One Big Question

Mikaila Ulmer is an entrepreneur and the founder of Me & The Bees Lemonade, which sells its distinctive beverages across the nation. Mikaila started the thriving company when she was four years old in Austin, Texas, donating a portion of the profits from her lemonade sales to organizations dedicated to saving bees.

At nine years old, Mikaila appeared on the TV show Shark...

Dr. Christina Gavegnano is an Assistant Professor in the Emory School of Medicine and a Visiting Associate Professor in the Emory College of Arts and Sciences. As an Emory graduate student, Dr. Gavegnano made a discovery that is now contributing to a potential cure for HIV-1.

During the pandemic, Dr. Gavegnano developed a first-line COVID-19 treatment. When the royalty money...

Kevin Young has authored 12 books of poetry and is the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

He is an acclaimed poet, who produces era-defining work that is moving, lyrical, and often deeply innovative, with bold juxtapositions and unexpected deconstructions of form and style. He is poetry editor of The New Yorker, where he hosts the Poetry Podcast. 

From 2005 to 20...

Ada Limón is United States Poet Laureate and the author of six books of poetry, which have earned her many prestigious awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Her poetry vividly explores the majesty of the natural world, the frailty of human memory and relationships, the destruction wrought by modern society, love, joy, humor, pain, awe, and numerous ethereal qualities with s...

Carol Anderson is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies at Emory University. With scholarly precision as well as an undeniable urgency, she has authored acclaimed and bestselling books that have transformed perceptions by focusing boldly on systemic racism and its influence on voter suppression, gun rights, and much more.

As a historian, she has shed light on episodes of injustice that had been hidden in ...

Rick Rieder 83B is the chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock and one of the nation's leading minds in finance and economics. He received his BBA from Emory's Goizueta Business School and is a current member of the university's Board of Trustees. For his accomplishments in investment management, Rieder has received numerous accolades, including being named the 2023 Outstanding Portfolio Manager by Morningstar.

Emory alumnus Christopher Mims is a technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal whose column, "Keywords," is an absolute must read. With swift and exacting prose, Christopher unpacks the complexities of the technology sector—explaining everything from Ultra-wideband and EV batteries to NFTs and much more. He's also written a book, Arriving Today: From Factory To Front Door, Why Everything Has Changed About How And What We Buy ...

Tayari Jones is a best-selling author, whose acclaimed novels explore the human condition with depth and compassion. Her works ask fundamental questions about identity, family, and America, and they have riveted readers around the world. Tayari is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Creative Writing at Emory University, where since 2018, she has taught and mentored undergraduate students of all skill levels.  In this episode, ...

Laurel Bristow is an infectious disease researcher at Emory University, and since the pandemic started, she's become a social media phenomenon. She's been posting videos on Instagram and answering questions about COVID-19 and the connections she's built with her audience are truly one of a kind. At last check, she's amassed close to 450,000 followers.  In recent years we've unfortunately seen how social media can be used to spread...