All Videos

Duke University Professor David Goldstein says genetics researchers must be vigilant against sensationalism.

A conversation with the cartoon editor of The New Yorker.

Robert Mankoff was always funny, but that doesn’t mean that his path to the New Yorker was an easy one – he submitted 2,000 cartoons to the magazine before being […]

Do men and woman have different senses of humor? Cartoonist Robert Mankoff explains how each gender tends to use humor differently: women use it to share something about themselves, and […]

Where does comedy go from here? According to the cartoon editor of the New Yorker, it can only journey inward or towards ever-increasing depths of absurdity.

Robert Mankoff, cartoon editor of the New Yorker, explains how humor “works,” what it can explain about human nature, and considers the limits of bad comedic taste.

Jokes as we know them today are a relatively recent invention, says New Yorker cartoon editor Robert Mankoff. In fact, modern humor draws its roots to back only to the […]

Cartoonist Robert Mankoff has dedicated his career to understanding humor. He talks to Big Think about the science behind laughter and its importance to both humans and other animals.

Dr. Marc Bessler calls Atkins “extreme” and explains the difference between “good carbs” and “bad carbs.”

According to Dr. Marc Bessler, maintaining good nutrition depends on learning healthy eating habits as a child.

Reducing calorie intake is more important than sticking to a strict diet, says Dr. Marc Bessler.

Musician David Gray discusses the uniqueness of Irish culture and how it feels to be an Englishman who first found an audience across the channel.

David Gray says his worst career move was signing with EMI.

David Gray stresses mainly about his music. His musical ideas will keep him up for nights on end.

David Gray’s musical heroes include Bob Dylan and the Cure; a Cure concert at Glastonbury inspired him to play.

David Gray’s new album, “Draw the Line” strikes a more energetic and upfront tone than any of his previous work. He told Big Think why he’s excited about the album, […]

It was a difficult but important decision for David Gray when he decided to move on from his original band that he travelled with from obscurity to multi-platinum fame. Gray […]

David Gray toiled in relative obscurity until his album “White Ladder” propelled him to international stardom. He talked with Big Think in depth about his experiences as an overnight star; […]

This is a very cold-hearted digital world that doesn’t seem to care much for music.

A conversation with the “Draw the Line” musician

Prose might be an insomniac either way, but the author finds writing to be a useful—and important—distraction.

Though the literary canon is ripe for an update, Prose argues there’s still a lot to be learned about contemporary culture from the classics.

Francine Prose discusses reading as a writer and the importance of influence.

Author Francine Prose uncovers some unexpected things about the young diarist—most notably that her diary wasn’t a diary at all, but a heavily edited and re-written memoir.

A conversation with the five-year restaurant critic for the New York Times.

Food critic Frank Bruni has eaten at nearly every New York hot spot. He dishes about what wows him, his favorite meal of all time, and whether the city’s Italian […]

Former New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni predicts that the farm table movement is here to stay.

Frank Bruni recently stepped down as the New York Times’ restaurant critic. He explains the science of evaluating, the challenge of avoiding cliché, and the democratization of online food reviews.

The former New York Times restaurant critic and author of Born Round: the Secret History of a Full Time Eater reflects on his childhood and entrée into the business of […]