Unlocking “The Challenge of Change” with NPR's "Hidden Brain" host Shankar Vedantam

Name: Unlocking “The Challenge of Change” with NPR's "Hidden Brain" host Shankar Vedantam
Start: 2026-04-08T18:00:00-04:00
Location: 7400 Bay Rd, Saginaw, MI, United States, Michigan 48604

Schedule

Wed, 08 Apr, 2026 at 06:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

7400 Bay Rd, Saginaw, MI, United States, Michigan 48604 | Saginaw, MI

UNIVERSITY LECTURE SEASON 2025-2026
THE FIELD/SPICER LECTURE IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
"The Challenge of Change"
Guest lecturer: Shankar Vedantam
Creator & Host of NPR’s “Hidden Brain”
Wed. Apr. 8
6:00 p.m. | Rhea Miller Recital Hall (Curtiss Hall)
Free and open to the public, however tickets are required (see link below to reserve)
Humans owe their success on the planet to one skill above all others. No, it’s not intelligence (although that helps); it’s our ability to adapt.
Uniquely, humans have learned to thrive at altitude, in frozen wastelands, even under water and in outer space. So why is it hard to get your organization to adapt to a new IT system? Or to pivot to a new business opportunity? Why do institutions ranging from schools to Fortune 500 companies find that as they grow, they get stuck doing things the same old way? In this presentation, Shankar Vedantam explains how the “hidden brain” shapes our capacity for change and how to overcome common mistakes leaders and managers make as they implement their vision.
This lecture is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Please reserve your free ticket in advance. MORE: https://www.svsu.edu/publiclectures/
== SPEAKER BIO ==
Shankar Vedantam is the host and executive editor of the “Hidden Brain” podcast and radio show, and he speaks internationally about how the “hidden brain” shapes our world. Vedantam and NPR launched the podcast in 2015, and it now receives millions of downloads per week and is regularly listed as one of the top 20 podcasts in the world. The radio show, which debuted in 2017, is heard on more than 400 public radio stations across the United States.
Vedantam has authored two non-fiction books: “The Hidden Brain: How our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars and Save Our Lives” and “Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain.”
== ABOUT THE LECTURE ==
The Field/Spicer Endowment in Science and Engineering was established by Dr. E. Malcolm and Mrs. Lois Field to promote interdisciplinary work that bridges health sciences, biology, engineering and technology, with an emphasis on the neurosciences. A world-renowned neurosurgeon and philanthropist, Dr. Field was the founder of the Field Neuroscience Institute (FNI) in Saginaw with six decades of experience in the field. The endowment supports research, fellowships, and programming to promote research and education on the SVSU campus and in the community.
This lecture is also made possible by the Dow Visiting Scholars and Artists Program.
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