We are two college students, who travel the world recording podcasts with academics about their research, passions, and current events. We hope our casual conversations covering a range of topics can help promote curiosity and make academia more accessible. We have recorded episodes in America, United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Indonesia, Singapore & China, with plans to travel to more countries soon.
See our www.discoveringacademia.com for more information and educational resources.
#088 - Marion Nestle: Food Politics, Industry Influence, and the Fight for Public Health
Marion Nestle is Professor Emerita of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and one of the most cited food policy researchers in the country. Her decades of work on corporate influence, nutrition science, and agricultural policy make her one of the field's most authoritative voices.
In this episode, Nestle breaks down how food companies engineer overconsumption through advertising, product placement, and strategically funded research designed to produce favorable results before the study begins. She explains why blaming individuals for poor dietary choices is an unfair ask when they're up against a $1.5 trillion industry whose entire goal is to get you to eat more of the wrong things.
We also discuss the corn economy as a lens into U.S. agricultural subsidies, how a single congressional appropriations act stripped sustainability language from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines, and what it would actually take to reform a food system that isn't broken — it's working exactly as designed.
For more information about this episode, see our website: https://www.discoveringacademia.com/episodes/marion-nestle
This presentation is a service of Discovering Academia, and all information presented is for commercial and informational purposes only. Discovering Academia provides no assurances as to the accuracy or completeness of the information presented and possesses no actual knowledge of any topic presented. Any opinions expressed in this presentation are solely attributed to each individual asserting the same and do not reflect the opinion of Discovering Academia.
29 Apr 2026
#087 - Robert Langer: Inventing the Future of Medicine
Robert Langer is an Institute Professor at MIT, one of only 14 to hold this title, and a pioneering figure in biotechnology. His work in bioengineering has led to revolutionary new platforms for drug delivery, tissue engineering, and nanotechnology that form the basis of countless medical treatments and over 40 companies. In this episode, we discuss the design philosophy behind inventing technologies that solve previously impossible problems, like creating a pill that can inject large molecules from inside the stomach. Professor Langer also explains the science of a single-shot, self-boosting vaccine, his approach to bridging the gap between academia and industry, and his belief in fostering a creative, free-thinking environment to tackle the world's biggest health challenges.’
For more information, please see our website: https://www.discoveringacademia.com/episodes/robert-langer
This presentation is a service of Discovering Academia, and all information presented is for commercial and informational purposes only. Discovering Academia provides no assurances as to the accuracy or completeness of the information presented and possesses no actual knowledge of any topic presented. Any opinions expressed in this presentation are solely attributed to each individual asserting the same and do not reflect the opinion of Discovering Academia.
25 Nov 2025
#086 - Richard Miller: There Is No "Mechanism" of Aging
Professor Richard Miller of the University of Michigan, a leading expert in the biology of aging, joins us to redefine what aging is and how we can slow it down.
Discover the groundbreaking work of the Interventions Testing Program (ITP), which has identified over a dozen compounds—including the drug Rapamycin—capable of extending the healthy lifespan of mice by up to 30%. Miller reveals why this level of lifespan extension is considered ten times more effective than finding a complete cure for all adult cancers.
We dive into his revolutionary concept of "Aging Rate Indicators" (the biological "speedometer") and how this new metric is essential for filtering promising anti-aging drugs in mere months, bypassing the need for decades-long clinical trials. Learn why the search for a single "mechanism of aging" is a flawed approach and why widely popular concepts like cellular senescence and telomeres are considered scientific "zombie ideas".
If you're interested in the future of longevity and the science behind the most effective anti-aging drugs, this episode provides an unfiltered look at the cutting edge of biogerontology.
For more information, please see our website: https://www.discoveringacademia.com/episodes/richard-miller
This presentation is a service of Discovering Academia, and all information presented is for commercial and informational purposes only. Discovering Academia provides no assurances as to the accuracy or completeness of the information presented and possesses no actual knowledge of any topic presented. Any opinions expressed in this presentation are solely attributed to each individual asserting the same and do not reflect the opinion of Discovering Academia.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
15 ratings
Spotify
4.9 / 5
33 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 27 / 100
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Quality
33
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
51
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