Do we need a Bernie Sanders or AOC for academia? We tackle this question with Yarden Katz, a departmental fellow in Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School, who has written about how the politics and culture of academia influence the scientific questions we pursue. We discuss how intellectual property laws reshaped university and scientific priorities, whether this incentive structure has in fact led to more innovation, and what the barriers are to changing a system that no one is really satisfied with.
The Katz and Matter paper that we reference in our chat can found here, and you can learn more about Yarden at yarden.github.io.
Track art by the always talented Caroline Hu.