BornCurious

In storytelling, can the personal be universal? For the animator and filmmaker Domee Shi, the answer is a resounding yes. In this episode, Shi talks with Ju Yon Kim, a Harvard professor, about how she’s turned her own...

Many think of plants as passive, but in fact, these organisms display complex behaviors—and we have much to learn from them. In this episode, we continue our conversation with the plant scientist Beronda L. Montgomery...

The history of African American people in the United States is inextricably linked to the cotton shrub, but seven other species of tree also have deep meaning for this community. In this episode, we learn about these...

On This Episode Although as many women as men enter medical school, six years after graduating from their residencies, 40 percent of women have either transitioned to part-time or left the profession altogether. Why...

Rachna Reddy has spent more than a decade observing chimpanzees in the wild, tracking how they grow up, navigate friendship, rivalry, loss, and even the anxieties that come with adolescence—emotions that might feel...

Rates of substance use disorder are rising among women and adolescent girls. In this episode, the psychiatrist Shelly F. Greenfield, whose research focuses on gender differences in addiction, explains the situation—and...

On Radcliffe Day 2025, we honored Jodie Foster in recognition of her barrier-breaking six-decade career in front of and behind the camera. In this episode, the newly minted Radcliffe Medalist chats with the Harvard...

Women have played essential roles in the American film industry since its inception—as actors, writers, directors, producers, and an array of other positions—but they have long been both underrepresented and...

There is a long-held belief in the medical field that doctors should maintain a professional distance from their patients. But it’s only human to be affected by one’s everyday experiences—and for professionals who work...

When Devi Lockwood, then a Harvard undergraduate, encountered the papers of the poet Cora Brooks in the Schlesinger Library, she couldn’t have known that the discovery would spark an in-person friendship with a woman...

The poetry of Gabeba Baderoon often reaches into memory and the small moments that show the complexity of love. In this episode, Baderoon talks about what spurred her to try the art form, reads from her previous work...

A chance encounter with an engineering journal changed the life trajectory of Diana Dabby, who was then working as a concert pianist. Now, Dabby uses electrical engineering to innovate musical works that have variation...

In his recent—and timely—lecture, Gary Gerstle looks beyond the figure of Donald Trump to inquire into the roots of America’s authoritarian turn. In it, he dissects the events, policies, and resentments that have led to...

As part of a pair of programs featuring open dialogue about issues related to the Middle East, Radcliffe Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin sat down with Noah Feldman to discuss his new book, To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God...

As part of a pair of programs featuring open dialogue about issues related to the Middle East, Aslı Ü. Bâli participated in a conversation with Asim Ijaz Khwaja about modern Arab and Muslim identities in the context of...