Useful Knowledge

Distant, freezing, barren–it may seem that the icy regions of the Arctic and Antarctica have nothing to do with life in warmer homes. In this episode of Useful Knowledge, Neil Shubin, paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and APS Member, joins host Patrick Spero to explain how much these regions can tell us about the history and future of life on our planet and beyond.Shubin’s work has allowed him to crack open 380-million-year old rocks, uncovering histories of the times when the polar regions were tropical, meteorites and rocks from the Moon and Mars, and creatures that have evolved to survive in near-impossible conditions. What do scientists make of the freshwater lake hidden under Antarctica? Can polar ice release viruses onto our populace? What are the consequences of melting polar ice? In this episode, learn about these and other incredible findings. Want to learn more? Look to Shubin’s 2025 book Ends of the Earth: Journeys to the Polar Regions in Search of Life, the Cosmos, and Our Future.

Psychologist, author, and APS Member Daniel Gilbert considers the human imagination one of our greatest evolutionary gifts. In this episode of Useful Knowledge, Gilbert joins host Patrick Spero to discuss how humans imagine new possibilities and the subjective way we think about the future and the past. Inspired by the United States’ upcoming 250th birthday, Gilbert and Spero discuss what America’s Founders meant by the “Pursuit of Happiness” and what it might mean for Americans today.

Historian and APS Member Joyce Chaplin joins host Patrick Spero to speak about Benjamin Franklin and the global significance of the Franklin stove.Chaplin explores how Franklin’s efforts to heat his Philadelphia home during the Little Ice Age led to new ways of thinking about fuel efficiency, indoor climate, and the atmosphere itself. The conversation moves from colonial Pennsylvania and environmental change to Franklin’s broader scientific insights, including his ideas about convection, storms, and conservation.Tracing the stove’s surprising spread across Europe, Chaplin reframes Franklin not only as a founder of the American Revolution, but also as a key figure in the Industrial Revolution and an early critic of wasteful fuel use. The episode reveals how a practical invention meant to warm a room reshaped ideas about science, climate, and modern life.

In this episode of Useful Knowledge, Patrick Spero speaks with pioneering astronomer Jill Tarter about her lifelong search for life beyond Earth. Tarter, a founding figure of modern SETI, reflects on the scientific, technological, and philosophical dimensions of asking whether we are alone in the universe.She discusses how advances in radio astronomy and AI are reshaping the hunt for extraterrestrial technology, the origins and goals of the Allen Telescope Array, and why future discoveries will require trusted, global scientific institutions. Tarter also shares personal stories—from early inspiration on Florida beaches to challenges as a woman in engineering—and revisits memorable moments from SETI’s early years.A concise and compelling look into one of humanity’s most enduring questions.

Classicist Dame Mary Beard joins host Patrick Spero to explore what “useful knowledge” means for understanding the ancient world—and ourselves. From Roman ideas of punishment and citizenship to the myths of freedom and democracy, Beard shows how history offers a new vantage point on the present. She also reflects on how emerging technologies like DNA analysis are reshaping what we know about ancient lives, while reminding us that the real breakthroughs come from asking new questions.