Brain Candy

"Secrets ... can be shocking, or silly, or soulful," says Frank Warren, the founder of PostSecret. He shares a few of the half-million secrets that strangers have sent him on postcards.

Ken Jennings has made a career of being the know-it-all. But then he challenged a supercomputer, Watson — and lost. Jennings explains how it felt to have a computer beat him and crush his pride.

Parul Sehgal, an editor at The New York Times Book Review, says as dangerous as envy can be, it can teach us a lot about who we are and what we really want.

Nick Hanauer is a rich guy with several houses, but is he greedy? He argues that an increase in minimum wage would be good for everyone.

Activist Dave Meslin says even though we're apathetic about local politics, we're hardly sloths.

While looking at the problem of gun violence, Dr. Gary Slutkin wondered — what if it could be treated like a communicable disease? His program, Cure Violence, aims to do just that, with real results.

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett explains how his city sidestepped gluttony and collectively dropped one million pounds.

Christopher Ryan says that human beings are sexual omnivores and hopes that a better understanding of sexual fidelity may end discrimination, shame and unrealistic expectations.

Neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel turns brains into soup so she can meticulously count the neurons and determine why human brains are unique.

Philosopher David Chalmers asks why humans have a sense of self, a constantly running movie full of sensation and internal chatter. He offers two ideas about the nature of consciousness.