Pat Wright, distinguished service professor and conservation biologist in the Department of Anthropology at Stony Brook University, speaks with host David Wrobel about her unconventional start studying primates in the Amazon to the discovery of a new lemur species in Madagascar.

Then, Anthony Steinbock, professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy, shares why phenomenology – an examination of the way in which things present themselves – remains relevant today, in many disciplines, as a method of examining lived experience. This conversation is from January 2026.

For more information, visit https://www.stonybrook.edu/cas/news-events/difference-you-make/

The Difference You Make: The Ideas That Matter is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at Stony Brook University.

Host: Dean David Wrobel
Editor: Rachel Rodriguez

Artist, curator, and Stony Brook professor of practice Jason Paradis joins host Dean David Wrobel for a conversation about creativity that refuses to stay in one place. From transforming campus hallways into curated galleries to launching named exhibition spaces like Revelation Gallery, Creative Corner, and The Passage, Paradis shares how the Arts Everywhere initiative is turning everyday environments into places that spark curiosity and connection.

Then, Suparna Rajaram, distinguished professor in the Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University, shares how being around the fresh intellectual energy of students of all levels provides a great teaching experience and reminder of the fundamentals that drive science. This conversation is from October 2025.

For more information, visit https://www.stonybrook.edu/cas/news-events/difference-you-make/

The Difference You Make: The Ideas That Matter is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at Stony Brook University.

Host: Dean David Wrobel
Editor: Rachel Rodriguez

Host David Wrobel speaks with Nancy Tomes, distinguished professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of History and one of America’s most influential historians of medicine, about the forces reshaping public health since 9/11 and today. Tomes breaks down how profit‑driven health care, political polarization, and eroding trust in science shape the world we’re living in featured in her new book, "Viral Fears", a powerful exploration of misinformation and pandemic anxiety.

For more information, visit https://www.stonybrook.edu/cas/news-events/difference-you-make/

The Difference You Make: The Ideas That Matter is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at Stony Brook University.

Host: Dean David Wrobel
Editor: Rachel Rodriguez