The Smart People Podcast is an interview-based series. Chris Stemp hosts it with cohost and producer Jon Rojas. In each episode, Stemp speaks to an expert on a particular topic. The themes discussed in the show include science, politics, and entrepreneurship.
In one episode of Smart People, Stemp and guest journalist Joe Nocera analyze America's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They discuss what the country learned from the crisis. They also consider how it would respond to a similar emergency in the future.
Other conversations on the podcast have been about psychology. In the episode "What does it mean to be you?" Stanford psychologist Brian Lowery talks about the topic of identity. The episode "The Perfection Trap" features Thomas Curran. He is a psychology professor at the London School of Economics. Curran says that people should not pursue perfection. Instead, he says, they should "embrace the power of good enough."
Christian Madsbjerg is another guest on the Smart People podcast. He is a strategy expert and author of the best-selling book Look: How to Pay Attention in a Distracted World. Madsbjerg shares advice for paying attention amid distractions, like social media.
The podcast has explored whether America should pay reparations for slavery. The guest in this episode is Coleman Hughes. He is a writer, podcaster, and a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research in New York. Hughes argues that the current president does not influence the state of race relations in the US.
Another topic explored in Smart People is astrophysics. In the episode "Interstellar," Stemp interviews Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb. The guest believes that advanced alien technology has visited the solar system. In another episode, Dan Levitt talks to Stemp about the Big Bang theory. He says that understanding the Big Bang can help people to understand themselves. He suggests it can also help them make better decisions.
The Smart People Podcast might appeal to people who want to learn about a topic from an expert. New episodes are available every two weeks.
Episodes