BornCurious

• Chimp Change—What Great Ape Adolescence Reveals About Us

  Rachna Reddy has spent more than a decade observing chimpanzees in the wild, tracking how they grow up, navigate friendship, rivalry, loss, and even the anxieties that come with adolescence—emotions that might feel surprisingly familiar to us. In this episode, she shares how her research sheds light on what it means to come of age—not just for chimps but for humans, too, revealing the roots of our own empathy, conflict, and connection. Released on November 20, 2025. Episode Transcript Guest Rachna Reddy teaches anthropology and environment, society, and sustainability at the University of Utah, and she also codirects the Ngogo Chimpanzee Project. Through her study of chimpanzees and bonobos, our closest living relatives, she is trying to understand the evolutionary foundations of human social relationships and development. Related Content Fellowship Biography: Rachna Reddy Ngogo Chimpanzee Project Series: Chimp Empire Credits Ivelisse Estrada is your cohost and the editorial manager at HRI, where she edits Radcliffe Magazine. Alan Catello Grazioso is the executive producer of BornCurious and the senior multimedia manager at HRI. Heather Min is your cohost and the senior manager of digital strategy at HRI. Anna Soong is the production assistant at HRI. Special thanks to Cabin 3 Media for their invaluable contributions to the editing of this podcast episode.

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• Substance Use Disorders Among Women: Reasons for Concern—and Hope

  Rates of substance use disorder are rising among women and adolescent girls. In this episode, the psychiatrist Shelly F. Greenfield, whose research focuses on gender differences in addiction, explains the situation—and what can be done. Through her work, Greenfield helps us see addiction as what it truly is: a treatable health condition. Released on October 30, 2025. Part of this podcast was recorded in early 2025, before the current federal administration, and reflects the situation at that time. Since then, significant cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration—the agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services that leads efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation—and the termination of grants have dramatically affected federal resources. The resources posted for this podcast, however, reflect the current moment and are accurate as of the date of its release (October 30, 2025). Episode Transcript Guest Shelly F. Greenfield is a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Kristine M. Trustey Endowed Chair in Psychiatry and chief of the Division of Women’s Mental Health at McLean Hospital. Her research investigates the rising rates of substance use, substance-related health and social consequences in women and girls in the United States, and treatment and health services delivery. Related Content Fellowship Biography: Shelly F. Greenfield Credits Ivelisse Estrada is your cohost and the editorial manager at HRI, where she edits Radcliffe Magazine. Alan Catello Grazioso is the executive producer of BornCurious and the senior multimedia manager at HRI. Heather Min is your cohost and the senior manager of digital strategy at HRI. Anna Soong is the production assistant at HRI. Special thanks to Cabin 3 Media for their invaluable contributions to the editing of this podcast episode.

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• Jodie Foster: Power, Privacy, and Purpose

  On Radcliffe Day 2025, we honored Jodie Foster in recognition of her barrier-breaking six-decade career in front of and behind the camera. In this episode, the newly minted Radcliffe Medalist chats with the Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.—a friend and former mentor—and gets deep about her beginnings, her life path, motherhood, and how she’s grown. Released on June 26, 2025. Episode Transcript Guests Jodie Foster is an actor and filmmaker. In her six-decade career, she has won Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award alongside a Cecil B. DeMille Award and an Honorary Palme d’Or. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. An award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, cultural critic, and institution builder, Gates has published numerous books and produced and hosted documentary films. Related Content Episode 409: The Importance of Representation in Film Radcliffe Day 2025 in Photos Radcliffe Day 2025 Credits Ivelisse Estrada is your cohost and the editorial manager at HRI, where she edits Radcliffe Magazine. Kevin Grady is the multimedia producer at HRI. Alan Catello Grazioso is the executive producer of BornCurious and the senior multimedia manager at HRI. Heather Min is your cohost and the senior manager of digital strategy at HRI. Anna Soong is the production assistant at HRI. Special thanks to Productions, Inc. for production support and Cabin 3 Media for their invaluable contributions to the editing of this podcast episode.

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• The Importance of Representation in Film

  Women have played essential roles in the American film industry since its inception—as actors, writers, directors, producers, and an array of other positions—but they have long been both underrepresented and underrecognized when compared with men. On Radcliffe Day 2025—as part of a program honoring the 2025 Radcliffe Medalist Jodie Foster—industry insiders took part in a panel discussion to consider the evolving nature of women’s representation and recognition in the film and television industries, both as subjects and as creators. Released on June 13, 2025. ⁠Episode Transcript⁠ Guests Amy Brenneman ’86 is a television, stage, and film actor, writer, and producer and a founding member of Cornerstone Theater Company, which produces site-specific, community-based theater on themes of social justice. Tomiko Brown-Nagin RI ’17 is the dean of Harvard Radcliffe Institute, the Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School, and a professor of history in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Naomi McDougall Jones is an award-winning filmmaker, author, and ancestral energy healer. Mira Nair ’79 is an Academy Award–nominated director. Saladin K. Patterson is executive producer and showrunner of the revival of the hit animated series King of the Hill, set to premiere on Hulu later this year, as well as The Wonder Years, The Last O.G., The Cops, and The Bernie Mac Show. Stacy L. Smith is an associate professor of communication at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, where she founded the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, the leading global think tank studying inequality in entertainment. Related Content Radcliffe Day 2025 Credits Ivelisse Estrada is your cohost and the editorial manager at HRI, where she edits Radcliffe Magazine. Kevin Grady is the multimedia producer at HRI. Alan Catello Grazioso is the executive producer of BornCurious and the senior multimedia manager at HRI. Heather Min is your cohost and the senior manager of digital strategy at HRI. Anna Soong is the production assistant at HRI. Special thanks to Productions, Inc. for production support and Cabin 3 Media for their invaluable contributions to the editing of this podcast episode.

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• Storytelling and Grief in Palliative Care

  There is a long-held belief in the medical field that doctors should maintain a professional distance from their patients. But it’s only human to be affected by one’s everyday experiences—and for professionals who work with serious illness, these experiences can range from distressing to profound. In this episode, a collaboration with Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch, we discover how the Palliative Story Exchange uses storytelling to center human connection and meaning in this setting. Released on May 22, 2025. Episode Transcript Guest Host Lisa Keefauver is a social worker, a grief activist, and the founder of Reimagining Grief. She hosts the podcast Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch, and she recently published her first book, Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss (University of Texas Press, 2024). Guests Alexis Drutchas is a palliative care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a cofounder of the Palliative Story Exchange. Her work has appeared on CNN, on NBC News, and in the New England Journal of Medicine. Richard Leiter is a palliative care physician, writer, and researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a cofounder of the Palliative Story Exchange. He also directs the adult inpatient palliative care consult service and leads the Dana-Farber Department of Supportive Oncology Writing Core. His writing has been published in Cell, the New York Times, and STAT News. Related Content Palliative Story Exchange Podcast: Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch Radcliffe Accelerator Workshop Program Lisa Keefauver Personal Website Alexis Drutchas Personal Website Richard Leiter Institutional Website The Palliative Story Exchange on Instagram Palliative & Supportive Care: “The Palliative Story Exchange: An Innovative Storytelling Intervention to Build Community, Foster Shared Meaning, and Improve Sustainability” Credits Ivelisse Estrada is your cohost and the editorial manager at HRI, where she edits Radcliffe Magazine. Kevin Grady is the multimedia producer at HRI. Alan Catello Grazioso is the executive producer of BornCurious and the senior multimedia manager at HRI. Heather Min is your cohost and the senior manager of digital strategy at HRI. Emerson Prond is a multimedia intern at HRI and a Harvard College student. Lily Roberts is a multimedia intern at HRI and a Harvard College student. Anna Soong is the production assistant at HRI. Special thanks to Cabin 3 Media, including the sound engineer Jeff Hayash and editors Katie Toulmin and Justin Callahan, for their contributions to the production and editing of this episode.

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