Apollo was hugely ambitious, part of a decade of scientific advancement – and social and cultural upheaval. Illinois history professor David Sepkoski and Illinois astronomy professor Joaquin Vieira discussed the sometimes-surprising cultural, social, and political underpinnings of the space race in the 1960s.
Guest: Edward Dolnick.
Today on Focus, bestselling author Edward Dolnick joins the show to talk about his new book The Clockwork Universe. The book documents the tale of a group of tormented geniuses who changed the world as we knew it: Isaac Newton and the members of the Royal Society. Dolnick discusses the birth of modern science and more today on Focus.
Guest: Walter Isaacson.
What made Albert Einstein the genius that he was? Today on Focus, we're joined by biographer Walter Isaacson to talk about the life of the famous physicist whose greatest asset was his rebellious nature, his tendency to question everything, even that which was regarded as fact. Isaacson believes that this quality is essential to the modern scientific age, in which new and groundbreaking discoveries are so frequently based on creative solutions.
Guest: Nina Burleigh.
Barely more than two hundred years ago, few Europeans had dared to traverse the modern-day Middle East. In 1798, a band of French scientists under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte would make the month-long trek into the unknown—some never to return. But the knowledge they gathered in this first large-scale interaction between modern Muslims and Europeans exceeded everyone's expectations. Journalist and author Nina Burleigh joins Focus today to talk about the reveal of ancient Egypt to curious Europeans at the dawn of the modern era.
Guest: Fritjof Capra, Ph.D.
Virtually unknown during his lifetime, Leonardo da Vinci's scientific explorations were astonishingly broad, with studies in everything from human flight to the circulatory system. Perhaps most importantly, he invented a systematic approach to his observations that we now call the scientific method. Today on Focus, we're joined by acclaimed scientist and author Fritjof Capra to discuss da Vinci's artistic approach to science and his role as the unacknowledged "father of modern science."
