is. Those are ways we create connections around the city. Another way we identify New Orleanians is by our accents. Nathalie Dajko, associate professor of anthropology at the School of Liberal Arts and researcher of New Orleans accents, discusses the origins of various local accents and how they evolve over time. Listen to examples of various New Orleans accents referenced by Professor Dajko.
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Episode 16 – COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy
Launched March 2, 2021
Black Americans are more likely to die from COVID-19, yet communities of color are falling behind in the nation’s vaccine rollout. One of the nation’s leading experts in health disparities, Thomas LaVeist, dean of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, talks about vaccine hesitancy in the Black community, what can be done to increase confidence in the vaccine, and how the pandemic has exposed long standing health inequities in the United States.
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Episode 15 – A nation of lonely hearts: Cardiovascular health in a pandemic
Launched February 23, 2021
Leading cardiologist Dr. Keith Ferdinand at Tulane University School of Medicine talks about how stress and social isolation from the pandemic may be undermining our heart health, what researchers are learning about how Covid-19 affects the heart and what people at any age should know about keeping their hearts healthy.
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Episode 14 – Game Stopped: How meme stocks are upending Wall Street
Launched February 11, 2021
GameStop came roaring back from the ‘90s over the course of a few short days in January of 2021. How did GameStop become the hottest stock overnight and the talk of Wall Street? Tulane business professor Peter Ricchiuti talks about how the meme stock came to be, what the fallout will look like, and the future of small investors going forward.
Peter is also the founder of Burkenroad Reports and host of the business podcast “Out to Lunch.”
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Episode 13 – The 15 White Coats
Launched February 2, 2021
Sydney Labat and Rachel Turner, third-year students at Tulane School of Medicine and co-founders of an organization called The 15 White Coats, discuss why they decided to become physicians, the meaning of being a Black physician, and their viral photograph, taken in front of a former slave quarter, that symbolized Black excellence.
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Episode 12 – COVID’s Impact on New Orleans Musicians
Launched January 26, 2021
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Orleans musicians have borne the brunt of living in an economy where live music poses a threat to public health. Melissa Weber, curator of the Hogan Jazz Archive with Tulane University Special Collections, discusses how musicians are adapting and how this may impact New Orleans musicians’ legacies.
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Episode 11 – Being Your Best Health Advocate
Launched January 12, 2021
From routine checkups to end of life wishes, our health care doesn’t have to depend on a stranger in a white coat. Dr. Jacey Jones, academic hospitalist and assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Tulane Section of General Internal Medicine, shares how to approach medical visits and ensure we play an active role in our health and wellness.
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Episode 10 – Food for Thought: changing your food mindset
Launched December 22, 2020
How can we make and implement better, healthier habits as we continue to navigate pandemic life in 2021? To figure that out, Heather Nace, Director of the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University talks about tips and tricks to help make successful, sustainable changes to your diet.
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Episode 9 – Hit Me with Your Best Shot: Are Americans ready to roll up their sleeves for a COVID-19 vaccine?
Launched December 8, 2020
When will most people have a realistic shot at getting their first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine? And will Americans trust the science behind a fast-tracked process to get them to market as soon as possible to end a public health crisis? Health economist Charles Stoecker, a vaccine policy expert at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, talks about the five leading COVID-19 vaccines and answers questions about what the rollout will look like — and whether the end of the pandemic is in sight.
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Episode 8 – Climate Change: Resilience Is Not Enough
Launched November 24, 2020
Wildfires in the west, a very active hurricane season, and repeated flooding from sea level rise: climate change has recently made significant headlines in an already unprecedented year. Jesse Keenan, a leading scholar on climate change and the built environment with Tulane’s School of Architecture, discusses how climate change impacts our lives and the importance of adaptation.
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Episode 7 – Talkin’ Turkey with an Epidemiologist
Launched November 10, 2020
Is it safe to bring friends and family together for the holidays in a pandemic? Epidemiologist Susan Hassig answers COVID-19 safety questions about how to plan for Thanksgiving, what to consider for travel and holiday gatherings and whether this should be the year for Zoom celebrations. Read more from Dr. Hassig about winter and managing COVID-19 risks.
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Episode 6 – Special Edition: Election Law & The Presidential Race
Launched November 6, 2020
Several states are still counting ballots and the results will determine who leads the U.S. for the next four years. Tulane constitutional law expert Stephen Griffin explains what is happening now and how the 2020 race could change future elections.
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Episode 5 – No Rest for the Weary: 2020 Insomnia is Real
Launched October 27, 2020
How much is anxiety impacting our sleep habits and what can we do to combat those endless sleepless nights? Tonya Hansel in the Tulane School of Social Work gives tips for incorporating healthy sleep habits into our bedtime routine. For more information on healthy habits, check out these self-care resources.
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Episode 4 – Kids, COVID and Halloween
Launched October 20, 2020
Pediatrician and child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Lauren Teverbaugh discusses why celebrating milestones like Halloween are still important, how to talk to your family about celebrating safely and brainstorming new traditions during COVID. Learn more about Dr. Teverbaugh's work here.
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Episode 3 – Pandemic Pivot: How to make big changes when the world shifts
Launched October 13, 2020
Julia Lang is the associate director of career education and life design at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking at Tulane. Her class “Taylor Your Life” helps students learn how to plan a fulfilling life and career. The same principles in her course are in “(Re)Designing Your Life in a post COVID-19 world,” her step-by-step guide to making big decisions in uncertain times. Click here to read her guide, which includes the worksheets she mentions in the podcast. To learn more about her life design class, visit: https://taylor.tulane.edu/life-design/
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Episode 2 – Conspiracy Theories
Launched October 6, 2020
What are conspiracy theories? Who buys into them? In confusing times like a global pandemic are we more susceptible and willing to believe in them? A discussion with Geoff Dancy, associate professor of political science at Tulane who teaches a course about conspiracy theories, answers questions about how we process information and why people are willing to believe.
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Episode 1 – Is COVID-19 Immunity Possible?
Launched September 23, 2020
Researchers are discovering that COVID-19 antibodies can vanish in as little as two months after infection. What does that mean for those who’ve recovered and efforts to find a vaccine? A discussion with virologist Bob Garry and immunologist James McLachlan about what we’ve learned about antibodies and why the innate immune system may be more important in fighting off the virus than first realized.
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