2008 Signature Events

Could robots someday be our friends? And what would you like to know about how the universe works? A select group of high school students interviewed Nobel Laureate physicist Leon Lederman and ground-breaking robotic engineer Cynthia Breazeal on a wide range of subjects in front of a live audience. read more

Bill T. Jones, Michael York, Matthew Ritchie and Saul Griffith joined renowned neuroscientists to explore the brain’s creative impulses in a program that blended live performances and state-of-the-art brain imaging to shine a spotlight on the latest research informing our understanding of creativity and innovation. Moderator: John Hockenberry. read more

Our audience joined Science Friday’s Ira Flatow in conversation with leading cosmologists Lawrence Krauss, Paul Steinhardt, and Lyman Page, and historian of science Helge Kragh as they discussed and debated new advances that are shaping our understanding of the cosmic order and our place within it. read more

Philosophers Patricia Churchland and Daniel Dennett, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio and evolutionary biologist Marc Hauser discussed the science of right and wrong, and exploreed how our scientific understanding of morality may affect society, from shaping justice systems to deciding whether to engage in wars or assist others in economic and humanitarian struggles. Moderator: Jon Meacham. read more

This multi-media event for curious minds of all ages invited our audience to meet scientists with some of the coolest jobs in the world — from crime scene investigator and space explorer to oceanographer and Disney Imagineer. read more

In this special presentation with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, neurologist and best-selling author Oliver Sacks and NPR’s Robert Krulwich illuminated the often surprising relationship between vision and the brain. This wide-ranging discussion added a new chapter to Sacks’ ongoing exploration into the fascinating mysteries of the brain and human experience. read more

Our audience joined renowned conservationist Richard Leakey and bio-acoustician Bernie Krause for an intimate look at some of the world's most endangered species of plants and animals. Featuring astonishing sounds from the wild and stunning new footage from the Arctic, the program took us on a visceral journey through the past, present, and possible future of life on earth. read more

In a program that celebrated human ingenuity while providing a stark reminder of looming challenges, leading innovators including the planner behind China's first eco-city, an inventor of stackable cars, and a pioneer of urban farming, laid out radical blueprints and innovative solutions as they imagine housing, feeding, transporting and sustaining city dwellers of the not too distant future. read more

Our audience joined Alan Alda as he accompanied Brian Greene, Nobel Laureate William Phillips and other leading thinkers at the vanguard of quantum research on an accessible multimedia exploration of the astounding weirdness of the quantum world. read more

Nobel Laureate Paul Nurse talked with geneticists Francis Collins and Jim Evans and renowned ethicists about how personal genomics will affect our lives. To what extent do our genes determine our health and who we are? If your DNA can hint at your future, will you read your biological biography?  read more

An intimate look at what scientists have to say about their religious beliefs and what might be revealed by scientific studies of spirituality. read more

Our audience join self-described Lazy Environmentalist, media personality and author Josh Dorfman on an investigation of the ever-expanding marketplace for the would-be green consumer. With Dorfman wasthe eco-electronics pioneer behind the super energy-efficient One Laptop per Child computer, Mary Lou Jepsen, and the young entrepreneurs of Ecovative Design, inventors of infinitely recyclable materials and products made from mushrooms.  read more

The Abyssinian Gospel Choir joined neurologist/author Oliver Sacks in an exploration of the power of music, as the choir's performance provides a stimulating context for accounts of music’s biological foundations, and of patients whose lives were altered by the empowerment of music. read more

The shock of climate change has spurred a worldwide quest to power the planet with clean, renewable energy. In this sweeping town hall meeting moderated by New York Times environmental reporter Andrew Revkin, pioneering scientists, conservationists and policy-makers considered the challenges presented by one of the most urgent problems of the twenty first century. read more

Emmy award-winning actor Alan Alda revisited his acclaimed performance as the Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman in Peter Parnell’s play QED, in a reading followed by a conversation with astronomer Vera Rubin and physicists Pierre Hohenberg and Stephon Alexander about Feynman's life and work. read more

Scientists, artists and philosophers drew on a range of disciplines including fundamental physics, anthropology and robotics to explore what it means to be human now and what it could mean in the future. read more

Our audience joined leading physicists Leonard Susskind and Jim Gates, historian of science Peter Galison, and Nobel Laureate Paul Nurse for a spirited discussion of the progress and implications of Einstein's dream of a unified theory of physics. read more

Are there universal laws of life, much like the fundamental laws of physics, that govern or limit the characteristics that make life — in any form — possible? Our audience joined John Hockenberry for a vibrant discussion with astrobiologists Paul Davies, Steven Benner, and Maggie Turnbull about the search for life as we don’t know it. read more

This new play by Alan Alda delves into the treasure trove of letters written by Albert Einstein, his wives and his friends, tracing an intimate and unfamiliar line across his life and work. read more

Leading longevity researchers Robert Butler, David Sinclair, Richard Weindruch, and embryonic stem cell biologist Renee Reijo Pera, investigated the facts and implications surrounding emerging technologies, novel therapies, and innovative medical practices that forecast a radical extension of a healthy human life. Featured a special performance by acclaimed singer, Marilyn Maye. read more