Question of the Week
BU Today, Boston University’s award-winning daily news site, brings you Question of the Week, a new podcast that provides insights from leading experts on timely questions covering politics, business, culture, education, science, medicine, sports, health, and more. Each episode features a conversation between a BU Today journalist and a different University faculty or staff member.
Episodes
24 episodes
How Will Inflation Affect the Economy in 2023?
As we look forward to 2023, the health of the domestic economy remains a concern as high costs linger, hiring slows, and salaries stagnate. Many industries in the United States and abroad have increased costs due to supply chain issues and othe...
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Season 2
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Episode 23
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13:04
How Is The Conversation Around Mental Health Changing Among College Students?
As awareness of its importance rises, mental health has become a topic of much discussion in higher education, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. SPH researcher Sarah Lipson
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Season 2
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Episode 22
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23:22
Why Are This Year’s Midterm Elections Especially Important?
Maxwell Palmer, an associate professor of political science at Boston University, discusses the history of midterm elections and provides background on what has shifted in Massach...
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Season 2
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Episode 21
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8:56
Will the Supreme Court End Affirmative Action?
Jonathan Feingold, a Boston University School of Law associate professor, discusses the history of affirmative action in the United States and provides details into how policies ca...
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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41:24
How Do I Talk to a Climate Change Denier?
We all know someone—perhaps an uncle or a friend’s mom on Facebook—who is a climate change denier. Although the science is clear, misinformation still runs rampant, says Arunima Krishna<...
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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14:29
Why Do Some People Live to 100—and How?
Thomas Perls, director of BU’s New England Centenarian Study, explains how and why some people live to 100 years old. While genetics plays a huge role in whether someone becomes a centenarian (or supercentenarian), Perls says we can still do fo...
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Season 2
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Episode 18
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21:05
How Do I Get a Job after College?
In this episode, Grace Saathoff (CFA'22, COM'22) and Emily Worden, a CFA Arts Leadership and Innovation lecturer and career coach, tackle some of new graduates’ biggest concerns about entering the job market for the first time. Tune in for some...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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25:54
Why Do So Many Autistic Girls Go Undiagnosed?
In this episode, BU researchers Gael Orsmond and Sharada Krishnan offer a multifaceted perspective on how and why young women may have a different autistic experience compared to young men. In recent years, an increasing amount of anecdot...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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23:38
How Close Are We to World War III?
One month since Russia invaded Ukraine, the war has reached a stalemate, raising concerns about whether fighting could spill over into neighboring countries. Are we on the verge of another world war? To understand the current situation, we spok...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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15:49
What Is the Future of Travel in 2022?
In the aftermath of two years of pandemic disruptions to the hospitality and tourism industries, Makarand Mody, an SHA associate professor of hospitality marketing, sheds some light on the future of travel in 2022. Mody discusses flexcations, t...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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10:36
How Did BU Student Irene Kim Become a Viral TikTok Influencer?
We talk to Boston University student Irene Kim (@ireneykim) about how she became a TikTok influencer and how she finds time to record her viral food reviews between work and school. Irene also sha...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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15:46
Will President Biden Forgive Student Loans?
Mark Williams, Boston University Questrom School of Business executive-in-residence and a master lecturer in finance, considers if, and how, President Biden could forgive student loans. Williams discusses who is impacted the most by student deb...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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10:48
How Much Did US Insurers Waste on Ivermectin for COVID?
Rena Conti, a Questrom School of Business associate professor of markets, public policy, and law, studied insurance claims and reimbursements data and found payments towards ivermectin for COVID-19, plugged by right-wing media despite its unpro...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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12:04
Do COVID Vaccines Affect the Menstrual Cycle?
Boston University School of Public Health professor Lauren Wise shares an update on her research into whether COVID-19 vaccines impact the menstrual cycle. Wise is the principal investig...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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24:25
Can Vaping Help You Quit Smoking?
Vaping among teenagers declined sharply in 2021, the second consecutive year to see a big decline. With research and debate continuing about whether using e-cigarettes can actually help a person quit smoking traditional cigarettes, BU Today...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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7:32
Has Joe Biden Abandoned Trumpism and Populist Politics?
College of Arts & Sciences political scientist Lauren Mattioli assesses Joe Biden one year after his election. Promising to abandon Trumpism, the president has lowered the rhetorical thermostat, Mattioli says, but in areas like immigration,...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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14:12
Who Will Be the Next James Bond?
In this episode, College of Fine Arts Dean Harvey Young considers possible successors to Daniel Craig and discusses his pick for the next James Bond. Young also talks about his favorite and least favorite of the actors who’ve played 007 and how...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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10:29
What Can a New Mayor Do to Improve a City?
A conversation with Thomas Whalen, a BU College of General Studies associate professor of social sciences, about whether a new mayor can improve a city. Whalen also discusses the upcom...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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11:29
Why Did BU Rename Columbus Day Indigenous Peoples Day?
Adrienne Young (SSW’21), a member of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, wanted to see Boston University change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day to celebrate the people who were in America long before Christopher Columbus arrived. BU adm...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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8:54
What Would It Mean to Codify Roe v. Wade?
Linda McClain, a BU School of Law professor of law, discusses what it would mean to codify Roe v. Wade, after Texas enacted one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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11:46
With Space Tourism a Reality, Will Civilians Travel to Space? And When?
Majd Mayyasi, a BU Center for Space Physics senior research scientist, discusses the future of civilian space travel and how it would impact the study of space. She also shares her exp...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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9:35
When Will COVID End?
David Hamer, a BU School of Public Health and School of Medicine professor of global health, discusses the future of the pandemic, what must happen next for the coronavirus to become more of ...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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11:29
20 Years after 9/11, Is the US More or Less Vulnerable to a Massive Terrorist Attack?
Andrew Bacevich, a Pardee School of Global Studies professor emeritus of international relations and of history, discusses the state of American security 20 years after 9/11 and President Biden’s 2021 decision to pull troops from Afghanistan.&n...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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7:21
