Michigan Minds

Ekow Yankah, is associate dean for faculty and research, Thomas M. Cooley Professor of Law and a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan. His work focuses on questions of political and criminal theory and, particularly, questions of political obligation and justifications of punishment.

Yankah joins the Michigan Minds podcast to discuss the legal structures governing American elections, the constitutional roadblock...

Many people love to eat ultra-processed foods. Think about those crispy French fries, or the delicious strawberry milkshake. Ultra-processed foods are heavily changed from their original form and made mostly in factories rather than kitchens. Instead of simple ingredients you might recognize—like flour, eggs, or milk—these foods often contain long lists of additives, preservatives, artificial flavors, and chemicals designed to impr...

Christopher Friese, a University of Michigan professor of nursing and of health management and policy, is a national authority on health care quality, nursing work environments and workforce policy.

Friese joins the Michigan Minds podcast to explain how proposed federal caps on graduate student loans could shape nurses’ education and career decisions, what high student debt is revealing about the nursing workforce, and why these...

It begins with a single, panicked phone call about a fallen parent or a flickering memory, but it is quickly becoming the defining white noise of a nation. As the American population ages and family structures splinter, a quiet domestic struggle has escalated into a pressing national inquiry: Who is actually responsible for our elders?

New insights from the University of Michigan suggest that while the American heart remains com...

Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers and research associate professor at the Institute for Social Research, specializes in the fields of household finance, consumer sentiment and the impact of economic expectations on the national economy. 

Hsu joins the Michigan Minds podcast to discuss her findings on current consumer sentiment, offering insight into persistent high prices and how the la...

ANN ARBOR —News, advice and research about what we eat - and drink - and how it influences our health is inescapable.

What we hear less about is exactly what's taking place inside the body when nutrition is considered bad or toxic, say ultraprocessed foods like our favorite packaged cookies, chips or frozen pizza, or good and healthy, those whole, methyl-donor-rich leafy veggies, beefs and eggs.

If you want a deeper understan...

Shelie Miller, a professor in the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability and co-director of the Center for Sustainable Systems, spends a lot of her time in the weeds detailing the environmental impacts of our everyday choices.

But people wanting to live more sustainably can make the most meaningful gains by focusing on three big-picture categories, she says: food, transportation and energy usage. That...

William Lopez joins the Michigan Minds podcast to discuss his findings on the effects of immigration raids, offering insight into how intensified enforcement efforts shape the well-being and resilience of students and their communities.

Michigan Minds is produced by Greta Guest and hosted by Michigan News staff. Jeremy Marble is the audio engineer and Hans Anderson provides social media animations. Listen to all episodes of ...

Valeria Bertacco, the Mary Lou Dorf Collegiate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, joins the Michigan Minds podcast to talk about semiconductors – how ubiquitous they are in our lives, why manufacturing moved overseas, and what it will take to produce them in the U.S.

Bertacco's research explores hardware solutions for next generation computing and security. She is also the vice provost for engaged learning at the Uni...

Nick Tobier, professor of art and design at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan, focuses on collaborative projects in the public realm and the potential of public spaces.

Nick is also the co-founder of the Detroit-based Brightmoor Makerspace, in partnership with Detroit Community Schools. Utilizing the ideals of the Waldorf method—learning with your head, heart and hands—youth and adults bu...

Scott L. Greer, a professor of health management and policy and of global public health in the University of Michigan School of Public Health and a political science professor, shares decades of studies documenting the shaping of political engagement and poor health and negative health care experiences.

Greer joins the Michigan Minds podcast and discusses the ways politics and public health are colliding to affect vaccines, prep...

Archaeologist Brian Stewart, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan, has conducted research in the small southern African country of Lesotho for 15 years. 

There, he is investigating the world's earliest evidence of human behavioral complexity: the behaviors, actions and beliefs that make us human. Through his work, Stewart is hoping to understand how humans developed the ability to quickly adapt ...

Climate expert Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, does not sugarcoat things.

The words "scary," "depressing" and "devastating" come up when he talks about the impacts of climate change, including record warmth and drought conditions. But he also doesn't ignore how communities across the country and around the world are finding ways to reduce their greenhouse gas emiss...

Shalanda Baker is the University of Michigan's vice provost for sustainability and climate action. She joined the Michigan Minds podcast to discuss the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

How does the current political climate affect what we're doing here at the University of Michigan with regard to sustainability and climate action?

I am so laser focused on climate action and sustainability. I think the science is clear...

Welcome to the Michigan Minds Podcast, where we explore the wealth of knowledge from faculty experts at the University of Michigan. I'm Jared Wadley, a lead public relations representative for Michigan News. Today I'm speaking to Oliver Haimson about the changing social media landscape. He's an assistant professor in the School of Information and the Digital Studies Institute. Oliver's research focuses on social media content moder...

When Russia invaded Ukraine, civilian lives, as well as lives of the scientists who live in the country, were upended. When an international grant was launched to support Ukrainian scientists, Andrzej Wierzbicki, a U-M professor of cellular, molecular and developmental biology, who is Polish, saw the funding opportunity as a way to help support the country that neighbors his own. 

Wierzbicki won a grant from the Internation...

In this episode of Michigan Minds, Pamela Herd, social policy professor at the University of Michigan, discusses issues of healthcare access and affordability in light of the slaying of an industry CEO, efforts of a university lab in boosting access and breaking down walls to social safety net programs, and finding common ground within a polarized electorate.

Here's an excerpt of the conversation:

The killing of a healthcare ...

To combat climate change, the world needs to pivot away from fossil fuels.

But building battery electric vehicles and infrastructure for renewable energy will require enormous amounts of minerals and resources, which can only be obtained in the quantities needed through mining. Low and low-to-middle income countries are also looking to boost their access to electricity, which will now likely take place through renewable energy s...

Scott Rick is an associate professor of marketing at the Ross School of Business. His research speaks to how consumers perceive and experience inflation, how they choose what gifts to buy, and how they experience in-store and online shopping environments. He is particularly interested in understanding the behavior of extreme “tightwads” and “spendthrifts.”

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